{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_32875/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_32875","id":"gutenberg_32875","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32875","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: History - Other","Category: History - Warfare","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, 1848-1885","Sudan -- History"],"text":"Produced by StevenGibbs, Linda Hamilton and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Father Ohrwalder, The Sisters Catterina Chincarini\nand Elisabetta Venturini and The Slave girl Adila\n\nFrom a photograph by Stromeyer & Heyman, Cairo.\n\nSampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.]\n\n\n\n\n  TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY\n  IN THE\n  MAHDI'S CAMP\n  1882-1892\n\n  FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS OF\n  FATHER JOSEPH OHRWALDER\n  LATE PRIEST OF THE AUSTRIAN MISSION STATION AT\n  DELEN, IN KORDOFAN\n\n  BY\n  MAJOR F. R. WINGATE, R.A.\n  DIRECTOR OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE, EGYPTIAN ARMY;\n  AUTHOR OF 'MAHDIISM AND THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN'\n\n  _WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS\n  BY WALTER C. HORSLEY_\n\n  THIRD EDITION\n\n  LONDON\n  SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY\n  _LIMITED_\n  =St. Dunstan's House=\n  FETTER LANE, FLEET STREET, E.C.\n  1892\n  (_All rights reserved._)\n\n\n\n\n  LONDON:\n  PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,\n  STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\n[Illustration: FATHER OHRWALDER.]\n\nAfter the fall of Khartum in January 1885, various attempts were from\ntime to time made to effect the release of some of the European\nprisoners who had fallen into the Mahdi's hands during the early stages\nof the Sudan revolt.\n\nThese attempts were for the most part attended with little result. The\ncauses of their failure, and eventual success in one instance, are\nfully described in the following personal narrative of Father Ohrwalder.\n\nAs Father Ohrwalder is the first European who has escaped from the Sudan\nsince 1885, I was fully occupied with him during the few days\nimmediately following his arrival in ascertaining, for official\npurposes, the actual situation in the Sudan, and that completed, we had\nmany interesting conversations on the historical events which had\noccurred in these revolted districts during the last ten years.\n\nHaving but recently completed a _resum\u00e9_ of these events,[A] which had\nbeen largely compiled from the statements of natives who had escaped, I\nwas not unnaturally desirous to verify, by the independent witness of\nFather Ohrwalder, the accounts which they had given, and I further\nbegged Father Ohrwalder to carefully read over the book and point out\nthe errors. It was with considerable satisfaction that I learnt from him\nthat the facts had been faithfully recorded; but the flood of light\nwhich he was enabled to throw on many obscure passages, and the great\ninterest attaching to the narrative of an active participator in so many\nof these now historic occurrences, induced me to suggest that he should\nset to work, while the memory of these events was fresh in his mind, to\nwrite a personal narrative of his varied and terrible experiences, of\nwhich the general public have hitherto learnt but the bare outline.\n\nIt should be borne in mind that the circumstances under which Father\nOhrwalder lived in the Sudan precluded him from keeping any written\nrecord of his life; it was therefore agreed that I should supervise his\nwork which, I need scarcely add, it has given me great pleasure to do.\nFather Ohrwalder's manuscript, which was in the first instance written\nin German, was roughly translated into English by Yusef Effendi Cudzi, a\nSyrian; this I entirely rewrote in narrative form. The work does not\ntherefore profess to be a literal translation of the original\nmanuscript, but rather an English version, in which I have sought to\nreproduce accurately Father Ohrwalder's meaning in the language of\nsimple narration.\n\nEngland and the British public in general have shown so much interest in\nthe stirring events which have occurred in the Sudan, and in which many\ngallant British officers and men have lost their lives, that it is\nFather Ohrwalder's desire that the narrative of his experiences should\nbe published in the first instance in England, as his modest tribute to\nthe nation which struggled so gallantly, and so nearly successfully, to\neffect the relief of Khartum and the rescue of those unfortunate\nEuropeans who, like himself, had fallen into the hands of a cruel and\nmerciless enemy.\n\nIt seems almost incredible that such sufferings as the European captives\nendured did not long ago bring to them the happy release of death they\nso ardently longed for; but it was not to be. The door of escape, which\nthey had thought closed to them for ever, suddenly opened, and they did\nnot fear to risk the dangers and perils of that terrible desert journey,\nwith scanty food and water, and the sure knowledge that they must ride\nfor bare life; re-capture would have ended in certain death, or, at\nbest, perpetual incarceration in a prison, the horrors of which beggar\ndescription. In spite, however, of all he has endured, Father Ohrwalder\nlongs for the time when it may be possible for him to return to the\nSudan and continue the Mission work so suddenly and hopelessly\ninterrupted since 1882.\n\nI am greatly indebted to Mr. Walter C. Horsley for the admirable manner\nin which he has executed his portion of the illustrations. The remainder\nare chiefly from photographs, taken by Mr. Lekegian in his photographic\nstudio in Cairo, of Dervish prisoners captured at the action of Toski,\nand of refugees who have recently reached Cairo from Equatoria, through\nthe territory administered by the Imperial British East Africa Company.\n\nF. R. WINGATE.\nCAIRO, _30th July, 1892_.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[A] Published under the title of 'Mahdiism and the Egyptian\nSudan.' London: Macmillan & Co. 1891.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\nFATHER OHRWALDER'S JOURNEY TO THE SUDAN.\n                                                                    PAGE\n  Description of Kordofan and Dar Nuba--The Mission Station\n  at Delen                                                             1\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE MAHDI AND HIS RISE TO POWER.\n\n  The rise of the Mahdi--Early successes--Personal appearance\n  --His   Khalifas described--Military organization--Makes new\n  laws--He summons El Obeid to surrender                               6\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nFATHER OHRWALDER AND HIS COMPANIONS TAKEN CAPTIVE.\n\n  The storm rises in Dar Nuba--The Baggara begin to raid--\n  Khojur Kakum of Delen--Mek Omar besieges Delen--The slave\n  guard deserts the Mission--The priests and nuns surrender--\n  They are sent to the Mahdi                                          22\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE MISSIONARIES AND THE MAHDI.\n\n  Description of El Obeid--Said Pasha's system of defence--\n  The Mahdi's followers encircle the town--Townspeople desert\n  to the Mahdi--Unsuccessful attack on Government buildings\n  --Dervishes driven off with loss of 10,000 men--The\n  missionaries brought before the Mahdi--Threatened with\n  death--Preparations for the execution--Reprieved at the\n  last moment--The Mahdi's camp described--Death of some\n  of the missionaries--Illness of remainder                           34\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE SIEGE OF EL OBEID.\n\n  Terrible sufferings of the besieged--The Kababish--Fall of\n  Bara--Fall of El Obeid--The Mahdi enters the town--Fate\n  of the El Obeid Mission--Cold-blooded murder of the brave\n  defenders--The Dervishes live a life of ease in El Obeid--\n  The Mahdi makes laws--He sends out proclamations--Prestige\n  increased by capture of town--News from Khartum--Bonomi and\n  Ohrwalder summoned before the Mahdi--The interview                  52\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE MAHDI'S VICTORY OVER HICKS PASHA.\n\n  The European captives learn that General Hicks is\n  advancing--Slatin Bey's defence of Darfur--His heroism--\n  The Mahdi prepares to resist Hicks--The march of the Hicks\n  Expedition--Extracts from the diary of Major Herlth--Colonel\n  Farquhar's gallantry at Rahad--Gustav Klootz deserts to the\n  Mahdi--Klootz's interview with the Mahdi in which Ohrwalder\n  and Bonomi act as interpreters--The expedition advances\n  towards Shekan--Is surrounded and annihilated--Description\n  of the battle--The Mahdi victor of Kordofan                         72\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE MAHDI'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO EL OBEID.\n\n  Fall of Darfur--Slatin surrenders--The Mahdi's divinity\n  credited after the annihilation of Hicks--King Adam of\n  Tagalla--Stambuli's kindness to the European captives--\n  Gordon writes to the Mahdi--Power's letter--The sisters\n  seized and distributed amongst the emirs--They are\n  tortured--The missionaries turned into slaves--The terrible\n  journey to Rahad--The Greeks come to the help of the\n  sisters--The proclamation concerning the treatment of\n  priests and hermits by Mohammedans--The Mahdi at Rahad--\n  Ohrwalder's interviews with the Mahdi concerning religion\n  --The Dervishes attack the Nubas                                    91\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nFATHER OHRWALDER'S VIEWS OF GORDON'S MISSION.\n\n  Ohrwalder describes his treatment at the hands of various\n  masters--The Nubas surrender and afterwards desert--News\n  from Khartum--The capture of the English mail--Its\n  arrival at the Mahdi's camp--The Mahdi decides to\n  advance on Khartum--Brief review of events in Khartum\n  and Berber--Ohrwalder's views on Gordon's mission--The\n  Mahdi sets out for Khartum--Mohammed Ali Pasha's\n  defeat and death--Colonel Stewart, Mr. Power, and others\n  leave Khartum in ss. \"Abbas\"--Description of their\n  wreck and treacherous murder                                       114\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE SIEGE AND FALL OF KHARTUM.\n\n  The surrender of Omdurman fort--Gordon's dispositions\n  for defence--His great personal influence--The night\n  before the assault--The attack and entry of the Dervishes\n  --Gordon's death--The adventures of Domenico Polinari--\n  The massacre in Khartum--How most of the Europeans died\n  --Ruthless cruelty and bloodshed--The fate of the wives\n  and daughters of Khartum--Ohrwalder's views on the\n  situation in Khartum and the chances of relief by the\n  British Expeditionary Force--His description of the town\n  three months after the fall                                        131\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nTHE MAHDI'S LAST DAYS.\n\n  Ohrwalder's criticisms on certain events connected with\n  the defence of Khartum--The Sudan devastated by small-pox\n  --The Mahdi gives way to a life of pleasure--Description\n  of his harem life--The Mahdi sickens and dies--The effect\n  on his followers--The Khalifa Abdullah succeeds--Party\n  strife and discord--Abdullah prevails--Events in Sennar\n  and Kassala                                                        152\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nTHE ESCAPE OF FATHER BONOMI.\n\n  Ohrwalder continues to describe his personal experiences\n  -- Mahmud the emir of El Obeid--His unsuccessful attempts\n  to entrap the Nubas--The arrival of Olivier Pain in El\n  Obeid--His motives in joining the Mahdi--His journey\n  towards Omdurman--His sad fate--Lupton Bey arrives\n  at El Obeid from the Bahr el Ghazal--He is sent to\n  Omdurman and thrown into chains--Life in El Obeid--The\n  escape of Father Bonomi--Ohrwalder's solitude--The\n  death of the Khojur Kakum                                          169\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nREVOLT AGAINST THE DERVISHES.\n\n  The black soldiers of the old Sudan army--They revolt\n  against the Dervishes in El Obeid--And march off to Dar\n  Nuba--The emir Mahmud pursues and is slain--Ohrwalder\n  quits El Obeid for Omdurman--Zogal and Abu Anga at\n  Bara                                                               189\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nOHRWALDER'S IMPRESSIONS OF OMDURMAN.\n\n  Ohrwalder's arrival in Omdurman--His first impressions\n  of the Dervish capital--Khalifa Abdullah's intentions\n  to conquer Egypt--Wad Suleiman of the beit el mal--Wad\n  Adlan succeeds--Gordon's clothes, medals, &c.--Adlan\n  reorganizes the beit el mal--The slave market, museum,\n  mint, and system of coinage--Counterfeit coining--The\n  lithograph press--The Khalifa's system of justice                  204\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nTHE KHALIFA DECIDES TO CONQUER ABYSSINIA.\n\n  Events subsequent to the fall of Khartum--Capture of\n  Gedaref and Galabat--Dervishes defeated by Abyssinians\n  at Galabat--Abu Anga's victorious expedition to Tagalla\n  --His triumphal return to Omdurman--The Khalifa's\n  grand review--Destruction of the Gehena tribe--The\n  Khalifa decides to send Abu Anga's army to conquer\n  Abyssinia--The battle of Dabra Sin--Abu Anga sacks\n  Gondar--The victorious Dervishes return to Galabat--\n  Rejoicings at Omdurman                                             216\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nKING JOHN OF ABYSSINIA KILLED IN BATTLE.\n\n  Destruction of the Kababish tribe and death of Saleh\n  Bey--Events in Darfur--Revolt of Abu Gemaizeh--His\n  death and destruction of his army--Rabeh Zubeir--King\n  Theodore's son visits Omdurman--The conspiracy of\n  \"Sayidna Isa\"--Death of Abu Anga--King John of\n  Abyssinia attacks Galabat--Success of Abyssinians, but\n  the king killed--Victory turned to defeat--The king's\n  head sent to Omdurman                                              232\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nDEFEAT OF NEJUMI AT TOSKI, AND OF OSMAN DIGNA AT TOKAR.\n\n  The Khalifa's intentions regarding Egypt--Wad en Nejumi\n  despatched north--Various operations on the Egyptian\n  frontier--Battle of Toski--Defeat and death of Nejumi--\n  Subsequent events in Dongola--Osman Digna's operations\n  against Sawakin--Is defeated at Tokar--Emin Pasha and\n  events in Equatoria--Recent events in Uganda and Unyoro            254\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nTHE FAMINE AT OMDURMAN--1888-1889.\n\n  Ohrwalder describes Omdurman--The Mahdi's tomb, and how\n  it was built--Pilgrimage to Mecca forbidden--A description\n  of the great mosque--The Khalifa's palace--The markets--\n  The population--The Khalifa's tyrannical rule--The terrible\n  famine of 1888-1889--Awful scenes and sufferings--The\n  plague of locusts                                                  273\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nTHE KHALIFA AND HIS GOVERNMENT.\n\n  The Khalifa's system of government--His household--An\n  outline of his character--His system of prayers in the\n  mosque--His visions and dreams--His espionage system--His\n  household troops--His great activity and circumspection--\n  The great Friday review described--The emigration of the\n  Baggara and western tribes to Omdurman--The flight of\n  Sheikh Ghazali--Management of the beit el mal--System of\n  taxation                                                           293\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nA CHAPTER OF HORRORS.\n\n  The revolt of the Batahin tribe--Revolt suppressed with\n  appalling cruelty--Wholesale executions--Method of\n  hanging--Punishment by mutilation--The execution of\n  Abdel Nur--Trade with Egypt--Wad Adlan the emin beit el\n  mal--His imprisonment and death                                    315\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nSOCIAL LIFE AT OMDURMAN.\n\n  System of public security and justice in Omdurman--The\n  court of small causes--Bribery and corruption--The\n  story of the slave and her mistress--How the Khalifa\n  deals with quarrelsome persons--Thieves and pickpockets--\n  The story of Zogheir--Usurers and their trade--The chief\n  of police--Brigandage--Disproportion of males to females\n  in Omdurman--How the Khalifa overcame the difficulty--\n  Immorality--The marriage ceremony                                  328\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nTHE KHALIFA'S TREATMENT OF THE WHITE CAPTIVES.\n\n  Description of the prison, or \"Saier\"--The \"Abu Haggar\"\n  --The imprisonment of Charles Neufeld--Terrible\n  sufferings of the prisoners--Domenico Polinari--The\n  danger of corresponding with the European prisoners--\n  Neufeld threatened with death--He is given charge of the\n  saltpetre pits--The fate of Sheikh Khalil, the Egyptian\n  envoy--The Khalifa's treatment of the \"Whites\"--Exile\n  to the White Nile                                                  344\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nLUPTON BEY AND THE AMMUNITION.\n\n  The Khalifa's powder and ammunition begin to fail--Lupton\n  Bey makes fulminate--Unsuccessful attempts to make powder\n  --Yusef Pertekachi at last succeeds--The explosion in the\n  powder factory                                                     366\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nAGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE IN THE MAHDI'S KINGDOM.\n\n  Remarks on the agriculture and commerce of the Mahdiist\n  kingdom--A sandstorm in Omdurman--The paucity of cattle--\n  System of taxation on imports--Provincial beit el mals--\n  Local manufactures--Slavery and the slave-markets--Torture\n  of slaves                                                          376\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nTHE BAGGARA MASTERS OF THE SUDAN.\n\n  Relations between Abdullah and the rival Khalifas--\n  Mahdiism practically dead--The Khalifa's son Osman--His\n  marriage to Yakub's daughter--His intentions regarding\n  the succession--The Baggara and the Aulad-Belad--The\n  Baggara masters of the Sudan--Examples of their tyranny\n  --Emigration of the Rizighat tribe--Hostility between\n  the Khalifa's and the late Mahdi's households--The\n  Ashraf conspiracy--Witchcraft--The dispute between\n  the Khalifas--Riots in Omdurman--The Mahdi's widows                387\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nPREPARATIONS FOR THE FLIGHT.\n\n  Ohrwalder forms plans for escape--The fate of other\n  Europeans attempting to fly--Stricter surveillance--\n  Ohrwalder's means of livelihood--Letters from Cairo--\n  The faithful Ahmed Hassan discloses his plan--Archbishop\n  Sogaro--Miseries of captivity in Omdurman--Death of\n  Sister Concetta Corsi--Preparations for flight                     408\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nON CAMELS ACROSS THE GREAT NUBIAN DESERT.\n\n  Father Ohrwalder and Sisters Venturini and Chincarini\n  escape--The ride for life--The rencontre with the\n  Dervish guard near Abu Hamed--Alarm of the party--The\n  journey across the great Nubian desert--Five hundred\n  miles on camel-back in seven days--Arrival at the\n  Egyptian outpost at Murat--Safe at last--Arrival in\n  Cairo                                                              424\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nTHE PRESENT KHALIFA'S DESPOTISM IN THE SUDAN.\n\n  Reflections on the situation in the Sudan--The horrors\n  of the present Khalifa's rule--How long shall it continue?         447\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, MAP AND PLAN.\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n  Father Ohrwalder, Sisters Venturini and Chincarini, and their\n  servant Adila (_Frontispiece_).\n\n  Zubeir Pasha                                                         8\n\n  A native woman of Dongola                                           65\n\n  Hicks Pasha                                                         74\n\n  Colonel Arthur Farquhar (Chief of Staff)                            80\n\n  A Baggara emir, present at the annihilation of the Hicks\n  Expedition, and afterwards captured at Toski                        89\n\n  Father Ohrwalder's interview with the Mahdi at Rahad,\n  concerning religion                                                107\n\n  The gold medal struck by Gordon to commemorate the siege\n  of Khartum                                                         122\n\n  A Dervish emir present in the attack on Khartum, and\n  afterwards captured at Toski                                       136\n\n  An Egyptian Harem woman                                            156\n\n  \"Many a time did I turn round to look back, until\n  Bonomi disappeared from view in the wood\"                          181\n\n  A slave woman from Equatoria                                       209\n\n  Abyssinian dancing girls                                           243\n\n  An Arab sheikh of Upper Egypt                                      255\n\n  Bishir Bey, sheikh of the Ababdeh Arabs                            259\n\n  Wad en Nejumi (from a photograph of a drawing made by\n  an Egyptian officer of the great Emir, as he lay dead\n  on the field of Toski)                                             264\n\n  A native woman of Makaraka, the wife of one of Emin\n  Pasha's officers, who reached Egypt from Uganda in\n  June 1892                                                          270\n\n  A trophy of arms, banners, and drums, captured from\n  the Dervishes                                                      305\n\n  Charles Neufeld                                                    354\n\n  A slave girl from Equatoria                                        382\n\n  A Baggara woman                                                    398\n\n  The Arab guides who effected the escape of Father\n  Ohrwalder and the Sisters                                          409\n\n  \"We had scarcely gone twenty paces from the river,\n  when suddenly we heard the sound of a camel\"                       435\n\n\n  Plan of Omdurman.\n\n  Map of the Nile Basin, showing route taken by Father Ohrwalder.\n\n\n\n\n  TEN YEARS'\n  CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI'S CAMP.\n\n  1882-1892.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\nFATHER OHRWALDER's JOURNEY TO THE SUDAN.\n\n     Description of Kordofan and Dar Nuba--The Mission Station at Delen.\n\n\nI left Cairo on the 28th of December, 1880, as full of bright hopes for\na happy future as any young man could wish to be. I had no thought of\nthe miserable fate which was so soon to overtake me.\n\nOur party consisted of Bishop Comboni, two missionaries, Johann Dichtl\nand Franz Pimezzoni (these three have long since passed into eternity),\nand several sisters. We embarked at Suez, and spent the first day of\n1881 on the Red Sea. On the 4th of January we landed at Sawakin. At that\ntime the governor of the town was Ala ed Din Pasha, who subsequently\naccompanied General Hicks as Governor-General of the Sudan, and was\neventually killed with him. After a journey of twenty-eight days and\ntravelling _vi\u00e2_ Berber, we reached Khartum; here the pleasant gardens\nand shady groves of date-palms impressed us most favourably. Standing on\nthe high river bank, just in front of the Mission gardens, were the\nvarious members of the Mission, headed by Father Alois Bonomi, also the\nAustrian Consul Hansal and the Italian Consul Legnani, who gave us a\nhearty welcome. The whole city was _en f\u00eate_, to celebrate the return of\nthe Governor-General Rauf Pasha from Gedaref. After landing, we walked\nthrough the lovely garden towards the Mission buildings, and here, in\nthe principal parlour, were collected Rauf Pasha, Giegler Pasha, Gessi\nPasha, who had just returned quite worn out from his campaigns in the\nBahr el Ghazal; the courageous Slatin, fresh from Darfur; Marcopoli Bey,\nDoctor Zurbuchen, Marquet, the African traveller Jean Maria Schuver, and\nmany others who had come to welcome Bishop Comboni on his arrival.\n\nOn the 15th of March we celebrated the fiftieth birthday of Bishop\nComboni with general rejoicings: in the evening the European colony\ndined at the Mission, and then followed a _soir\u00e9e_. Little did we think\nof the terrible fate that was in store for the majority of those\ngathered together on that happy evening!\n\nIn the meantime Slatin Bey had been appointed Governor-General of\nDarfur, and he considered it his duty to proceed as soon as possible to\ntake up his new post. Our bishop accepted Slatin's proffered invitation\nto travel together as far as El Obeid, and on the 29th of March we\nembarked on a steamer placed at our disposal by Rauf Pasha and proceeded\nto Tur el Hadra. We were accompanied thus far by Marcopoli Bey, Dr.\nZurbuchen and Marquet, and here, mounting on camels, we made a rapid\nmarch across the Kordofan deserts, arriving at El Obeid on the 5th of\nApril. No sooner had we dismounted, than two telegrams were handed to\nus: one announced the sudden death, on his return to Khartum, of Dr.\nZurbuchen, and the other described the death of the Czar Alexander of\nRussia at the hands of the Nihilists.\n\nWe remained at El Obeid while Slatin was making arrangements for his\njourney to Darfur. Bishop Comboni then made a tour through Jebel Nuba,\nreturned to El Obeid and subsequently to Khartum, where he died on the\n10th of October. God, in His mercy, took him away so that he should not\nbehold the terrible events in the Sudan which followed soon after his\ndeath.\n\nI left El Obeid on the 28th of November, 1881, and reached Delen in Dar\nNuba on the 5th of December. I was most favourably impressed with the\nNuba country. Whilst Kordofan is merely an extensive plain with little\nchange of scenery, Dar Nuba presents an entirely different aspect. Here\nchains of picturesque hills, running in various directions, rise out of\nthe plain, interspersed with numerous watercourses. Jebel Delen, on\nwhich our Mission station was situated, is one of the smallest of the\nhills. The other principal groups are Na\u00efma, Kurun, Dobab, Dair, Kedaro,\nTagalla, Gedir, and Tira, in which gold is found, besides a number of\nsmaller hills. It is estimated that in all there are upwards of one\nhundred inhabited mountains.\n\nThe intervening plains and valleys are rich in vegetation of every\ndescription; trees of colossal dimensions are found, more especially in\nthe khors (the beds of perennial streams), and the thick luxuriant\ngrowth is so dense that the rays of the sun cannot penetrate. The soil\nis exceptionally fertile and rain abundant, consequently for six months\nin the year the density of the undergrowth makes it almost impossible to\ntraverse these rich valleys; but when the rains are over and the grass\nbecomes dry, it is generally fired, and thus the plains and valleys\nbecome passable again. A quantity of the rain from these hills flows\ninto Lake Birket, some passes also into the Khor Abu Habl, which becomes\nlost in the sand before it reaches the White Nile. The rain from the\nsouthern Nuba hills finds its way into the Bahr el Arab. The plains\nabound with quantities of deer, giraffe, antelope, and wild boar, whilst\nthe woods contain myriads of birds of lovely plumage, and apes and\nmonkeys of every description. During the winter season, elephants were\nfrequently to be seen in the neighbourhood of Delen, which also abounds\nwith snakes, amongst which the boa-constrictor is not uncommon.\n\nThe population of Dar Nuba, which at one time was considerable, does not\nnow exceed 50,000; the scattered sub-tribes of Baggara, who roam the\nplains with the Bederieh and Ghodiat Arabs, have decimated the Nubas,\nand forced those that are left to fly to their mountain recesses, where\nthey eke out a wretched existence, their protection being the\ninaccessible nature of their retreats.\n\nI found the Nubas a pleasant and well-disposed people; indeed, they have\nthe reputation in the Sudan of being the best of all the negroid races;\nthey cultivate only sufficient quantities of corn, sesame, and beans to\nserve for their livelihood; whilst the wild fruits and vegetables of\ntheir country are so plentiful as to furnish almost sufficient food for\ntheir maintenance should they be unable to cultivate. They possess\nnumbers of goats and cattle which supply them with milk and butter; they\nare much addicted to drinking marissa (a kind of beer made from dhurra),\nand great quantities of this beverage are consumed at their feasts,\nprincipally at the feast known as Zubeir. On this occasion men and women\ndrink and dance together; but notwithstanding this unusual familiarity,\nI never saw anything which might be considered an outrage to society.\nWith the exception of the Khojur, of whom I shall presently speak, and\nthe head sheikh, monogamy is practised.\n\nThe Nubas are governed entirely by their own traditional laws and\ncustoms, the Khojur only intervening in case of necessity. The Khojur is\nin reality a sort of religious chief, whose power over the people\ndepends entirely on his skilfulness and sagacity. During the time I was\nin this neighbourhood the Khojur was a certain Kakum, known as \"Kakum of\nDelen.\"\n\nOnly a short time had elapsed since the Egyptian Government had made a\nsettlement at Delen. A company of Sudanese soldiers, under the command\nof a captain who was appointed for the suppression of the slave-trade,\nhad been recently quartered there, and they were also charged with the\nprotection of our Mission station.\n\nI was very happy in Delen, where I found a variety of pursuits to occupy\nmy time. I amused myself in collecting insects, of which I soon had a\nlarge selection. I also skinned birds and snakes. The various modes of\nNuba life and cultivation were, moreover, an immense interest to me, and\nthe presentation of a few glass beads enabled me to secure many strange\nobjects in return. The natives used to roar with laughter when they saw\nme examining with interest the curious insects they brought me.\n\nWe had quite a colony of blacks in the Mission, and as the number\nincreased, it became necessary to enlarge the accommodation, so we began\nto make and burn bricks; we obtained lime from the Saburi mountain (I\nmay here say the Nubas gave us this information) and the doleb-palm\nsupplied us with plenty of wood. Assisted by Father Bonomi, our\ncarpenter Gabriel Mariani built a four-wheeled cart, which we drove with\ntwo strong mules. We worked along cheerfully and full of hope. We turned\nout some 2,000 good bricks. Our blacks were quite contented; far removed\nfrom the corruption and temptation of the towns, they kept steadily to\ntheir work, and tilled their own little patches of ground; everything\nwas going well, and we anticipated great results. But suddenly our\ntranquillity was disturbed. Early in April 1882, there were perceptible\nat Delen the first murmurings of the terrible storm which was to deluge\nthe entire Sudan with blood, and to bring misfortune and calamity on the\nland and on our happy Mission; but these events I will describe in the\nfollowing pages.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE MAHDI AND HIS RISE TO POWER.\n\n     The rise of the Mahdi--Early successes--Personal appearance--His\n     Khalifas described--Military organization--Makes new laws--He\n     summons El Obeid to surrender.\n\n\nA few years previous to the time of which I speak, an individual who\ncalled himself a Dervish had attracted people's attention. He wandered\nthrough the Sudan in the garb of a Dervish, and strove to rouse the\nMoslems to religious fanaticism. He urged that reality no longer existed\nin the religion; faith was becoming of no account, and this religious\ndecadence was due to a luxurious mode of life and contact with\nChristians. A number of influential sheikhs and merchants took up his\ncause, and these he made to swear to remain faithful and true to him. At\nthis time at El Obeid there was a certain Said el Mek, who had the\nreputation of being a holy man, and the Dervish did all in his power to\ninduce him to espouse his cause. Said el Mek urged that religion had not\nfallen into such disrepute, and that all would be well if more mosques\nwere built; but the Dervish, with threats that if he refused to join him\nhe would compass his destruction, extracted from him a promise to keep\nhis plans secret. He then prepared the way by continuing his wanderings,\npreaching everywhere against the oppression of the Turk and the\ndecadence of the true Moslem faith. Under the very nose of the\nGovernment he collected a small body of faithful adherents, set off with\nthem for the island of Abba on the White Nile, and there openly declared\nhimself. Rumours that he intended to raise the people to revolt reached\nKhartum. At this time Rauf Pasha was Governor-General; he sent a noted\nKhartum townsman named Abu Saud to Abba, with instructions to invite the\nDervish to come and see the Governor-General. Abu Saud nearly succeeded\nin his mission, and had it not been for the advice of one of his\nadherents, Ahmed Sharfi, it is probable that the Dervish would have\naccepted the invitation. Rauf Pasha, on learning of his refusal to obey\nthe summons, despatched two companies of troops to Abba Island at the\nend of July 1881, with instructions to bring the Dervish forcibly to\nKhartum. The two captains of the companies had a difference of opinion,\nand, landing the troops in a most careless manner, they were drawn on by\nthe adherents of the Dervish into a marshy swamp, where they were fallen\nupon and a number of them killed with simple sticks. Ahmed Sharfi\nhimself told me this. Only a very few succeeded in escaping and\nreturning to the steamer, in which they made their way back to Khartum.\n\nThis episode caused great excitement. I was at El Obeid when it\nhappened, and Giegler Pasha, who was also there at the time, told me\nabout it. Giegler despatched Mohammed Said Pasha to the White Nile with\norders to prevent the Dervish from escaping south; but Said Pasha soon\nafterwards returned, having done nothing; probably he did not dare to\nattack the rebels. In the meantime the Dervish quitted Abba, and\nsucceeded in reaching Tagalla in safety; thence he proceeded to Jebel\nGedir, and located himself at the foot of that mountain. The natives of\nthis district are called Kawakla, and dwell on the top of the mountain;\nthey are possessors of a very celebrated and holy stone, on which there\nis a tradition the prophet Mohammed sat and prayed. Here the Dervish\nMohammed Ahmed now took up his abode, and waited to see what action the\nGovernment intended to take.\n\nAt Delen the news of this Dervish was very meagre, though there was much\ntalk of his wonderful miracles, the most important of which was said to\nbe his power to change the bullets of the Government troops into water.\nHis repute as a worker of miracles grew rapidly, and was the cause of\nlargely increasing the number of his adherents. The malcontents, runaway\nslaves, criminals evading justice, and religious fanatics, hurried to\nGedir; but perhaps the bulk of his adherents were men who lived by theft\nand robbery, and who were the main supporters of the movement. To all,\nthe Dervish gave promises of enormous shares of loot and everlasting\nhappiness in the world to come. But it was to the slave-dealers that\nMohammed appeared in the light of a saviour, and it was to them that he\nowed his subsequent success.\n\n[Illustration: ZUBEIR PASHA.]\n\nFrom the time that Gessi Pasha put an end to the slave-trade in the Bahr\nel Ghazal by conquering Suleiman, the son of Zubeir Pasha, and\ndispersing his forces--as Gessi had often related to me--numbers of\nthese runaway slave-dealers (as they afterwards assured me) owed their\nruin to him. These men were all warriors, accustomed to every\ndescription of hardship, well trained in the use of firearms, and from\ntheir constant slave-fights well accustomed to war; they flocked in\nnumbers to the Dervish, and he gave them elaborate promises of\nquantities of booty and a complete resumption of the slave-trade.\nMohammed Ahmed had the power of inspiring these men with an\nextraordinary amount of fanatical ardour, so much so, indeed, as we\nshall presently see, that they would not hesitate to rush into certain\ndeath at one word from him. He would compare these men with the\nGovernment troops, and prove how far inferior were these latter; and, on\nthe other hand, the Government troops made the fatal mistake of\nunderrating their enemies, and conducting their operations with a\ncomplete disregard for the wary foes with whom they had to deal. What\nmore obvious example of this blind self-confidence can there be than in\nthe miserable defeat of Rashid Bey, Mudir of Fashoda, who, without any\ninstructions, advanced against the Dervishes, and was cut to pieces on\nthe 9th of December, 1881?\n\nRashid Bey--so an eye-witness told me--was drawn into the middle of a\nforest, and there he and his men were massacred, before they could even\nalight from their camels, so completely taken by surprise were they.\nThus the Dervishes gained an important and decisive victory, with,\ncomparatively speaking, no loss at all. The German Berghof, inspector\nfor the suppression of slavery at Fashoda, also fell in this fight. What\nwonder is it that such successes as these strengthened the belief of the\npeople that the Mahdi could turn Egyptian bullets into water! This\nvictory gave enormous impetus to the cause; not only was a quantity of\narms, ammunition, and stores captured, but Mohammed Ahmed's moral\ninfluence was greatly increased. He was now believed in as the true\nMahdi; men flocked to his standard from all parts, and were ready and\nwilling to lay down their lives in his cause.\n\nMohammed Ahmed Wad el Bedri, one of the Mahdi's favourite and early\nadherents, told me that it was the latter's intention to proceed to Dar\nFertit, and there organise an extensive revolt against the Government;\nbut Elias Pasha, a Jaali, and former Mudir of El Obeid, urged him\nagainst this. Elias Pasha was a bitter enemy of Mohammed Said Pasha, and\nof Ahmed Bey Dafallah, one of the principal merchants of El Obeid, and\nhe took this opportunity to wreak his vengeance on them. He fully\nconvinced the Mahdi of the inability of the garrison of El Obeid to\noffer any prolonged resistance, as the troops were few in number, and he\ncould count on all the inhabitants joining him. It was this advice that\ncaused the Mahdi to turn his attention to Kordofan.\n\nDuring all this time the number of the Mahdi's followers was continually\nincreasing, and the Government at length decided to send an expedition\nagainst him. On the 15th of March, 1882, Yussef Pasha Esh Shellali,\nformerly Gessi's second in command in his campaign against Suleiman\nZubeir, left Khartum for the south, in command of some 4,000 men, a\nlarge number of whom deserted on the march. About the middle of May,\nhowever, he left Fashoda, and advanced towards Gedir. At the same time\nanother expedition under Abdullah, brother of Ahmed Bey Dafallah and\nOsman, started from El Obeid. This force was composed entirely of\nvolunteers, whom it had taken almost a month to collect, the noggara\nbeating night and day as a summons to arms. They were badly armed, and\nin spite of Abdullah's well-known bravery, the expedition left with\nlittle hope of success. Besides, an event happened which filled the men\nwith gloomy forebodings. Just as the troops were starting, Abdullah fell\nfrom his horse, and, according to Sudan superstition, such an untoward\nevent is always a sign that the expedition will meet with misfortunes.\nAbdullah effected a junction with Yussef Pasha, and the combined force\nreached Gedir, where they entrenched themselves in a zariba near the\nbase of the mountain. A body of rebels, noiselessly approaching by\nnight, succeeded unobserved in dragging away some of the thorns forming\nthe zariba, and in the early morning the Dervishes, with fearful yells,\nbroke in and threw themselves on the troops, who, scared by the\nsuddenness of the attack, offered little resistance; they were soon\novercome, and fell a prey to the deadly dervish spears. Abdullah alone\nmade a gallant stand, and fought with desperate bravery, but he too fell\nat last. A few only succeeded in escaping to Fashoda, and Emin Bey, who\nwas there at the time, on his way to the Equatorial Province, was the\nfirst to receive the sad news. The account of this massacre, which took\nplace on the 7th of June, 1882, was described to us by an eye-witness.\n\nAnd now the Mahdi determined to lay siege to El Obeid, a step which was\nhailed with satisfaction by all his followers. Large numbers of Dar\nHamd, Ghodiat, and Bederieh Arabs collected at Birket, which in\nwinter-time becomes a large lake, round which are clustered numerous\nvillages.\n\nIn July 1882, Mohammed Said Pasha sent Major Nesim and Osman, the\nbrother of Abdullah who was killed at Gedir, with a force of 1,500 men,\nwith orders to disperse the Arabs. After a stubborn resistance the Arabs\nwere defeated by Nesim, but the latter suffered heavily, and Osman was\namongst the killed. Nesim afterwards returned to El Obeid.\n\nMeanwhile the various military stations in Kordofan were falling one by\none into the Mahdi's hands. In July Fiki Rahma, at the head of the\nGowameh Arabs, assaulted and took Ashaf and razed it to the ground. Here\nterrible atrocities were committed; not a woman was spared; even those\nwith child were ripped open and the unborn infant impaled on a lance. On\nthe 8th of August Shat was captured and destroyed by Wad Makashif. Fiki\nMinneh stormed and took Tayara, putting all the inhabitants to the\nsword. Bara and El Obeid were now the only towns left in the whole\nprovince of Kordofan over which the Egyptian flag was still flying; and\nthese two places were gradually being invested, while within lurked the\nspirit of treachery, and the Mahdi propaganda was being secretly\ninstilled into not unwilling minds. At El Obeid, Elias Pasha was the\nmost active agent, and it was to him that the Mahdi had consigned the\nmedals, watches, and other valuables captured at Gedir, with orders to\nsell them in El Obeid.\n\nThe Mahdi now became a man whose very name was a terror to the\nEgyptians. The way to El Obeid lay open before him, and when he saw how\nrapidly he had risen to power, there is no doubt he really believed\nhimself to be the true Mahdi, divinely sent by God to carry out this\ngreat revolution, and the fulsome flattery of his numerous adherents\nmust have confirmed him in this idea. Here a few remarks on the Mahdi's\nantecedents may not be out of place.\n\nMohammed Ahmed belonged to the race of people known as the\nDanagla--_i.e._ inhabitants of Dongola--who are notorious in the Sudan\nas being the cleverest and most determined of the slave-dealers. On the\nWhite Nile and in the Bahr el Ghazal they had built numerous zaribas,\nand it was through their means that this country became first known. In\nDarfur they always occupied the position of chief ministers or vazirs to\nthe Sultans; even to the present day the prime minister of the Sultan of\nBorgo is a Dongolawi. In spite, however, of their capacity, the Danagla\nwere rather despised throughout the Sudan, and it was only subsequently\nthat they were created Ashraf (or noble) by the Mahdi. Mohammed Ahmed's\nage was estimated at his death to have been about forty-five, he must\ntherefore have been born about the year 1840. It appears that his father\ncame into the Sudan when quite a young man, and sent his son to the\nMesit or Kuran school at Kererri, and, from what I have heard, there is\nno doubt that the young Mohammed Ahmed showed signs of a violently\nfanatical nature at quite an early age. After the fall of El Obeid, his\nformer teacher came to see him, and was received with great solemnity by\nhis early pupil, who at once arranged that he should receive a monthly\nsalary.\n\nMohammed Ahmed's early youth was spent in learning the Kuran; later on\nhe led the life of a Dervish, moving about from place to place,\ndistributing amulets, and writing on little slips of paper mysterious\nwords, which were supposed to protect the wearer against all the ills\nand diseases to which human beings are liable. Through constant study,\nand by leading the life of an ascetic, he acquired a facility of speech\nwhich obtained for him a great reputation amongst the uneducated and\nsuperstitious classes in which he moved. Before he openly declared\nhimself, he retired for some time to a cave, where he gave himself up\nentirely to prayer. His repute for sanctity was so great that sailing\nvessels and even Government steamers stopped to ask his blessing on\ntheir journey; in return for which he received many valuable gifts. As I\nhave already said, it was not till after he had prepared the ground by\nhis itinerant preaching that he openly declared himself.\n\nHis outward appearance was strangely fascinating; he was a man of strong\nconstitution, very dark complexion, and his face always wore a pleasant\nsmile, to which he had by long practice accustomed himself. Under this\nsmile gleamed a set of singularly white teeth, and between the two upper\nmiddle ones was a V-shaped space, which in the Sudan is considered a\nsign that the owner will be lucky. His mode of conversation too had by\ntraining become exceptionally pleasant and sweet. As a messenger of God,\nhe pretended to be in direct communication with the Deity. All orders\nwhich he gave were supposed to have come to him by inspiration, and it\nbecame therefore a sin to refuse to obey them; disobedience to the\nMahdi's orders was tantamount to resistance to the will of God, and was\ntherefore punishable by death.\n\nHe called himself Mahdi Khalifat er Rasul (_i.e._ the successor of the\nProphet), while his adherents called him \"Sayid\" (_i.e._ Master);\nSayidna el Mahdi (_i.e._ our Master the Mahdi), or Sayidna el Imam\n(_i.e._ our Master the head, or one who goes in front). The Mahdi in his\nevery action endeavoured to imitate and follow in the exact footsteps of\nthe Prophet.\n\nThus he made his hejira or flight to Gedir, and there appointed his four\nKhalifas. The first of these was the Khalifa Abdullah, who assumed the\ntitle of Khalifa Abu Bakr, or Khalifa Es Sadik; he belonged to the\nTaisha section of the Baggara tribe, and it was through his influence\nthat the Taisha, Rizighat and Homr Baggaras were won over to the Mahdi's\ncause. It was agreed that Khalifa Abdullah should, in the event of the\nMahdi's death, succeed.\n\nThe second Khalifa was Ali Wad Helu, the chief of the powerful Degheim\nand Kenana tribes, who also largely contributed to the Mahdi's success.\nThe third was Ali Esh Sherif, a Dongolawi, and son-in-law of the Mahdi;\nthe title of Sherif, or noble, was given to him as being a member of the\nMahdi's family; he was the representative of the Gellabas (or traders),\nand of the inhabitants of Gezireh,[B] Berber, and Dongola. Ali Sherif\nwas in reality the last Khalifa, for a fourth was never appointed. The\nMahdi asked the son of Sheikh Senussi, as by his influence he thought to\nwin over Egypt, but he refused the honour, and in consequence no one\nelse was nominated to fill the place, though strenuous efforts were made\nby the more ambitious adherents to secure this much-coveted position;\nand it is needless to add that several who sought the honour were\nrelegated to prison as possible rivals. The Khalifa Abdullah is now\nabout forty-three years of age, has a dark copper-coloured complexion,\nmuch marked by small-pox, an intelligent face, and is a man of great\nenergy. He is gifted by nature with common sense, but he has had no\neducation, and can neither read nor write. The Khalifa Ali is rather\nshort, and if he were only a little taller would pass for a good-looking\nman; he has a ruddy complexion, and wears a large beard; he was\neducated at the El Azhar university in Cairo, and has a considerable\nknowledge of Islam theology. He is at present under forty years of age,\nand should succeed Abdullah. The Khalifa Sherif is not at present more\nthan twenty-one years of age.\n\nThese three Khalifas were the commanders-in-chief of the army, of which\neach section had its own special distinctions, whilst the Mahdi himself\nhad no distinctive military insignia--neither flag nor drum. Each\nKhalifa had his own Jehadieh, or regular troops, his cavalry and\nlance-bearers, all from the tribe to which he himself belongs; each had\nalso his own distinctive flag; Abdullah's the Raya Zerga, or black flag;\nAli's the Raya el Hamra, or red flag; and Sherif's the Raya el Hadra, or\ngreen flag; each Khalifa had in addition his own war-drums made of\nbrass, and which were therefore called \"nahas,\" in contradistinction to\nthe ordinary drums known as \"noggara,\" which are made of wood, over\nwhich a piece of skin is tightly stretched; the Khalifa Abdullah had\nalso the onba\u00efa, a very powerful wind instrument made of an elephant's\ntusk, hollowed out, and which when blown has a very loud and impressive\nsound.\n\nThe whole of the Mahdi's troops were thus divided into three sections\nunder their respective flags, and each Khalifa was in actual command of\nhis section. The Mahdi and Sherif represented the Gellabas, who are\nknown, in contradistinction to the Baggara, as Aulad-Belad (country\npeople), and Aulad-Bahr (river people), because they dwell on the banks\nof the Nile; whilst Khalifa Abdullah and Ali Wad Helu represented the\nBaggara, _i.e._ the Arabs. The former of these two parties was the most\ncapable as well as the most numerous, but, as we shall presently see,\nKhalifa Abdullah's party, through their leader's immense energy, gained\nthe ascendency. Each Khalifa has numbers of emirs under him, all of whom\nhave their different flags. These banners are quite simple and require\nno great labour; they are made of varied colours, and on each the Moslem\ncreed is written, with the addition of the words: \"Mohammed Ahmed el\nMahdi Khalifat er Rasul\" (_i.e._ \"the successor of the Prophet\"). This\nis specially directed against the Sultan of Turkey, who claims this\ntitle. Latterly flags were made to represent certain stated numbers of\nmen; for instance, in the early days of the revolt, Abderrahman en\nNejumi was designated Emir el Umara (or Emir of Emirs), because in the\nfirst instance he commanded from 2,000 to 4,000 men, and secondly, these\nmen received a regular rate of pay, which in reality found its way into\nthe emirs' pockets; but latterly many of the emirs command only fifty\nmen. Each emir is assisted by several mukuddums, or under officers, and\neach mukuddum also has his assistant.\n\nThus did the Mahdi organise the force which was to conquer the Sudan. He\nhad absolutely no knowledge or system of drill, but he had men in\nabundance; and taking the proverb, \"Nekhrib ed Dunia wa nammir el Akher\"\n(_i.e._ \"We shall destroy this and create the next world\") as his motto,\nhe thought not of sparing the lives of his men, but rather urged that by\ndying they should go direct to paradise. His plan, therefore, was to\nattack in overwhelming numbers with wild shouts, and to be regardless of\nall loss. Later on, at Abu Kru in the Bayuda desert, they yelled so\nfuriously in the hope that they would alarm the English, that their\ncommander, Nur Angara, tried to make them desist, by telling them that\nif they continued shouting much longer, the English would laugh at them.\nIn spite, however, of his bold tactics, the Mahdi did not hesitate to\npractise every possible deception and falsehood--indeed, most of his\nearly successes were secured by these means. At the commencement of the\nrevolt the use of firearms was forbidden; sticks and lances formed the\nonly arms, as it was the Mahdi's intention in this instance also to\nfollow directly in the footsteps of the Prophet who had gained all his\nvictories without firearms.\n\nThe Mahdi, however, whilst thus preparing for war, did not relax in any\ndegree his religious fervour. His primary object was to be a religious\nreformer, and to preach that to him was confided the task of bringing\nback the religion now polluted by the Turks, to its original purity. He\ntherefore formulated many severe orders. The use of alcoholic drinks, to\nwhich the Sudanese are much addicted, was entirely forbidden, and any\ninfringement of this order was punished by sixty blows with the kurbash.\nSmoking and chewing tobacco, a custom much in vogue amongst the\nSudanese, was also strictly forbidden; and the use of hashish, to which\nthe Turks and Egyptians were addicted, was entirely prohibited;\ndisobedience to this order was punishable by eighty lashes. Death often\nensued before the punishment could be completed, but the full number of\nlashes was always given. If any one lived through his punishment he was\nconsidered purified both externally and internally. Any harmless word of\nabuse, such as \"kelb\" (dog), was punishable with twenty-seven lashes.\nThis punishment went by the name of \"Hakk-Allah\"[C] (the right of God),\nand was also inflicted in the time of the Prophet, who, to make it a\nreally mild punishment, ordained that the upper part of the arms and\nshoulders should be covered with camel's hide, and the punishment\ninflicted on the lower arm only, the indication that it had been\ncorrectly administered being shown by the fact that the camel's hide had\nnot moved from its place. The Mahdiists, however, took quite another\nview of the matter, and thought that the only correct way of\nadministering \"God's right\" was to draw blood copiously.\n\nThe Mahdi also issued many new orders regarding marriages. Hitherto in\nthe Sudan and in the East generally, the marriage ceremony is\naccompanied by large feasts. It was the custom of the father on the\nbetrothal of his daughter to obtain in exchange as large a sum of money\nas possible; that is the reason why fathers greatly preferred their\nchildren to be girls, for they made quite a small fortune on their\nmarriages. But the Mahdi changed all this, and ordered that the\nbridegroom should expend a sum of ten dollars only, besides providing a\nkorbab (girth) coverlet, perfumes and ointment for the bride's hair,\nalso another sort of ointment which the Sudanese greatly appreciate, and\nwhich is generally used for anointing the bridegroom's body; also he\nmust supply a pair of shoes. The ceremonies of betrothal and marriage\nare very simple. When the contract is completed and the above articles\ndelivered by the bridegroom, his friends and relations assemble,\ngenerally on a Friday or Monday (these days being considered lucky);\nafter a good meal the fiki asks the bride or some one appointed to\nrepresent her, whether she consents to the marriage, after which the\nbridegroom repeats the usual saying, in which he mentions the Mahdi's\nname, the ceremony is thus concluded, and is announced to the neighbours\nby the women of the party uttering at intervals the shrill cries of joy\ncalled \"Zagharit.\" Young women are forbidden by the Mahdi to walk about\nwith uncovered faces; an unveiled woman is considered to be naked; but\nif she wear a veil and the rest of her body be unclothed, it is not an\noffence. The wearing of gold and silver ornaments, and of goat's hair\ncurled and plastered with gum (a custom which some of the Sudanese women\naffect), was strictly forbidden, and woe to the woman who thus adorned\nherself; not only was her false hair forcibly torn from her, but her\nreal hair as well.\n\nAll these innovations the Mahdi justified by the divinity of his\nmission. He announced that he was the last of the prophets, and that the\nend of the world was near; further, he said that during his lifetime the\nprophet Jesus would appear, and that the whole world would become\nMoslem; he therefore urged the people to repentance and prayer, and do\nall in their power to further the Jehad (or holy war). Why should they\nseek after riches when in a very short time the world would cease to\nexist? It is easy to see how such teaching as this must eventually\nresult in famine and destruction. The Mahdi forbade all weeping and\nwailing for the dead, on the grounds that to die in such times as the\npresent for the Mahdi's cause was an honour and reward which would\nwithout fail secure paradise to them. As for those who did not have the\ngood fortune to die, the Mahdi urged them to show their contempt for the\npleasures of this life by continual fasting, prayer, and repentance. If\na man were suffering from hunger, he recommended him to tighten his\nbelt, whilst his more fanatical adherents advised placing a heavy stone\non the stomach. He further ordained that the poorest of clothes should\nbe worn, the feet bared or in sandals, and, in imitation of the\nProphet's example, the hard floor should be chosen as the place on which\nto sleep. He made curious regulations regarding the manufacture of\njibbehs (_i.e._ the Mahdi uniform coat); they should be made of damur, a\nrough cotton fabric of the Sudan, and if torn, they should be mended\nwith new patches or old rags, but that on no account should a new jibbeh\never be worn.\n\nAll these innovations, which were based on religious motives, were\nintended by him to enforce unity and cohesion amongst his followers, and\nat the same time they had the effect of hardening them to undergo the\nperils of war without complaint; for the Mahdi thoroughly understood as\nlong as men were rich they would fear death, and that a luxurious and\ncomfortable mode of life was the worst possible training for war. The\nMahdi always conducted prayers in public, and his followers considered\nit a very great privilege to be permitted to take part in worship with\nhim; consequently, when he prayed, his followers came in their\nthousands, and ranged themselves in long regular lines behind him. When\nprayers were concluded, it was his custom to make religious discourses,\nin which he explained various passages in the sacred books, arguing that\nthey referred to the divine message concerning his mission, and the\ndestruction of the Turks and unbelievers. The people whom he addressed\nwere so ignorant and uneducated that they believed implicitly every word\nhe uttered; these were the guileless, simple folk, and they were\nentirely deceived by the Mahdi; but there were others who well knew that\nevery word he uttered was a falsehood; nevertheless they listened, and,\nto flatter him, showed an apparent interest in his new doctrine.\n\nThus the Mahdi, having prepared himself, as we have seen, and having\nalready been three times victorious over the Egyptian troops, now\nquitted his place of refuge, Gedir, and set off for Kordofan, which he\nintended to reduce to entire submission. In order to cover his retreat\nin case of failure, he left his uncle, Sherif Mahmud, with some troops\nat Gedir, where he also left the guns, as transport at that time of the\nyear was very difficult, owing to the rain having flooded the khors and\nvalleys; he also left behind the arms captured from the Turks. Hitherto\nhe had not collected any large amount of treasure, and had suffered\nconsiderable privations at Gedir.\n\nWhen the Mahdi announced his departure from Gedir, he wrote letters to\nthe tribes, and soon they flocked to his standards in great numbers and\nfrom all directions; Baggara from the plains of Dar Nuba, Miserieh, Dar\nAbu Dali, and Hawazma Arabs. These hordes assembled, according to the\nMahdi's orders, at Birket, and to this place also came the Bederieh,\nGhodiat, and Dar Homr Arabs, whilst on the further side of El Obeid,\ncruel fiki Minneh was gathering the Gowameh, Asaker Abu Kalam and Dar\nGiumeh Arabs, with whom he intended to assault El Obeid from the north,\nsimultaneously with the Mahdi's attack from the south. The rumours of\nthe enormous quantities of treasure stored in El Obeid misled the Arab\nhordes, and there is no doubt that the town would not have fallen had\nthe inhabitants remained loyal to the Government. Mohammed Said Pasha\nhad dug a ditch and raised a high parapet round the whole city; but this\nline of defence was so extensive, that it would have required at least\n20,000 men to hold it; besides, the ditch was neither sufficiently deep\nnor broad, and did not present a very serious obstacle to cross.\n\nFrom Birket the Mahdi despatched three messengers to Said Pasha, calling\non him to surrender, and to acknowledge him as Mahdi; in case he refused\nhe was threatened with instant destruction. The three messengers,\nclothed in their soiled and tattered jibbehs, were brought before a\nmeeting of all the principal people in El Obeid; but in spite of their\ndirty appearance, they behaved in such an overbearing and insolent way,\nthat Said Pasha, regardless of the advice and counsel of a number of\nthose present who were in reality in league with the Mahdi, at once\nordered Skander Bey to hang them. The order was carried out, and in a\nfew moments their lifeless bodies were dangling on the gallows.\n\nIf Said Pasha had taken strong measures in dealing with some of the\nprincipal townsmen, he might have saved El Obeid. A certain Ahmed\nDafallah, a loyal supporter of the Government, urged him to put all the\nsuspected people including himself in chains in the Mudirieh; this would\nhave disposed of Elias Pasha, Mohammed Wad el Areik, Hajji Khaled, Ben\nen Naga, and Siwar ed Dahab; and their chiefs once away, it is probable\ntheir followers would have returned to their former loyalty; but Said\nPasha refused to accept the proposal, and instead of trying to win over\nhis sworn enemy, Elias Pasha, he alienated him still further by taking\npossession of his newly-built house near the Mudirieh and handing it\nover to Elias's bitterest enemy, Ahmed Dafallah, to live in, thus\nentirely disregarding Elias Pasha. Now was Elias Pasha's opportunity to\nrevenge himself on his two adversaries, the garrison of El Obeid was\nunusually weak, insignificant reinforcements had been sent from Khartum\nunder Mohammed Pasha Khabir, but he also, being an enemy of the Mudir,\njoined the Mahdi, as I shall narrate in the following chapter.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[B] The Gezireh or Geziret Mer\u00f6e is generally applied to the\ncountry lying between the Blue and White Niles.\n\n[C] In law, the retributive chastisement which it is the duty\nof a magistrate to inflict for crime and offences against morality and\nreligion.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nFATHER OHRWALDER AND HIS COMPANIONS TAKEN CAPTIVE.\n\n     The storm rises in Dar Nuba--The Baggara begin to raid--Khojur\n     Kakum of Delen--Mek Omar besieges Delen--The slave guard deserts\n     the Mission--The priests and nuns surrender--They are sent to the\n     Mahdi.\n\n\nLeaving the Mahdi at Birket, I shall now return to the narration of the\nevents which befell us in Jebel Nuba.\n\nAs I have already said, the first indication of a revolt occurred in our\npart of the country in April 1882. When the Mahdi had established\nhimself at Gedir, the slave-hunters, whose occupation had been destroyed\nby the action of the Government, and who were therefore greatly\nincensed, were among the first to join his banners. At that time the\nmost notorious slave-dealer was a certain Ismail Wad el Andok of Haboba,\nwho took the opportunity, when the Government was collecting troops to\nattack the Mahdi, to assemble about 1,600 men and make a slave raid on\nGolfan-Na\u00efma. He had already burnt over a hundred houses and captured\nthe inhabitants, when some of the poor Nubas who had escaped, arrived by\nnight at Delen and urgently begged the inspector of slaves, Roversi, for\nhelp. This, Roversi gladly promised he would give them, but it required\nall his powers of persuasion to induce Captain Mohammed Suleiman to\nconsent; and, indeed, there was no small risk in advancing with only\neighty men--which was all Roversi could raise--to attack this powerful\nband of robbers. However, we put our trust in God, and asked His\nblessing on our humane undertaking. Roversi left that evening, guided by\nthe terror-stricken Nubas. Golfan-Na\u00efma is about ten hours' journey\nfrom Delen, and Roversi, by making a forced march during the night,\narrived there at daybreak, and was taken by the Nubas to a high hill,\nfrom which he could see the enemy's entire camp without being seen, and,\nindeed, so close was he that he could hear the horses neighing and the\nsheep bleating. After the men had taken a short rest, they prepared for\nthe assault. Soon after daybreak, Roversi gave the signal for attack by\na trumpet call; the enemy, taken completely by surprise, thought only of\nflight, but the bullets coming from every direction, gave them no time\nto think or look from whence they came or how many were opposed to them;\nthey fled as rapidly as they could, leaving behind them all the people\nand cattle they had captured, as well as a number of their own women.\nRoversi's men were soon masters of the situation, and were welcomed by\nthe relieved Nubas with every expression of joy and delight; the other\nNubas, who had fled to the hills, now came down and cut off the retreat\nof the Arabs. Roversi captured a large quantity of loot, received the\nwarmest thanks from the captives he had rescued, and soon after he\nreleased a number of the women whom he had taken prisoners. The large\nnumber of cattle and sheep captured from the Arabs in this expedition\nproved invaluable during the investment of Delen, which followed shortly\nafterwards. The little force now returned laden with booty of every\ndescription, and was received by the inhabitants with every\nmanifestation of joy. This, however, was our last victory.\n\nI must now give a short description of Delen before I proceed to narrate\nthe events which occurred there later on. Delen, situated five days'\njourney to the south of El Obeid, is on one of the smallest of the\nmountain ranges. Jebel Delen itself consists of five hill summits,\ndecreasing in height from south to north, the highest point being\nscarcely 1,500 feet above the plain. These five hills form a most\npicturesque group; enormous granite blocks lie piled one over the\nother, and the spacious cavities thus formed serve as haunts for\npanthers and other beasts of prey. The rain, which comes down in\ntorrents, has washed all the soil away, leaving only the barren rocks\nstanding in these huge piles; far in the clefts, a sort of wild fig has\ntaken slender root, and, gradually shooting up, gives a pleasant shade,\nand takes off from the barren aspect which these hills would otherwise\npresent. Of the five hills only two are inhabited, and in all there\ncannot be more than 2,000 inhabitants, who are remarkable for their tall\nand graceful figures and unusual bravery. At the foot of the\nnorthernmost hill lay our little Mission station, while at the foot of\nthe south-east hill was situated the palisaded zariba of the soldiers;\nto the west and north, and close to the Mission buildings, stretched the\nNuba villages, extending from the base to the summit of the hills.\n\nThe second hill from the north, which is about 600 yards from the first\nhill, was inhabited by the Nubas and their Khojur Kakum. Kakum was at\nthat time a man of about fifty years of age, of commanding appearance,\nand greatly respected by the blacks. He used to wear wide white trousers\nand a gallabieh, and on his head a nicely embroidered cap with a large\ntassel which our sisters had made for him. He had passed his youth in\nAlexandria as a soldier, and acquitted himself admirably as the Khojur,\nnot of Delen only, but also of the neighbouring hills. Numbers of people\nused to come and seek his blessing and advice, and when our Bishop\nComboni arrived at El Obeid, he was there to beg him to send\nmissionaries to teach his people and make men of them. He always\nremained faithful and loyal to the Government, and when our time of\ndifficulty and hardship came, his continual motto was, \"Eed Effendina\ntawileh\" (_i.e._ \"Our Khedive's hand is long\")--that is to say, his\npower is great.\n\nThe third mountain was occupied by a certain Dogman, with a small\nfollowing who were for the most part inclined to Mahdiism. For the\nmoment this man was not dangerous, and the people on the two other\nhills remained loyal to us. When the whole country was up in arms\nagainst the Government, this honesty and devotion on the part of these\npoor Nubas was a bright exception; they would even have fought for us\nhad it been of any use and we had deemed it necessary.\n\nThe enemies we most feared were the Baggara of the Nuba plains, who had\ntheir headquarters at Singiokai, about six hours north of Delen. These\ntribesmen had joined in the revolt from the beginning, and had cut off\nour communication with El Obeid; they had organised themselves into a\ncorps of from 150 to 200 strong, mounted on horses, and they frequently\nmade incursions on the people in the neighbourhood of Delen; they would\nsuddenly appear galloping at full speed, and as suddenly disappear,\ndestroying or seizing everything on their path. Their raids were\nprincipally directed against the Nubas who were working in the fields,\nand on their women who were carrying water from the wells. These\nrobber-dervishes appeared for the first time on the 8th of April, 1882,\nand a cry of alarm was raised from the mountains, which echoed and\nre-echoed it back a hundred times.\n\nEvery one fled to the mountains, even the cattle instinctively made for\ntheir shelters. Some Nubas were attacked and killed in the woods, and\ntwelve of the soldiers, who were out looking after the camels grazing,\nwere all killed, with the exception of one who fell severely wounded in\nthe back; all the camels were captured. When the Baggara had\ndisappeared, the Nubas descended from the hills and came to the scene of\nthe raid. On finding the dead bodies, with weeping and wailing they\ncarried them back to the villages; the women tore their hair, rolled on\nthe ground, and put dust on their heads. The large broad lances had made\ndeep gaping wounds in the unfortunate soldiers who had fallen.\n\nThat night, when all was still, the widows of these poor men went to the\ntop of a high rock and there sang a solemn dirge for the dead, which\nmade a melancholy echo in the deep recesses of the hills. I never heard\na more touching lamentation for the dead. It was as if all nature joined\nin sympathy with these poor people, whose happy homes had been\ndestroyed. I was deeply affected, and the more so as I thought over the\ncruel fate which now seemed to be hanging over our heads.\n\nSoon afterwards the Baggara appeared again, but this time they were seen\nfrom a distance, and by a preconcerted signal all fled to places of\nsecurity, and the robbers returned empty-handed. The Nubas now wanted to\nlie in wait for the Baggara, and asked the captain commanding the\ncompany to assist them with twenty men. This, however, he refused to do,\nso we gave them twenty rifles from the Mission, and they then prepared\nan ambush for the unsuspecting Arabs, who a few days afterwards came\nriding along on their tired horses. The Nubas waited till they came\nquite close, and then suddenly opened fire; fifteen of the enemy fell,\nand the remainder galloped off at full speed; eight horses and some\nbooty fell into the hands of the Nubas, who returned in triumph to the\nvillage, and were welcomed with great rejoicings. It was interesting to\nsee them as they marched slowly along, leading their captured horses,\nwhile the maidens of the village danced in front of them and sang songs\nin honour of the braves.\n\nWe had now a short period of tranquillity, but soon afterwards the\nBaggara renewed their attacks, and we were in a state of constant alarm.\nOur information about the Mahdi was distorted and unreliable; we had\npractically no news from El Obeid, and we could only arrive at the\nconclusion that the Government was powerless, otherwise why should the\nBaggara attack us?\n\nOne evening the captain told us that he had certain information that we\nwere to be massacred that night; he had heard that the Baggaras had made\na compact with the Khojur Kakum and the Nubas, and that our destruction\nhad been agreed upon. The alarm which fell upon our little colony at\nthis news can be readily understood.\n\nIt was a very dark night, and in the distance we saw a line of fires\nwhich we took to be the Baggara camp-fires. As we all quite believed in\nthe captain's information, we prepared ourselves for defence; but as we\nthought over the situation we began to wonder how it was that Kakum, who\nhad hitherto been our sworn friend, and united to us by the tie of\nblood-brotherhood, should suddenly join with his bitterest enemies, the\nBaggara, to compass our destruction; then, if the news were false, why\nshould we spend a night of anguish?\n\nAfter some deliberation, Father Bonomi decided to ascertain the true\nstate of affairs, and taking with him two boys and a lantern, he set off\nto see the Khojur himself. Full of anxious thoughts, we watched the\nlight as it moved on towards the gap in the hills; at length it reached\nthe base, and then began slowly ascending. An ominous silence pervaded\nthe whole place, which was unusual, for the Nubas love gossiping till a\nlate hour at night. Still we kept our eyes fixed on the light, which\neventually disappeared. How anxiously we awaited its reappearance!\nShould the Khojur intend treachery, we knew we should not see Bonomi\nagain. How slowly the time passed! But at length the light reappeared,\nand began to descend the hill. We breathed again; after all we should\nnot lose our Father Bonomi.\n\nIn a few minutes he was with us again, and with a cheery laugh told us\nhow the captain's information was all wrong, and how angry the Khojur\nwas that we should ever have doubted him. I thereupon hastened to the\nsoldiers' quarters, to reassure the poor captain. Mohammed Suleiman was\nreally a good man, but he was too old and unfitted for his position.\nAlthough it was midnight, he and Roversi returned with me to the\nMission, and there he related how one of his female slaves, who had a\nslight knowledge of the Nuba language, had gone to the Khojur to grind\nsome dhurra, and had overheard him talking secretly with some of the\nNubas; then some of them had got angry, and, standing up, beat the\nground with their spears. This, the woman concluded, must mean an oath\nthat we should be destroyed. As for the rest of the story, it was\nentirely the woman's invention. Everything was now explained, and our\nfear gave way to cheerful conversation, which we continued till dawn,\nwhen the ringing of the \"ave\" bell awakened the echoes of the black\nmountains of Delen.\n\nAt sunrise the Khojur arrived, accompanied by a number of followers and\nmany influential Nubas. Not content with his declaration of fidelity\nmade the previous night, the good man had come down to give us his\nsolemn oath that, far from fighting against us, he and his men were\nready to fight and die for us. In a grave speech, full of earnest\nfervour, he assured us of his and of the Nubas' friendship. We, on the\nother hand, felt certain of his loyalty, and we pledged the success of\nour compact in a bottle of wine, which our good friend the Khojur\ngreatly enjoyed.\n\nWe lived in this state of uncertainty and fear for upwards of five\nmonths, not knowing what the next day would bring forth; we were\nentirely cut off from the rest of the world, and our peaceful work and\noccupations were all disturbed. We now no longer dared to expose\nourselves on the plains, but confined ourselves to the hills, where we\nsometimes hunted the koodoo. On one occasion, when we went to the Dogman\nmountain, our suspicions were aroused by the way in which the people\ngathered round us, and showed a curious desire to examine our arms. As\nwe were returning, the former sheikh of this district--a man named\nIsa--warned us not to come to the mountain again, as some of the men\nintended to kill us, and would have done so had they not been afraid of\nour arms. Roversi's rifle had a magazine for sixteen cartridges.\n\nEarly in September our position became very critical. The Mahdi, having\nquitted Gedir, had advanced into Kordofan; his adherents gathered round\nhim at Birket from all directions, and from here he despatched a certain\nMek Omar with letters and a small band of followers to take possession\nof Delen. Mek Omar arrived, and encamped on the hill with his friend\nDogman, and planting his standard, he beat his war-drum incessantly, day\nand night. He then sent us a letter saying that the Mahdi had captured\nEl Obeid, and that all the inhabitants had joined him, with the\nexception of Mohammed Said Pasha and a few soldiers who still held out\nin the Mudirieh buildings; at the same time Omar urged us to submit, as\nresistance was useless. The fact that Omar, with only fifty men,\npossibly less, had the audacity to pitch his camp under our very eyes,\nrather induced us to believe in the truth of his assertions. Roversi,\nhowever, determined to attack him, but was dissuaded from doing so by\nthe captain.\n\nWe then held a council to consider what would be the best course to\nfollow. After much deliberation (which is always the case in dealing\nwith Arabs) it was unanimously decided to attempt a flight to Fashoda.\nThe Nubas also, who offered us their services as guides, advised us to\ntake this course. It is very probable we should have succeeded in this\nattempt, as almost all the Arabs who wanted to fight had followed the\nMahdi to El Obeid, in anticipation of the booty which they thought would\nso soon be theirs.\n\nThe route to Fashoda lay far to the south of the scene of present\noperations, and with the eighty Remingtons of the soldiers, and our\nthirty good rifles, we felt confident that we should be able to make our\nway thither. It was therefore decided that we should start off very\nquietly in the dead of night. Every one made up a small bundle of the\nfew things he wished to take, which would be required on the journey,\neither as presents or to buy or offer in exchange for food. We also had\na sufficient number of camels, mules, and donkeys for the sisters and\nsick, and we had made up into bundles all that we required; we gave the\nrest of our things to the Nubas, so that nothing should fall into Mek\nOmar's hands. The Nubas gave us every possible assistance, and through\nthe darkness we could see them moving about like ghosts amongst the\nblack rocks, laden with every imaginable thing.\n\nAt midnight we quitted the Mission and made our way to the soldiers'\nzariba, hoping that we should find them all ready to start; but instead\nwe found them all in bed, the captain had given no orders to prepare,\nand Roversi's influence was gone. We tried in various ways to induce the\ncaptain to give orders, but he merely answered that he was waiting till\nhe received a reply from Mek Omar, to whom he had written. Getting\nimpatient, he sent a trustworthy man to Omar, who never returned. It was\nnow nearly sunrise, and all our efforts to move the captain were\nunavailing. Then the Khedivial National Anthem, which was always blown\nat reveille, was sounded, but was smothered by the deafening rattle of\nthe noggaras; it was, as it were, a mockery, showing that the light of\ncivilisation was about to be extinguished by the barbaric hordes of\nJebel Nuba. In the meantime the soldiers had got ready of their own\naccord, and declared themselves willing to undergo any fatigue, and, if\nneeds be, die for us; but the fear and irresolution shown by their\ncaptain unnerved them, and as the sun rose they one by one left the camp\nand submitted to Mek Omar. A very few only stayed with Roversi; and when\nthe captain quitted the zariba, these too went over to the enemy.\n\nThus were we left quite alone--a party of some 200 persons, of whom the\ngreater number were women and children. Flight was now out of the\nquestion; there was nothing left for us but to return to our homes. We\ndid so; but what a sight met our eyes! The Nubas had carried off\neverything. With heavy hearts we returned to the rooms of the Mission;\nhere everything was wrecked and ruined; what the Nubas had thought of no\nuse to themselves they had smashed to pieces. Roversi, who had always\nbeen most loyal and true to us, now went to Mek Omar to arrange for his\nown safety. When the first bitterness of feeling had passed off, we\ndiscussed the next step to be taken; there was absolutely nothing left\nin the station, and we had not a mouthful of food left.\n\nI then went, in company with Bonomi, to Mek Omar. This former\nslave-dealer--a short, crippled, and dirty old Takruri, who had been\nwell known to us a long time ago--received us in a friendly manner. He\nhad coffee brought to us, and related the great bravery of the Mahdi,\nand then concluded with the following words: \"I know that you will not\nturn Mohammedans, you must therefore understand that your property and\nslaves are no longer your own; at the same time I will give you a letter\nto the Mahdi regarding your situation.\" Hard as these conditions were,\nwe had no alternative but to accept; and when our conference was over,\nour arms were taken from us, and all our blacks, for whose welfare so\nmany lives had been sacrificed and such trouble expended, were suddenly\nlost to us at one fell stroke. We then returned to the Mission, where we\nspent the night alone and on our knees.\n\nThese events took place on the 14th of September, 1882. On the morning\nof the 15th of September we rang for the last time the ave-bell for\nHeaven knows how many years. At noon Mek Omar arrived with his\nfollowers, and, chanting the Mohammedan creed, he first entered the\nchurch, and there we had the agony of beholding with our own eyes its\ndestruction. Our blacks were taken over by Omar's troops, and attached\nto the Government soldiers. Omar thought that he would find some\ntreasure, but here he was mistaken, for we had hidden the little money\nwe had to meet our future wants; and as we had been cut off from El\nObeid for seven months, we had consumed all our reserve stores; for the\nfourteen days previous to this we had not even any salt to mix with our\nfood.\n\nWe had to stay on at Delen for three long days, awaiting Omar's pleasure\nto allow us to proceed. It was pitiable to see the cruel and brutal way\nin which our poor blacks were treated by Omar's followers. Before\nleaving we paid Khojur Kakum a visit; the poor man was filled with pity\nfor us, and more especially for the sisters; he longed to stay with us,\nand, bitterly weeping, bade us farewell. He also fully expected to meet\na tragic fate. We finally left our beloved Nuba hills on the 18th of\nSeptember, and after endless trouble succeeded in procuring from Mek\nOmar four animals on which the sisters could ride. Father Bonomi,\nmyself, and two lay brothers took it in turns to walk and ride. Our\nmounts consisted of a camel, a mule, and two donkeys. Mek Omar placed us\nin charge of his son Naser and a party of Arabs; several of the Nubas\naccompanied us for some distance, and as we passed Kakum's hill, we\ncould see the poor man standing up and stretching out his hands towards\nus as a last farewell. Many of our young blacks also followed us, but\nwere forced by their new masters to turn back. Our departure caused us\npangs of grief which pierced us to the very core.\n\nIn the evening we reached a small hill called Kudru, at the base of\nwhich there was a well, and here we encamped for the night. Here also\nthe Nubas came down from the rocks to greet us. We left the next\nmorning, and our road now lay through the great grass plains. At this\nseason of the year, besides the rain, there is always a very heavy dew\nwhich wetted us to the skin, besides we often had to ford streams up to\nour necks, and emerging with dripping clothes, to continue our march. We\nknew that this was sure to bring on fever and diarrhoea, and so,\nindeed, it proved, shortly after our arrival at El Obeid.\n\nAt length we reached Singiokai, the head-quarters of the Baggara, and we\nfound numbers of nomad Arabs living in tents. On our arrival, every one,\nold and young, hastened to look at us, and gaze on the hated captured\nChristians. This inquisitive and motley crowd derided us and heaped\ninsults upon us; the ugly old women, whom one could only compare with\nhyenas, were perhaps the most bitter in their disgraceful taunts. We\nstayed here one day, and then continued our journey. Whenever we came to\na village we were subjected to the rudest treatment, and had we not\nbeen guarded by our escort, we must have inevitably been killed. We\nwere constantly searched, in the hope that money would be found on us.\nWhen we got near El Obeid, Naser put us into a hut, where we were told\nto remain until he should see the Mahdi, and ascertain from him his\ninstructions regarding us. We gathered from what he said that he was\ngoing to find out whether we should be killed where we were, or brought\nfirst before the Mahdi. Thus Naser left us under strict guard.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE MISSIONARIES AND THE MAHDI.\n\n     Description of El Obeid--Said Pasha's system of defence--The\n     Mahdi's followers encircle the town--Townspeople desert to the\n     Mahdi--Unsuccessful attack on Government buildings--Dervishes\n     driven off with loss of 10,000 men--The missionaries brought before\n     the Mahdi--Threatened with death--Preparations for the\n     execution--Reprieved at the last moment--The Mahdi's camp\n     described--Death of some of the missionaries--Illness of remainder.\n\n\nDuring our stay in the hut we were told how the inhabitants of El Obeid\nhad joined the Mahdi, and that only the garrison held out; but I will\nhere narrate what had actually occurred.\n\nWe left the Mahdi last at Birket, while his three messengers had been\nhanged in El Obeid. He left Birket on the 4th of September, and encamped\nat Kaba, a place a few hours' journey from El Obeid. El Obeid is\nsituated in the midst of a vast plain, which in the hot weather is just\nlike a desert. Here and there a few Adansonia trees, transported from\nKhartum, break the monotony of this dreary scene which is bounded on the\nsouth-east by the Kordofan mountains; at a distance of about five\nkilometres to the north rises the cone-shaped hill known as Korbatsh,\nwhile to the north-west appears the small Om Herezeh mountain. El Obeid\nlies in a sort of hollow in the plain; consequently during the\nwinter-time the wells become full of water, and serve as a sufficient\nsupply for the whole year.\n\nSince the Egyptian occupation of the Sudan, El Obeid had become a town\nof some importance, but the houses were for the most part built of mud,\nwith the exception of the Government buildings, which were constructed\nof sun-dried bricks. The entrance to these buildings was through a lofty\narchway, over which a second story had been raised, thus making it a\nmost conspicuous object, and one which could be seen from a considerable\ndistance. El Obeid, at the time of which I speak, was an important and\nflourishing city, with a population of about 100,000 souls. It was noted\nprincipally for its gum, the best quality of which was known by the name\nof Kordofan gum. The largest quantities came from Tayara and Dar Homr,\nwhere the gum trees were planted in large gardens regularly laid out.\nThousands of camels were engaged in the transport of this valuable\ncommodity to Shatt on the White Nile, to Omdurman, and to Dongola.\nOstrich feathers also formed another important article of commerce. At\nDar Homr there are numbers of ostrich farms, the animals being kept in\nlarge zaribas; but as an article of trade, the feathers of the wild\nostriches are more valuable than those of the domestic animal. Ostrich\nfeathers are always sold by weight. Other exports from Kordofan are\ntamarinds, senna, and the skins of animals. Iron is also found in\nKordofan; and one day, when we were digging out a well at Delen, we came\nacross quicksilver.\n\nEl Obeid was also the supply dep\u00f4t for Darfur, Shakka, and Dar Nuba, and\nthus became an important trade centre. Numbers of rich merchants lived\nhere, such as Elias Pasha, Omberer, Hajji Mohammed Ben en Naga, Ahmed\nBey Dafallah (who owned thousands of slaves), Mohammed Wad el Areik,\nHajji Khaled, Ibrahim wad Adlan, besides numbers of Copts and Egyptians.\nSeveral of the principal mercantile houses in Cairo also had their\nagents--Syrians, Greeks, and Jews--in El Obeid. Kordofan was also rich\nin cattle. The Kababish, Dar Homr, Beni Jerrar, and Dar Hamed Arabs\npossessed large numbers of she-camels. These animals are always kept in\nthe deserts, and are retained exclusively for breeding purposes.\nQuantities of the young camels are killed, and their flesh, which is\npreferred to any other kind of meat in the Sudan, is considered a great\nluxury, and is generally eaten uncooked. Corn is largely grown in\nKordofan, also sesame, which is preferred to that grown on the White\nNile; large white water-melons are also grown in abundance. It may\ntherefore be understood why Kordofan was the richest province in the\nSudan and brought in the largest revenue to Government.\n\nThe whole of this rich country was now in the hands of the Mahdi, with\nthe exception of El Obeid, which was destined soon to be the scene of\nbloodshed and fanatical warfare between people of the same race and\nreligion. The Arabs of various tribes, who in peace time had brought\ntheir goods to El Obeid to barter and exchange, were now clamouring for\nthe destruction of the town and the slaughter of its inmates. As I have\nalready related, Said Pasha had completely surrounded the town by a\nditch and parapet; but as this would require such an enormous number of\nmen to defend it, and knowing that he could place little reliance on the\ninhabitants, he had strongly entrenched the Mudirieh and Government\nbuildings, and at the same time put into a state of defence the\nbarracks, officers and officials' houses, and those of the Greek and\nSyrian merchants. The members of our Mission station left their house\nand pretty church, and hired rooms within the fortifications; the loyal\ncitizens and merchants followed their example, while the remainder of\nthe inhabitants continued to live in the town, and conspired with the\nMahdi. On the 7th of December, that is to say, the day on which the\nMahdi arrived at Kaba, the whole of these inhabitants quitted the town\nand joined him in his camp. The wealthy merchants had for long been in\ncommunication with the Mahdi, others joined him because they were worked\nup to a pitch of wild fanaticism; some feared to disobey the summons,\nfor they could see how weak were the Government troops and how\nsuccessful the Mahdi had been. Amongst the deserters to the Mahdi's side\nwere Mohammed Khabir Pasha of Darfur, and a number of irregular troops\nwho had been despatched from Khartum as reinforcements for El Obeid.\n\nThus by various means the Mahdi's force now numbered upwards of 30,000\nfighting men, and with such an army as that it seemed to him a very easy\nmatter to subdue Said Pasha and his meagre garrison. The Mahdi further\nincited his people to fight by assuring them that the gates of paradise\nwere open to all those martyrs who should fall, and that each of them\nshould be attended by forty lovely houris when they entered its portals.\nHe also roused their feelings of cupidity by representing, in the most\nexaggerated terms, the value of the treasure locked up within the\nMudirieh, and told them that victory was assured, for God and his\nProphet had decreed that they should annihilate their enemies with\nsimple sticks; this he said because he knew that only a few of his\nfollowers had firearms. Having thus raised them to a pitch of the\nwildest excitement, he advanced from Kaba.\n\nIn the meantime the Mudir, seeing that he could not rely on the\ninhabitants, did all in his power to improve the fortifications, and\nawaited the assault of the enemy. At daybreak the hordes appeared on the\nrising ground near El Obeid; the defenders heard only the dull roar\ncaused by the mass of voices in the distance, but the clouds of dust\nprevented them seeing anything; it was only when the fitful gusts of\nwind blew away the dust that the thousands of horsemen could be seen\ngalloping wildly about and then disappearing again behind the dust. But\nthe noise like approaching thunder became every instant more audible,\nand soon above the clouds of sand the myriads of flags and banners\nbecame visible. Fiki Minneh, with about 10,000 men, approached from the\neast, whilst the Mahdi's attack was directed on the south-west end of\nthe town. The first ditch was soon crossed, and then the Mahdiists\nspread out and completely encircled the town; masses of wild fanatics\nrolled like waves through the deserted streets; they did not advance\nthrough these alone, but hurrying on from house to house, wall to wall,\nand yard to yard, they reached the ditch of the Mudirieh, and like a\ntorrent suddenly let loose, regardless of every obstacle, with wild\nshouts they dashed across it and up the ramparts, from which the din of\na thousand rifles and the booming of the guns suddenly burst forth; but\nthese wild hordes, utterly fearless of death, cared neither for the\ndeadly Remington nor the thunder of the guns, and still swept forward in\never-increasing numbers.\n\nThe poor garrison, utterly powerless to resist such an assault, ran to\nthe tops of the houses and kept up an incessant fire on the masses,\nwhich now formed such a crowd that they could scarcely move--indeed the\nbarrels of the rifles from the rapidity of the fire became almost\nred-hot; and soon the streets and open spaces became literally choked\nwith the bodies of those who had fallen. There was a momentary pause,\nand Ali Bey Sherif, seizing this opportunity, collected a party of men\nand dashed towards the magazine, where a fierce conflict was going on\nbetween the guard and the Dervishes. The latter had already become\nmasters of the situation when Ali Bey suddenly appeared on the scene,\nand firing on the mass, whether friend or foe, he drove the Mahdiists\nback over the ditch, and then formed up in the breach ready to repel any\nfurther attempt to break in.\n\nMeanwhile Said Pasha was heavily engaged in front of the Mudirieh. Here\nan emir named Wad Gubara broke in, and shouting, \"Death to the Turks,\nthose dogs and swine!\" he dashed forward at the head of his men, but the\ndetermined resistance of the Mudir forced them to retire back across the\nditch. Ahmed Dufallah defended that part of the line which was assaulted\nby Ibrahim Wad Abdullah, an emir who had gained great celebrity amongst\nthe Dervishes. This brave Arab attacked again and again, hoping that the\nbodies of those who fell would soon fill up the ditch and make a passage\nwhich he could cross, but his attempt failed, and he too was forced to\nretire.\n\nThe Mahdi all this time was watching at a safe distance, and kept on\nordering the assault to continue; but it was impossible to stand up\nagainst the well-directed fire from the defences, and consequently\ntowards the afternoon he was forced to retire. The gallant little\ngarrison seeing this, could not be restrained, and dashing out over the\nheaps of slain they made a fierce onslaught on the houses in the town,\nwhich were filled with Dervishes in search of loot. In their fury they\nkilled all who came in their way, and perhaps they may be excused, for\nthey were in a state of the wildest excitement, occasioned by this\nfearful scene of bloodshed.\n\nIt was impossible not to admire the reckless bravery of these fanatics\nwho, dancing and shouting, rushed up to the very muzzles of the rifles\nwith nothing but a knotty stick in their hands, only to fall dead one\nover the other. Numbers of them carried large bundles of dhurra stalk,\nwhich they threw into the ditch, hoping to fill it up and then cross\nover. When the town was cleared, the victorious troops had a great feast\nand general rejoicing. Amongst the dead bodies of the Dervishes were\nfound a near relative of the Mahdi's named Said Mohammed, also Wad\nGubara; the latter was a Turk who, with his two brothers, had joined the\nMahdi at Gedir; he was one of the fiercest of the emirs. He had fought\nwith the greatest pertinacity in front of the Mudirieh, and, mounted on\na horse, he was urging on his followers; but the soldiers, noticing his\nfair face, persistently aimed at him, and at length he and his horse\nfell on the top of a heap of dead bodies. When the soldiers subsequently\nfound his body, they were so annoyed that a Turk should have joined the\nMahdi that they cut off his head and hacked his body to pieces.\n\nWhilst the soldiers were clearing out the enemy from the houses, the\nMahdi was retiring on Kaba with a loss of 10,000 men. Said Pasha then\nheld a council to consider whether they should pursue; but he himself\nwas against pursuit, for he thought that possibly Fiki Minneh might then\nfall on the defenceless town; besides, in all he had not more than 3,000\nmen. As for the Mahdi, he and his principal emirs were greatly alarmed,\nand it is very probable that if they had been pursued, the result would\nhave been a complete victory for Said Pasha. As it was, the Mahdi was on\nthe point of retreating to the mountains, and would have done so had\nnot the inhabitants of El Obeid, who still thought of their houses and\nproperty, dissuaded him. The latter still urged him to continue the\nsiege, consequently on the following day he took up a position on a hill\ncalled Gianzara, about two kilometres distant to the north-west of the\ntown, and only one kilometre distant from the Oshra Well (so called from\nthe oshra or euphorbia which grows in quantities in the vicinity). Fiki\nMinneh established himself to the north-west of the town, and soon it\nwas more closely invested than ever; from that date nothing came in and\nnothing went out of the doomed city.\n\nWe had spent one day in the hut, and had learnt all the details about\nthe Mahdi's attack on the town, when a messenger sent by Naser arrived,\nand ordered us to move on to the Mahdi's camp, as it was his gracious\nintention to permit us to look upon his face. Shortly after we had set\nout, we met Naser returning, accompanied by a party of Dervishes.\n\nAs we approached El Obeid, the rattle of the rifles, broken every now\nand then by the boom of a gun, became more and more audible. We were\nhalted under a large Adansonia tree and ordered to rest, but we had\nscarcely laid down when we were suddenly attacked by Naser and his\nparty, who seized our watches and other valuables, and then stripped off\nour clothes; they even attempted to remove the veils and outer garments\nof the sisters, but to this we forcibly objected, and seizing sticks\ntried to drive them off. At length these wretched thieves, ashamed of\nthe unequal contest, drew off, and Naser ordered our clothes to be\nreturned; but my suit, in which I had stitched thirty dollars, was not\ngiven back to me, and I was reduced to appearing before the Mahdi in a\nshirt and drawers! Our escort having satisfied their cupidity, now\nmounted our donkeys, and we were obliged to walk; the burning sun beat\ndown on our heads, and the heated ground and heavy sand made our\nprogress intensely laborious.\n\nAs we approached the camp, at every step the crowd grew denser. El\nObeid was now visible a short way off, and the sight of the houses and\ntrees was a pleasant break in the monotony of this desolate wilderness.\nThe continuous rattle of the bullets, interrupted by the thunder of the\ncannon, was an indication that a brisk engagement was going on. As we\nentered the camp, the crowd was so enormous that we were almost choked\nwith the dust that was raised, and soon became thoroughly exhausted. Our\nbrother Mariani, who was sick at the time we left Delen, could keep up\nno longer, and we were obliged to almost carry him along.\n\nThe fanatics now completely surrounded us, and kept on threatening us\nwith their lances, clubs, and sticks. Naser himself, seeing some of the\nvery excited Dervishes pointing their lances at our breasts, greatly\nfeared for our safety, and it seemed to us that there was now not the\nslightest doubt that they intended to kill us. He therefore ordered our\nescort to draw their swords and form a square, in the centre of which we\nwalked. The exertions of the last few days, the heat, the yelling of the\ncrowd, the monotonous chants of the Dervishes, and finally the din of\nthis enormous camp of over 100,000 men, exclusive of women and children,\nreacted on us to such an extent that we were well-nigh speechless.\nSlowly we made our way towards the centre of the camp where the great\nDervish, Mohammed Ahmed, had pitched his tent.\n\nWe were taken, in the first instance, to the hut of the Khalifa Sherif.\nHere we found a lad of twelve or thirteen years of age, lying half-naked\non a bedstead, who invited us to come into the shade and rest ourselves,\nat the same time he drove off with his whip the inquisitive crowd that\nkept pressing in to look at us. He gave us some water to drink, but we\nwere so utterly weary and exhausted that we could not swallow it for\nsome time, and the heat and dust had literally glued our tongues, so\nthat we were unable to articulate. We were allowed to rest for a short\ntime, as the Mahdi had not risen from his noonday sleep, and this brief\nrespite enabled us to collect our thoughts, which the events of the\nlast few days and the uproar of the camp had caused to wander sadly.\n\nAt length an order came that the Mahdi was up and wished to see us. We\nwere then taken to a small hut, which had two sides open, through which\na cool breeze blew in; close to the hut one of the tents captured from\nYusef Pasha Shellali had been pitched, and as we arrived the Mahdi came\nout of the tent and seated himself, in Arabic fashion, on a straw mat\nspread on the floor of the hut. He greeted us kindly, and asked us about\nour nationality and our object in coming to the Sudan, also whether we\nhad ever heard anything about the Mahdi, he then briefly explained to us\nthe nature of his divine message, and recounted his great victories over\n\"the enemies of God and His Prophet,\" by which name he designated the\nTurks.\n\nSeeing that we were utterly exhausted, he offered us some kamar-ed-din\n(dried apricots) mixed with water, but almost before we could put it to\nour mouths it was full of flies. In the meantime a certain George\nStambuli, who had joined the rebels with the other inhabitants of El\nObeid, came in, and through him the Mahdi endeavoured to place before us\nthe great advantage of the Islam religion. The Mahdi himself never asked\nus to adopt the Moslem faith, because he feared that we should answer in\nthe negative. He then stretched himself out on the mat as if he were\npreparing to behold a vision.\n\nMohammed Ahmed was a powerfully built man, of dark-brown complexion and\ncarefully kept skin; he had a pleasant smile, which showed to advantage\nthe curious slit between his front teeth. By constant training he had\nacquired a gentle manner in speaking, and with these exceptions there\nwas nothing unusual in his appearance. He wore a dirty jibbeh, on which\nparti-coloured strips of cotton had been sewn; on his head the white\nskull cap or \"takia,\" round which a broad white turban was bound; he\nalso wore a pair of loose drawers and sandals.\n\nAfter he had lain for some time with closed eyes, he rose and offered\nus some more kamar-ed-din, from which he himself began to take out the\nflies; but finding it absolutely useless to do so, he gave it up, and\nthen went back to his tent, probably to hold a council. After a short\ntime he again returned, wearing a clean jibbeh patched with pieces of\nthe vestments belonging to our Mission church at El Obeid. He then began\nto recount to us the history of the numerous conversions which had taken\nplace in the early days of the Prophet. Seeing that we took little\ninterest in what he said, he got up and ordered us to be taken before\nthe Khalifa Abdullah (the present ruler of the Sudan), while he himself\nretired to his own tent.\n\nOn our arrival at Abdullah's hut, we found ourselves in company with\ntwenty robbers who were chained hand and foot. An enormous crowd stood\nround, and amongst the faces I noticed some of our Delen friends, who\nhad evidently followed us to see what the end would be. Our guard, armed\nwith Remington rifles, stood around us, and close to us was the Khalifa\nAbdullah's horse, which always remained saddled--a witness to his\nunbounded energy. A short distance off, about eighty flags were planted\nin the ground, and beside them were the war-drums. Hardly had we seated\nourselves when the Khalifa Abdullah entered. He was at that time a man\nof about thirty-three years of age, of middle height, very thin--in\nfact, little else but skin and bone; he greeted us kindly, and invited\nus to become Moslems. From his bombastic conversation, we soon saw that\nhe was a man of no education whatever, and he ended up by saying that if\nwe refused to obey we had only death to expect. We were then marched\noff.\n\nOn the evening of the 27th of September, when George Stambuli came to\ntell us that if we did not embrace Islam, we should most certainly die,\nwe gave him no hope that we should change our minds. The Mahdi\nfrequently sent people to teach us the truths of religion, but we soon\ntired of their nonsensical chattering, and Father Bonomi used to send\nthem away with strong words. Shortly afterwards Abdullah came again,\nbringing a water-melon with him, and in default of a knife he broke it\non the ground; but we refused to take any. Greatly annoyed at this, he\nwent off in a rage, saying that we should be beheaded the following\nmorning.\n\nAt midnight Stambuli came to us again, to say that he had offered a\nconsiderable sum for our ransom, but that the Mahdi had refused to\naccept it. We therefore gave him the few dollars we had left, and asked\nhim to come and see us the following morning, which he promised to do.\nWe employed our few remaining hours in preparation for death. The\nterrors and alarms which we had undergone for the last five months were\nover at last; in the midst of our sufferings the thought of death, which\nshould soon take us out of the hands of these barbarians, was a comfort\nto us. A deep quiet had now settled down over the camp, which was only\noccasionally broken by the clank of the prisoners' chains.\n\nJust before dawn a wonderful comet appeared in the east; its golden tail\nseemed to project about ten feet into the blue firmament, and was a most\nstriking sight. It brought back to our minds the star in the east which\nstood over the manger at Bethlehem. The Arabs called it \"Nigmet el\nMahdi\" (the Mahdi's star).\n\nAccording to Sudan superstition, the appearance of a comet is supposed\nto forebode evil, and, indeed, what catastrophe could have been greater\nthan that which was now impending over the Sudan? The sudden clang of\nthe war-drum startled me from the meditations which the appearance of\nthat strange comet had produced. The beating of the drums and the blast\nof the great ivory horn (onbe\u00efa) was the signal for the \"Ardeh-Kebir,\"\nor grand review, and I now had to bethink me of my own affairs and let\nthe star pursue its way in the heavens.\n\nThe emirs' war-drums now took up the signal, and soon people were\nrushing from all directions towards their particular flags, which were\nplanted to the east of El Obeid. Stambuli again appeared and announced\nto us that our sufferings were nearly over. We gave him a small piece\nof paper on which we had written our last farewells to our own loved\nones at home, and had signed our names. This we begged him to send on\nwhen an opportunity occurred. Weeping bitterly, he took the paper and\nwent to his hut, saying he could not bear to look on at our execution.\n\nWe were now all ready, and at about nine o'clock a party of thirty men\narmed with lances arrived and ordered us to follow them. We were still\nsuffering from fatigue, but we got up and followed. After about half an\nhour's walk we arrived before the Dervish hosts, and thanked God that\nvictory was now so near. About 40,000 men were standing on parade, and\nthousands of others were moving about the camp like ants. We were taken\nto a central position and ordered to bend our necks to receive the\ndeath-blow, and without the smallest hesitation we did so. But our hour\nhad not yet come. We were summoned before the Mahdi, who was riding on a\nmagnificent white camel; behind him rode a slave carrying an umbrella to\nshade him from the sun's rays. As we approached, he turned round to us\nand said, \"May God lead you into the way of truth,\" and then rode on.\n\nThe troops were now dismissed, and we were immediately surrounded by a\nturbulent crowd, who threatened to crush us to death; but the Mahdi,\nseeing us in danger, turned back, and ordered us to walk in front of his\ncamel for protection. We did so, but were too weary to keep up, and then\nthe Mahdi gave orders, which we could not understand, to a number of\ndifferent emirs; the latter ordered us to halt until the great rush of\npeople had passed, then they formed a square and asked each one of us\nseparately whether we agreed to become Moslems or would prefer to suffer\ndeath. Each one of us answered resolutely--death! Then, full of anger,\nwe were forced on--exhausted and covered from head to foot with\ndust--till we reached the Mahdi's hut. Having arrived there he said,\n\"Have you not seen my army?\" and then he began to boast of the number\nof his followers and their great bravery. We said nothing. He then went\noff, and we were taken back to Khalifa Abdullah's hut.\n\nA council was now held to consider our fate; the majority were for\nkilling us, but a certain Hajji Khaled--now an emir in Omdurman--pointed\nout that, according to the Moslem law, it was not lawful to kill priests\nwho had not offered any armed resistance, and who were, moreover,\ncaptives. His view of the case was accepted, and we were handed over to\nGeorge Stambuli, who was made responsible for us. We then left\nAbdullah's hut, and proceeded to Stambuli's, which was barely large\nenough for himself and his family, so we were obliged to take up our\nquarters outside in the open, where we remained for fifteen days,\nexposed to the continual insults of the Arabs, until we were able to\nbuild a hut for ourselves. We were now able to take a survey of this\ngigantic camp. From the sandhill Gianzara almost up to the base of the\nOm Herezeh mountain, was one mass of small huts, these were merely\nenclosures made of branches of euphorbia and (sorghum) dhurra stalks,\njust sufficient to keep off the burning rays of the sun. Here and there\na white tent indicated the headquarters of some important emir. Fiki\nMinneh's camp adjoined that of Gianzara, and extended from Fulla (a\nsmall pond which runs dry in the summer months), up to the base of Om\nHerezeh. The huts were built so close to each other that constant fires\ntook place, which spread rapidly, and caused great destruction.\n\nThis enormous camp presented a wonderful spectacle, more especially at\nnight, when almost every one had his own cooking fire, and the whole\nplain resembled a sea of fires which were lost in the distant horizon.\nThe din and noise created by hundreds of thousands of men, women, and\nchildren, can be better imagined than described. Every emir's[D]\ndwelling was known by two flags which were always planted near the\nentrance, and beside them lay the war-drums, which were beaten day and\nnight, almost without intermission. Besides all this, the neighing of\nthousands of horses rendered the din still more unbearable. The whole\nair was infected with the most sickening stench; but to these wretched\npeople, pure or impure air makes no difference; they do not mind. All\nthe filth was piled behind the huts, dead donkeys lay about unburied; no\nattempt was made to keep the place clean, and all this huge mass of\npeople lived in the midst of an ever-increasing heap of rotting\nimpurities. A daily market was held, and the people laid their goods on\nthe ground, sheltering themselves under a strip of cloth, known as\n\"Farda,\" stretched on the points of lances, the bases of which were\nstuck in the ground. El Obeid was close by, the great arched gate of the\nMudirieh towered above the other houses of the town, and over it floated\nthe red Egyptian flag, which was hoisted every Friday. Some of the\nDervishes used to conceal themselves in the deserted houses of the town\nand fire at the fort, while others pulled down the roofs and walls and\ndragged away the beams to the camp, and there cut them up for firewood.\nOur church, which was covered with galvanised iron plates, was\ncompletely destroyed; even the mosque was not spared. There was a busy\nscene day and night at the Oshra well; here thousands of male and female\nslaves drew water, and frequent quarrels and fights took place.\n\nAll this change of scene made a deep impression on me; the strain of the\nlast few days, the tiring journey from Delen to El Obeid, the continual\nuncertainty as to our fate, anguish, fear, din, tumult, bad food, had\nalready considerably affected our health, and now that we were at rest,\nand that the Arabs had ceased to molest us, the re-action came, and we\nfell a prey to disease. The infected atmosphere of El Buka--as the\nMahdi's camp is always called--brought on a burning fever and constant\ndiarrhoea. Besides all this, when confined with the robbers in\nAbdullah's house, we had become covered with horrible vermin; it was\nimpossible to get rid of them--they seemed to increase daily. We had no\nclothes to change, and as we had scarcely enough water to drink, washing\nwas out of the question. With a feeling of utter despair we lay helpless\nand comfortless on the floor of that miserable black hut. Our maladies\nbecame worse, and ere a month had passed, three of our number were dead.\nSister Eulalia Pesavento, of Verona, died of fever on the 28th of\nOctober; carpenter Gabriel Mariani died of dysentery on the 31st of the\nsame month, and sister Amelia Andreis died on the 7th of November, while\nwe four who still remained, hovering between life and death, lay\nhelplessly side by side with our dead brothers and sisters. It was a\nterrible exertion to us to sew the corpses in mats and drag them to the\ndoor of the hut. At length some slaves--much against their will, and on\nthe promise of good pay--removed the already decaying bodies, and buried\nthem in shallow pits, which they covered up with sand. No one lent a\nhand to bury these \"Christian dogs,\" as we were called. It was a\nterrible grief to us not to accompany our poor companions in adversity\nto the grave, but we were all too ill to move, and so they were carried\naway to their last resting-place without prayer or chant; and even to\nthis day I cannot tell if the slaves really buried them, or merely\ndragged the bodies beyond the huts, and left them lying there on the\nground.\n\nThe condition of us miserable wretches who were still alive is beyond\ndescription; we envied our companions, who were now beyond the reach of\nhuman suffering; but our hour had not yet come. Towards the end of\nNovember we were somewhat recovered, but our lives seemed to have been\nspared only to behold more terrible sights and sufferings than we had\npreviously undergone.\n\nMeanwhile, more of our companions in adversity had arrived from Dar\nNuba. Shortly after we had been made over to Stambuli, Roversi came, and\nwas interviewed by the Mahdi, who received him well, and presented him\nwith a horse. Roversi recounted to us the story of his misfortunes;\nduring his journey from Delen to El Obeid he was frequently in danger of\nlosing his life; the Baggaras, mindful of their defeat at his hands,\nthirsted for vengeance. Roversi owed his life to his magazine rifle. He\nused to visit us daily and tell us of the various plots of which we were\nthe intended victims. He told us how the Arabs had determined to take\nthe sisters, and that they intended to distribute us amongst the various\nemirs. This news terrified the sisters, and there is little doubt that\nthe bare thought of it hastened the deaths of the two who were so ill.\nRoversi further informed us that a quarrel had occurred between Mek Omar\nand the Nubas regarding the distribution of the loot taken from our\nDelen Mission; a conflict had taken place, in which Mek Omar had lost a\nnumber of his men, and had been obliged to retreat from Delen to\nSingiokai.\n\nAfter Roversi's arrival the Mahdi wrote to Said Pasha again, summoning\nhim to surrender; Roversi also, by the Mahdi's order, was forced to\nwrite to the Mudir, telling him that resistance was useless, as it was\nout of the question to hope for reinforcements from Khartum. Towards the\nend of October Roversi fell ill with dysentery, caused by the infected\nand foul atmosphere of the camp; the last time he came to see us he was\nvery weak; then we heard that the Mahdi had suddenly ordered him to\nKashgil for change of air, and a few days later we heard that he was\ndead. Some said he had been killed, others said that he had been\npoisoned by Ismail Wad el Andok, in revenge for his defeat at\nGolfan-Na\u00efma. Roversi's maid-servant, Aisha--a black girl brought up in\nConstantinople--and his man-servant, Hajji Selim, reported that they had\nfound his shoes in the forest, and his dead body in a hut. The\nunfortunate young Roversi was barely thirty years of age, a Protestant\nby religion, and a man for whom we all cherished a great affection. The\ndate of his death was probably the 3rd of November, 1882. A few days\nafter this date Mek Omar and his men arrived in the camp, bringing our\nDelen blacks with them. The latter at once came to see us, and soon\nafterwards all of them--both boys and girls--were sold as slaves, whilst\nthe more grown-up youths were drafted into the Mahdi's army. Two of the\ngirls, one an Abyssinian and the other a black, became concubines of the\nMahdi. A cruel fate soon overtook Mek Omar: it was reported that he had\nconcealed some of the captured booty, and he was at once put in chains\nby the Mahdi's order. Shortly afterwards he sent for us, and Bonomi and\nI paid him a visit. We found him shackled with two chains on his feet,\nand a chain about fifteen feet long round his neck; the poor man was\ncompletely bowed down with the weight of these chains, and begged us\nmost humbly to intercede for him, as he told us it was the Mahdi's\nintention to have him beheaded. The condition of this unfortunate\nindividual so touched us, that Bonomi went to the Mahdi and represented\nthat it was really the Nubas who had stolen the booty, and so Mek Omar\nwas released.\n\nAs we slowly began to recover from our illness, the thought of release\nwas constantly in our minds. We applied to the powerful Elias Pasha,\nwhom we had known very well in El Obeid. This blind old pasha received\nus kindly, but said that Abdel Kader Pasha in Khartum, was furious with\nhim for having joined the rebels; he therefore said that our best course\nwas to apply daily to the Mahdi, who in time might perhaps be moved to\ngrant our release. We followed his advice, but it was no easy matter to\nmake our way through the crowd of fanatics who surrounded his hut day\nand night, all struggling to get a sight of his face which, it was said,\nshed rays of light. Pushed about, shoved in every direction, and\ninsulted, we might perhaps succeed in reaching the doorway; but here we\nwere stopped by the guards, and it was almost impossible to pass them.\nHowever, after superhuman efforts, we succeeded twice in interviewing\nthe Mahdi. He listened kindly to our entreaty, and then said, \"At\npresent the roads are dangerous, and I wish no harm to come upon you;\nwhen El Obeid has surrendered, we will permit you to go to your own\ncountry.\" He advised us to wear kuftans (the Arab outer garment), for\nhitherto we wore merely a shirt and drawers, as he said that, dressed in\nthis way, we should escape the inquisitive glances of the multitude and\nwe took his good advice.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[D] The title \"Emir\" really means \"Prince,\" and is far too high\na title to give to these wretched chiefs; but as it is the Sudan custom,\nI must retain it.--J. O.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE SIEGE OF EL OBEID.\n\n     Terrible sufferings of the besieged--The Kababish--Fall of\n     Bara--Fall of El Obeid--The Mahdi enters the town--Fate of the El\n     Obeid Mission--Cold-blooded murder of the brave defenders--The\n     Dervishes live a life of ease in El Obeid--The Mahdi makes laws--He\n     sends out proclamations--Prestige increased by capture of\n     town--News from Khartum--Bonomi and Ohrwalder summoned before the\n     Mahdi--The interview.\n\n\nThe garrison in El Obeid now began to suffer from the effects of this\nclose siege and blockade. The necessaries of life were failing rapidly;\nthe price of provisions had gone up enormously. The commonest food,\nknown as \"dokhn\" (a kind of millet) rose to 150 dollars, and eventually\nto 500 dollars the ardeb. Meat had almost entirely given out. Our\nMission brethren in the fort possessed one camel, which was nothing but\nskin and bone, and which was sold for 1,000 dollars, and two days\nafterwards the purchaser offered it for sale for 1,500 dollars.\nEventually the butcher bought it for 2,000 dollars. A chicken went for\nthirty dollars; eggs a dollar apiece; a loaf of sugar fifty dollars, and\ntwenty dollars for a pound of coffee. A thimbleful of salt cost a\ndollar. The above were the prices a month after the close investment had\nbegun. Butter and oil could not be had for any money. The poor began to\nstarve quite at the beginning of the siege, and soon were dying in\nconsiderable numbers. A little later, matters came to a terrible pass.\nAll the camels and cattle being finished, donkeys, dogs, mice, and even\ncrickets were consumed, as well as cockroaches, which were considered\nquite tit-bits; white ants, too, were eaten.\n\nAnd now the deaths by starvation had reached an appalling figure. The\ndead and dying filled the streets; the space within the fortifications\nbeing so limited, there was not room for all the people, and in\nconsequence many lay about in the streets and open spaces. The air was\npoisoned by the numbers of dead bodies lying unburied, while the ditch\nwas half full of mortifying corpses. Scurvy and dysentery were rife; the\nair was black with the scores of carrion-kites, which feasted on the\ndead bodies; these ugly birds became so distended by constant gorging\nthat they could not even fly away, and were killed in numbers by the\nsoldiers, who devoured them with avidity.\n\nLater on gum became the only food; there was a quantity of this, but it\nbrought on diarrhoea, and caused the bodies to distend--indeed,\nnumbers died from eating it. The ground was dug up in all directions in\nsearch of the white ants' nests; and the food which they had collected\nfor the winter was greedily consumed. Some poor sufferers eked out a\nmiserable existence by living on the undigested food found in the\nexcrement of animals; all sorts of leather, shoes and sandals, were\nboiled and eaten. It was a terrible sight to see these human\nskeletons--their eyes sunk into the backs of their heads, wandering\nabout in search of food. The Mudir extorted all the corn and money he\ncould from the rich merchants, but of what good was a mere handful of\ncorn to the soldiers? They became desperate, all discipline was at an\nend and they often broke into the houses by night in search of food.\n\nDuring all this time the Dervishes outside kept on shouting out curses\nand insults, deriding those within for eating dog's-meat, for, during\nall this terrible famine in the city, there was abundance of food in the\nDervish camp, and this made the besiegers bolder and more insulting than\never, for they knew that the town was practically in their hands. We\noften tried to establish some sort of communication with our Mission\nbrethren in the city, but we never succeeded in getting any reliable\ninformation about them. At length, towards the end of December, we\nmanaged, through the kind offices of George Stambuli, to send in a\nletter and received a reply from the Father Superior, Johann Losi, which\nwas brought to us by one of our female slaves. The news it contained was\nheart-rending; all our brethren were down with scurvy--that is to say,\nFather Rossignoli, brother Locatelli, and four sisters, whilst Father\nLosi himself was on the point of death. For a month they had lived on\nnothing but dokhn and rice; everything else was gone. Father Losi sent\nus some clothes, which were a godsend to us, and also 200 dollars, while\nwe in return could do nothing for our poor besieged brethren. A few days\nlater we heard that Father Losi died on the 27th of December of scurvy.\n\nThe garrison frequently attempted small sorties, in the hope that they\nmight be able to secure a sheep or bullock, or some wood, and these\nalways caused some excitement in the camp. When anything of this sort\ntook place, the usual cry was \"Et Turki Marak\" (\"The Turks are coming\nout\"), then the camp suddenly woke up, and, like a swarm of ants, moved\ntowards the town to drive the garrison in again. On these occasions\nquantities of ammunition were expended without much result. In the\nmeantime the Mahdi continued his daily preaching against the vanities of\nthis life, of his divine message, and of the approaching end of the\nworld. During these sermons the people stood wrapped in wonder and\nastonishment at the Mahdi's great wisdom.\n\nThe Egyptian guns frequently fired into the camp, and on two occasions\nshells burst close to our hut, but did no harm. The Dervishes also\nreturned the fire, but their shots always fell far beyond; had they only\nbeen skilled in the working of the guns they had, the fortifications\nwould have become untenable in a day, but the Mahdi seemed purposely to\nwish to prolong the siege, and to thus compass the death of its\ndefenders through famine. The wells were only about one kilometre\ndistant from the forts, and in consequence within easy range of the fire\nof the besieged; but the Mahdi was quite regardless of this, and often\nformed up his troops there--a proceeding which generally resulted in his\nlosing some men.\n\nIt was about this time that the principal sheikhs of the powerful\nKababish tribe, viz. Saleh and Tome, the sons of Sheikh Salem, came to\npay their allegiance to the Mahdi. As a gift they brought him two\nhundred camels, and he in return ordered a great military display and a\nspecial bombardment of El Obeid in their honour. The two sheikhs did\nnot, however, take a great interest in these proceedings; and one day\nSaleh suddenly took himself off, and from that date became the Mahdi's\nsworn enemy, until the day of his death, when, as we shall presently\nsee, he was one of the last of the great sheikhs who was overthrown by\nthe Mahdi. His brother Tome was suddenly thrown into chains without any\nwarning, the Mahdi giving as his reason that the Prophet had appeared to\nhim in a vision and told him to do so.\n\nTowards the end of November, news arrived that a further reinforcement\nof troops had left Khartum for El Obeid. This information occasioned a\ngreat stir in the camp, because there was some idea that English troops\nhad been sent. These must have been the arrival of the first batch of\ntroops destined eventually to form part of the Hicks Expedition; but\neven then it was too late to send any help to El Obeid.\n\nOne day it came to the Mahdi's ears that provisions were being smuggled\ninto El Obeid, where they were sold at enormous prices, and to stop this\nhe made the investment still closer. Some of the smugglers were caught,\nand as a punishment their right hands were cut off, and their handless\narms tied to their necks; they were then led round the camp as a warning\nto others.\n\nMeanwhile, as the siege of El Obeid was drawing to a close, other places\nin Kordofan were falling into the Mahdi's hands. The town of Bara had\nbeen reduced to great straits. A force marching to its relief under Abu\nKuka, was attacked by Fiki Minneh: the majority were killed, and it was\nonly through the bravery of Surur Effendi that a few hundred of them\nsucceeded in reaching the town. The notorious Nur Angar, who was on the\nwalls of the town, rendered no assistance during the siege, and went\nover to the enemy. At length, on the 5th of January, Bara was forced to\ncapitulate through famine, and the garrison was sent to the Mahdi's\ncamp.\n\nThe victory was celebrated by a salute of guns, and the unfortunate\ngarrison in El Obeid took this to be the approach of relieving troops;\nbut the Mahdi made it known to Said Pasha that, on the contrary, it was\nin celebration of the fall of Bara--an incident which caused the gloom\nto deepen over the doomed city; and all hope of delivery was abandoned.\nYet the Mudir still continued to hope against hope that he should be\nrelieved from Khartum, and his sanguine spirit kept up the courage of\nthe garrison. But it could not last much longer; the soldiers were too\nweak even to hold their rifles in their hands, and Said Pasha realized\nthat further resistance was useless. In desperation, therefore, he\nproposed to blow himself up in the powder magazine, and this he\ncertainly would have done had not the senior officers urged that in\ndoing so numbers of other lives would have been sacrificed as well.\nThere was now nothing left to be done but to surrender, and this event\ntook place on the 19th of January, 1883.\n\nThe Mahdi and his hordes now entered El Obeid, and he made the Mudirieh\nhis residence. Guards under the command of mukuddums were posted outside\nevery large house, to prevent the notables escaping, to further extort\nmoney and to search for treasure. Children, servants, and slaves were\nkept aside, and by continual flogging were obliged to divulge the secret\nhiding-places. The Mission buildings were of course entered by thousands\nof Mahdiists. Father Bonomi and brother Locatelli lay sick, and the\nsisters were completely exhausted. Hundreds of Dervishes struggled to\nbreak into the narrow enclosure where the unfortunate brethren lay ill.\nThe crosses which the sisters wore round their necks were wrenched off\nand broken to pieces with axes. Sister Concetta Corsi, who was then one\nof the strongest, flew at these cruel intruders and made them wonder at\nthe boldness of a poor weak woman. Some of them then entered with drawn\nswords, and, pointing their lances within an inch of her bosom, they\nthreatened her with instant death if she made the slightest resistance;\nbut she answered, \"You are dogs, and not men!\" whereupon one of those\nstanding near her gave her a blow on the face, which broke several of\nher teeth and made her mouth pour with blood.\n\nThree days after the Mahdi's entry into El Obeid, our missionaries were\ntaken before him, and in a solemn assembly he tried in vain to force\nthem to become Moslems. They were then sent forth with nothing but the\nclothes they wore, in company with the other survivors of the siege, to\nthe Dervish camp.\n\nOur little party was now increased by the arrival of Father Rossignoli,\nbrother Locatelli, who was then more dead than alive being carried on an\nangarib (native bedstead), and four sisters, who were all suffering from\nscurvy. They were brought to our hut, and our meeting could not be\notherwise than a sad one. The sisters were accompanied by a girl named\nBianca Limona, who, though a Sudanese, had quite a fair face, and\nresembled an Albino. Gordon, when travelling from Darfur to El Obeid,\ncame across a youth of a similar type, whom he brought to the Mission,\nand suggested that he should marry the girl; but he being a fanatical\nMussulman, the girl absolutely refused.\n\nBianca, being of no trade value, was permitted by the Dervishes to\nremain with the sisters. All the other Mission blacks remained with the\nsoldiers, but the young ones were sold. From amongst the Christian girls\nthe Mahdi selected two as concubines--an Abyssinian and a black; the\nlatter had been well brought up, had learnt handiwork of different\nsorts, and she soon became the head of all the concubines.\n\nThe Dervishes captured quantities of arms and ammunition in the fort,\nalso a considerable amount of rough gold, goods of all sorts, and\nfurniture. This was all carried off to the beit el mal; the floors were\nall dug up in search of hidden treasure, and even dead bodies were\ndisentombed and examined. The body of Father Losi, who had died a month\nbefore, was pulled up and searched, as it was believed he had a quantity\nof money. I must here recount an episode which will give an idea of the\nwonderful fidelity of our poor blacks, and their affection for us.\nFather Losi had purchased a little black boy in El Obeid, and for the\nten long years during which this brave missionary had worked\ncontinuously for the welfare and happiness of the blacks, his boy Said\nserved him most faithfully, and during all the horrors of that dreadful\nsiege this boy never left the side of his \"Father,\" as he used to call\nFather Losi. When Losi died, the boy used to spend most of the day\nweeping over his grave, and one day he was found lying stretched on the\ngrave quite dead--he had died of grief.\n\nThe Mudir, Said Pasha, and the senior officers were, for a time, placed\nunder guard, and refused, even on pain of death, to say where the\ntreasure was; but when Said Pasha heard that his concubine and servants\nhad been cruelly flogged and beaten to make them divulge, he at length\nhanded over all his property to the Mahdi, and \u00a36,000.\n\nA few days after the fall of El Obeid a fire broke out on the north side\nof the camp; the strong wind drove the flames to the adjoining huts, and\nsoon half the camp was ablaze. We had to run from our hut, which was\nsoon afterwards enveloped in flames, and we were again obliged to encamp\nin the open. However, our good friend Stambuli succeeded in procuring a\nsmall tent for us. The Mahdi now ordered the whole town of El Obeid to\nbe occupied by the Arabs, but it was not nearly large enough to hold all\nthe people, consequently an enormous circle of huts soon surrounded the\ntown, and we ourselves erected a small one, just beyond the precincts of\nthe Mahdi's camp, having some Greeks and Syrians, who had been turned\nout of El Obeid, as our neighbours.\n\nFor about fifteen days most of the inhabitants of the town--clerks,\nGovernment officials, and Copts, were closely guarded and continually\nflogged to make them disclose the hiding-places of their treasure. Most\nof the principal people were handed over to the emirs. Said Pasha was\nplaced in charge of Ismail Wad el Andok, and sent to Aluba; Ali Bey\nSherif was sent to Birket, and several of the Coptic clerks were sent to\nSingiokai. Ahmed Bey Dafallah and Major Yesin were dragged to Shakka.\nEvil reports were spread about them, and it was rumoured that both the\nMudir and Ali Bey Sherif had written to Khartum, consequently the Mahdi\nissued orders that the gallant defenders should be killed, justifying\nhis action by saying that the Prophet had, in a vision, ordered him to\ndo so. Ali Bey Sherif was beheaded close to the tent occupied by his\nwife and two children, who were afterwards taken over by Sayid Abdel\nKader, the Mahdi's uncle. Said Pasha was most cruelly slaughtered with\naxes at Aluba; he was greatly disliked by the people, who called him\n\"Jurab el Ful\" (\"Sack of beans\") because he was so stout. Ahmed Bey\nDafallah and Major Yesin were executed at Shakka. Such was the end of\nthe brave defenders of El Obeid, who, in truth, deserved a better fate.\n\nThe Mahdi, having thus made away with his enemies, was able to breathe\nmore freely, and, as if to excuse himself for his horrible cruelty, he\npublished a vision, in which he said that he had been told that Said\nPasha did not go to hell, but as he (the Mahdi) had earnestly begged it,\nhe was permitted to go to paradise.\n\nDuring the siege there was much friction between the Mahdi and Fiki\nMinneh, whose capacity for drinking marissa and stealing booty came to\nthe Mahdi's ears. As long as Minneh was useful to the Mahdi he forbore\nwith him; but when El Obeid fell, he sent for him and forcibly made him\ndivide his booty. Fiki Minneh therefore returned in a sulky mood to\nTayara, and from that time became the Mahdi's enemy. He openly collected\na quantity of dokhn, and brought together his fighting force. The Mahdi\ntherefore despatched Abu Anga, the Commander-in-chief of his forces,\nAbderrahman en Nejumi and Abdullah Wad en Nur, with a large number of\nmen. Making a forced march, they appeared suddenly at Tayara, and the\nGowameh followers of Minneh fled on the first volley. Minneh's brother,\nuncle, and two sons were captured and beheaded on the same spot where\nMinneh himself had slain the soldiers and their wives and children the\nprevious year; their heads were hung up in the market-place at El Obeid\nas a warning to others.\n\nThe Mahdi and his emirs now began to live a life of ease; the latter\noccupied the various buildings around the Mudirieh and made themselves\ncomfortable: they placed no restrictions on themselves in the way of\nfood and drink; there was money in abundance and supplies were\nplentiful, consequently sensuality and luxurious living were substituted\nfor the abstemious life which the Mahdi doctrine had at first\ninculcated. The principal emirs delighted in extensive harems and a show\nof splendour. Jibbehs were still worn, but their ragged condition, which\nwas essential in the early days, gave way to as much embellishment as\nsuch a garment would admit of. The emirs vied with one another in their\nwealth of slaves, cattle, horses and donkeys; their sword-hilts were now\nembellished with silver. In place of lying on the dirty ground, their\nclothes full of vermin, they assumed the luxurious and comfortable mode\nof life of the Turks and Egyptians. So shocked, indeed, was the Mahdi's\nuncle, Sherif Mahmud, when he arrived from Gedir to see the drunken and\ndebauched lives led by the emirs, more especially by Wad en Nejumi, that\nhe induced the Mahdi to order the latter to reduce his harem by twenty\nwives, who were subsequently sold in the beit el mal as slaves. At the\nsame time the Mahdi issued the strictest orders against luxurious\nliving, and insisted that no gold and silver ornaments should be worn.\nHe further ordained that in future the dress should consist of a takia\n(or skull cap) made of the leaves of the dwarf-palm, round which a\nturban should be worn with end hanging down; the jibbeh (or coat); a\npair of drawers; and a girdle made of straw. This made rather a becoming\nuniform to these swarthy warriors.\n\nThe rules regarding smoking and drinking were reiterated with greater\nseverity. It was next to impossible to induce the Sudanese to give up\nsmoking and chewing tobacco: a man would willingly give all the money he\nhad to secure even a small quantity. Then the blacks, and especially the\nemirs, are much addicted to marissa drinking, which it was found still\nmore difficult to stop; if men or women were caught in the act of\nsmoking or drinking, they were obliged to walk through the market with\nthe drinking bowl or tobacco on their heads, followed by an insulting\nand hooting crowd. It was sometimes the custom to break the bowl on the\nmarissa drinker's head and drench him with its contents; this was the\nsignal for all the children to throw mud and dust at the culprit until\nhe became almost unrecognisable; he was then dragged before the kadi (or\njudge) in the market-place, where he received eighty unusually heavy\nblows, the first of which generally drew blood. The place was full of\nspies, who were always on the look-out to report smokers and drinkers to\nthe Mahdi. Sometimes they forced their way into the houses, and finding\nnothing, would surreptitiously throw some tobacco on the floor, which\nthey would then suddenly discover, and declare it to be the property of\nthe owner of the house, who would be forthwith dragged off and thrashed\nunmercifully although perfectly innocent.\n\nJustice was administered according to the Moslem law. Blasphemers of God\nor the religion were punished with instant death, as well as all those\nwho disbelieved in the Mahdi. A murderer was at once beheaded, no\nextenuating circumstances were ever admitted. A thief was deprived of a\nhand and a foot; adultery between married persons was punished by\nbeheading the man and stoning the woman, but in the latter case a\nnecessary proof was that the woman should be with child. Illicit\nintercourse between unmarried persons was punished with eighty lashes;\nthese laws regarding immorality were, however, in the case of slaves,\nrelaxed to some extent, and they were, as a rule, punished by flogging\nonly. Persons found concerned in the making of eunuchs were beheaded,\nthough curiously enough the khalifas and emirs all retained eunuchs for\ntheir harems. Slaves freed by the Egyptian Government were not\nrecognised as such, and were again forced to become slaves. A slave's\nwitness was not accepted in a trial. All important cases were judged\nbefore the Mahdi, who sentenced persons as he thought fit. The Mosaic\nlaw--an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth--was generally practised.\nThe relations of murdered persons generally carried out the sentences on\nthe criminal, provided that the judge approved. Punishment could be\nmodified or cancelled altogether by the payment of money. In addition to\nthe Mahdi, his relatives and the khalifas were permitted to judge\ncases--a proceeding which resulted in great confusion and miscarriage of\njustice. The market-place was the chief centre of activity; here the\njudge held his court, and a profitable business he made of it by\nsubstituting money for punishments.\n\nShortly after the fall of El Obeid the Mahdi set himself to regulate his\nfinances. The Kordofan Arabs, who had gained many successes over the\nGovernment, and who had really taken up the Mahdi's cause in\nanticipation of the loot they would acquire, were ordered to bring all\ntheir booty--down to the smallest article--to the Mahdi at El Obeid, and\nto enforce this order, parties of Dervishes were sent out in various\ndirections to forcibly drive in the Arabs, who now regretted that they\nhad so precipitately joined the Mahdi in the first instance. Everything\nwas brought to the beit el mal, and there publicly sold; of the\nproceeds, one-fifth was given to the Mahdi personally, and the remaining\nfour-fifths were set aside as administrative revenue, but in point of\nfact a considerable portion of this sum also found its way into the\nMahdi's private treasury. A native of Dar Mahas, named Ahmed wad\nSuleiman and a great favourite of the Mahdi, was given unlimited control\nover the beit el mal treasury. His master had had a divine revelation,\npointing out that he was the one man to hold this responsible position,\nand in consequence he was unassailable. Whenever the Mahdi rode out on\nhorseback, Ahmed held the reins and walked barefooted at the horse's\nside.\n\nAll learned men were despised and disliked by the Mahdi, for he not\nunnaturally recognised a danger in their combating his claims by\nreference to divine books. Consequently all such documents were ordered\nto be burnt, and any one who concealed a book did so at the risk of his\nlife. The Mahdi's object was to keep the people in ignorance by\nproclaiming that he was the centre of all light and knowledge; there\nwere even flatterers to be found who asserted that they had seen flashes\nof light darting out of his head! He frequently indulged in visions,\nsometimes representing that he had been taken up in the spirit to the\nheavens, where he conversed with God and His Prophet. To doubt the truth\nof these visions was an unpardonable offence. He entirely abolished all\nthe rules and customs practised by the Government. The wearing of the\ntarbush (fez) was strictly forbidden; if any one was seen wearing one,\nit was instantly pulled off and torn to shreds. All Government registers\nwere burnt, and debts contracted with the Government considered\ncancelled. He ordered his adherents to call themselves Foggara[E] or\nAsyad.[F]\n\nHis usual custom was to pray on a small straw mat placed in the divan of\nthe Mudirieh and in the presence of all his followers; a slave generally\nstood beside him with a pillow on which he either sat or knelt, as the\ncase might be. When the prayers were over he received the visitors,\nconversed on matters of general interest, read his letters, and\ndiscoursed on the manners and customs of the Turks with the object of\nmaking his hearers despise and laugh at them. He plunged wildly into the\nsensual delights of his immense harem. In place of wine he substituted a\ndrink much appreciated in the Sudan, consisting of date syrup mixed with\nginger, of which he drank quantities out of the silver cups taken from\nthe Mission Church in El Obeid.\n\nIn spite, however, of all this luxurious living, the Mahdi did not omit\nto publish his new propaganda far and wide. He wrote several letters to\nthe inhabitants of the Gezireh (the country between the Blue and White\nNiles), calling on them to rise, and threatening all those who refused\nto obey the summons. Numbers flocked to his standards, partly through\nfear and partly because they recognised the inability of the Government\nto cope with the revolt. It was at this time that he despatched Osman\nDigna, who afterwards became so notorious, to the Eastern Sudan. This\nfanatical adherent of the Mahdi copied the example of his master in\nevery respect, wearing neither shoes nor sandals, and only riding during\nexceptionally long marches, his argument being that as the Mahdi deigned\nto walk the earth, he thereby made it holy. A force was now despatched\nto capture Sheikh Tome of the Kababish, who was reported to be in\nfriendly communication with Khartum. The unfortunate man was attacked by\nnight, captured and dragged off in chains with his wife, child, slaves,\nand camels to El Obeid. The Mahdi was prepared to pardon him, but\nKhalifa Abdullah insisted on beheading him, which was done; this cruel\nact terrified the remainder of the tribe. During the last fifteen days\nof Ramadan the Mahdi attended to no public business, but gave himself up\nto fasting and prayer. The holidays following Ramadan were set aside for\nmilitary parades and manoeuvres, which served to rouse the fanatical\nardour of his now numerous followers.\n\n[Illustration: A NATIVE WOMAN OF DONGOLA.]\n\nAbout this time a letter came from Mustafa Yawer, the Mudir of Dongola,\nto Osman Tobji; the latter was a most generous man, who gave much of his\nmoney to the poor and to widows and orphans, especially during the siege\nof El Obeid; Tobji had thus won the honour and respect of all, and on\nthe fall of the town the Mahdi returned to him the property he had\ncaptured; thereupon he at once set to work to relieve the distressed\nEgyptian families who had been turned out of house and home, and whose\nproperty had been taken. In his letter Mustafa Yawer asked his friend\nTobji if Mohammed Ahmed were the real Mahdi or not; this letter came\ninto the Mahdi's hands, and Tobji was at once sent for and asked what\nreply he intended to give. Osman answered, \"When the sun has risen over\nthe horizon it is visible to all, and no further proof of its existence\nis required--thus if the Mahdi be the true Mahdi, his works will bear\nwitness of the truth.\" This evasive answer did not however satisfy the\nMahdi, who obliged Tobji to sign a letter declaring that Mohammed Ahmed\nwas the true Mahdi, and this letter was then despatched to the Mudir of\nDongola.\n\nThe Mahdi was well versed in the art of winning over people. His\nunruffled smile, pleasant manners, generosity and equable temperament,\nthough at times somewhat severe, all tended to enhance the popular idea\nof him. He attributed the execution of Said Pasha and Ali Bey Sherif to\nthe Khalifa Abdullah, and when the two little sons of the latter were\nbrought to him, the smiling hypocrite wept for their father's fate. The\npopular belief in him and his cause almost amounted to worship: women\nespecially raved about him and thought him the most handsome of men.\nThey swore by him in the words \"Hakk rabb el Mahdi\" (By the Mahdi's God)\nor \"Hakk Sayidna el Imam\" (By our Lord, the Imam); all solemn oaths and\nstatements began with the words \"Aleik el Mahdi el Muntaser\" (By the\nVictorious Mahdi); his virtues were extolled in poems, and constant\nreference was made to his good looks, wisdom, stature and to his\nrepeated victories over the Turks. The beggars used to learn off by\nheart special laudatory verses, and by reciting them from house to house\nthey were sure to be given alms; to such an extent was this laudation\ncarried that if a beggar sang songs in which the Prophet's name\noccurred, he was at once interrupted and told to substitute the Mahdi's\nfor the Prophet's name; at every street corner his praises were sung;\nsoldiers on the march sang of his glorious victories; female slaves\ngathering wood, or laden with corn, or grinding it between the\nstones--all sang the same refrain, which indeed might be called the\nMahdi's national anthem, and began with the words \"Mahdi Nur Ainana\"\n(the Mahdi is the light of our eyes), or \"El Mahdi kammal et Turk fi\nKana\" (the Mahdi conquered--lit. gave their full to--the Turks at Kana).\n\nThe Arabs delight in poetry, and during the night generally collected in\nparties, and seated on the sand sang the Mahdi's praises, the two\nprincipal singers keeping time by beating the ground with their sticks,\nwhile the rest joined in the chorus at the end of each verse. Inspired\nsometimes by their theme, they would stand up and flourish their swords\nin the air as if combating the Turks, shouting \"Fi Shan Allah\" (for\nGod's cause). Thus the adulation of the Mahdi extended from the highest\nemir to the lowest slave, and woe to him who was ever heard to utter one\nword in deprecation or blame of the new Prophet, he would at once be\npounced upon and beaten to death with sticks.\n\nSometimes the Mahdi was called \"Khalifat er Rasul\" (the successor of the\nProphet), and sometimes even they dignified him with the sacred title of\nNebbi (Prophet). In truth the Prophet Mohammed occupied in the people's\nminds quite a secondary position, and the celebration of his birthday\nwas forbidden by the Mahdi.\n\nOn one occasion a dispute occurred between two men; one argued that the\nMahdi would have a higher seat in heaven than the Prophet, while the\nother maintained that \"God was higher than the Mahdi.\" The dispute waxed\nhot, and the case was referred to the judge, who settled the matter by\nsaying that \"the living was better than the dead,\" but at the same time\nthe man who advocated the Prophet's claims was relegated to prison, not\nso much for asserting what was perfectly true, that \"God was higher than\nthe Mahdi,\" but that the tone in which he had said it was tantamount to\nan insult to the Mahdi. Naturally those Moslems who still had some sense\nof the orthodox creed were much annoyed at this decision.\n\nEarly in April a messenger arrived from Khartum with a letter from the\nAustrian Consul Hansal. Now as we were perfect strangers in El Obeid,\npeople did not dare to associate with us; the messenger therefore\nhanded over the letter to George Stambuli, who was then a man well known\nto every one. Stambuli, who supplied us with all the necessaries of\nlife, now came to us in a state of great excitement, bringing the letter\nin which he hoped to find some news of the outside world. We opened the\nletter, which was long and well-written, and found that it was directed\nto the Mahdi. We read it and considered it a well-written letter; in it\nHansal called the Mahdi \"Sheikh,\" and begged him to release us,\nreceiving as a ransom such a sum as he should demand, and which he\n(Hansal) was prepared to give. The bearer of the letter was then ordered\nto take it direct to the Mahdi, but fearing that its contents might\ncompromise him, he gave it to Stambuli, who gave it as his opinion that\nthe letter was useless, as he himself had been doing all in his power to\neffect our release, but was unable to do so. Father Bonomi, however,\nurged that as the letter was useless it was therefore harmless, and that\nthere could be no objection to giving it to the Mahdi; consequently it\nwas taken to him, and he expressed himself much pleased with it;\nalthough he admitted that the system of ransoming was in vogue during\nthe days of the Prophet, he stated that it had been changed by him, as\nalso was the tax per head formerly paid by Christians.\n\nHe, however, promised to give us protection until the coming of Sayidna\nIsa (Jesus Christ), when we should either have to turn Moslems or die;\nthus the letter was of no good to us, and on the following day a rumour\nwas spread abroad that the Austrian Consul had joined the Mahdi. The\nmessenger asked us to give him a few lines to take back, and thus prove\nthat he had delivered the letter to us; so we and Stambuli complied, and\nthe messenger left for Khartum; but he was followed by spies, and when\nat Korsi--one and a half day's journey distant--he was searched by them,\nand the letters found in the saddle-bag on the donkey, consequently he\nwas arrested, brought back, and thrown into chains.\n\nThe false news was now rapidly circulated that an English post had\narrived. Father Bonomi and I were at once summoned to read the letters.\nIt occurred to us that our letters had probably been seized and that we\nwere in some danger. I was not alarmed about my letter to Hansal, for I\nhad written in German, and there was no one besides myself in El Obeid\nwho understood German; but Bonomi's letters had been written in Italian,\nand there were several people who understood that language. As we\nentered the Mudirieh we saw Stambuli also coming. We were first taken to\nthe Khalifa Sherif, who was lying on a straw mat in his hut; after\ngreeting us, he lifted up the mat and drew out several letters, which we\nat once recognised as those we had written. The Khalifa asked us if we\nhad written them, and we replied in the affirmative. He thereupon\nproduced a piece of paper on which Bonomi had written that the messenger\nshould receive six pounds. Father Bonomi translated this to the Khalifa;\nStambuli was then called in, as he pretended to know a number of\nEuropean languages, while in point of fact he knew little or nothing;\nwhen the paper was given to him to read he said that it contained a\nmedical prescription, and this translation did not of course agree with\nBonomi's version. Amidst the murmuring of the bystanders the Khalifa now\nrose and bid us follow him into the divan of the Mudirieh, and thence\ninto the room adjoining that in which the Mahdi was sitting with the\nKhalifa Abdullah. The latter had to keep his bed, for his leg had been\nbroken by a fall from a horse; he had collided with another horseman,\nand in falling had been badly kicked. Father Bonomi and Stambuli only\nwere taken before the Mahdi, whilst I was left in the room outside;\nthere were a Dervish and a Greek also in the room, and as I was sitting\non the ground near the door, the Greek came up to me and told me that a\nsheikh wished to speak to me. I replied, \"Let the sheikh come to me if\nhe wants to speak to me; I have nothing to ask of him.\"\n\nA few moments afterwards the sheikh came up to me in a furious rage,\nand without further ado attacked me with his fists, kicked me, and\ncalled me a Christian dog; then seizing me by the leg he dragged me out\ntowards the gate, where he said he intended to cut off my head.\n\nThe sound of this struggle reached the Mahdi's ears, and he sent a\neunuch to take me out of the sheikh's hands. Shortly afterwards the\nMahdi himself, Bonomi, and Stambuli came out, and were rather pleased\nthan otherwise that my incident with the sheikh had interrupted their\nsomewhat painful conversation. The Mahdi did not appear angry, and as\nusual, smiled pleasantly all round; then, surrounded by his principal\nemirs, he performed the noonday prayers in the divan, while the\nmultitude conformed to the prayers in the Mudirieh courtyard. This over,\nhe sat down on his mat and opened his audience, whilst a slave standing\nbehind him fanned him and drove off the flies. Numbers of people\nsubmitted their cases to him in a very low and humble tone of voice, and\nfrom the various gestures which took place, I concluded that he had\ngiven satisfaction to all. He then read aloud a letter from an\ninfluential sheikh in Khartum, whose name I have forgotten; after which\na number of sheikhs came in to take the oath of allegiance.\n\nDuring this ceremony the man taking the oath had to place his hand in\nthe Mahdi's right hand; then the latter repeated the oath in the\nfollowing words: \"Thou consecratest thyself, thy children and thy\nproperty to the Mahdi. Thou shalt be guilty of no impurity; thou shalt\nnot steal, nor drink alcohol; and thou shalt bind thyself to do thy duty\nin the Jehad.\" The person to whom the oath was administered sealed it\nwith a solemn \"Amen.\" If several persons took the oath together, they\nwere obliged to repeat it in chorus, and at the conclusion they shouted\n\"Fi Shan Allah.\" When the audience was over, we asked the Mahdi's\npermission to retire, which he allowed us to do.\n\nBonomi now gave us an account of his interview with the Mahdi and\nKhalifa Abdullah. They had thought that we had written letters to the\nGovernment at Khartum, but they could not read the letters which, in\npoint of fact, contained nothing political. Bonomi had given the Mahdi a\nshort resum\u00e9 of their contents with which he seemed pleased, but\nAbdullah appeared dissatisfied.\n\nFor the next eight days we were in considerable danger, and the one\ntopic of conversation was what should be done to us. It was the general\nidea that we were to be beheaded; but Stambuli was working his friends,\nand by dint of bribes the matter was hushed up, although I believe that\nwe owed it principally to the good will and kindly disposition of the\nMahdi. After about ten days we were summoned before a certain emir named\nHajji Khaled, who made enquiries about the letters, and we told him that\nwe were prepared to translate literally every word. Our fearless\npersistence impressed him, and he did not trouble us further.\n\nSome of the European merchants could have translated the letters, but\nStambuli bribed them with twenty pounds, and on the 26th of April,\nthirteen days after the letters had been intercepted, the Mahdi pardoned\nStambuli at a public meeting, and handed them back to him; then in the\npresence of two trustworthy friends of the Mahdi, we translated them\nword for word into Arabic, and gave them back to the Mahdi, who, judging\nfrom their general tenour, appeared convinced of their harmlessness.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[E] Pl. of Fakir, _i.e._ a poor religious mendicant--one who\nhas renounced the world.\n\n[F] Pl. of Sayid, _i.e._ a master.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE MAHDI'S VICTORY OVER HICKS PASHA.\n\n     The European captives learn that General Hicks is advancing--Slatin\n     Bey's defence of Darfur--His heroism--The Mahdi prepares to resist\n     Hicks--The march of the Hicks Expedition--Extracts from the diary\n     of Major Herlth--Colonel Farquhar's gallantry at Rahad--Gustav\n     Klootz deserts to the Mahdi--Klootz's interview with the Mahdi in\n     which Ohrwalder and Bonomi act as interpreters--The expedition\n     advances towards Shekan--Is surrounded and annihilated--Description\n     of the battle--The Mahdi victor of Kordofan.\n\n\nIn our present miserable plight all our hopes were directed on Khartum,\nfrom whence we expected succour. Hitherto we heard only vague rumours,\nbut the news of the defeat and death of Wad Makashef on the White Nile\nencouraged us to hope on. We had no idea who commanded the Egyptian\ntroops in this action. We were quite uncertain as to what policy the\nGovernment would adopt regarding Kordofan; and of course, at this time,\nfalse reports were flying about everywhere, and it was quite impossible\nto arrive at the truth. At first we were inclined to believe everything\nwe heard, but gradually we found that we lived in such an atmosphere of\nlying and deceit that we arrived at believing almost nothing we heard.\nThe Sudanese proverb, \"Consider all news to be good and true, even if it\nbe false,\" is universally acted on in the Moslem world; and those who\nlooked for help from the Government always hoped for good news, and\nseized on the smallest pretext to give colour to their expectations;\ntheir belief in dreams which never came true accentuated their misery.\nIt was useless to try and enlighten these poor ignorant people,\ncontradiction only made them annoyed. Fortune-tellers were often\nconsulted about the future, and naturally they foretold what they\nthought their interrogators wanted to hear, and thus gave them hope for\na short time; but when it turned out incorrect--as was invariably the\ncase--it only increased their depression.\n\nGod, in His mercy, sent a ray of light into the darkness of our\ncaptivity, which again kindled the hope of succour which had been\nwell-nigh quite extinguished. On the 21st of June, 1883, a man came into\nour little hut and asked in a scared sort of way if we were the\nmissionaries. After repeated assurances that we were, the man took\ncourage and withdrew from his trousers a little note, which he had\nconcealed very carefully, and handed it to Father Bonomi, who at once\ntore it open in nervous haste and eagerly scanned the few lines which\nwere to give us a new life. The note was signed by Marcopoli Bey, by\norder of General Hicks, and was to the effect that we should not abandon\nhope, for as soon as the winter season began, a large army would advance\ninto the Sudan to attack the Mahdi. We kissed that dirty little bit of\npaper, and thanked God most heartily for sending us news so full of\ncomfort. We became reassured, and now our dark future gave place to\ncheerful hopes which brightened the few months of anxious delay which\nfollowed the receipt of this note. The letter was dated from the White\nNile, where the General had already gained a victory over Wad Makashef,\nand soon the news of the intended expedition against the Mahdi spread\nlike wildfire through the camp.\n\n[Illustration: HICKS PASHA.]\n\nIt appears that Consul Hansal also wrote a letter to the Mahdi, but the\nlatter said nothing to us about it. Amina, one of our black girls whom\nthe Mahdi had taken as a concubine, said she saw in the Mahdi's hand a\nletter with a large seal, on which the \"double-headed eagle\" was\nrepresented; but the Mahdi does not appear to have taken much notice of\nit. In Darfur the news of the intended Hicks expedition had considerable\neffect. Slatin, the Governor-General, had been fighting continuously\nagainst the natives of Darfur and against the Rizighat, Habbanieh, and\nother Arab tribes; he was now in the north, then in the south,\ncombating with bravery and unusual rapidity the various revolts which\nsprang up throughout his province. He was a scourge to the Arabs and\nkilled thousands of them; he even pursued them into the almost\ninaccessible hills and valleys of Jebel Marra. His powers of endurance\nwere wonderful, and he would often be twenty-four hours in the saddle,\nconstantly fighting, and with nothing to eat or drink. He slept on the\nbare floor or ground beside his native soldiers, and lived on dhurra\nsoaked in water; he was just, never took bribes, generous, ever ready to\nassist the poor and needy, and never refused admittance to old and young\nwho sought his help. In spite, however, of his having--as he himself\ntold me--fought in twenty-seven battles against the Arabs, he could not\ncrush them, for they were like fungus growing out of the earth.\n\nIn action Slatin was most heroic. On one occasion he was struck by a\nbullet which shattered one of his fingers; but, undismayed, he seized\nthe hanging remnant with his other hand and ordered the man standing\nnext him to cut it off with his knife; then he joined again in the\nfight, and cheered his men on to victory. Not only in Kordofan, but\nthroughout the entire Sudan, he was celebrated for his bravery in the\nface of the enemy. Still he was powerless to cope with the extensive\nrevolt in his province, and obtained little support from his Egyptian\nofficers, who were jealous and constantly intrigued against him; yet it\nwas the wonder of all that he succeeded in holding out so long. At\nlength, when his ammunition was almost finished, came the news of\nHicks's projected expedition, and to gain time he resorted to the\nfollowing expedient. His vakil was a man named Mohammed Zogal, uncle to\nthe Mahdi, and a man of sense; with him Slatin came to a private\nunderstanding, and it was agreed that Zogal should pay a visit to the\nMahdi, inform him that Slatin was prepared to submit, provided he was\npermitted to hold his present position, and then he was to return and\nbring back full information regarding the Mahdi, his power, &c., and at\nthe same time endeavour to arrange for a suspension of hostilities\npending the arrival of Hicks. Should Hicks be victorious then Slatin and\nDarfur would be saved, otherwise all would be lost; but this plan, if\nsuccessful, would enable Slatin to hold out until Hicks came, which he\ncould not otherwise have done. Zogal set out on his journey and arrived\nat El Obeid early in September 1883, where he was warmly welcomed by the\nMahdi. The latter was much pleased with Slatin's proposition, and\nordered a salute of one hundred guns to be fired to announce his\nsurrender.\n\nThe Mahdi could now turn his entire attention to his preparations to\nresist the advance of General Hicks, concerning the number of whose\ntroops the wildest reports were circulated. On learning of his departure\nfrom Omdurman on the 9th of September, he issued a proclamation\ninstructing his emirs to read it to their followers. In it he, as usual,\nstyled himself the Mahdi sent by God to defeat the Turks, who were the\nenemies of God and His Prophet, and that his mission was to conquer the\nworld; he extolled the virtues of holy war and promised paradise and its\njoys to all those who fell fighting in the holy cause. He now quitted El\nObeid and pitched his tent under a large Adansonia tree outside the\nwalls; his three Khalifas and their followers copied his example, and\nthis was the signal for the whole town to be evacuated. The life of ease\nand comfort was abandoned and people collected round their emirs' flags,\nso that in a short time an enormous camp was formed in anticipation of\nthe great battle. Couriers were sent in all directions to proclaim that\nanyone who refused to follow the Mahdi would have his hand and foot cut\noff; all men joined willingly, the Mahdi's camp daily grew larger, and\nstraw huts (or tokuls) soon covered the plain, though the people were\nallowed in turns to go back to the town at night. Detachments of troops\nwere sent to various parts of Kordofan to collect the Dervishes, and\nwhole tribes streamed from all directions towards El Obeid. Daily\nmanoeuvres and reviews were held, and guns fired repeatedly so that\nthe horses should get accustomed to the noise. Thus the Mahdi instilled\ngreat enthusiasm into the masses, and we began to have some fear for\nHicks.\n\nThe Mahdi now despatched the three emirs, Abdel Halim Wad el Hashmi,\nHajji Mohammed Abu Girgeh, and Omar Elias Pasha, with their followers,\nto Duem. They were instructed to watch the movements of Hicks's force,\nand when it left the White Nile, to cut his communication; they were\nthen to harass his march as much as possible, but not to bring on a\ngeneral engagement. All these orders were admirably carried out.\n\nGeneral Hicks left Duem on the 24th of September, 1883, and marched in a\nsouth-westerly direction through Shatt, Zeregga, Aigella, Shirkeleh,\nand Rahad, which he reached on the 20th of October, leaving Tagalla and\nJebel Dair on the left. The inhabitants of the districts through which\nthe troops passed, quitted their villages and carried off all their\ngoods, so that when the troops arrived they found nothing but straw\nhuts, which the soldiers at first set fire to; but General Hicks soon\nforbade this practice. The ill-fated army scarcely met a living soul,\nbut flocks of vultures followed them as if waiting for their prey.\nShortly after the annihilation of the army, a small and incomplete diary\nbelonging to an Austrian officer, Major Herlth, came into my hands, but\nit was sufficient to give me an insight into the wretched condition of\nthis force. The facts were briefly as follows: It was expected that on\nthe arrival of the army at Shirkeleh, it would be joined by several\nthousand Tagalla people, and it was hoped that this reinforcement would\ninspire the troops with some life and energy, which they entirely\nlacked; but these reinforcements never appeared.\n\nMajor Herlth described the troops as anything but good, and frequently\nrefers to the want of agreement between the two commanders--General\nHicks with his small body of European officers on the one hand, and Ala\ned Din Pasha, Governor-General of the Sudan, a man imbued with the old\nTurkish system, on the other. The European officers were convinced that\nthe expedition would not be successful; the camels were badly looked\nafter, hundreds died every day, and their loads were piled on to the\nothers which were still alive; saddles were for the most part without\nstraw, so that the bare wood rubbing on their backs made terrible\nwounds. Almost all the horses had died before the force reached Rahad.\nGeneral Hicks had also great trouble in keeping the men together;\nnumbers of them had recently been fighting against the English with\nArabi Pasha, and had been forcibly sent to the Sudan. It is also strange\nthat the shorter route from Duem to Bara, on which there was plenty of\nwater, was not chosen in preference to the long roundabout road they\ntook. While the latter route led through forests and long grass, the\nformer was entirely free from these obstructions, and, moreover, the\nfriendly Kababish tribe would have supported them on their northern\nflank. There was still another circumstance which contributed to the\nfinal disaster--the guides were treacherous, and led the army into the\nhands of the Dervishes; indeed, it was an open secret in the camp at El\nObeid that the guides had been sent by the Mahdi.\n\nAt Rahad, Hicks expected to have been joined by five hundred Baggara\nhorsemen, and it is true a number of horsemen were seen in the distance,\nand a white flag was shown; but the riders did not approach, and it was\nsoon evident that they were enemies. The force was in such a miserable\nand wretched condition that the emir, Abdel Halim, begged permission of\nthe Mahdi to be allowed to attack it with his own followers; but this\nthe Mahdi would not permit him to do, as he wanted to have all the\nhonour and glory of victory for himself. Every day information about the\nmovements of the Egyptian troops was sent to the Mahdi; sometimes\nreports reached him twice a day, and were always of the same tenour,\nviz. that the men had no heart to fight. Had an expedition been coming\nwhich had the elements of success in it, public opinion would have shown\nitself by numbers deserting the Mahdi's standards; but they had heard\nnothing of Hicks's early successes, and now the only reports that\nreached them were that the army was in a hopeless condition. All this\nonly made the Mahdi's prestige the greater, and it must be remembered\nthat the latter was an adept at inspiring fanaticism. One of General\nHicks's spies was captured, and he was at once impaled on lances. The\nfollowing extracts, which I give from memory, from Major Herlth's diary\nwill show how demoralised the expedition had become. The camp was\npitched at Rahad on a small eminence near the Khor Abu Habl, whilst the\nenemy, who were concealed on the opposite side in the high grass and\nunder the trees, fired incessantly at the Egyptians and killed a number\nof them. One bullet entered Hicks's tent and struck the seat on which\nhe was sitting; he then gave orders that the grass and woods should be\nat once cleared of the enemy. There was still a little water in the\nKhor, and as it seemed to be deep, a consultation was held as to how it\nshould best be crossed. The discussion lasted an hour. At length a few,\nmore courageous than the rest, decided to try and wade across, and to\ntheir intense surprise found that it was quite shallow and easily\nfordable; they then crossed over and drove back the enemy, killing seven\nof them.\n\nWhile at Rahad, it was discovered that the camp out of which they had\nmarched the previous day had been entered, and everything that they had\nleft behind had been taken. It was now evident that the enemy were in\ngreater force than they had thought, and in consequence General Hicks\nmade an entrenchment and put guns into position, which were fired with\nsome effect, as one shell killed no less than thirteen men. This news\nwas sent to the Mahdi.\n\nAt El Obeid the slow advance of the troops could not be understood, and\nthis had a still more convincing effect on the Dervishes that the\nexpedition must be in a bad way. It was a matter of no surprise that the\ntroops had not been victorious, as it was known that every element of\nsuccess was wanting; as for the poor Egyptians, the capture of a cow was\nan event of great importance, and General Hicks ordered every officer to\nbe given a piece of it.\n\nColonel Farquhar, chief of the staff, did all he could to raise the\ncourage of the soldiers. On one occasion some horsemen were seen a short\ndistance away sitting fearlessly on their horses as if challenging\nanyone to come out and fight them. When Farquhar saw them he mounted his\nhorse and advanced straight on them. When he approached they began to\nretire, but he went in pursuit, and coming up with them killed two, the\nthird he pulled off his horse, and capturing the horses brought them\nback to camp. In spite, however, of such a gallant example, the men were\nlistless and out of heart; the long marches had thoroughly exhausted\nthem.\n\n[Illustration: COLONEL ARTHUR FARQUHAR.\n\n(_Chief of the Staff._)]\n\nAt Rahad, Gustav Klootz, a native of Berlin, deserted the army. He was\nBaron Seckendorf's servant; but at Shirkeleh he quitted his master's\nservice, and became the servant of Mr. O'Donovan, correspondent of the\n_Daily News_. Klootz had certain socialistic tendencies, which caused\nhim to change masters, and there is no doubt that these ideas had much\nto do with his desertion. He and a native of Saxony determined to escape\nsecretly, and on the plea of gathering wood outside the camp, these two\nmen succeeded one evening in passing the outposts. No sooner had they\ngone beyond the line than they heard firing, and the Saxony man, fearing\na sudden attack, at once turned back to camp, whilst Klootz continued\nhis flight. When he had gone a short distance he fired two shots, one to\nmake the Egyptians believe that the enemy was close to them, and the\nother to make the enemy think that they were close to the Egyptian\noutposts. When night came on he lay down under a tree to sleep,\nregardless of the fact that he was between two enemies; and the next\nmorning he began to debate with himself whether, after all, it would not\nbe better to return. He would not have hesitated for an instant had he\nnot thought that perhaps the Saxony man had betrayed his desertion. At\nlength he decided there was nothing for it but to go on towards the\nDervishes.\n\nAfter going some distance he saw three dirty-looking men who pointed\ntheir rifles at him; but he signed to them that he was not coming as an\nenemy, and to further reassure them, he threw down his rifle and\nrevolver on the ground, and advanced towards them. The Arabs also\napproached; but Klootz, who did not understand a word of Arabic, called\nout, \"Dervish--where is the Dervish?\" (by \"Dervish\" he meant the Mahdi.)\nThe Arabs understood perfectly what he wanted to say, but at that moment\nthey were thinking much more of the loot they saw before them than of\nthe Mahdi; so they seized the little money Klootz had, and took\npossession of his watch, rifle, revolver, and even his boots. Klootz\nsoon realised into whose hands he had fallen, for these Arabs, having\ntaken everything from him, then directed him towards the Dervish camp.\nOn he plodded barefooted, through the long grass, and often over thorns,\nuntil at last he met an old woman, who made him understand by gestures\nthat he was close on the camp. A few moments later several horsemen\nappeared, and, surrounding him, took him in triumph to Abu Girgeh; for\nthey thought at length they had captured a hated Englishman. Klootz, to\nhis astonishment, now found himself in a large entrenched camp, where\nthe Dervishes were living in perfect safety. The horsemen had told Abu\nGirgeh that they had found him sitting in a tree writing, so he was at\nonce put in chains, tied tightly to a bedstead, and then interrogated\nabout Hicks's troops. At the same time a messenger was sent to the Mahdi\nto inquire what should be done with the Englishman. The Mahdi ordered\nthat he should be at once brought to El Obeid; the chains were therefore\nremoved, and a rope put round his neck, by which he was drawn by\nhorsemen to the Mahdi's camp. The journey lasted a day and a half, and\nhe was obliged to walk the whole way barefooted in the burning sun, so\nthat when he reached El Obeid his feet were swollen up and in a dreadful\ncondition.\n\nAs swift as lightning the news now spread through the camp that an\nEnglish officer had been captured. Who could the unfortunate man be? we\nwondered. When Klootz was brought before the Mahdi all he could say was\nthat he was Nimsawi (a German). The Mahdi therefore summoned Stambuli,\nBonomi, and myself, to act as interpreters. When we entered the crowded\nenclosure everyone understood the object of our coming; most of them\nwere busy cleaning their lances, and shouted out after us, \"Mind you\nmake careful inquiries of him.\" There was such a crowd in front of the\nMahdi's tent that it was almost impossible to make our way through; but\nat last there was a cry of \"Ahl Delen\" (\"Here are the Delen people\"),\nand they made way for us. We took off our shoes, and were shown into the\nMahdi's presence. I was intensely anxious to see who this Englishman\nmight be; we had seen nothing but black faces for so long, that had he\nbeen a creature from the other world, we could not have been more\ninterested; then we were on tenter-hooks to know how the expedition was\nprogressing, whether it was under English command, &c., &c. Of course\nGeneral Hicks's name was well known, but we knew nothing about the\ncomposition of his force.\n\nWhen we entered we saw the Mahdi, the supposed English officer, and\nAhmed Wad Suleiman sitting on a straw mat. We saluted the Mahdi, who\nreturned our salute in a most gracious manner. He was smiling, and\nseemed much pleased. He introduced the Englishman to me, and asked me\nto question him about his coming. My imagination, in which I had\npictured an Englishman, received a rude shock, for I beheld before me a\nyoung man with blonde hair, blue eyes, a sunburnt face, and a nose from\nwhich the skin was peeled off. He wore a dirty tarbush; his clothes were\nmade of rough canvas, and he looked very much like the fireman of an\nengine. Before anything else I expressed to him my sincere pity at his\nhaving fallen into the hands of savages, for I did not then know that he\nhad come of his own accord. I asked him his name; he replied, \"Gustav\nKlootz, of Berlin,\" and said that he was the correspondent of an\nimportant newspaper. He afterwards gave me a true account of himself. I\ntranslated everything to the Mahdi. I then asked him about the state of\nthe army. He said that it consisted of barely 10,000 men, and he added\nthat it was generally believed by the European officers that they would\nbe defeated. It was with the greatest difficulty that I concealed the\nblow to my feelings which this news occasioned. I asked him why he\ndeserted, and he excused himself by saying that he did so to save his\nlife. I now knew that he could be no soldier; but, of course, I did not\ntranslate to the Mahdi the wretched account he gave of the army. At this\nmoment I received a kick in the ribs from Ahmed Wad Suleiman, who cried\nout, \"Ask him how many guns are in possession of the unbelievers?\" I was\nthen given a small book, which turned out to be Klootz's diary, and was\ntold to translate it. There were only a few leaves, in which the date of\ndeparture from Shatt and other places was noted; the number of camels\nthat died daily; a few observations on his master, and sundry other\nthings.\n\nThe Mahdi then asked whether, if he wrote to Hicks, he would be likely\nto surrender, to which Klootz naturally replied that he was sure nothing\nwould induce him to do so.\n\nThe Mahdi further asked whether Klootz thought he or General Hicks was\nthe more powerful, to which Klootz answered that he thought the Mahdi\nwould be successful; but that he would probably lose a number of his\nfollowers, as Hicks's force was well supplied with good firearms, to\nwhich Wad Suleiman added, \"Death will be our reward.\"\n\nThe Mahdi seemed delighted with the news he had received, and ordered a\nplate of fried meat to be brought, which he shared with us, eating with\nhis fingers. It was considered a very high favour when he touched the\nplate with his hand, and handed a small piece of meat to those who sat\nwith him, and this favour he conferred on us. It was rather striking\nthat he should have done this, for many Moslems consider it wrong even\nto eat in the presence of Christians. When the meal was over he\ndismissed us, and Klootz was handed over to Stambuli till further\norders.\n\nJust as we got outside the hut, Klootz and I were called in again. The\nMahdi was now quite alone. He ordered us to sit down on the floor, and\nthen whispered in my ear, \"Tell this man he may count on the best of\ntreatment if he will turn Moslem; if not, he must die.\" I explained this\nto Klootz in German, and he replied that he was quite prepared to do\nanything the Mahdi required; whereupon the latter presented him with his\nshoes and a jibbeh, and named him \"Mustafa,\" as it struck him that there\nwas a similarity of sound between Mustafa and Gustav.\n\nWhen we left the hut we found an enormous crowd of people all clamouring\nto know what the Englishman had said. Of course everyone wanted to see\nhim, and it was impossible for us to move a step. Stambuli, therefore,\nprocured a horse, mounted Klootz upon it, and in this manner we\nproceeded to Stambuli's house.\n\nWe did not at first believe in Klootz's statement, and thought that he\nmust have purposely given the Mahdi false information, so as to gain\nfavour and save his own skin; but when we were alone together, I bound\nhim by a solemn oath to tell me the absolute truth, and, to my\nastonishment, he told me he had nothing to add to what he had already\nsaid. It is impossible to describe our misery when we heard Klootz's\nreport. We had counted for months on the success of the expedition to\ndeliver us from the hands of our enemies, and now all our bright hopes\nwere rapidly fading away, and again a gloomy future yawned in front of\nus.\n\nGeneral Hicks left Rahad on the 26th of October, and arrived at Aluba on\nthe 29th; here he received the Mahdi's letter summoning him to submit.\nOf course this was taken no notice of, and on the 3rd of November the\narmy advanced towards Kashgeil, which is about twelve miles south of El\nObeid.\n\nIn the meantime the Mahdi had been collecting his followers, and doing\nall in his power to inspire them with wild fanaticism; anyone who saw\nthe enormous hordes of savages which were brought together, must have\ntrembled for the fate of Hicks. It was said that the Mahdi had been\npromised the assistance of 40,000 angels from paradise, and everyone\nquite believed in the truth of this assertion. Anyone beholding this\nimmense multitude of fanatics of every race and age, even though he had\nformerly been a disbeliever in the Mahdi, must now have been convinced\nof his divinity. The uneducated masses of the Sudan are entirely\ngoverned by the influence of external appearances, they had never heard\nor seen anything of this description before; now heralds were going from\nend to end of the camp foretelling the death of everyone who refused to\nfollow the Mahdi.\n\nOn the 1st of November, Mohammed Ahmed quitted El Obeid, and\neveryone--man, woman, and child--followed him. Every house was\nevacuated, and woe to him who attempted to hide himself! Wad Gubara and\nhis flag alone remained behind as garrison of El Obeid. The throng,\nnoisy bustle and din of the camp suddenly gave way to almost absolute\nsilence--the silence of the grave. The days which followed were for us a\nperiod of terrible anxiety. Although we felt almost certain that a\nterrible catastrophe was about to take place, yet we still had a slight\nhope that, with the help of European leaders, good rifles, and\nmachine-guns, the result might be different. Abu Anga, who had\nseparated from his Jehadieh (black troops) just the day before, now\njoined the powerful division of Abdel Halim, and on the 3rd of November\nthe Mahdi's followers also joined this division, whilst the Mahdi\nhimself, accompanied by his Khalifas, set out for Birket.\n\nIt was on the 3rd of November that the action actually began, for, in\naccordance with the Mahdi's orders, his followers had gradually\ncompletely encircled the troops, who were now opposed by black soldiers\nwith Remington rifles, Wad en Nejumi's Gellabas, and the flags of Abdel\nHalim, Sherif Mahmud, and many others. In the attack which occurred on\nthis date, the Dervishes were forced back with the loss of Fauzi, one of\nthe Mahdi's katibs, Elias Pasha's son, and the son of Hajji Khaled; but\nGeneral Hicks's losses were considerably greater; he had also run short\nof water, and was doing his utmost to dig wells, though he did not know\nthat within fifteen minutes' walk of him there was a large reservoir of\nrain-water. What days of terrible anxiety these must have been for the\nprincipal officers, and especially for General Hicks, on whom the entire\nresponsibility rested!\n\nMajor Herlth's diary stops abruptly on the 4th of November; he writes on\nthat day that Dr. Georges Bey was wounded the previous day and died\nshortly afterwards. As far as I can remember, the Major then\ncontinues:--\"These are bad times; we are in a forest, and everyone very\ndepressed. The general orders the band to play, hoping that the music\nmay enliven us a little; but the bands soon stop, for the bullets are\nflying from all directions, and camels, mules, and men keep dropping\ndown; we are all cramped up together, so the bullets cannot fail to\nstrike. We are faint and weary, and have no idea what to do. The general\ngives the order to halt and make a zariba. It is Sunday, and my dear\nbrother's birthday. Would to God that I could sit down and talk to him\nfor an hour! The bullets are falling thicker....\"\n\nHere the writer suddenly breaks off; possibly a bullet had penetrated\nhis weary heart.\n\nThe ring of encircling Dervishes was gradually drawing in and enclosing\nthe ill-fated troops. The greatest destruction was done by Abu Anga's\nmen who may be said to have destroyed the army; hidden behind shrubs and\nbushes, they fired incessantly at very close range into the midst of the\nEgyptians. One of Abu Anga's men told me that he alone had fired one\nhundred and fifty rounds. On that terrible Sunday General Hicks had to\nabandon a number of guns, for he had no mules to carry them. Dire\nconfusion prevailed everywhere, the troops were suffering terribly from\nthirst, discipline was gone, and the men could not even lay their guns\nproperly.\n\nKlootz, whom the Khalifa Abdullah took with him, told me that he was\nsome way from the place where the actual fighting was going on, and that\nthe shells were striking the branches overhead. It would seem that the\narmy made three attempts to break through the Dervish lines, but failed,\nand Klootz told me that the bodies were scattered in three large heaps\nextending over a distance of nearly two miles. The largest heap was in\nthe forest of Shekan near Kashgeil, and it was here that the Dervishes\nfell on the remainder of the force and the European officers, and killed\nthem with their lances on the 5th of November.\n\nAccording to the evidence of the Dervishes themselves, the European\nofficers fought most heroically. General Hicks was one of the last to\nfall; he had emptied his revolver, and, holding his sword in his right\nhand, waited for the rush of the enemy; he was soon surrounded and his\nhorse wounded in the back; he then dismounted and fought most gallantly\nwith his sword until he fell, pierced by several spears. The heroism of\nthese brave men was the admiration of all. After the massacre the bodies\nwere stripped and mutilated. Even long after the battle those who were\npresent used to talk of the terrible spectacle of all these bodies lying\nwith their mouths gaping open and covered with blood. These savages used\nto plunge their spears into the bodies of the dead so as to dip them in\nthe bloody entrails of their enemies, and for long after they talked\nand revelled over the yellow-looking fat of the \"Turks,\" which protruded\nthrough their gaping wounds. Baron Seckendorf, who was remarkable for\nhis enormous size, had been beheaded, and his head was taken to the\nMahdi; it was thought that he must have been General Hicks. A few\nescaped by hiding themselves under the heaps of dead bodies or behind\nguns or waggons; at the end of the action these were all collected, and\nnumbered one hundred persons. During the actual fighting no quarter was\ngiven. An Egyptian soldier pursued by some Dervishes fled towards the\nKhalifa Sherif and begged to be spared; but the latter laughed at his\nfear, and he was at once despatched with spears.\n\nThe Dervishes then collected their dead and laid them out in a line. It\nseems almost incredible to say so, but there were only three hundred and\nfifty in all killed. The Mahdi offered up a prayer over them, and then\nthey were buried.\n\nThe dead bodies of the Egyptians were left a prey to the vultures and\nhyenas. Klootz, who said that he understood doctoring, was permitted by\nthe Mahdi to collect all the medicines in the field, and when doing so\nhe was enabled to examine the bodies of the Europeans. He told me that\nit was with the greatest difficulty he kept himself from breaking down\nwhen he saw the mutilated corpses of those with whom he had but a short\ntime ago laughed and spoken. The body of a soldier was seen hanging\nbetween earth and sky; he had evidently climbed up an Adansonia tree in\nsearch of water, when a bullet must have killed him, and in falling he\nwas caught by the branches.\n\nAmongst those who escaped was a man named Abderrahman Ben en Naga Bey,\nwhose father, then in El Obeid, had entreated the Mahdi to spare him. A\nfew days before the catastrophe he was found writing letters to Omar Wad\nElias Pasha, then with Abdel Halim's force; in consequence he and his\nmen had been put in irons, and it was Ala ed Din Pasha's intention to\nexecute him; but Hicks would not allow it, saying that he would be\nfairly tried after El Obeid was captured. Ben en Naga was in the\nthickest of the fight, and had already lost an eye, when his father's\nslaves succeeded in reaching him and saving his life.\n\n[Illustration: A BAGGARA EMIR, PRESENT AT THE ANNIHILATION OF THE HICKS\nEXPEDITION, AND AFTERWARDS CAPTURED AT TOSKI.]\n\nThe Mahdi and his followers were greatly delighted, for they had not\ncalculated on such a complete victory, and a messenger was at once\ndespatched to El Obeid to order a salute of one hundred guns to be\nfired.\n\nIt was early on Tuesday morning, the 6th of November, that the thunder\nof the guns was heard in the camp, and our alarm at this terrible news\ncan well be understood. Our bright hopes, which enabled us to support a\nwretched existence for more than a year, were rudely dashed to the\nground. We now gave up all idea of the Government sending a second\nexpedition. It was clear that Khartum must look to its own safety, and\nas the Mahdi had in the first instance gained possession of Kordofan\nthrough his victory over Yusef Pasha Esh Shellali, so now his\nannihilation of General Hicks's force placed almost the entire Sudan in\nhis hands.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE MAHDI'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO EL OBEID.\n\n     Fall of Darfur--Slatin surrenders--The Mahdi's divinity credited\n     after the annihilation of Hicks--King Adam of Tagalla--Stambuli's\n     kindness to the European captives--Gordon writes to the\n     Mahdi--Power's letter--The sisters seized and distributed amongst\n     the emirs--They are tortured--The missionaries turned into\n     slaves--The terrible journey to Rahad--The Greeks come to the help\n     of the sisters--The proclamation concerning the treatment of\n     priests and hermits by Mohammedans--The Mahdi at Rahad--Ohrwalder's\n     interviews with the Mahdi concerning religion--The Dervishes attack\n     the Nubas.\n\n\nThe Mahdi remained seven days with his entire force at Birket, so as to\ncollect families and stragglers and to take possession of the loot which\nthe greedy Arabs had seized and refused to give up. Several of the\nlatter were flogged, and seven slaves belonging to the Mahdi's uncle,\nSayid Mohammed Taha, suffered the loss of a hand and a foot because they\nhad kept for themselves some of the Mahdi's booty.\n\nThe loot referred to consisted of war material, such as Krupp guns,\nmachine guns, and Remington rifles, besides a number of axes, pickaxes,\nand shovels, which were required for making zaribas; a quantity of\nmoney, watches, and clothing, was also included, and the whole was\ncarried off to the beit el mal.\n\nSome of the dead bodies were secretly set fire to, so as to make the\nignorant people think that these unbelievers were being consumed by\nhell-fire. General Hicks's white horse was handed over to Klootz with\norders to cure the wound in its back.\n\nAt length the pestilential smell of thousands of dead bodies of men and\nanimals drove the conquerors forward. The Mahdi's entry into El Obeid\nwas a scene of wild enthusiasm and excitement. The many-coloured flags\ncame first, then followed thousands upon thousands of Dervishes moving\nto the ever-swelling murmur of \"La Ilaha il'lallah\" (\"There is no god\nbut God\"), whilst others danced out of the ranks and shook their\nblood-bespotted spears, uttering fearful yells. After them followed the\ncavalry with the three Khalifas. Every now and then a halt was made,\nwhen a number of riders would dash forward at full gallop, poising their\nlances ready for the thrust, and then would return to the ranks amidst\nthe loud applause of the others.\n\nAfter the cavalry followed a few prisoners, the wretched remnant of\nHicks's army. Most of them were naked, and were being dragged forward\nunder the continual insults of the Dervishes; then came the guns drawn\nby wounded mules, and last of all came the Mahdi himself, riding a\nmagnificent white camel, and surrounded by his most fanatical adherents,\nwhose monotonous \"La Ilaha il'lallah\" resembled the sound of a rushing\nstream. Clouds of dust filled the air, and as the Mahdi passed by, the\nspectators threw themselves down and kissed the ground, whilst the women\nshouted \"Mahdi Allah\" (\"The Mahdi of God\").\n\nSuch a scene of wild triumph had never before been witnessed. The Mahdi\nwas now honoured almost as a god. This victory gained for him an\nenormous increase of power and respect. The fear of his name sped like\nwildfire throughout every province and district in the Sudan. He was now\nregarded as the true Mahdi, every Moslem believed in him, and all doubt\nwas put aside.\n\nAt the battle near Shekan numbers of people said they saw the angels\nwhom the Mahdi had summoned to fight against the Turks. He now became\nthe object of almost superhuman adoration; even the water with which he\nwashed himself was handed by the eunuchs to the believers, who drank it\nwith avidity as an antidote to all ills and diseases.\n\nAfter a time the captured Egyptians were released, and many died in a\nstate of beggary in the market-place at El Obeid. The captured blacks\nwere distributed amongst the beit el mal soldiers, and were known by the\nname of \"Hiksani,\" for example, Morgan Hiksani. It was one of the Mahdi\ninstitutions that slaves should--besides their own names--bear also the\nnames of their masters. Our Delen blacks were also given my name,\n\"Yusef.\" Of course it would have been more correct if they had called\nthem after our chief, Luigi Bonomi, but the Arabs found this name rather\ndifficult to pronounce.\n\nThe Mahdi now became more imperious, and his success made him bolder and\nmore confident. He despatched letters to various parts of the world,\nproving the divinity of his mission by his success in arms, and\nsummoning all to rise against the Turks. He wrote very strongly to the\ninhabitants of the Gezireh, threatening them with fire and sword if they\nrefused to rise against the Government and join him.\n\nHaving rid himself of his enemies, the Mahdi now turned his attention to\nDarfur. He appointed his uncle, Zogal Bey, who was known as Sayid\nMohammed Khaled, emir of Darfur, and sent him to that province,\naccompanied by Abdel Samad, the son of Ahmed Sharfi, and Omar Wad Elias.\n\nKhalifa Sherif, immediately after the victory over Hicks, urged the\nMahdi to advance to the White Nile and attack Khartum, which he might\neasily have done, but the Mahdi was anxious first of all to secure\nDarfur, and he also wished to rest on his laurels a little longer. He\nwrote to Slatin Bey informing him of the destruction of Hicks's army,\nand he also forced Klootz to write to the same effect. Zogal started on\nthe 16th of December, 1883, and proceeded in the first instance to Dara,\nwhere Slatin was at that time. He then sent in a messenger with the\nMahdi's letter, in which he was called upon to surrender. Zogal well\nknew that this was a mere formality, for Slatin was quite unable to hold\nout any longer, and he had only five cartridges per man left; his men\ntoo refused to make any further stand. Slatin, therefore, on receipt of\nthe letter, rode out to Zogal and submitted. The Dervishes then entered\nDara, and as usual began to plunder. Zogal subsequently proceeded to El\nFasher, which was at that time commanded by the Mudir, Said Bey Guma,\nwho had put the town in a state of defence.\n\nIn spite of the wells being beyond the lines, Said Bey offered a\nresistance which from the outset was hopeless; seven days later, that is\nto say on the 15th of January, 1884, he surrendered. Kebkebieh also\nyielded to Zogal, and Omshanga had already submitted. Thus the populous\nand valuable province of Darfur, which had cost Egypt much blood and\nmoney, was entirely lost in the short space of eight days. In the\nmeantime the Mahdi had despatched his son-in-law, Wad el Beshir, to the\nGezireh to head the revolt against the Government in that district.\n\nThe Mahdi showed his wisdom in never attempting to invade a district\nwhich had not previously declared in his favour. When he heard of the\nsubmission of El Fasher and Dara, he despatched Abu Girgeh to undertake\nthe siege of Khartum. The latter left with only a small body of troops,\nbut numbers joined him on the way, especially when he reached the White\nNile; so that he was not afraid of advancing towards the capital.\n\nThus through his victory at Shekan, the Mahdi had virtually made himself\nmaster of the whole Sudan from the Red Sea to the boundaries of Waddai,\nand from the Bahr el Ghazal to Dongola. All eyes were turned to him, and\nthe majority of the people believed him to be the true Mahdi; some\nthought he must be a great magician. Even now at the present time, when\nhe has already been six years in his grave, and the fallacy and misery\nwrought by Mahdiism are thoroughly admitted, still his wonderful success\nis attributed to witchcraft. His own countrymen--the Danagla--although\nthey now admit he was not the Mahdi, say that he was undoubtedly a very\nholy man, and was supernaturally endowed by God with extraordinary\nauthority and wisdom. Amongst others who feared the Mahdi's power was\nKing Adam of Tagalla, who with his wife, child, and slaves, came down\nfrom his mountain retreat and surrendered.\n\nFor a long time the King's Kadi had endeavoured to convince his master\nthat Mohammed Ahmed was not the true Mahdi, and did his utmost to\ndissuade him from joining; but after the defeat of Hicks, Adam delayed\nno longer, and moreover took his Kadi with him. When they reached\nMelbeis, about three hours' journey from El Obeid, the Kadi deserted,\nbut he was recaptured, put in chains, and brought with the king to El\nObeid.\n\nOn their arrival near the town, Khalifa Abdullah went out with a large\nretinue to meet Adam, who had a great reputation throughout Kordofan,\nand greeted him most cordially. A salute was fired, and every one\nrejoiced at the Mahdi's bloodless victory. King Adam was warmly welcomed\nby the Mahdi, given a special place to live in, and treated with the\ngreatest respect. To gain still more favour in the Mahdi's eyes, Adam\nsent him six of his prettiest young girls as concubines. After a short\ntime, however, the mountain king seemed to tire of residence in El Obeid\nand began to suffer from melancholia. In his mountains he was absolute\nmaster, here in El Obeid he was nothing but a slave. At first he thought\nhe would be permitted to return to his mountains, but soon he had to\ngive up all hope of this; and before long he realised that one of the\nfirst principles of Mahdiism was that those who were fortunate enough to\nbehold its light would never be permitted to wander back into darkness.\nNow he bitterly repented that he had not accepted his Kadi's advice,\nwhile the spies by whom he was surrounded soon let the Mahdi know what\nthe Kadi's opinions were; and when Khalifa Abdullah learnt that he\nmeditated flight, he at once had him seized and beheaded. Thus was the\nunfortunate Adam intimidated; then his horses were taken from him, and\nlast of all, to save his life, he had to sell his wives.\n\nAlmost all the inhabitants of Jebel Nuba sent messengers to say that\nthey were the Mahdi's subjects. Even in Khartum already numbers were\ninclined to him. In proof of this statement, the case of the Sub-Mudir\nof the town, Wad Gesuli, may be quoted. When this individual heard of\nGordon's arrival at Berber, he at once fled from Khartum and came to El\nObeid, where he threw himself at the Mahdi's feet and assured him that\nthe inhabitants of Khartum to a man were on his side.\n\nAll hope of release now seemed at an end. Our pitiful condition was\nsomewhat lightened through the kind offices of our Syrian friend, George\nStambuli, who was both the Mahdi's favourite and our benefactor at the\nsame time, and he supplied us with the necessaries of life. The sisters\nmade jibbehs (Dervish coats), which Stambuli sold and gave us the\nproceeds. We obtained the material chiefly from the clothes of the\nsoldiers who had been killed, and from the officers' tunics. O'Donovan's\nmackintosh and some other articles of clothing which Klootz recognised\ncame into our hands and were soon cut up. Most of the clothing was\nstained with blood, which we were obliged to wash out; but what bitter\nthoughts occupied our minds in this sad task!\n\nTowards the end of January 1884 an unfortunate incident occurred which\nbrought us into difficulties. One of Stambuli's female slaves, having\ncome to an understanding with his Dongolawi servant, went to the Khalifa\nAbdullah and reported that her master was a Christian, and prayed daily.\nStambuli's suspicions were aroused, and that evening he hid away\neverything which could be brought up against him, except a small silver\ncross which his little daughter wore round her neck. Almost before dawn\nhis house was surrounded by a number of Dervishes, and Nejumi with Wad\nSuleiman, who had been ordered to take possession of his house, broke\ninto it and began a thorough search.\n\nStambuli who, since the fall of El Obeid, had never been questioned, had\nhis house full of all sorts of things, and was also in possession of a\nquantity of gum and ostrich feathers. The house was turned upside down,\nbut nothing of an implicating nature could be found: the slave had,\nhowever, mentioned the little girl's cross, and the inquisitors demanded\nto see the children; when they saw the cross they at once asked what it\nwas. Stambuli replied that it was an ornament which had no special\nsignification, and Wad Suleiman then pulled it off the child's neck and\nkept it.\n\nI must here remark that numbers of people were very envious and jealous\nof Stambuli, and did not at all care to see a white man in possession of\nall this property; they therefore took every occasion to rob and steal\nfrom him. Stambuli was now put into chains, whilst his property was\ncarried off to the beit el mal. It was decided that he was to be\nbeheaded, but his Syrian countrymen and the Greeks consulted together,\nthen went to the Mahdi and begged for his life. They were kindly\nreceived by the latter, who gave them some hope, and fifteen days later\nStambuli was pardoned. He was obliged to appear before the Mahdi with a\nshebba (_i.e._ a long piece of forked wood in which the neck was placed,\nand which had the effect of forcing the head back), and in this\ncondition he was obliged to implore the Mahdi's forgiveness. His\nproperty was never returned to him, and he could support us no more.\n\nFather Bonomi seized this opportunity to write to the Mahdi and beg for\nour release, which he had so frequently promised. The Mahdi wrote\nseveral kind words on the reverse of the petition, but they meant\nnothing; he said Father Bonomi was aware with what affection he regarded\nhim, and that, therefore, he could not bear the thought of losing him.\nAt the same time he instructed Wad Suleiman to give us whatever was\nnecessary for our sustenance from the beit el mal; this occurred on the\n5th of February, 1884.\n\nJust at this time, when all hopes of release seemed at an end, God sent\nus light in the midst of our darkness. Some people arrived from Khartum\nand reported that Gordon Pasha had reached there and had been received\nwith great enthusiasm.\n\nThe alarm with which this news was received by the Mahdi and his\nadherents, and the delight which it occasioned to those who still hoped\nfor deliverance, can readily be understood. The Mahdi, who thought the\nSudan was actually in his grasp, was thoroughly upset, for it was\ngenerally believed that Gordon had brought Englishmen with him. A few\ndays later he received a letter from Gordon, and the anxiety to know\nwhat it contained was enormous. Nothing else was talked about, and when\nthe Mahdi ordered the letter to be read in public the disappointment was\nvery great.\n\nIn this letter Gordon offered the Mahdi the whole of the Western Sudan,\nof which he said he should be considered the Sultan. He authorised the\ncontinuance of the slave trade, and free transit to all pilgrims going\nto Mecca; and, in conclusion, he asked for the release of the prisoners.\nThe Mahdi laughed at Gordon's proposals, and thought him a very cunning\nunbeliever, who was attempting to delude him with vain promises merely\nto gain time. He could not understand how it was Gordon came to offer\nhim what he already possessed some time ago; and he remarked that the\nvery ground on which Gordon was standing was practically in his hands.\nThe fact that Gordon had brought no troops with him served to further\nincrease his pride, and his reply was couched in the following\nterms:--He said that when he was at Abba Island he had warned the\nGovernment officials that if they refused to recognise him as the Mahdi,\nthey would undoubtedly perish. He had repeated the same warning to Yusef\nPasha Esh Shellali, and to Hicks Pasha. He informed him of the surrender\nof Darfur, and concluded by saying that he had no desire for worldly\nbenefits. His object was to reform the people, and he invited Gordon to\ncome and join him. With the letter the Mahdi sent him a complete set of\nDervish garments, viz. a jibbeh, takia, turban, girth, and pair of\nsandals.\n\nMeanwhile the Mahdi had despatched the emir Abu Anga with some troops,\nalso the emirs Wad Nejumi and Abdullah Wad en Nur to Jebel Dair, where\nthe king (Mek) Kumbo was still offering resistance. It was thought that\nthe number of troops would alarm these mountaineers; but they\nsuccessfully resisted the first attack, and then withdrew to their\nmountain fastnesses where the troops could not follow them.\n\nOn the 23rd of March, 1884, a man arrived from Khartum with a small note\nfrom Consul Power. It was written in English on one side, and in French\non the other: \"Courage pour un peu. Gordon est ici. Courage tout ira\nbien,\" was what this good man wrote. He also asked for the names of the\nsurvivors of Hicks's expedition, and the names of the European prisoners\nin Kordofan. We answered all his questions. These few words of the\nconsul gave us no little comfort and encouragement.\n\nThe time of the Mahdi's departure from El Obeid was now drawing near.\nThe crowd of people who had been collected was so enormous that the\nwater in the wells was insufficient, and rose greatly in price, and\nanyone with slaves had to pay dearly for the luxury.\n\nDisturbances frequently took place round the wells, and often people\nfell in. The wells were from 150 to 160 feet deep.\n\nThe Mahdi's further stay at El Obeid was now useless, and he decided to\nadvance on Khartum. He issued a proclamation summoning all people to\njoin him, and heralds were despatched in all directions with the Mahdi's\norders. At the same time it was announced that all people should follow\nin the Mahdi's track via Rahad, and Arabs living to the north and east\nof El Obeid were instructed to fall upon any travellers, put them in\nchains, and drag them to that town.\n\nProvisions now became very cheap, such as coffee, wheat, dates, &c.;\nbut, on the other hand, the rates of hire of camels and donkeys\nincreased enormously. Money was distributed to everyone for the journey.\n\nWith regard to ourselves, however, as we were not permitted to leave, we\nresolved to try and escape; but this was most difficult, for we were\navoided by everyone and no one dared associate with us. We managed,\nhowever, to procure a trustworthy man, who succeeded in getting us\ncamels and guides; but God had disposed otherwise. Khalifa Abdullah,\naccompanied by a number of followers, suddenly appeared at our huts on\nthe 28th of March, and Father Bonomi, brother Joseph Rognotto and myself\nwere summoned before him. We found him seated on his sheepskin in the\nmidst of a circle of emirs, and when he had beckoned to us to sit down,\nhe then began to address to us a heap of questions, all leading up to\nthe one important point--that we should accept his faith. His arguments\nwere valueless, and had no effect upon us, so we were sent back to our\nhuts.\n\nThat evening, at about sunset, some thirty men, mounted on horses, broke\ninto our humble abode, and said that they had orders to remove the\nsisters, assuring us with mock modesty that no harm should happen to\nthem. We, however, well knew what would happen, and absolutely refused\nto be separated, saying that if they wished they could kill us, and cut\noff our heads; but that it would be a cruel shame for the Mahdi to\nill-treat these poor women after all his solemn promises and assurances.\nBut of what avail could our protests be against brutal violence! They\nforced their way in, seized the sisters, and took them before the\nKhalifa Abdullah. He and Khalifa Sherif used every means of cruel\nbarbarity to shake the faith of these poor sisters, and the latter,\nseizing a pair of scissors, which one of the sisters was carrying, cut\nthe partition between her nostrils. The Khalifa's wives also howled and\ninsulted them in every base way, and then they were distributed amongst\nthe emirs, and sent to Rahad.\n\nWe spent that night in our own huts, but early the following morning the\nDervishes came and took us to the Khalifa, who made us over to various\nemirs. My master was to be Abdullah Wad en Nur; but as at that time he\nhappened to be at Jebel Dair, I was made over to his brother Makin, who\nwas then occupying Mohammed Said Pasha's house. Father Bonomi, together\nwith the little property we had left, was put into the beit el mal; but\nmy diary, which I had now written for the third time, also Herlth's\ndiary, General Hicks's Bible and prayer book, and a sandwich case and\nsmall bundle, belonging to O'Donovan, were all lost. We were now\nexposed to ill-treatment and insult from all sides. The Mahdi's three\nsons, ranging from seven to ten years of age, used to come and insult me\ndaily; but I cannot mention the details, which will for ever remain\nengraven on my memory.\n\nAt length, on the 7th of April, 1884, the Mahdi set out, and we with\nhim. The huge camp, swarming with thousands and thousands of people,\nbecame empty in a few days, and each one, as he left his hut, set fire\nto it, so that nothing was to be seen but clouds of smoke and flames\ndarting upwards to the sky.\n\nJust as we were leaving I was made over to another master, Idris Wad el\nHashmi. When I arrived at his house, I found everything ready for the\njourney; numbers of well-bound books were lying about on the floor. I\npicked one up, and found it was 'The Soldier's Pocket Book,' by Lord\nWolseley. I would like to have searched amongst these books for a diary,\nbut they turned me out: Idris had taken them out of some good leather\ntrunks, which he had filled with his own effects. Three days after the\nMahdi's departure my master and I quitted El Obeid. The road to Rahad\nwas one uninterrupted stream of human beings--men, women, and children;\ncamels carrying the household goods, on the top of which were fastened\nangaribs, on which women were seated; oxen and donkeys, all heavily\nladen; numbers of Arabs were driving along their flocks with them; here\none would see a camel fallen prone under its heavy load, there a child\nor a slave vainly seeking in the crowd for his lost master. Of course I\nhad to walk, and to act as a camel-driver as well, subject to continual\ninsult and threatening. I moved along as best I could; the Arabs\napplauded my master's good sense in making me his camel-driver, and\nurged that I should carry a load as well. We had to halt frequently, as\nthe camels were so heavily laden.\n\nThe burning sun and fatigue were terribly oppressive, and it is always a\nwonder to me how I escaped sunstroke. As to food, I had a share of my\nmaster's horses' meal. In the evening I was obliged to clean the dokhn,\nwhich was given to the horse, and the pangs of hunger made me covet even\nthis, while I was obliged to ask my master's slave to occasionally give\nme a gulp of water; indeed, this slave pitied my wretched state.\n\nIt took us three days to reach Rahad, though, under ordinary\ncircumstances, the journey could easily be performed in one and a half\ndays. The burning sand had blistered my feet, and caused my legs to\nswell. One day I saw the unfortunate King Adam, of Tagalla, riding by;\nhe was mounted on a mule, and his feet heavily chained. They thought\nthat the sight of his native mountains might make him wish to desert.\nSoon after his arrival at Rahad the poor king died, heart-broken, and to\nhim death must have come as a happy deliverance; while to us, who also\nlonged for it, death would never come.\n\nRahad is situated in a depression, which in winter becomes a swamp; the\nwater remains standing for some time, and there are numerous wells,\nwhich are sufficient for a large number of men and animals. During the\ndry season, Rahad is a centre in which large numbers of Arab tribes\ncollect, and about four hours to the south rises the great Dobab\nmountain (called by the Arabs Dair, because of its semicircular shape).\nDobab is perhaps the best naturally-fortified hill of the entire Nuba\ngroup. It is accessible from one side only, and is easily defensible;\nthere are quantities of water, which would enable the inhabitants to\nstand a prolonged siege. The circumference of the base of the mountain\nis about eighteen miles, and the inhabitants live on the top.\n\nAlready the Dervishes had constructed their rude barracks under the\nshady trees of Rahad, and soon an enormous camp sprang up. Shortly after\nmy arrival, I was again obliged to change masters; the one with whom I\nhad recently been was not really bad, but my new master, Abdel Halim Wad\nId, was a very great and fanatical emir.\n\nBefore, however, I proceed to describe the events which occurred at\nRahad, I must give a brief outline of what had happened to the sisters\nsince they were so cruelly wrenched away from us. They had set out from\nRahad with the various emirs amongst whom they had been distributed; on\nthe journey they suffered greatly; they were obliged to walk the whole\ndistance barefooted, over thorns and burning sand; they underwent the\nagonies of hunger and thirst, and some of them had to carry loads; one\nof them, for a whole day, had not a drop of water to drink. These brutal\nsavages were continually beating, insulting, and abusing them, and when,\ntired and weary, they sat down for a moment, they were driven forward\nunder the lash of the cruel whip. On their arrival at Rahad they\nscarcely looked like human beings, with their faces all scorched and\npeeled by the burning sun; and here new tortures awaited them. One of\nthem was suspended from a tree, and beaten on the soles of the feet\nuntil they became swollen and black, and soon afterwards the nails\ndropped off. In spite of all this suffering, and notwithstanding the\ncontinual threats of these barbarians that they would be violated, these\nsisters clung firmly to their faith and belief.\n\nOne night, one of the sisters succeeded in escaping to the Mahdi's hut,\nand, forcing her way into his presence, appealed vehemently to him\nagainst the cruel treatment which she and her companions were suffering\nat the hands of his tyrannical emirs, and that their only fault was that\nthey resolved to adhere to their own faith. Under other circumstances\nthe Mahdi would never have forgiven this bitter reproach, but when he\nsaw this poor sister wounded and bleeding, he pretended that he knew\nnothing of the matter, and at once ordered all the sisters to be brought\nto his enclosure, where they were, to some extent, safe from\nill-treatment; yet they were in constant terror of being dishonoured,\nand therefore decided to seek the protection of some of the Greeks who\nwere in favour with the Mahdi, and who, at the sisters' request, sought\nhis permission to take charge of them and care for them. The Mahdi, who\nreally pitied them from his heart, sanctioned the proposal of the\nGreeks, to whom the sisters were duly handed over; but it was not, of\ncourse, admitted that pity for them had induced this decision.\n\nIt is a well-known fact that in the Kuran the Prophet Mohammed enjoins\nrespect and toleration of the ministers of Christianity, whom he calls\n\"Rahban,\" or pious persons consecrated to God's service; and, moreover,\nhe tells his followers that it is their duty to do so. In support of\nthis I may here quote a translation of the celebrated passage which\noccurs in the manuscripts kept in the Greek convent on Mount Sinai. It\nis as follows:--\n\n\"In the name of the merciful God, Mohammed Ibn Abdullah issues this\nproclamation to all. He announces that he is the trusted one of God, by\nwhom he has been placed over his creatures. No one, therefore, can\nshelter himself under the plea of ignorance.\n\n\"I have written this proclamation in the form of an order to my nation,\nand to all Christians in the East and West, far and near, young and old,\nknown and unknown. He who fails to follow the instructions laid down in\nthis order is conducting himself contrary to God's will, and renders\nhimself liable to a curse, whoever he may be, whether Sultan or any\nother Moslem.\n\n\"If a priest or a monk retire to a mountain, grotto, cave, plain,\ndesert, city, village, or church, I myself am prepared to follow them\nwith my army and my subjects, to protect them against any enemies they\nmay meet, for these priests are my rayas (subjects), and I myself will\nprevent any harm coming to them. Taxes shall not be taken from them,\nexcept those which they may give of their own free will and accord, not\nbeing compelled to do so by any one. It is not permissible to remove a\nbishop from his bishopric, a priest from his church, or a monk from his\nretreat. No objects shall be removed from their churches and used in the\nconstruction of mosques, nor, indeed, for the construction of the houses\nof Mussulmans. Whoso doth not act in accordance with this, acteth\ncontrary to the law of God and His Prophet. It is forbidden to burden\nbishops or other holy men with taxes. I shall uphold these their\nprivileges everywhere, on land or sea, in the East or West, North or\nSouth. They shall enjoy my favour and protection against anything\nharmful, disagreeable, or unpleasant to them.\n\n\"Those who cultivate on mountains or distant places shall not be\nburdened with the tithe or tenth-tax, even if they give it of their own\nfree will and accord, provided that what they cultivate is for their own\nmaintenance. If there is a scarcity of corn, they shall be supported\neach with one quart of corn for each house. It shall never be necessary\nfor them to go to war or to pay tribute. Those in possession of\nunmovable goods shall not pay more than twelve drams of silver annually.\nNo one shall be burdened. No discussions will take place with those who\nfollow the teaching of the Gospels, they should rather be in some degree\nsympathized with so as to put aside all enmity and to cause the wings of\nmercy to spread out.\n\n\"Should a Christian woman go amongst Moslems, they shall treat her well\nand permit her to go through her prayers in church, and allow nothing to\ncome between her and her religion. Whoso acteth contrary to these orders\nacteth in rebellion to God and His Prophet.\n\n\"Christians should be supported in the maintenance of their churches and\nhouses; their religion should help them to do so. It is not their duty\nto carry arms, the Moslems shall do that for them, and Moslems should\never hold firmly this order until the world's end.\n\n\"The witnesses who confirm the truth of this proclamation, which is\nhereby issued by Mohammed Ibn Abdallah, the messenger of God to all\nChristians, which proclamation is to seal their privileges, are, Ali Ibn\nAbu Taleb, Bakr Ibn Ali Kohaifi, Omar Ibn El Khattab, Othman Ibn Affan,\nAbu El Darda, Abu Horeireh, Abdullah Abu Masaud, Abbas Ibn Abdel\nMuttaleb, Fodeil Ibn Abbas, Zoheir Ibn Awan, Talaat Ibn Obeidallah, Saad\nIbn Maaz, Saad Ibn Obadi, Tabet Ibn Kais, Abu Khayetma, Hashim Ibn\nOmaya, Hareth Ibn Tabet, Abdallah Ibn Amr Bin el Aas, Amr Ibn Yasin,\nMoazzam Ibn Koreishi, Abdel Azim Ibn Hassan.\n\n\"This proclamation is written by the hand of Ali Taleb on the 3rd\nMoharrem of the second year of the Hejira corresponding with the 1st of\nAugust, 622 of the Christian Era. It is signed by the Prophet himself.\n\n\"Blessed be he who followeth the contents thereof, and cursed be he who\nacteth contrary to them.\"\n\nNo doubt the precepts enjoined in the above proclamation weighed with\nthe Mahdi in his decision to hand over the sisters to the Greeks, and\nthus it was that the danger was for the time tided over. Later on, when\nKhartum fell and hundreds of the young women who had been in the harems\nof the principal people of the town fell into the hands of the emirs,\nthe persecution of the sisters was entirely stopped, and in retirement\nthey at length secured some rest and quietude, gaining their daily bread\nby sewing and other handiwork.\n\nAfter this digression, let us return to Rahad, where numbers of straw\nhuts were now erected. A market was opened and provisions were cheap.\nVarious Arab tribes--the Dar Homr, Bederieh, Ghodiat, Baggara Howazma,\nMiserieh, and Dar Nauli--streamed hither with their flocks and herds,\nand soon the camp extended greatly. Sherif Mahmud, whom the Mahdi had\nleft behind in El Obeid, was instructed to send all the people on from\nthere.\n\nThe Mahdi set up his abode between two large trees, and the Khalifas\nlived around him. The combined movements of this enormous crowd were\nmost impressive. At prayer-time thousands upon thousands of Dervishes\nranged themselves in well-ordered lines behind the Mahdi, and the shout\nof \"Allahu Akbar\" resounded through the air. Often the singers of the\nMahdi's praises would go on till long after midnight, and thus did he\ncontinue to inspire his gigantic audience.\n\n[Illustration: FATHER OHRWALDER'S INTERVIEW WITH THE MAHDI AT RAHAD,\nCONCERNING RELIGION.]\n\nI was also twice summoned by the Mahdi; on one occasion two of his\nbody-guard rushed up to me quite out of breath, just to show how\nexpeditiously they carried out the Mahdi's orders, and brandishing their\nswords over my head shouted, \"Get up, the Mahdi wishes to speak to you.\"\nAs a matter of fact I had no desire to see him, but I had to get up, and\nthis I did as slowly as I possibly could, and then I was pushed forward\nin the direction I had to go. At length I reached the two large trees,\nand sitting down beside them I leaned against the roots. The Mahdi had\nnot arrived. Close to me was a hut roughly built of dokhn reeds, which I\nwas told was the fort, around which a small thorn zariba had been\nconstructed to keep off the crowding Dervishes who were collected in\ntheir thousands, most of them seated in long lines on the sand and\nrepeating their \"subhan allah.\" The Mahdi's huts and tents were close\nby.\n\nIt was then the time for noonday prayers, and as the Mahdi approached\nthere was a short buzz and hum followed by a deep silence.\n\nWhen the Mahdi came to the place where the sheepskin was stretched out\non the ground, a slave came up and took off his sandals, after which he\nconducted prayers. These over, he turned round and greeted me. Then some\nof his favourites came forward and presented petitions to him, some of\nwhich he approved at once by writing a few words on the back of the\npaper, while the remainder were put aside for consideration.\n\nSince the occasion on which the Mahdi had interviewed Klootz, I had not\nseen him. I now saw a considerable change in him; he had grown much\nstouter, but he still wore the same clothes of rough damur, consisting\nof drawers, jibbeh, girth, and turban. His conversation soon turned on\nreligion, and he asked me if we Christians used the \"Hamdu\" (a form used\nby the Moslems as they bow in prayer) in our prayers. I replied that not\nonly had we one but several, and at his request I repeated the Lord's\nPrayer in Arabic.\n\nThis created much surprise amongst the ignorant listeners, who believe\nthat Christians do not know how to pray, and I was thought quite\n\"fasich\" (_i.e._ educated). After a long conversation on the Psalms of\nDavid, the Mahdi said, \"I know that you Christians are very good people,\nand that you feed the hungry.\" He then told me about \"deeds of mercy,\"\nand added that all such acts were useless, as anyone who did not believe\nin the Mahdi was but \"wood for the fire.\" Our conversation was\ninterrupted by the Aser or afternoon prayers, after which the Mahdi\nagain held a reception. Amongst others a small dwarf appeared, and the\nMahdi spoke to him about his tribe and asked if he were married. The\ndwarf replied that he had come to ask for a wife, and explained that the\npossession of one was the desire of his heart, whereupon the Mahdi gave\norders that he should at once be provided with one. He then rose up to\nleave, and I was permitted to go home.\n\nOn the following day I was again summoned before him, and he explained\nthat through the noonday prayers he knew he should win over the whole\nworld. He said that God had given him a period of forty years (as a\nmatter of fact he only lived four years, but a cypher more or less is of\nno consequence) during which he should make all people believe on him\nand acknowledge that he was the Mahdi. He added that after the\nsubjugation of the Sudan he would take Egypt, which would only offer a\nweak resistance, and that afterwards he would attack Mecca, where the\nmost bloody battle which the world had ever seen would take place; from\nMecca he should proceed to Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ should descend\nfrom heaven. \"Of course,\" I said, \"Christ will possess all the\ncharacteristics which the Gospel attributes to Him;\" but the Mahdi\ncontinued, \"Would Christ not fight with anti-Christ? If I do not believe\nin Him He will kill me.\"\n\nThe Mahdi then asked me if I ever had dreams, and I replied that even if\nI did have dreams I did not believe in them. Then the Mahdi turned round\nto those who were near and said, \"Assuredly the Turks do not believe in\ndreams, or they would have admitted that I am the Mahdi.\" It is said\nthat Mahmud Bey Ahmedani, Mudir of Khartum, who had accompanied Hicks\nand had fallen near Shekan, had seen the Mahdi's shadow on the wall\nsurrounded with a halo of light, but in his obstinacy he still refused\nto acknowledge him.\n\nJust then a Sherif of Syria came in, and, making obeisance to the Mahdi,\nsaid, \"Sire, you are my relation!\" (By this he meant that as he belonged\nto the Prophet's tribe, and as the Mahdi had sprung from the Prophet,\nthat therefore they were connected.) The Mahdi was much gratified by\nthis flattery, and ordered Wad Suleiman to give him fifty dollars and a\nconcubine. The conversation was then turned on Gordon. The Mahdi\nremarked he was full of pity for him, for he said that he was convinced\nit was the Ulema's arguments which had made Gordon believe that he was\nnot the true Mahdi. He then asked me what was the object of the wires\nwith which Gordon had surrounded Khartum. I replied that I knew nothing\nof the art of war, but others said that this was telegraph wire, which\nGordon had put down so that in case of attack the horses would stumble\nover it. The Mahdi smiled, and remarked that God was more mighty than\nall the tricks and artifices of Gordon.\n\nIt was now evening, and the Mahdi got up to go, so I went home, and when\nI returned to Sheikh Idris, several came up and congratulated me for\nhaving had the good fortune to talk with the Mahdi. For my own part I\nwould gladly have dispensed with this good fortune. When I was summoned\nthe next day I sent word that I was very ill, and by this means secured\nsome rest.\n\nWhilst at Rahad, the Mahdi's eyes were continually directed on Jebel\nDair, and when Abu Anga and the emirs who were sent to subjugate these\ndistricts, returned, defeated in their attempts to scale the mountain,\nthe Mahdi then despatched every man fit for war to reinforce him. He\nexcused himself for this unusual measure by saying that all persons\nshould be exercised in war, and that, moreover, this was penance to\nthose who had only recently joined him, to purify them from the sin of\nnot having joined him earlier. As a matter of fact, these Arabs were a\nsource of great trouble and annoyance to the Mahdi, for they did nothing\nbut wander about the market-place begging, and it was no small\ndifficulty to keep such vast crowds in order.\n\nThe war against the Nubas was waged in the most cruel manner; the proud\nDervishes were incensed at the stubborn resistance of these poor black\nslaves, as they used to call the Nubas. On one occasion, when the\nDervishes, led by Abu Anga and followed by the Gellabas, attempted to\nascend the mountain, the Nubas allowed them to advance some way and then\npounced down upon the Gellabas in the narrowest pass; these men were\nbadly armed, and four hundred of them were killed. Abu Anga seeing this\nbeat a rapid retreat, and on coming into the pass was implored by the\nwretched wounded Gellabas to carry them away, but Abu Anga's men\njeeringly replied that they must die \"in God's cause,\" and left them to\nthe tender mercies of the Nuba lances.\n\nI may here remark that there was great ill-feeling between the blacks\nand the Dervishes, for the black soldiers complained that they were\nalways placed in the forefront of the battle. In another attack the\nDervishes succeeded in reaching the Nuba village, burning the huts,\nkilling a large number of them and carrying off their wives and children\nas captives to Rahad, where they were sold as slaves. On this occasion\nNur Angar cut off the heads of three Nubas who had already submitted,\nwhile Abu Anga's men seized the little children by the feet and dashed\ntheir brains to pieces on the rocks. At Rahad a special zariba was built\nfor the Nuba captives, who were driven like cattle into a pen to be\nsold. These poor creatures, without covering from the sun or rain,\nsuffered terribly from hunger and thirst; each evening they were given a\nhandful of dhurra and some water, but that was quite insufficient, and\nin a few days mothers had to see their children slowly starving to\ndeath, while the little suckling babes gathered round their mothers in\nthe vain search for food. Each morning the guards looked in to inquire\nif there were any dead or dying, and then ordered the wretched\nsurvivors, who had scarcely the strength to get up, to drag out their\ndead and dying friends and relations.\n\nIt would take a long time to tell of all the horrible atrocities and\ncruelties which these poor Nubas suffered at the hands of the\nDervishes--and why? because they tried to retain their freedom and\ndefend their fatherland, refusing to follow that base liar who called\nhimself the Mahdi, to the siege of Khartum. Amongst the captives in the\nzariba was a man and his wife and two small children. The sight of his\nstarving children was breaking the father's heart; the view of his\nnative mountain so affected him that he became desperate, and knowing\nthat he would probably be separated from his wife and children and sold\nthe next day, he took a terrible resolution: in the middle of the night\nhe embraced his wife, kissed his little children, and then plunged his\nknife into each of them, preferring rather that they should die than\nbecome slaves; he then broke out of the zariba and fled, the guards\nfired and missed him; thus the wretched man succeeded in reaching his\nbeloved hills.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nFATHER OHRWALDER'S VIEWS OF GORDON'S MISSION.\n\n     Ohrwalder describes his treatment at the hands of various\n     masters--The Nubas surrender and afterwards desert--News from\n     Khartum--The capture of the English mail--Its arrival at the\n     Mahdi's camp--The Mahdi decides to advance on Khartum--Brief review\n     of events in Khartum and Berber--Ohrwalder's views on Gordon's\n     mission--The Mahdi sets out for Khartum--Mohammed Ali Pasha's\n     defeat and death--Colonel Stewart, Mr. Power, and others leave\n     Khartum in ss. \"Abbas\"--Description of their wreck and treacherous\n     murder.\n\n\nThe war with Jebel Dair dragged on a long time; the Nubas fought with\ndesperate courage. I used to hear of their bravery from the Dervishes\nwho frequented my master's house. After about a month my master was sent\nto Birket, where he was ordered to collect the Arabs and send them on to\nRahad. At this place he practised unprecedented cruelty. A man found\ndrinking marissa he ordered to be flogged with eighty lashes, until the\npoor victim's bowels fell out. During his absence I was sent back to my\nold master, Sheikh Idris, where I continued to lead a wretched\nexistence, eating out of the horses' nose-bag and quenching my thirst\nfrom the share of water which was allotted to the animals. The ground\nwas my bed, the sky my roof.\n\nEvery morning when I got up I had to shake off the scorpions from my\nclothes, into which they had crept during the night. It is curious that\nthe sting of these animals, which at other times was always most\npainful, caused me little trouble or irritation. The filth in the camp,\nowing to the entire absence of all sanitary rules, caused the flies to\nincrease prodigiously; eating during the daytime was impossible, for\none would have eaten as many flies as food.\n\nI still suffered threats and insults here as in other places, and many a\ntime did I intentionally put my head in danger in the hope that death\nwould release me from these savages. Sheikh Idris was annoyed at my\nill-treatment, but what could one man do with these hordes of fanatics?\nOne day after a review I was asked by Idris to have breakfast with him\nin his hut; after breakfast he began to talk confidentially with me, and\nsaid that the Prophet Mohammed had expressly forbidden the ill-treatment\nof priests and hermits. He then said that Egypt had lost the Sudan, and\nthat Gordon would not be able to withstand the Mahdi; most of the fikis\nand sheikhs had already submitted to the Mahdi, and the Sudan was in\ntheir hands. When I pointed out the great difficulties he would have in\ntraversing the deserts to Wadi Halfa, he remarked that the Mahdi's\nundertaking was not likely to be hindered by the death of a few thousand\nmen? I then argued that it was most unlikely that the white Moslems\nwould ever accept a black Mahdi; and that, moreover, according to the\ntraditions, the Mahdi would appear in Mecca. He replied, \"God is the\nLord of all,\" by which he meant to say that God can make a black Mahdi.\n\nWe had a long conversation about the Mahdi, and it seemed to me that\nSheikh Idris did not believe in him, but had merely joined him in the\nhope of gain and rewards. Idris also added, \"By what right should we be\nruled by the Turks? can we not govern ourselves?\" If there had been many\nmore sensible and enlightened men like Sheikh Idris, it is probable that\nMahdiism would have taken a very different form; but Idris was an\nexception--most of the principal emirs were uneducated and ignorant\nsavages. It was God's will that this Idris should fall later on in the\nbattle of Argin in 1889, fighting against Wodehouse Pasha.\n\nA few days after this conversation, my original master, Abdullah Wad en\nNur, arrived from Jebel Dair to obtain the Mahdi's instructions as to\nthe future conduct of the war. The Mahdi presented him with a very good\nhorse. Khalifa Abdullah asked him what he intended to do with me, and\nadvised him that when he again went to the Nuba country he should take\nme with him and put me in the front so that the Nubas might kill me.\nSheikh Idris told me this, and Khalil Hassanein, Roversi's old clerk,\nwho had obtained a good place in the beit el mal, brought me three\ndollars for the journey. I was delighted with the idea of a change, for\nI could not have been worse off than I was at Rahad.\n\nAt first I was handed over to a fiki, who bothered me with his useless\nand nonsensical talk; his name was Mahmud, and he came from Tuti Island,\nnear Khartum; he joined the Mahdi after Hicks's defeat, and brought a\ndonkey and a few dollars with him. The first thing he did was to sell\nhis donkey and purchase a concubine, but in two days the latter purchase\nran away, so he lost both his donkey and his money. He then joined the\nKhalifa Abdullah, who recommended him to Idris as a good man to instruct\nme in the right way; but instead of convincing me of the Mahdi's\ndivinity, I very soon convinced him of the reverse, and it was by no\nmeans difficult to do so; the fiki used frequently to go to the beit el\nmal to try and get a concubine, but no one took the smallest notice of\nhim. On the other hand he used constantly to see the numerous concubines\nof Idris, who was rich, while he was but a poor man. From this I made\nhim understand that the chiefs of Mahdieh sought only how they could\nbest gain riches and honour at the expense of their poorer brethren.\nSoon afterwards he fell sick at Rahad, and there was no one to look\nafter him or care for him; I knew that in his heart he had had quite\nenough of the Mahdi, but he was ashamed to acknowledge it before me. One\nnight, not hearing his voice in the miserable hut which had been given\nto him, I looked in and found him lying stretched out dead on the\nground. I felt sorry for the poor creature who had died away from his\nown home.\n\nAnother reason which made me glad to go away to Dair, was that I was\nill and suffering much from my old complaint, which forced me to\nfrequently retire outside the camp amidst the jeers of the Arabs; but\nsuddenly the ray of hope which had come to me with the thought of a\nchange to the mountain, was as suddenly extinguished, for it transpired\nthat Idris had arranged with Abdullah, without my knowledge, to leave me\nat Rahad.\n\nThe war against the Nubas was continued, and from Rahad I could see the\ncolumns of smoke ascending, showing where the villages had been burnt by\nthese cruel Dervishes. At length these poor but brave mountaineers,\noverwhelmed by superior numbers, became discouraged, and agreed to\nsubmit on condition that they should remain free, and be allowed to live\nin their mountains. The Mahdi approved, for the Dervishes were quite\nworn out with their long and bloody war. The brave inhabitants descended\nfrom their hills--men, women, and children--in astonishing numbers, and\nestablished themselves at the foot of the mountain, and near the Dervish\ncamp, while Mek Kumbo and the principal chiefs went to the Mahdi to take\nthe Bea'a (oath of allegiance).\n\nThere was now great rejoicing. The Mahdi received them kindly, gave them\npresents, and handed back to them those who still remained in the beit\nel mal; but before they left his presence he ordered them and their\nwives and children to follow him to the White Nile. This was quite\ncontrary to the agreement made between them, but the Mahdi cared little\nabout honour and keeping his word, his main object was to attain his\npoint by any fraud or deception he could practise. The Nubas promised to\ndo so, and went back to their camp; but on talking to their people, they\nagreed to escape during the night, preferring rather to starve in the\ncaves and recesses of their own mountains, than to leave their native\ncountry. Like one man, they rose and fled to the hills, and the fight\nwas once more renewed. Many of them fought with the most stubborn\ndesperation; several were killed, but the Dervish loss was also very\nheavy. The Nubas retired into the inmost recesses of the hills, where\nthe enemy could not possibly follow them. On one occasion the Dervishes\nall but captured Mek Kumbo; his horse and lance fell into their hands,\nbut he himself escaped.\n\nAt length, thoroughly exhausted by this tedious and interminable war,\nthey returned to Rahad; but heavy rain had fallen, the Khor was now a\nrushing torrent, and here hundreds of Mahdiists were drowned--victims to\ntheir rash fanaticism--for they believed that the Mahdi's power could\nsave them from the wild impetuous stream. Many of them crossed on\nangaribs (native beds), to each post of which an inflated skin was\nattached.\n\nTowards the end of June, 1884, Slatin Bey arrived at Rahad. The Khalifa\nAbdullah ordered the big war-drums to be beaten, and the whole of the\ncavalry left the camp to meet him and escort him in. The Mahdi received\nSlatin very kindly, and he was attached to Khalifa Abdullah's followers.\n\nAbdullah delighted in collecting foreigners around him. One day Father\nBonomi and I were summoned by Abdullah to meet Slatin, and this gave me\na chance of meeting Father Bonomi, whom I had not seen for months.\n\nIt was about this time that Marietta Combotti, one of our black girls,\ncame from Khartum to Rahad. After Hicks's defeat we sent her to Khartum\nto inform our people there about our condition and about the Mahdi's\npower, and urged everyone to leave Khartum as soon as possible. We gave\nher some letters which were sewn into the end of a mat. Consul Hansal\nhad assisted Combotti in every way, and had given her several things for\nus, such as clothes, money, and medicines. She had suffered greatly on\nthe journey, had been put in chains, and all she had succeeded in saving\nwas her money. She had been away seven months.\n\nAmongst other things Consul Hansal sent us a photograph of our new and\nhighly-honoured bishop, Monsignor Imbrien, of the Tyrol. Marietta also\nbrought a letter from the consul to me describing the condition of\nKhartum, and the defeat of Baker Pasha, about which we had heard\nnothing. The consul further added: \"We hope that the English will\nenergetically push forward into the Sudan, or we shall be lost. Our\ncondition is desperate.\" This letter was dated early in January, 1884.\nHansal also sent us the _Tyroler Volksblatt_ newspaper, published in\nPosen, and in it I was surprised to read an account of my own death. The\npaper said I had been captured by the Mahdiists, and had died of fatigue\nand ill-treatment. So my friends believed I was dead! and, indeed, I\nfelt then that death could not be far distant. My complaint was worse\nthan ever, and I was suffering from scurvy as well. We did indeed feel\ngrateful to the unfortunate Hansal who had done all he could to\nalleviate our distress; but God has disposed otherwise. How I wish poor\nHansal had taken our advice and gone home.\n\nThe state of moral darkness in which we lived, the constant insults,\nbeing gazed upon by such multitudes, being at the mercy and sport of\nthese savages, just as if one were a monkey or other curious animal, all\nhad a dulling effect on one's spiritual nature, and I felt that I must\nbe losing my mind; but yet in all these trials and afflictions God did\nnot leave us. Again a ray of hope shone through the obscurity.\n\nWe had already heard something about English troops, but the information\nwas very vague. One of the Mahdi's messengers, who took the Mahdi's\nanswer back to Gordon in Khartum, told me that Gordon had received him\nwell, had given him some bakshish, not like the God-forsaken Mohammed\nSaid Pasha, who had executed the Mahdi's messengers; but, prior to his\ndeparture, Gordon had warned him in the following words:--\"Go, tell the\nMahdi that I have only to stamp my feet on the ground, and thousands of\nEnglishmen will at once spring up.\" I believed this story, for I did not\nthink the messenger was clever enough to invent it; besides, I felt sure\nthat Gordon must have known quite well that he alone was utterly unable\nto extinguish the fire of this gigantic revolt. But at length all these\nreports were fully confirmed.\n\nIt was Friday. The Khalifas were out on parade, when two camels,\ncarrying an English mail, arrived. Khalifa Abdullah at once left the\nreview, and sent for Klootz to read the letters. Klootz came at once to\nme and said that an entire English mail for Gordon had been captured\nnear Omdurman. It was clear from several letters that English troops\nwere advancing into the Sudan from three directions; that is to say,\nfrom Suakin to Berber, from Korosko to Abu Hamed, and from Dongola,\nwhere there were 20,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. There was a\ntelegram from Cairo to Assuan announcing General Graham's advance; a\ntouching little letter from a young girl to her father in Khartum, whose\nname I forget. In this letter she told of the alarm she felt for her\nfather's safety, and how she prayed daily that her father might not meet\nthe same fate as General Hicks. In another letter Gordon was informed\nthat \u00a360,000 had been sent to him.\n\nAll these letters had been sent from Berber to General Gordon by Joseph\nCuzzi, who had written a letter to Gordon to that effect in Italian. One\nletter said that it was well known that the Khalifa Abdullah was the\nmoving spirit of the revolt, and that the Mahdi merely supplied the\nreligious element; but Klootz did not translate this in the Mahdi's\npresence. When the latter got up to go, Klootz translated this sentence\nto the Khalifa Abdullah, who was delighted with this flattering remark.\nCuzzi's Italian letter was concealed by Klootz, who afterwards brought\nit to me. In this letter Cuzzi briefly informed General Gordon that he\nwas forwarding the letters; that he had sent a messenger to Sawakin to\ncome to an understanding with General Graham, and that the rebels at Abu\nHamed had seized a number of the Government boats. He added that Gordon\nshould have no anxiety about Berber, as long as Hussein Pasha Khalifa\nwas Mudir. But in this matter he proved to have been completely\ndeceived.\n\nThe general import of all these letters convinced the Mahdi that the\nEnglish were in earnest. He therefore decided to take no action for a\ntime, and to remove the camp to the foot of the mountain, where it was\nhis intention to await their advance.\n\nBut soon after came the news that Berber had fallen, and that General\nGraham had returned to Sawakin, and this decided the Mahdi to advance on\nKhartum.\n\nThe Nubas now began to give some difficulty. No sooner had the Dervishes\nabandoned their camp at the foot of the mountain, than the Nubas\nrendered all roads in the vicinity of Rahad, and for a considerable\ndistance, unsafe. Slaves going out to gather wood or straw were suddenly\nswooped down upon by these bold mountaineers, who killed or captured\nthem. In this way they revenged the cruelties which they had suffered.\nThe Mahdi was quite unable to subdue these blacks, and his failure to do\nso was a great blow to his pride.\n\nI may here remark that at this period of the Mahdieh religion, violation\nof moral laws was very severely punished. One of the Mahdi's bodyguard\ncaught _in flagrante_ in the practice of a species of immorality by no\nmeans uncommon in Eastern countries, both culprits were led out in\nchains and beheaded in the presence of the assembled multitudes.\n\nBefore following the Mahdi on his march to Khartum, it is advisable here\nto take a brief review of the events which had occurred in Khartum,\nBerber, and the Gezireh.\n\nThe catastrophe which had overtaken General Hicks's force filled the\ninhabitants of Khartum with indescribable dismay. Several of them\nreturned to Egypt, and the members of the Austrian Mission, with their\nblacks, quitted Khartum on the 11th of December, 1883. Fortunate were\nthose who seized this chance of escape before the roads became blocked!\n\nGeneral Gordon's arrival in Khartum gave fresh life and hope to the\ninhabitants. Great were the rejoicings, and a magnificent reception was\nprepared for the long-expected deliverer. This reception took place on\nthe 18th of February, 1884, and must have greatly encouraged General\nGordon in his undertaking; but it was not Gordon's individual presence\nwhich so greatly inspired the people. What could Gordon do alone,\nagainst the now universally worshipped Mahdi? The nature of the revolt\nwas not political; the Sudanese had no intention of establishing an\nempire under the Mahdi's rule, and, even had this been the case, it is\nvery improbable that Gordon's mediation would have been of any avail.\n\n[Illustration: THE GOLD MEDAL STRUCK BY GORDON TO COMMEMORATE THE SIEGE\nOF KHARTUM.]\n\nThe movement was a religious movement, and was not limited to the Sudan\nalone; the Mahdi's intention was to subdue the world. He was a prophet,\nand in his own and the estimation of his followers he was a greater man\nthan the Prophet Mohammed. The world was to come to an end in his time.\nHad Gordon only known beforehand how boundless was the wild fanaticism,\nand how completely the Mahdi's followers were intoxicated by it, he\nwould never have accepted the mission. As it appeared to us in Kordofan,\nand to the Mahdi himself, Gordon's undertaking was very strange; it was\njust as if a man were attempting to put out an enormous fire with a drop\nof water. Gordon's name alone could not suppress the revolt, and it was\nnot on account of his name that the Khartum people rejoiced at his\narrival; it was because they looked on Gordon as an English\nrepresentative, and that he was only the precursor of an English\nexpedition sent to take possession of the Sudan for England. That is\nwhat made the people glad, and caused them to put aside all idea of\ndeparture. Had they not been certain that an English expedition was\ncoming, not a soul would have remained in Khartum, and I have no\nhesitation in saying that had the Egyptian Government not sent Gordon,\nthen undoubtedly the evacuation originally ordered could have been\ncarried out without difficulty.\n\nThose who escaped massacre in Khartum have often told me that they were\nperfectly ready to leave, and it was only Gordon's arrival that kept\nthem back; but Gordon's arrival without troops had rather disappointed\nthem. Had he been accompanied by five hundred British bayonets, his\nreputation in the Sudan might have been maintained, and probably the\nMahdi would never have left Kordofan.\n\nGordon himself committed a mistake, by which he gave a death-blow to\nhimself and his mission. On his way to Khartum he stopped at Berber and\ninterviewed the Mudir Hussein Pasha Khalifa; he imprudently told him\nthat he had come up to remove the Egyptian garrisons, as Egypt had\nabandoned the Sudan. At Metemmeh also--a strong place between Berber and\nKhartum, and the headquarters of the powerful Jaalin tribe--he committed\na similar imprudence, by giving the same information to Haj Ali Wad\nSaad, the emir of Metemmeh.\n\nThis Haj Ali was a man held in great respect, on account of his just\ndealings, and afterwards, when he died in Omdurman, there was public\nmourning for him. The fact, indeed, that the Khalifa had pardoned him\nafter \"marissa\" had been found in his house, sufficiently indicates how\ngreatly he was respected. Both Haj Ali and Hussein Pasha Khalifa\ninformed all their principal people about the decision of the\nGovernment, and it was this announcement that made these faithful\nsheikhs, who were then trembling in the balance, throw in their lot\nwith the Mahdi. Why should they remain loyal to a Government which had\ndecided to give up their land? Had they remained faithful, what had they\nto expect when the Mahdi prevailed? It was this announcement of Gordon's\nwhich was the main cause of the fall of Berber, which place was\nessential for Gordon's plan of operations.\n\nHaj Ali, shortly before his death, and when in great suffering, reviewed\nthe misery which the Mahdi had brought upon the Sudan, and the part he\nhimself had taken in it, and he then said that it was nothing but the\nknowledge of the intention of the Government to abandon the Sudan which\nmade him join the Mahdi. \"How,\" he said, \"could I have remained loyal to\na Government which I knew intended to leave me in the lurch afterwards?\nI would only have been paving the way for the Mahdi's vengeance.\"\n\nAt the time Haj Ali said this he was in doubt about the Divine nature of\nthe Mahdi, and spoke openly to people on these matters. \"But,\" he added,\n\"at that time every one thought only of himself. Gordon thought only how\nhe could save himself and the Egyptians, and we thought how we could\nsave ourselves and avert the Mahdi's vengeance by taking his part; so we\nwent to Berber, joined with the Ababdeh, besieged and took the town, and\nthen cut Gordon's communications with Egypt.\"\n\nGordon was soon destined to see with his own eyes what a fatal mistake\nhe had made, but only when it was too late.\n\nNo notice was taken of Gordon's peaceful proclamations; the revolt was\nnow widespread, and masses of fanatical Dervishes were gradually\nencircling Khartum. Mohammed Wad el Besir, the sheikh El Obeid--a man\nheld in great respect in the Gezireh--his sons, and the Fiki Medawi\nadvanced on the town from the south. On the 16th of March, 1884,\nGordon's troops were heavily defeated, and their leaders were executed\nby Gordon for treachery.\n\nAnother blow fell on Gordon by the surrender, at Fedasi, of Saleh Wad\nel Mek, with 1,400 men, to the emir Abu Girgeh. Still Gordon did not\ndespair of success, and it was his individuality which inspired the\ninhabitants of Khartum with hope.\n\nSaleh Wad el Mek's surrender greatly encouraged the Dervishes. Rebels\nwere also gathering to the north of Khartum. The Jaalin of Metemmeh and\nthe Ababdeh, as I previously stated, prepared to attack Berber. Hussein\nPasha Khalifa, Sheikh of the Ababdeh, who had been Mudir there since the\n18th of December, 1883, remained faithful to the Government, but his\nsubordinates paid no attention to him; and it was largely due to the\ninfluence of these officials that numbers of local sheikhs joined the\nMahdi.\n\nThe Ababdeh, Barabra, and Jaalin, under the supreme command of Mohammed\nel Kheir, now besieged Berber. Eight days later the town was taken by\nstorm, and most of the garrison and a number of inhabitants were\nmassacred. Joseph Cuzzi had attempted to escape, but he was caught and\nsent to Khartum to endeavour to induce Gordon to surrender. He was\nsubsequently sent on to the Mahdi at Rahad.\n\nGordon's communications with the north were now cut. After Saleh Pasha's\nsurrender, the number of besieging Dervishes increased greatly, and Abu\nGirgeh growing bolder, seized the village of Buri, where he built a fort\nand began to shell the town. Gordon therefore, on the 2nd of May, sent\nout a considerable force, which attacked Abu Girgeh, drove him out of\nhis position, and all but succeeded in capturing him. Thus did Gordon,\nalthough hemmed in on all sides, maintain a bold front, and employed\nevery art of war to keep the Dervishes from investing the town more\nclosely.\n\nTo return now to the Mahdi at Rahad. He was at this time in full\npreparation for departure to the siege of Khartum, and, as usual, he\ndespatched Abu Anga, Wad Nejumi, Wad En Nur, and Wad Gubara, with all\nhis best troops in advance. As I have previously related, Cuzzi, who\narrived at Rahad at the end of June, had been previously sent by the\nDervishes to Khartum to try and induce Gordon to surrender, and Gordon\nhad given strict orders that he should not be permitted within the\nwalls. When, therefore, he arrived at Rahad, the Mahdi received him very\nwell, loaded him with presents, and then sent him back with George\nClementino to Khartum as bearer of letters to Gordon. He arrived at the\nDervish camp at the same time as Nejumi. Clementino was permitted to\nconverse with the Greek consul, Leontides, but Cuzzi returned to Berber.\n\nThe Mahdi passed the month of Ramadan in Rahad, and it was not until the\n8th of August that he set out for Khartum. The whole population, like a\nswarm of bees, accompanied him on the same road which Hicks had taken.\nThe people joyfully undertook this long journey through pathless\ndistricts, and at a time when the rainfall was heaviest. Camels, too,\nwere expensive and difficult to procure; but, in spite of all these\nobstacles, fanaticism was more pronounced than ever. There were in all\nupwards of 200,000 people, and at Shirkeleh the cavalry numbered 4,000.\nTo defeat such an enormous force as this, a European expedition was\nnecessary, not the weak force at Gordon's disposal.\n\nThroughout the entire route fresh cavalry joined, whilst the herds of\ncattle which the Arabs drove along served as food, and meat was then\ncheap enough. Numbers of animals died during the march, and the road was\nplainly marked by an unbroken line of dead camels, donkeys, horses, and\noxen. The route lay from Shirkeleh to Shatt, and thence to Duem. Here a\nhalt was called for a few days to collect stragglers. All notion of\nworking in the fields was abandoned, and agricultural pursuits were\nentirely dispensed with. Thus it happened that on the Mahdi's arrival at\nOmdurman the Dervishes were in great want of grain.\n\nThe Mahdi arrived at Omdurman on the 23rd of October, 1884, but the\nwhole of the stragglers did not reach it till early in November.\nEverything had been prepared. Gordon was surrounded by numerous enemies,\nstill he did not despair.\n\nIn August both Niles had risen considerably; the Blue Nile had arrived\nalmost at its full height, while the White Nile had overflowed its low\nbank, and now swept past Fort Mukran and the houses in Khartum. So high\nwas it, that a dam had to be constructed to keep the water within\nbounds. At high Nile the White river is very broad; and at a later date,\nwhen I crossed over from Omdurman to the roughly built fort which has\nlong since been destroyed, I was sea-sick. But as the river fell it left\nthe ditch full of mud, and this proved a source of great danger. When\nthe river was high, Gordon made several successful counter-attacks.\nMohammed Ali Pasha went up the Blue Nile to a place near Gereif, and on\nthe 30th of August fell upon the Arabs, utterly defeating them. This\nbrave leader also attacked the old Sheikh El Obeid at Halfaya, and\ncaptured a quantity of dhurra and cattle. Khartum breathed once more,\nand it seemed as if all would be well; the bands played in the evening,\nand the town was full of joy, which, alas, was soon to be turned to\nsadness.\n\nMohammed Ali Pasha, emboldened by his late successes, advanced again on\nthe Sheikh El Obeid, whom he defeated near El Eilafun; but, advancing\ninto the desert to renew the attack on the 4th of September, he and\nupwards of 800 of his troops fell into an ambush and were slaughtered.\nThis proved a very severe blow to Gordon, and Khartum being now closely\ninvested, he decided to send a steamer north to communicate with the\nGovernment, and give them full information of the state of affairs.\n\nAs the Nile was now high, it was thought the small steamer _Abbas_ would\nbe able to make her way safely to Dongola. The _Abbas_ left Khartum on\nthe 10th of September, and was accompanied by two other steamers towing\nboats, in one of which were a number of Greek, and in the other Syrian\nmerchants. These steamers ran the gauntlet of shot and shell till past\nBerber. When a short way beyond that town, the steamers _Mansureh_ and\n_Safia_ turned back, and reached Khartum only with the greatest\ndifficulty, being fired upon throughout almost the entire distance. The\n_Abbas_ continued her journey north, and drew up for the night at a\nsmall island. The two boats which had been cast off when the other\nsteamers left, now passed the _Abbas_, but were driven on to some rocks\nby the wind, and here they had to stop for the night to repair. The next\nmorning the _Abbas_ passed them, and Colonel Stewart urged them to push\nforward. The Greek boat started, but it was some time before the Syrians\ncould set sail; and again they were driven on to the rocks, where they\nremained firmly fixed.\n\nIn the meantime the Dervishes at Berber, who had gained possession of\nthe steamer _El Fasher_ when the town fell into their hands, at once\nsent her off in pursuit, together with two large sailing boats. The\n_Fasher_ soon came up with the wrecked Syrian boat, which now made a\nsign of truce, was boarded and taken possession of. The Dervishes,\nhaving obtained all information, left one of their boats in charge of\ntheir capture, and then pursued the Greek boat, with which they soon\ncame up, and, having secured her, the _Fasher_ continued her pursuit of\nthe _Abbas_. She proceeded almost as far as Abu Hamed, but here the\ncaptain refused to take her any further, as he feared running her on to\na rock. So she returned to Berber with her captured boats, in which\nthere were in all twelve Greeks and fifteen Syrians. Of the latter,\neight were males, five females, and two children.\n\nThe steamer _Abbas_, after passing Abu Hamed, entered the Wadi Gamr\ncataracts, which are very rocky and dangerous, and here she struck on a\nrock near the village of Hebbeh, the inhabitants of which belong to the\nMonasir tribe. Colonel Stewart had the baggage disembarked on an island,\non which the travellers now took up their abode until the expected Greek\nand Syrian boats should arrive; but, after waiting two days, Stewart\nsent his interpreter, Hassan Husni, with Mohammed Hilmi Gorab and the\ncaptain, ashore, with instructions to see the sheikhs, and, by the offer\nof presents and the promise of a good reward from the Government, to\ninduce them to supply camels to enable the shipwrecked party to continue\ntheir journey to Dongola.\n\nThese messengers were well received by Sheikh Suleiman Wad Naaman, and\nneither he nor his people were wearing jibbehs; they asserted that they\nwere thoroughly loyal to the Government, and added that it was only the\narrival of Sheikh Heddai that had made them pretend to be against the\nGovernment. Suleiman said that he would assist the shipwrecked\npassengers with the greatest pleasure, and so well did he conceal his\nwicked treachery that the messengers returned to Stewart greatly elated\nwith their success. But in the meantime Suleiman had prepared a\ntreacherous trap, into which the over-confident passengers blindly fell.\nHe sent secret orders to all the people round about to prepare for a\nfight, and then drove some camels along the river bank, to show that he\nwas preparing for the journey. Colonel Stewart ordered all the spare\nammunition to be thrown into the river, and then landed with the other\npassengers.\n\nSuleiman invited him and the consuls, Power and Herbin, to go into his\nhouse, so as to make final arrangements with the camel-owners, and at\nthe same time he begged them to remove their arms, as the Arabs might\nget alarmed and make difficulties about hiring their camels. An\nartillery captain who was with Stewart begged him not to let go his\narms, as there might be treachery; but Stewart laughed at his fears, and\nhe, with the two consuls and the interpreter, entered the house, while\nthe others remained outside; they still retained their revolvers.\nSuleiman begged them to be seated, and proceeded to present to them a\nnumber of Arabs, who, he asserted, were the camel-owners.\n\nThe traitor had dates brought to them, and, so as not to offend him,\nthey took some. Then Suleiman stood up and lifted his leather\nwater-bottle, which was the prearranged signal for the Arabs to rush out\nof their hiding-places and attack the guests. In a second the house was\nfull of armed men, who called upon them to throw down their revolvers\nand submit; but before they had even time to do this, the Arabs rushed\nupon them with their swords. Consul Herbin, who was standing near the\ndoor, was the first to fall; his head was chopped off with an axe.\nConsul Power and Colonel Stewart were soon cut to pieces. The\ninterpreter, Hassan, begged to be spared, crying out, \"I am a Moslem! I\nam a Moslem, and my name is Hassan!\" So he was not killed, but received\na wound in the shoulder. The murderers then rushed off to the river bank\nto attack the others, who were soon killed, except two artillerymen, who\njumped into the river, and a few servants. It was said that the\ninterpreter, Hassan, had arranged the betrayal, and I was afterwards\ntold that when he got into difficulties later, he sent a petition to\nMohammed el Kheir, in which he said that he was entitled to reward for\nhaving secured Colonel Stewart's death. He is still living in Omdurman.\n\nSuleiman sent all the correspondence he captured to the Mahdi, who thus\nbecame thoroughly aware of Gordon's desperate condition. On the 22nd of\nOctober he wrote to Gordon, informing him of the event, and summoned him\nto submit, as he had no hope of receiving any relief.\n\nThis catastrophe was another terrible blow to Gordon. He had counted on\nStewart being able to inform the Government of the straits to which\nKhartum was reduced, and the necessity of sending immediate help. The\nstate of Khartum now became very serious. Nejumi and the other forces\nwere clustering round Kalakala; there was daily fighting, and bullets\nfell in the streets of Khartum. There were upwards of 10,000 Dervishes,\nextending from Kalakala to Buri. Wad Gubara and Wad Sheikh el Obeid had\ntheir camp at Khojali, on the right bank of the Nile, to the north. Thus\nwas Khartum surrounded by hordes of fanatical Arabs, who attacked the\nstarved and forsaken town from morning till night.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE SIEGE AND FALL OF KHARTUM.\n\n     The surrender of Omdurman fort--Gordon's dispositions for\n     defence--His great personal influence--The night before the\n     assault--The attack and entry of the Dervishes--Gordon's death--The\n     adventures of Domenico Polinari--The massacre in Khartum--How most\n     of the Europeans died--Ruthless cruelty and bloodshed--The fate of\n     the wives and daughters of Khartum--Ohrwalder's views on the\n     situation in Khartum and the chances of relief by the British\n     Expeditionary Force--His description of the town three months after\n     the fall.\n\n\nThe Mahdi camped on the south side of Omdurman fort, and at once began\nto direct the siege, the command of his troops was vested in Abu Anga;\nbut he did not dare to send his black troops, who had previously fought\nin the Egyptian service under Gordon, against Khartum, fearing that,\nowing to the influence which Gordon had formerly exercised over them,\nthey might desert to him.\n\nOmdurman Fort, which was then under the command of Faragallah Pasha, was\nsoon reduced to great straits, and the Mahdiists threw up trenches, in\nwhich they were comparatively safe from the continuous fire. Eventually\nthey succeeded in entrenching themselves between the fort and the river,\nthus cutting the communications, which Gordon was unable to restore.\nConsequently, the garrison soon began to starve; but they still fought\ncourageously, and inflicted great loss on the Dervishes. Amongst the\nlatter was a certain emir, named Mohammed Wad el Areik, who, while in\nthe act of laying a gun at Omdurman, was struck in the back of the neck\nby a bullet. He was visited by the Khalifa Abdullah, who promised that\nhe should recover; but, in spite of this promise, he died the following\nday.\n\nFaragallah, having now no food left, was obliged to surrender, and thus\nthe Mahdi was enabled to press the siege of Khartum more closely than\never.\n\nThe town itself was full of traitors; almost all the important townsmen\nhad written to the Mahdi from time to time, to the effect that they\nwished to submit to him, and that they believed in him. Gordon was, so\nto speak, alone in the midst of enemies, but the expected arrival of the\nEnglish kept the inhabitants from surrendering.\n\nEvery day Gordon invented some means of making the people believe that\ntheir deliverers were near; he frequently had the walls placarded with\nannouncements that they were very near Khartum, but all his promises\ncame to nothing.\n\nGordon was almost superhuman in his efforts to keep up hope. Every day,\nand many and many a time during the day, did he look towards the north\nfrom the roof of the palace for the relief which never arrived. He\novercame the want of money by issuing paper bonds; but soon the people\nrefused to accept them, and to enforce his order he sent fourteen\nmerchants to the east bank, just in front of the enemy's guns; this he\ndid to frighten them, and when they agreed to accept the bonds he had\nthem brought back to the town. To further strengthen the belief of the\npeople in the speedy arrival of the English, he hired all the best\nhouses along the river bank, and had them prepared for their occupation.\nHe was sure they would come--but when? The time was pressing. How\neagerly he searched the distant horizon for the English flag he longed\nto see, but every day he was doomed to disappointment.\n\nThe troops were famine-stricken, and began to lose heart, whilst the\nenemy without the walls daily grew bolder in anticipation of the plunder\nthey hoped so soon would be theirs. From Buri to Kalakala the Dervishes\nextended in one unbroken mass, whilst their hundreds of noggaras never\nceased beating in Gordon's ears night and day.\n\nThe town was closely hemmed in on three sides. Wad Gubara on the north\nwas near enough to shell his palace; and under the hole where the first\nshot struck the wall Gordon inscribed the date as a remembrance. None of\nus can realize how heavily his terrible responsibilities weighed upon\nhim. Despair had seized upon the town. The unreliable nature of the\nSudanese was a constant source of anxiety to him, and enhanced the\ncritical situation. Those in charge of the biscuits and dhurra stole\nquantities of it on every possible occasion, and tried to deceive Gordon\nby assuring him that there were millions of okes in store, when in\nreality there was almost nothing. In their endeavours to enrich\nthemselves they forgot that they were only preparing the way for their\nultimate destruction.\n\nThe officer in charge of the dhurra store was arrested and brought\nbefore a Court of Inquiry; but Gordon had to point out to those who were\nmaking the investigation that they should not inquire too critically\ninto the matter. He knew all that had taken place, but he was powerless\nto stop it. He won the people's hearts by his generosity; and even to\nthis day all who knew him never cease speaking of his kindness. His\nendeavours to recompense the Greeks for their honesty are affecting in\nthe extreme. He elaborated numerous plans for their escape. His first\nintention was to place a steamer at their disposal to convey them to\nEmin Pasha in Equatoria; and, to avoid ill-feeling and jealousy, he made\nknown his plans to them at a public meeting, remarking that as most of\nthem were natives of the Greek islands, they had necessarily\nconsiderable experience of boats and navigation, and that therefore it\nbecame their duty to patrol with the steamers on the Blue and White\nNiles, and watch the enemy's movements; but secretly he warned them that\nthey should be in readiness, as soon as they saw Khartum was lost, to\nset off and join Emin Pasha.\n\nThis plan did not, however, please the Greeks, so Gordon proposed\nanother, which was that, in case of great danger, they should proceed\nnorth; and for this purpose he kept a steamer moored off the palace,\nwell stocked with biscuits and other necessaries. To enable them to get\ntheir families on board during the night without the other townspeople\nknowing about it, he gave orders that after 9 P.M. all traffic along the\nroads leading to the Blue Nile should be stopped, and that no persons\nwere to be allowed out of their houses after that hour. In this way,\nshould the Dervishes enter the town by night, the Greeks could easily\nescape to the steamer, start down stream, and meet the English. Some of\nthem resolved that, should the Mahdiists effect an entrance, they would\nforcibly carry off Gordon and put him on board the steamer, for they\nfelt sure he would not leave Khartum of his own accord. Everything was\ncarefully prearranged and considered; and all would have been well but\nfor a disagreement amongst the Greeks themselves, which mainly arose\nthrough the phlegmatic and short-sighted conduct of their consul Nicola\nLeontides.\n\nOn that fatal Sunday evening one of the principal Greeks came to the\nconsul and begged him urgently to spend that night on the steamer. The\nconsul refused, arguing that there was no imminent danger, and that he\nwas sure the troops could hold out a few days longer. The Greek argued\nin vain, and at length left him; and that was the last time they saw\neach other.\n\nThat night proved to be the last night on earth for Gordon and thousands\nof others. While they were sleeping soundly, and dreaming perhaps of the\narrival of the English, the Dervishes were creeping like snakes towards\nthe parapets. It is hardly likely Gordon could have slept. For two days\nhe had remarked considerable movement in the Mahdi's camp; he had\nobserved numbers of boats passing to and fro on the White and Blue\nNiles. He could not have doubted that the Mahdi was preparing to strike\nthe final blow. And so it proved, for he was planning the assault on\nKhartum. He had received news of the destruction of his troops at Abu\nKlea and Abu Kru, and of the advance of the English.\n\nThe Mahdi was convinced that if one Englishman reached Khartum his\nchance of success was gone, and that he must retire to Kordofan. That\nwas his reason for attempting the assault. Gordon, on the other hand,\nexpected the arrival of the English at any moment; and while he was\ncounting the hours which might elapse ere they could reach him, his\nenemies were shaking their lances with which they should pierce him.\n\nThe moon had gone down, deep obscurity reigned; and now the Dervishes\nstealthily advanced in perfect silence towards that portion of the\ndefence which had been destroyed during the high Nile, and which, as the\nriver receded, had left an open space in which ditch and parapet had\nalmost disappeared. Here there was little to impede their entry; and the\nDervishes, shouting their wild battle-cry, dashed in wild disorder over\nthis open ground.\n\nFarag Pasha commanded the whole of this portion of the defences. Many\npeople in the Sudan, more especially those who used to be in the\nGovernment service, say that Farag Pasha betrayed the town; but the fact\nthat he was killed almost immediately after the fall points to his not\nhaving done so.\n\nIt is a well-known fact that many of the senior officers were wavering,\nand numbers of Khartum merchants were in correspondence with the Mahdi.\nIt is possible that their action may have assisted the Dervishes. The\nlatter naturally assert that Khartum was captured entirely by force of\narms, for any acknowledgment on their part of treachery within the town\nwould tend to detract from the effect of the Mahdi's success. The matter\nstands thus: the parapet which had been destroyed had never been\nrepaired. This was not Gordon's fault; in his desperate position he\ncould not be everywhere. It is a thousand pities that he had not a few\ntrusty European officers with him. With the exception of this defective\nportion near the White Nile, the whole line of defence was almost\nimpregnable; the ditch was so deep and the parapet so high that it would\nhave been next to impossible to cross it.\n\n[Illustration: A DERVISH EMIR, PRESENT IN THE ATTACK ON KHARTUM, AND\nAFTERWARDS CAPTURED AT TOSKI.]\n\nOn coming through the open space the Dervishes broke up into two\nparties. One party dashed along the parapet, breaking all resistance,\nand slaughtering the soldiers in all directions; the other party made\nfor the town. The inhabitants, roused from their sleep by the shouts of\nthe Arabs and the din of rifle-shots, hurried out, anticipating what had\noccurred. Like a pent-up stream suddenly released, over 50,000 wild\nDervishes, with hideous yells, rushed upon the 40,000 inhabitants of\nKhartum, besides the 5,000 soldiers--all that was left of the 9,000 at\nthe commencement of the siege. The only cry of these fanatical hordes\nwas \"Kenisa! Saraya!\" (\"To the church! the palace!\")--_i.e._ the\nAustrian Mission Church and Gordon's palace, where they expected to find\ntreasure stored up in the cellars, and priests and sisters.\n\nThe surging mass threw itself on the palace, overflowed into the lovely\ngarden, and burst through the doors in wild search for their prey; but\nGordon went alone to meet them. As they rushed up the stairs, he came\ntowards them and tried to speak to them; but they could not or would not\nlisten, and the first Arab plunged his huge spear into his body. He fell\nforward on his face, was dragged down the stairs, many stabbed him with\ntheir spears, and his head was cut off and sent to the Mahdi.\n\nSuch was the end of the brave defender of Khartum. When I came from El\nObeid to Omdurman I visited Khartum, and went to the palace, where I was\nshown some black spots on the stairs which they told me were the traces\nof Gordon's blood.\n\nOn Gordon's head being brought to the Mahdi, he appeared to have been\nmuch displeased at his death--not because he felt pity for him, but he\nbelieved that Gordon might join his army. Had he not done so, he would\nhave imprisoned him and reduced him to slavery. It was much better that\nGordon should have died when he did than have remained a captive in the\nhands of these cruel and fanatical Arabs. Gordon's head was hung on a\ntree in Omdurman, and the wild multitude rejoiced in heaping curses on\nit and insulting it.\n\nAfter the palace, the Mission building was the next principal object on\nwhich the wild, plunder-seeking Arabs vented their fury. General Gordon\nhad some time previously hired this building, which was of stone and\nbomb-proof, and turned it into a powder magazine and ammunition store.\nThe Dervishes killed the guards mounted outside the garden, and then\nbroke in, while others clambered over the high wall. A black who was\nemployed in the Mission garden was lying on the point of death on his\nmattress in the garden; the Dervishes ended his life by ripping open his\nbody.\n\nThe Mission gardener, brother Domenico Polinari, who had been left to\ntake charge of the Mission property, on the first alarm, had rushed to\nthe main gate of the garden to see what was the matter. He opened the\ngate slightly, and, seeing an array of lances, he slammed to the gate\nwith all his might, and fled to a small hut in the garden which was full\nof hay, and he hid himself in the corner underneath the hay. Several\nslaves who were working in the garden followed his example; but they did\nnot stay long, for, thinking it was not a sufficiently good\nhiding-place, they were running off to another hut when they were fallen\nupon and massacred. Domenico heard their shrieks and the click of the\nsword which beheaded them from his place of concealment; but he dared\nnot move from the spot, though half choked with the dry grass in which\nhe lay. Several Dervishes entered the hut and thrust their spears into\nthe hay to search for any one in concealment.\n\nOne can realize the terror of poor Domenico as the naked spear-heads\nwere forced through and almost touched him. He lay, however,\nundiscovered for some hours, and at last the noise and din of\nrifle-shots grew less. Though suffering agonies from thirst, he still\ndid not dare to move till close on midnight, when he emerged from his\nbed of hay. All was still, the stillness of death. He could see the\nDervish guard fires; and, as he crept along, he stumbled over the dead\nbody of the black who had been working in the garden. Horror-stricken,\nhe slowly moved forward again. At every step he saw a dead man, all of\nthem labourers and watchmen who had attempted to escape when the\nDervishes entered. Creeping under the shadow of the large lemon-trees,\nhe reached the main gate, above which was a small hut which had been\noccupied by one of the black families belonging to the Mission. The\nwindows of the hut looked into the garden, and Domenico scrambled\nthrough one of these into the room. Here he found one of the women,\nHalima, and begged her to give him some bread and water. He questioned\nher about the entrance of the Dervishes and the fate of the inhabitants.\nShe replied in a few words that the town had been stormed, and numbers\nof the inhabitants, as well as General Gordon, Consul Hansal, and most\nof the Europeans, had been killed.\n\nThis was a new shock to the already terror-stricken Domenico. He threw\nhimself on the bed and begged that Halima would not betray him; but she,\nfearing to be found out, crept out of the hut, went up to the Dervishes\nwho were collected round the camp fire, and told them that there was a\nTurk in her cottage. Some of them jumped up, and, following Halima into\nthe hut, they drove out the unfortunate Domenico with the butt ends of\ntheir lances. He was brought in front of the camp fire and carefully\nsearched for money; but he at once drew forty pounds out of his pocket,\nwhich he distributed amongst them, and they were satisfied and did not\nill-treat him.\n\nOn the following day he was taken before Ahmed Wad Suleiman, the Emin\nbeit el mal, who made full inquiries of him regarding the Mission money.\nDomenico said that when the Mission left Khartum they took all the money\nwith them, and had left nothing. Domenico was then sent to the garden to\nwork there for his new master, but soon afterwards was betrayed a second\ntime, and fell into grievous trouble and danger.\n\nA few days before the fall of Khartum he had buried \u00a3150 in the garden,\nintending to make use of it when the needful time came; but one of the\nblacks who was working at the steam-pump in the garden, to whom\nDomenico had confided his secret, and who was one of the garden\nlabourers who had escaped the massacre, went and told Ahmed Sharfi (one\nof the Mahdi's nearest relations) that Domenico had concealed money.\nThis he did to ensure his own safety, for the Dervishes had been greatly\ndisappointed in the quantity of loot they expected to find. In the\npalace they had discovered only paper money, and in the Mission some\nfurniture, instead of the treasure they had been led to expect. Ahmed\nSharfi was therefore much pleased with the black's information, himself\ncame to Domenico and asked to be shown the place where the money was\nburied. In vain Domenico protested that he had given all the money to\nGordon. He was at once knocked down and flogged with a kurbash; but the\nfirst stroke, which drew blood, made him cry for mercy; he disclosed the\nhiding-place, and, when Ahmed Sharfi had secured the money, he was\nreleased.\n\nThe ruthless bloodshed and cruelty exercised by the Dervishes in Khartum\nis beyond description. I will briefly describe the deaths of the\nbest-known people. Nicola Leontides, the Greek consul, who, on account\nof his amiable character, was much respected in Khartum, had his hands\ncut off first, and was then beheaded. Martin Hansal, the Austrian\nconsul, who was the oldest member of the European colony, was alive up\ntill 2 P.M., when some Arabs from Buri, led by his chief kavass, who was\non bad terms with him, entered the courtyard of the house, and, on\nHansal being summoned to come down, he was at once beheaded. At the same\ntime Mulatte Skander, a carpenter who lived with him, was killed in the\nsame way. His body, together with that of his dog and parrot, were then\ntaken out, alcohol poured over them, and set fire to. After a time, when\nthe body had become like a red-hot coal, it was thrown into the river.\n\nHuman blood and ruthless cruelty alone seemed to satisfy the Dervishes.\nThe Austrian tailor, Klein, on making the sign of the cross, had his\nthroat cut from ear to ear with a knife which was used to slaughter\nanimals, and his life-blood was poured out before the eyes of his\nhorror-stricken wife and children. Not satisfied with the death of the\nfather, they seized his son, a youth of eighteen, and, burying their\nlances in his body, they stretched him out at his mother's feet, a\ncorpse! They then took counsel as to how they should kill the next son,\na lad of fifteen. But by this time the mother, a daughter of Cattarina\nNobili, of Venice, was worked up into a state of mad despair. Seizing\nher son of five years old with her right hand, while she held her\nsuckling babe to her breast with her left, she fought against these\nmurderers like a tigress being robbed of her young, and they could not\nwrest her children from her; but they seized her daughter, a girl of\neighteen, who became the wife of an Arab.\n\nThe son-in-law of Doctor Georges Bey (who had been killed in the Hicks's\nexpedition) was roused from sleep by the noise of the Arabs breaking in.\nHe rose from his bed, and, making the sign of the cross, rushed to the\nwindow, where he shouted \"Aman\" (\"Security of life\"); but a bullet\nstruck him in the forehead, and he fell dead at the feet of his young\nwife. The Dervishes forced their way into the house, broke in the door\nof the room where the dead man lay stretched out on the bed, killed\nanother Greek, and clove open the head of the little son, a boy of\ntwelve years of age, with an axe, scattering his brains over his\nunfortunate mother, who was sitting beside him. She saved her little son\nof six months old by saying he was a girl. The mother herself was not\nkilled, as she was with child, but she was reserved to become the wife\nof Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi.\n\nAser, the American consul, fell down dead on seeing his brother beheaded\nbefore his eyes. The males of most of the Coptic families were\nmassacred, but the women were spared. I know several of these poor women\nwho, from continuously weeping over the cruelties of that terrible 26th\nof January, have become quite blind.\n\nThose men whose lives were spared have to thank Providence that either\nthey fell into the hands of those less cruel than their comrades, or\nthat they did not quit their houses for two days, at the end of which\ntime the first wild passions of these murderers had cooled down.\n\nThe fate of seven Greeks was a sad one; these were all together in one\nhouse, for, through a merciful Providence, they had fallen into less\ncruel hands. It was past noon, and they were rejoicing at having escaped\nfrom the general massacre. Then a certain George Clementino entered.\nThis Clementino had originally come from El Obeid, and had frequently\nbeen sent by the Mahdi with messages to Gordon, and when he returned\nfrom Khartum to the Mahdi, the latter treated him with much favour.\n\nWhen the capture of Khartum was known in Omdurman, Clementino hastened\nto the town, with the intention of rescuing any compatriots he could\nfind, and he soon heard of the seven surviving Greeks. Full of delight\nat their safety, he congratulated them, and advised them to make their\nway to the house of Manoli, the Greek who, with his wife and nephew, had\nescaped by concealing themselves in the dove-cot.\n\nIt was Clementino's intention to collect all the Greeks here, and then\ntake them to Omdurman. The seven Greeks trusted to their compatriot's\nname and influence to protect them, but Dervishes were on the watch to\nstop them. As they were following Clementino to Manoli's house, which\nwas only a short distance off--indeed, they had only gone a few\nsteps--they were met by a party of Ahmed Sharfi's Danagla, who were\nsearching the streets filled with the dead and wounded, with the object\nof giving the _coup de gr\u00e2ce_ to any who might still be alive.\n\nWhen these murderers espied the party of white men from a short\ndistance, they shouted, \"Look! Some of these dogs, these unbelievers,\nare still alive,\" and, full of anger, they rushed upon the unfortunate\nGreeks. Clementino begged and prayed that they might be spared, but\nthey were beheaded before his eyes, and he himself barely escaped with\nhis life. Pale, terror-stricken, and trembling, he fled to Omdurman, and\nfor some months he lay on the point of death, so great had been the\nshock of witnessing the massacre of his fellow-countrymen.\n\nNumbers even of women and little children were not spared, and the\ntorture which the survivors had to undergo, to force them to produce\ntheir money, are scarcely credible. Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi (the favourite\nof Gordon) was tied for several days to a date-palm and flogged till he\ngave up all his money. The old widow of Mustafa Tiranis was flogged\nalmost to death. She was a rich Circassian lady, and had supplied Gordon\nwith money in donkey loads, and had been decorated by him with the\nKhartum medal.\n\nSlaves were most cruelly tortured, beaten, and forced to disclose the\nhiding-places of their masters' money and treasures. The Shaigieh tribe\nin particular was most harshly dealt with; this was the only tribe which\nremained loyal to the Government, and even eight days after the fall of\nKhartum, if a Shaigi was seen, he was instantly killed; hence the\nDervish proverb, \"Esh Shaigi, Wad er Rif el Kelb ma yelga raha fil\nMahadieh\" (\"The Shaigi, the Egyptian, _i.e._, the white one, the dog, no\nrest shall he find in Mahdieh\").[G]\n\nFarag Pasha did not live long after the fall; some still said he had\nbetrayed the town, and the Dervishes were furious with him because, some\nten days before the assault, during one of the preliminary attacks, he\nhad shot Abdullah Wad en Nur, an emir of great repute, and much beloved\nby the Ansar. Farag was summoned before Wad Suleiman, who ordered him to\nproduce all the money he had. Incensed at his treatment and at the\ncharge of treachery, he fell into a hot dispute with Wad Suleiman, who\nhad him forthwith beheaded as an unbeliever and an obstinate man. If he\nwas really a traitor, he richly deserved his fate; but if not, his\ndeath was that of a brave man.\n\nWhen the massacre in Khartum was at an end, the Mahdi himself gave\norders that the survivors should be spared, but the wild fury of these\nfanatical Arabs had been satiated at the cost of 10,000 lives; the\nstreets were filled with headless corpses, which were left unburied\nuntil the plunder had been distributed.\n\nThe whole of Khartum was now divided up amongst hundreds of emirs and\ntheir mukuddums. Every emir planted his flag in the midst of the quarter\ncaptured by his men, and then the work of collecting the survivors was\nbegun. Ahmed Wad Suleiman ordered all free women and slaves to be\nbrought to the beit el mal; here the young and good-looking fair women\nwere locked up in a separate enclosure, the good-looking, unmarried\nSudanese girls in another zariba, and in a third were placed black slave\ngirls, suitable as concubines.\n\nIt is deplorable to think that at such a time were found certain of the\nwell-known townsmen of Khartum who assisted the Dervishes to lay hands\non all the prettiest girls in Khartum; through their intermediary, many\nof the women who had cut off their hair, and in other ways concealed\ntheir beauty and sex by disguising themselves as men, fell into the\nhands of the Ansar.\n\nMay God's curse fall on those wicked traitors who delivered up these\nunfortunates in order to gain favour with the Mahdi! What sufferings\nthese miserable creatures underwent when they lay huddled together like\ncattle in a pen, awaiting their cruel fate! Many of them were still in\ntheir silken robes, all bespattered with the blood of their husbands and\nchildren, and there they lay, awaiting their turn to become the wives of\nthose who had murdered their husbands and their offspring!\n\nThe first selection was, of course, made for the Mahdi, who took for\nhimself all girls of five years of age and upwards, who, in a few years'\ntime, he would take to his harem; then came the turn of the three\nKhalifas, whose selections were made especially under the direction of\nWad Suleiman; then followed the emirs, each in the order of his rank,\nand one by one they made their choice of these wretched women. Those\nthat were left were distributed amongst the Ansar. Then were openly\nenacted sights which would have melted hearts of stone. The weeping and\nlamentation of the white women, as they prayed and besought the pity of\ntheir masters, the rough jeering and foul replies of these monsters, it\nis all too horrible to relate.\n\nThe old unmarried women were given a few rags with which to partially\ncover themselves, and were sent to Nejumi's camp, where they were kept\nin captivity for a few days. All suffered the agonies of hunger and\nthirst, heat and cold. Little babies, not yet weaned, were left to die\nof hunger, and for weeks after the fall young widowed mothers could be\nseen wandering naked through the market at Omdurman, begging. Some poor\nwomen brought forth children in the streets, and there they would lie,\nmother and child, naked and foodless, until death came as a happy\nrelease from their misery.\n\nThe Mahdi had directed that all gold and silver jewellery, precious\nstones and ornaments, should be collected in the beit el mal; but of\ncourse most of this had already found its way into the pockets of the\nemirs; and, in spite of the Mahdi's most stringent orders, and his\nthreats that those who concealed the booty would be punished in\nhell-fire, still the Ansar kept the loot and risked the eternal flames.\n\nConsiderable quantities of treasure were, however, collected in the beit\nel mal, for Khartum was wealthy, and the women especially had quantities\nof gold and silver ornaments; but so much loot soon reduced the\ncurrency, and a sovereign was now valued at two and a half dollars.\nEvery penny was extracted from the prisoners by the lash, and all were\nreduced to complete beggary. They were then sent to Nejumi's camp; and\non their way thither they were again beaten and searched. They were kept\na few days longer as prisoners in that camp, and then those who had the\nfortune to meet with relations or friends who had been released would\nweep together over their wretched state. The confusion was terrible.\nWomen wandered through the camps in search of their children, children\nsought their parents; but how few ever found them!\n\nAfter a time all the prisoners were permitted to live in Omdurman, where\nthey eked out a miserable existence by begging; but hunger, disease, and\nall the sufferings they had undergone carried off hundreds. For days\nthey remained naked, scorched under the burning sun by day, and perished\nwith cold at night. How could people accustomed to ease and comfort bear\nup against such hardships?\n\nWhen at length all the houses in Khartum had been evacuated, the\nfurniture, &c., removed, and their owners robbed of all they possessed,\nthe effects were sold from the beit el mal at a low price. The various\ncoloured stuffs were cut up and utilised for making the patches on the\njibbehs (Dervish uniform), gold brocades were purchased by those who\nknew their real value for a mere trifle, and the gold melted down and\nmade into ornaments. Mirrors and looking-glasses were chopped in pieces\nwith axes, and valuable china and pottery articles, which might have\nbeen sold for much, were smashed in pieces. The beautiful Khartum\ngardens were divided up amongst the chiefs; the Khalifa Abdullah became\nthe possessor of Gordon's garden, Khalifa Sherif took that of the Roman\nCatholic Mission, and Khalifa Ali Wad Helu became owner of Albert\nMarquet's. Every emir selected the best house he could find, and there\nhe installed himself with his wives and slaves; while the Ansar took the\nhouses of the poorer Copts and Egyptians. But Omdurman, and not Khartum,\nwas now considered the Dervish capital.\n\nIntoxicated by their success, and insatiable in their desire for women\nand plunder, the Dervishes had forgotten altogether about the English,\nfor whom Gordon had waited so long. How cruel is fate! Two days after\nthe fall, on the 28th of January, 1885, two steamers were seen slowly\nmaking their way along the western shore of Tuti Island.\n\nKhartum and Omdurman were electrified; a consultation was quickly held,\nand it was at once decided to prevent their landing. The English could\nbe seen searching in all directions for some sign to show them that\nGordon was still alive; but the only answer they got was the rain of\nthousands of bullets fired from thousands upon thousands of rifles and\nguns at Omdurman and Fort Mukrun. All rushed to the river bank. The\nwomen, seizing sticks and waving them over their heads, shrieked and\nyelled like hyenas, \"M\u00f3t lil Inglez!\" (\"Death to the English!\") and they\nwere prepared to rush at them with their sticks if they attempted to\nland. When the English saw this, they could have had little doubt as to\nwhat had happened; they turned back and disappeared. The rage of the\nDervishes at their departure was unbounded. They rained bullets and\nshell after them; but they were soon out of sight.\n\nLet us now consider for a moment the chances of success of the English\nrelief expedition. The defeat at Abu Klea struck terror into the\nMahdiists gathered round Khartum; the arrival of some wounded men at\nOmdurman added to the general alarm. Had twenty redcoats arrived at\nKhartum, it would have been saved. Their presence would have given fresh\ncourage to the inhabitants; and, confident of their approaching\ndeliverance, they would have striven might and main to hold out longer.\nGeneral Gordon, assisted by the advice and energy of a few English\nofficers, would have completely regained his influence. It is true,\nindeed, that the soldiers were weary of the long siege and continual\nfighting, and they had lost all faith in Gordon's repeated promises that\nthe English were coming. They became heart-broken and in despair; but\nKhartum was not for long in the state of distress which prevailed in El\nObeid before that town fell. In Khartum they had only been eating gum\nfor a few days previous to the fall, while in El Obeid they had existed\non it for months, and had practically nothing else to live upon.\n\nHad the Khartum people but seen one Englishman with their own eyes, they\nwould have taken fresh courage, and would in all probability have held\nout for another month, until the relief for which they had waited so\nlong was a _fait accompli_. The Mahdi would not have dared to assault\nKhartum; and even if he had, it is most probable he would have been\nbeaten back. Many survivors of Khartum often said to me, \"Had we seen\none Englishman, we should have been saved; but our doubt that the\nEnglish were really coming, and the feeling that Gordon must be\ndeceiving us, made us discouraged, and we felt that death would be\npreferable to the life of constant war and daily suffering we were\nleading during the siege.\"\n\nThe unaccountable delay of the English was the cause of the fall of\nKhartum, the death of Gordon, and the fate of the Sudan. The Mahdi only\nmade up his mind to attack when he heard that they had delayed at Gubat.\nHe did not begin to cross over his troops till the 24th of January, and\nit was not till Sunday night that the crossing was complete. He could\nnot have attacked earlier than he did. When the first news of his defeat\nat Abu Klea reached him he wished to raise the siege and retire to\nKordofan. If the English had appeared at any time before he delivered\nthe attack he would have raised the siege and retired. Indeed, it was\nalways his intention to revisit El Obeid before he made his attack.\n\nEven to the present day people in the Sudan cannot understand the reason\nfor the delay. Some say that the English general was wounded at Abu\nKlea, and was lying insensible, and that those who were acting for him\ndid not dare to undertake any operations until he was sufficiently\nrecovered to be able to give his own orders.\n\nThe Sudanese wondered why Europeans, who generally take precautions for\nevery eventuality, should not have done so in this case. Others thought\nthat Kashm el Mus Pasha must have urged the English to attack the Arabs\nabout Metemmeh and Shendi, in revenge for the persistency with which\nthey had attacked and harassed the steamers. The above are only some of\nthe many reasons by which the Sudanese seek to explain the delay after\nthe battle of Abu Klea.\n\nWhen the English were convinced that Khartum had fallen, they retreated\nnorth. Once the town had fallen, the little English fighting force was\nin the gravest peril; the Mahdi had now his entire force at his disposal\nto combat them. He at once despatched Nejumi and a large number of his\nbest emirs with a large force; and had not the English already retreated\nbefore he reached Metemmeh, they could not have escaped.\n\nThe Mahdi was furious when he heard that the English, who had killed\nsuch numbers of his best troops, had retired; and, though the latter\nfailed in their object, still their bold attempt to snatch the prey from\nthe lion's mouth must remain for ever a grand exploit. The bravery of\nthe English in advancing on Khartum with such a small number of men is\nalways a source of wonder to the Sudanese. But, alas, what a useless\nsacrifice of blood and money! The relief came too late.\n\nThe memory of Gordon, the heroic defender of Khartum, is still held in\nrespectful remembrance in the Sudan. His bravery, generosity, and\nvoluntary self-sacrifice have won the admiration of his bitterest\nenemies. It is the common saying amongst Moslems, \"Had Gordon been one\nof us, he would have been a perfect man.\" I will now give a slight\nsketch of the events subsequent to the fall, and the fate of the town.\n\nAfter the retreat of the English, the new masters of Khartum settled\ndown and made themselves comfortable. The Ashraf, _i.e._ the Mahdi's\nrelatives, especially made themselves at home in the best houses and\ngardens, the best dancers entertained them by night, and they lived a\nlife of ease and luxury. After the death of the Mahdi, which occurred on\nthe 22nd of June, 1885, his successor, the Khalifa Abdullah, looked on\nthe prosperity of Khartum with jealous eyes.\n\nWhen I arrived in Khartum from El Obeid in April 1886, I visited every\npart of the town, and examined it most carefully; very few houses had\nbeen destroyed, and the town was thickly populated. I also visited the\nlines of defence between the Blue and White Niles, they extended about\nsix kilometres. The impression I gathered from the appearance of the\nditch, which at that time had been much damaged by the heavy rains, was\nthat it could not have been crossed, except near the White Nile where it\nwas quite choked up with mud and sand. At various points along the line\nthere were strongly-built forts manned with guns, and a little in rear\nof the parapets were high structures which commanded the ditch; behind\nevery loophole were small mud shelters, evidently made by the troops to\nprotect themselves from the cold and strong winds.\n\nThe Messalamieh gate was built of burnt bricks and cement and was then\nin a good state, but the iron gate lay unopened against the side of the\nditch. I counted about 150 bodies along the parapet; there they lay,\nshrivelled up like mummies, while rats and mice had made their homes in\nthem. In one place I saw two bodies tied together by the feet, they had\nevidently been killed in this position. It was impossible to distinguish\nthe Egyptians from the blacks, for the sun had burnt up and shrivelled\nthe skin into one black colour. Here, where there had been such bustling\nactivity, now only the stillness of the tomb prevailed. As one walked\nalong, lizards and other reptiles would creep from beneath the skeletons\nand dart off to take refuge under others.\n\nI strolled on from the Messalamieh gate to the European cemetery. Here\nwhat desolation and desecration met my eyes! The crosses had been\nsmashed to pieces and lay strewn about in little bits. Graves had been\ndug up and the bodies pulled out. I recognised from their clothes three\nwho had died in January 1881. The grave of Bishop Comboni, who had died\non the 11th of October, 1881, and had been buried in the Mission garden,\nhad also been opened, but the obelisk erected to his memory by the\ntownspeople of Khartum had not been destroyed. The church bells had\nbeen pulled down, but lay there in the garden undamaged.\n\nShortly after my visit, Khartum was reduced to ruins. The Khalifa\nAbdullah, jealous of the Ashraf, who had completely established\nthemselves in the town, and whose actions he could not therefore\nsufficiently supervise, determined to order its evacuation. In August\nthe command was given to all to quit the town within three days; it was\ncarried out at once, and on the fourth day the destruction of Khartum\nbegan. Houses were pulled down, the wood of the windows, balconies, and\ndoors was transported to Omdurman, and within a very short time the\nwhole place was in ruins; the burnt bricks were for the most part\nbrought to Omdurman; the only buildings which were spared were the\nArsenal, in which work still continues to be done, Gordon's palace, and\nthe Mission house. In fact, Khartum is now nothing but a heap of mud\nruins, here and there a wall is left standing, everywhere large prickly\nthorn bushes have sprung up and cover as with a veil the sad remnants of\nthe once thriving and populous metropolis of the Sudan.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[G] According to the Mahdi doctrine, dogs, being considered\nimpure animals, are destroyed; but this subject will be considered in\nanother chapter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nTHE MAHDI'S LAST DAYS.\n\n     Ohrwalder's criticisms on certain events connected with the defence\n     of Khartum--The Sudan devastated by small-pox--The Mahdi gives way\n     to a life of pleasure--Description of his harem life--The Mahdi\n     sickens and dies--The effect on his followers--The Khalifa Abdullah\n     succeeds--Party strife and discord--Abdullah prevails--Events in\n     Sennar and Kassala.\n\n\nLooking back on the events which occurred during the siege of Khartum, I\ncannot refrain from saying that I consider Gordon carried his\nhumanitarian views too far, and that this excessive forbearance on his\npart both injured the cause and considerably added to his difficulties.\nIt was Gordon's first and paramount duty to rescue the Europeans,\nChristians, and Egyptians from the fanatical fury of the Mahdi, which\nwas specially directed against them. This was Gordon's clear duty, but\nunfortunately he allowed his kindness of heart to be made use of to his\nenemy's advantage.\n\nKhartum during the siege was full of the wives, relations, and children\nof men who had joined the Dervishes, and were foremost in their efforts\nto harass and attack the town. These crafty people thus assured\nthemselves that should the Mahdi be victorious, their loyalty to him\nwould ensure the safety of their families and property in Khartum,\nwhile, on the other hand, should Gordon be victorious then their wives\nand families would be able to mediate for them with the conquerors. Thus\nin his kindness of heart did Gordon feed and support the families of his\nenemies. It was quite sufficient for a number of women to appeal to\nGordon with tears in their eyes, that they were starving, for him to\norder that rations of corn should at once be issued to them, and thus\nit was that the supplies in the hands of the Government were enormously\nreduced.\n\nHad Gordon, in the early stages of the siege, relieved Khartum of the\npresence of these people, as he subsequently was forced to do, he would\nhave had supplies sufficient to prolong the resistance of his troops far\nbeyond the limits at which they had arrived when the assault took place,\nand, after all, should not Gordon's first care have been for his troops?\nHis men clamoured against the lavish way in which Gordon distributed\nwhat should have been their rations amongst the families of the\nbesiegers, but it was of no avail.\n\nGordon should have recognised that the laws of humanity differ in war\nfrom peace time, more especially when the war he was waging was\nespecially directed against wild fanatical savages who were enemies to\nall peace. He was entirely deceived if he believed that by the exercise\nof kindness and humanity he was likely to win over these people to his\nside; on the contrary, they ridiculed his generosity and only thought it\na sign of weakness. The Sudanese respect and regard only those whom they\nfear, and surely those cruel and hypocritical Mahdiists should have\nreceived very different treatment to civilized Europeans.\n\nI also think that Gordon brought harm on himself and his cause by\nanother action which I am convinced led to a great extent to his final\noverthrow. Such men as Slatin, Lupton, Saleh Wad el Mek, and others had\noffered at the risk of their lives to come and serve him. It is almost\ncertain that some means could have been found of rescuing from slavery\nthese brave men who had defended their provinces with the greatest\ndetermination against treachery from within and overwhelming numbers\nfrom without, and they could have rendered him most valuable and useful\nservices. None knew better than these men the weak and the strong points\nof the Mahdi's rule and his method of warfare, and it is quite possible\nthat they might have been able to alter the fate of Khartum. In the\nMahdi's camp they were looked upon as brave and skilful leaders, indeed\nthey were feared, and that is why they were put in chains, as it was\nthought they might attempt to escape. Had they been permitted to enter\nKhartum they would not only have been able to assist in the Mahdi's\noverthrow, but they would have been able to encourage the garrison.\n\nGordon would not, however, even vouchsafe an answer to the letters of\nappeal these men wrote to him. He could not have believed they were\ntraitors, such an idea could not have entered into the mind of an\nEuropean. The Mahdi never for an instant doubted their inclinations, and\ntreated them with the greatest mistrust; but even to these savages the\nidea of killing men who had been loyal to the Government, and had fought\nbravely for their provinces, was objectionable, unless they could have\nproduced a really valid reason for doing so. How was it possible Gordon\ncould be for an instant in doubt as to the inclinations and intentions\nof these men? I feel strongly on these points, and therefore cannot\nrefrain from mentioning them.\n\nAfter the fall of Khartum only two strong places remained in the hands\nof the Government, Kassala and Sennar, both of which were closely\nbesieged. The English had retired north, and the Mahdi could rest at\nlast, assured that he was now possessor of the Sudan.\n\nThe enormous multitudes around Khartum had been engaged during the whole\nof the winter season in war, consequently cultivation was neglected, and\nhad it not been for the quantities of cattle available, a disastrous\nfamine must have occurred. As it was, there was a great deal of\ndistress, and numbers died of starvation. Famine and war had brought\ndisease in their train. In addition to fever and dysentery, small-pox,\nwhich in the Sudan is endemic, increased with fearful rapidity. In\nOmdurman hundreds died, and the principal business of the beit el mal\nwas distributing \"kafans\" (shrouds).\n\nIt was curious that the Sudanese, who much dread this disease, should\nhave attributed it to the English; but that they did so is a fact, and\nthis is how it came about. When the English retired, from Gubat, they\nleft behind them a quantity of preserved stores and tinned meat. The\nDervishes, in spite of the belief that they contained pork, which is an\nabomination to them, were so hungry that they consumed almost everything\nthey found, and it is said that almost immediately afterwards they were\nattacked by small-pox, which gave rise to the idea that the English had\nmixed their food with the germs of the disease, and this was implicitly\nbelieved in.\n\nOwing to the prevalence of small-pox in Omdurman, many people fled to\nKordofan, Darfur, and other places, and consequently caused the disease\nto spread over the whole country. Several false doctors, with the sole\nobject of making money, guaranteed to check the disease by inoculation;\nbut as the inoculated matter was frequently in itself diseased, the\nepidemic was still further increased.\n\nNotwithstanding this national calamity, the Mahdi now gave himself up to\na life of ease and luxury, in which the unfortunate women captured in\nKhartum played a prominent part. He represented that all those who died\nof small-pox were suffering God's punishment for being evil-minded or\nhaving appropriated the booty. People believed what he said, and would\nstill believe him, if he were alive and told them even more incredible\nthings. The capture of Khartum had, of course, raised his prestige\nenormously, and now the belief in his Divine message needed no further\nconfirmation. Before the assault took place he said that he would divide\nthe river into two parts, just as Moses had divided the Red Sea, so that\nhis followers could cross to Khartum on dry land if they failed to take\nit by assault. His promise, too, that very few should fall by the sword,\nnot only encouraged them in the attack, but its verification served only\nto further prove his divinity. His uncle, Sayid Abdel Kader, up to the\ntime of the fall of Khartum, still doubted that he was the true Mahdi;\nbut, once the town was taken, he doubted no longer.\n\n[Illustration: AN EGYPTIAN HAREM WOMAN.]\n\nAll this success increased the adulation and worship of the Mahdi to an\nextraordinary extent, and as for himself, although he was continually\nwarning his followers to despise the good things of this world, and to\nabandon all luxurious modes of life, he surrounded himself with every\nsort of comfort and luxury, appreciating to the utmost the very\npleasures which he declaimed so violently. He urged moderation in eating\nand drinking, yet he secured for himself every dainty which Khartum\ncould possibly produce. He now wore shirts and trousers of the finest\nmaterial, and, before putting them on, his wives were obliged to\nperfume them with incense and other costly fragrances. His wives\nattended on him in turns, but no regularity was preserved. They anointed\nhis body with all sorts of precious unguents, but his speciality was the\nexpensive \"Sandalia\" (a perfume prepared from sandal-wood and oil), and\nso saturated was he with these perfumes that when he went forth the air\nwas laden with sweet-smelling odours.\n\nThe courtyard of his harem was full of women, from little Turkish girls\nof eight years old to the pitch-black Dinka negress or copper-coloured\nAbyssinian; almost every tribe in the Sudan supplied its representative,\nso that one might say the entire Sudanese woman-world was to be seen\nhere.\n\nAmongst this vast concourse four only were lawful wives; the remainder\nwere considered as \"ghenima,\" or booty, and were looked upon as slaves\nand concubines. His principal wife was called \"Aisha,\" or, as she is\nbetter known in Omdurman, \"Om el Muminin\" (the Mother of the Faithful).\nShe was a woman of considerable influence, for the wives of all the\nprincipal emirs visited her, and she was assisted by them in elaborating\nan extensive system of espionage. Alas, how many unfortunate girls were\nleft weeping day and night for their miserable state, robbed by this\nAisha of their happiness and liberty!\n\nThe Mahdi's dwelling was built for the most part of the captured loot.\nFrom the boards of General Hicks's stable he had two huts built, and\nnear these a hut made of mortar and a small magazine. This man, who\nhitherto had but a small straw mat, now lay on fine bedsteads originally\nbrought from Jedda and captured in Khartum, while the floors were spread\nwith Persian carpets. Here was this Divine Mahdi leading indoors a life\nof the most immoderate uxoriousness, whilst outside his fanatical\nfollowers hailed him as the direct messenger of God, sent to purge the\nworld from the evil practices of the hated Turk.\n\nTwo persons whom I knew well, and who had visited the Mahdi less than\nthree weeks before his death, gave me an account of the sort of life he\nwas then leading. It was the month of Ramadan, the great fast, and any\none who failed to keep it strictly was punishable by death. From noon\ntill midnight people used to crowd to the mosque, which was then only a\nlarge enclosure surrounded by a zariba. Thousands of Dervishes could be\naccommodated in this large rectangular space, in which the clash of a\nforest of spears indicated their impatience to see the Mahdi as he came\nto prayers; they had seen him hundreds and hundreds of times before, but\nthey seemed never tired of gazing at him, and often fought to get a\nplace near the mihrab (niche) where he prayed.\n\nWhilst the impatient murmur of thousands of voices indicates that the\ntime of his approach has almost arrived, let us for a moment turn into\nthe Mahdi's harem, and here is a true picture of what my friends there\nbeheld. The Mahdi reclining on a magnificent carpet, his head propped up\nby a pillow covered with gold brocade; he is clothed in a linen shirt of\nfinest texture, a pair of drawers, and a gallabieh; his shaved head\ncovered by a takia of embroidered silk. Upwards of thirty women stand\naround him; some fan him with great ostrich feathers, others gently rub\nhis feet (a practice in which the Sudanese delight), without in any way\ndisturbing his slumber; others gently smooth his hands, and Aisha lies\nbeside him, covering his head and neck with loving embraces.\n\nMeanwhile hundreds of Ansar are shouting outside his zariba, impatiently\nawaiting his blessing, and anxiously expecting to hear his voice. The\neunuchs are trying to drive off this importunate crowd with whips, but\nthey will not leave until they have obtained the earnestly sought\nblessing. At length one of the eunuchs enters, and receives from Aisha\nthe blessing, which she gives without disturbing the Mahdi. He then\nreturns and tells the impatient crowd that the Mahdi is at present in\ndeep contemplation, but that he is graciously pleased to give them his\nblessing, which is then repeated. This is the signal for a wild shout\nof joy, and then they return to the mosque to range themselves in their\nappointed lines for prayers. And now those who were not present to\nreceive the blessing press forward to touch the others, and thus obtain\nsome of its virtue.\n\nThe Mahdi is gradually sinking from his half doze into a sound slumber,\nwhen Aisha very gently rouses him and tells him that the appointed time\nfor ablutions and prayers is already passed. The women now assist him to\nrise, his red shoes are brought, and then he proceeds to the place of\nablution, followed by four women carrying his water-bottle. On his\nreturn the women throw themselves down frantically on the spots which\nhis feet have touched, and struggle with each other in their endeavours\nto embrace the ground on which he has trodden.\n\nIt is believed that the earth touched by the Mahdi's foot has healing\nproperties, and has, moreover, the effect of ensuring a quick and\npainless delivery; it is therefore distributed amongst holy women, and\neven to this day is carefully preserved for the purpose which I have\ncited. Not a drop, too, of the water with which the Mahdi has washed is\nallowed to be wasted, but is hoarded with the greatest care, and drunk\nas an unfailing remedy for every sort of illness and malady.\n\nBut to return to my friends' description. The Mahdi's ablutions over,\nhis son Bashra runs up to him and shows him a golden ring his mother has\ngiven him. Bashra asks permission to wear the ring, but the Mahdi, who\nhas by this time noticed the presence of two strangers, says, \"Oh, my\nson, only the Turks wear such ornaments, because they love the things of\nthis world; but it is not becoming in us to wear such ornaments, which\nare perishable; we strive to obtain things imperishable. Give the ring\nback to your mother.\" The little hypocrite well understands what his\nfather means, and obeys.\n\nAisha then clothes the Mahdi in his Dervish jibbeh, girdle, and turban,\nand in this godly raiment he marches off to the mosque. As he quits the\npalace, his bodyguard surround him and keep off the crowd. On reaching\nthe mihrab he is received with a shout by the assembled multitude. After\nprayers he gives a short sermon, and then returns to his wives.\n\nThus did the Mahdi enjoy the sweets of victory indoors, whilst outside\nhe practised the most abominable hypocrisy. Most of his principal emirs\n(with the exception of his uncle, Sayid Abdel Karim, who had been sent\nto reduce Sennar) followed in their divine master's footsteps, and led a\nlife of pleasure and debauchery. Sometimes the Mahdi used to cross over\nto Khartum and disport himself in Gordon's palace, whither he ordered a\nportion of his harem to be transferred.\n\nBut all this good living and unbridled sensuality were to be the cause\nof his speedy dissolution. He grew enormously fat. The two visitors,\nwhom I mentioned above, saw him only eight days before his death, and\ntold me that they believed then he could not live much longer. Early in\nRamadan he fell sick, and soon became dangerously ill. The hand of God's\njustice fell heavily upon him; and it was decreed that he should no\nlonger enjoy the empire which he had raised on the dead bodies of\nthousands of the victims to his wretched hypocrisy and deceit.\n\nIt is, indeed, terrible to think of the awful misery and distress\nbrought upon his own country by this one man. His disease grew rapidly\nworse; he complained of pain in the heart, and died, on the 22nd of\nJune, 1885, of fatty degeneration of the heart. Some say that he was a\nvictim to the vengeance of a woman who had lost husband and children in\nthe fall of Khartum, and who repaid the Mahdi's outrage on her own\nperson by giving him poison in his food. This may be so; and it is true,\npoison is generally used in the Sudan to put people out of the way; but\nI am rather inclined to think that it was outraged nature that took\nvengeance on its victim; and that it was the Mahdi's debauched and\ndissolute mode of life which caused his early death. He died in the\nmortar hut, which I previously described; and his adherents gave out\nthat he was about to travel through the heavens for a space of three\nyears. People were not allowed to say \"The Mahdi is dead,\" but \"El Mahdi\nintakal\" (_i.e._ \"The Mahdi has been removed\").\n\nThe shock of his death was terrible. The wild fanatics were, so to\nspeak, struck dumb; their eyes were suddenly opened; and their very\nconfusion showed that they had realized, the Mahdi was a liar. Omdurman\nwas full of suppressed murmuring; and the people were collected in\ngroups, talking of this awful catastrophe.\n\nThose who were oppressed believed that the sudden collapse of Mahdieh\nmust result in a revolution. No one believed that the Mahdi's party\ncould continue ruling in his name. Would that some good man could have\nbeen found to rapidly seize this opportunity of putting himself at the\nhead of the anti-Mahdiists; he must have been successful!\n\nThe confusion in the Mahdi's household was beyond description; his women\nwept and wailed in the wildest grief. Ahmed Wad Suleiman and the Mahdi's\nnearest relatives prepared a grave immediately beneath the bed on which\nhe had died; the body was washed, wrapped in a shroud, according to the\nMoslem custom, and, in the presence of the Khalifas and all the members\nof the Mahdi's family, it was lowered into the grave, amidst the\nlamentations and wailing of the enormous crowd collected outside the\nbuilding. Before the grave was filled in, the body was sprinkled with\nperfumes; then each person present took a handful of earth and threw it\ninto the grave, amidst murmurs of \"Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim!\" (_i.e._ O\nmerciful, O gracious God!) A simple monument was erected over the tomb.\n\nThus ended the Mahdi--a man who left behind him a hundred thousand\nmurdered men, women, and children, hundreds of devastated towns and\nvillages, poverty, and famine. Upon his devoted head lies the curse of\nhis people whom he had forced into a wild and fanatical war, which\nbrought indescribable ruin upon the country, and which exposed his\ncountrymen to the rule of a cruel tyrant, from whom it was impossible\nto free themselves.\n\nBefore his death, the Mahdi had nominated the Khalifa Abdullah as his\nsuccessor; he saw that this was the only man capable of holding in check\nthe rapacious Sudanese tribes, and of governing the strange empire which\nhe had raised; but the selection of this \"foreigner\" was a bitter\ndisappointment to the Danagla and Jaalin, who, hitherto rulers, had now\nto become the ruled; and from whose hands their authority was\ntransferred to the cruel and tyrannical Baggaras, who henceforth became\nthe conquerors of the Sudan, and who governed its inhabitants with a rod\nof iron.\n\nIn nominating the Khalifa Abdullah, the Mahdi threw the firebrand of\ndiscord amongst the hitherto united ranks of Mahdieh, and thereby\ngreatly weakened his cause. It was hard for the Mahdi to die, just when\nhe had established an empire stretching from the Bahr el Ghazal to\nEgypt, and from Darfur to the Red Sea; he had neither had the time nor\nthe inclination to try and govern it; his mission had been the\ndestruction of all existing forms of government; and he had carried it\nout to the letter.\n\nImmediately after the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa Abdullah summoned a\nmeeting, and then and there insisted on the two Khalifas and the Ashraf\nacknowledging him as the Khalifat el Mahdi (or Mahdi's successor). After\na long discussion it was at length agreed to, and he gave a solemn\nassurance that he would follow absolutely in the Mahdi's footsteps. Just\nat this time the agitation was too great for him to think of introducing\nthe selfish and ambitious plans which he had already formulated.\nMoreover, Sennar and Kassala were still holding out; it was therefore\nthe first necessary step to be most conciliating on all sides, and to\nall parties.\n\nThe Mahdi's name was still paramount in inspiring fanaticism; and\ntherefore the Khalifa's watchword became \"Ed din mansur\" (Religion is\nvictorious); thus he sought to establish unity and concord by means of\nthe new religion which the Mahdi had founded, and which, now that its\noriginator was dead, he sought to make unassailable.\n\nNevertheless, discord very soon sprang up. The Khalifa Sherif and the\nAshraf were furious at being out of power, and they could not long\nconceal their discontent. Each Khalifa now did his utmost to show his\nindependence of the other; each of them rode about in Omdurman in the\ngreatest splendour, as if he were a king, and ordered his own great\nwar-drum to be beaten. Jealousy, hatred, and discontent spread rapidly\namongst the people; and soon Omdurman was divided into two distinct\ncamps: Khalifas Sherif and Ali Wad Helu in the one, and Khalifa Abdullah\nin the other.\n\nBoth parties now prepared for battle. Abdullah had the Baggaras and\nblacks, under Fadl Maula (Abu Anga's brother). There were frequent\ndisputes in the market-place; and every day it was thought a fight must\ntake place. At length matters reached such a stage that Abdullah\nchallenged the two other Khalifas to fight on the open plain, on which\nthe great reviews usually take place, just outside the town.\n\nThe two parties collected their entire forces; but it was evident the\nBaggaras were by far the stronger; and as they marched out they shouted\n\"M\u00f4t el Gellaba\" (\"Death to the Gellabas!\" _i.e._ the Danagla, in\ncontradistinction to the Baggara). Khalifa Wad Helu now acted the part\nof mediator, and went across to confer with Abdullah; the troops of the\nlatter were drawn up in battle-array, and quite prepared for the fray.\nKhalifa Sherif feared to enter the lists alone, and therefore he\nsubmitted; he was obliged to hand over his soldiers, arms, ammunition,\nflags, and war-drums, which Abdullah took possession of, and was allowed\nto retain only fifty men, with firearms, as a bodyguard.\n\nThus Abdullah constituted himself the one and only ruler, and showed\nthat he was quite resolved to allow no one else to share his authority\nwith him. Gradually he reduced the power of the two other Khalifas and\nof the Ashraf, and in a short time they became men of little influence.\nThe Mahdi's two uncles, Abdel Karim and Abdel Kader, who showed the most\nopen and violent animosity, were at once thrown into chains, their\nhouses destroyed, and themselves declared enemies of the Mahdi; and, as\nwe shall presently relate, he ordered Abu Anga to secure Zogal and put\nhim in prison.\n\nWhilst all these disturbances were going on in Omdurman, the two places,\nSennar and Kassala, in which Government troops were still holding out,\nwere now in the greatest straits; and I will here give a brief account\nof the events which occurred.\n\nSennar had suffered from the Mahdiists for a very long time. Ahmed Wad\nel Makashef had besieged it in 1883; Abdel Kader Pasha, Governor-General\nof the Sudan, had advanced to its relief with a large force, had\ndefeated the Makashef, and then raised the siege. Abdel Kader himself\nwas wounded in this fight, and his watch was broken to pieces by a\nbullet. Sennar and Khartum were once more in communication. It is\nunfortunate that Abdel Kader, who was greatly feared by the Sudanese,\nwas recalled to Egypt.\n\nIn 1884 the rebels again attacked Sennar, but were repulsed. It was then\nbesieged by El Mehrdi Abu Rof, who succeeded in defeating the Egyptian\ntroops under Nur Bey. I shall presently relate how this Mehrdi was\nafterwards treated by the Sudanese.\n\nSome say that the fall of Khartum had a very discouraging effect on the\ngallant garrison of Sennar; but this was not so--they determined to make\na stand. The Mudir, Hassan Sadik, who had been put in chains by Nur Bey,\nvolunteered, if he should be released, to attack the rebels, and, in\nfact, he succeeded in driving them off; but on his return to the town he\nfell into an ambush and was killed. Brave Nur Bey again pursued the\nenemy, and succeeded in inflicting a further defeat on them.\n\nAbdel Karim now arrived with a large force, and summoned the garrison\nto surrender. Nur Bey refused, and on the 16th of June the city was\nassaulted; but Abdel Karim was driven back, and was himself wounded in\nthe thigh. He then decided to make the garrison capitulate by famine.\nThe siege was pressed very closely, and on the 18th of July Nur Bey made\na successful sortie, inflicting considerable loss on the enemy; but he\ntoo was wounded in the leg, and was rendered permanently lame.\n\nThe determined defence of the town now induced the Khalifa to despatch\nWad En Nejumi with large reinforcements. Meanwhile the garrison had been\nsuffering greatly from famine, and Nur Bey had decided to make a last\nsortie, which should be under the command of Hassan Bey Osman; but this\nproved unsuccessful, the commander was killed on the 19th of August,\n1885, and Nur Bey was forced to capitulate. Of the 3,000 men of whom the\ngarrison had originally consisted, 700 only remained--a tangible proof\nof the vigorous and determined resistance they had made.\n\nIt is thought throughout the Sudan that the defence of Sennar was most\npraiseworthy. Nur Bey still lives in Omdurman. Only last year his old\nwound was cut open to remove the splinters of bone. He was better again\nwhen I escaped, but is still lame. Wad En Nejumi arrived two days after\nthe fall of the town and found it in ruins. All that is left of Sennar\nare a few mud and sand heaps, and its very name has ceased to exist,\nalthough early in this century it was better known even than Dongola or\nKordofan.\n\nKassala alone was left. This town is situated on the Khor el Gash, not\nfar from the Atbara River, and about midway between Khartum and\nMassawah. It had a population of 13,000, and was surrounded by a wall.\nHere the celebrated moslem, Sid el Hassan, is buried, and a dome is\nerected over his grave. This man was greatly venerated in the Eastern\nSudan; and if any one swears by his name, it is believed that he must be\nspeaking the truth. One of his pupils, whom I met in Omdurman, told me\nof his miracles, of which I will quote one or two examples. One day he\nwas preaching a sermon; and when it was over, several of the listeners\ncame to him and begged for alms. Sid el Hassan struck his knee, and\nforthwith a number of dollars fell out--the exact sum for which the\nbeggars had asked. Amongst the bystanders was a poor shame-faced man,\nwho immediately begged that he might have one dollar. Sid el Hassan\nagain struck his knee, and one dollar fell out, which he at once handed\nto the man, saying, \"This is for the poor shame-faced one.\" The man at\nonce fell at his feet and gratefully kissed his hands. All who were\npresent were greatly astonished at this miracle, and some, bolder than\nthe rest, approached Sid el Hassan and touched him, when they found, to\ntheir wonder, that he felt just like a sack full of dollars.\n\nOn another occasion two travellers arrived, with the intention of making\na map of the country. Having failed in their purpose, they applied to\nSid el Hassan for advice, and, after offering them food and drink, he\nhanded to them the map they required. He performed many different\nmiracles, and was, moreover, a very tolerant man, rendering the\nGovernment many valuable services, especially when he succeeded in\nstopping a revolt of the soldiers. During all the recent events, his\nrelations remained perfectly loyal.\n\nBut to return to my narrative. When Osman Digna came to the Sawakin\nneighbourhood, he sent the emir, Mustafa Hadal, to commence the siege of\nKassala; but, as the Shukrieh tribe supplied quantities of corn, it was\nenabled to stand a very prolonged siege. In January 1884, it was\nassaulted, and the Mudir suffered serious loss. The Arabs, who had\nhitherto remained loyal, seeing no hope of help from the Government,\nalso deserted.\n\nThe siege was now more closely pressed, and the suburb of Khatmieh was\nnearly captured; but the enemy were at length driven back. A treaty was\nconcluded with Abyssinia to relieve the Egyptian garrisons and bring\nthem through that country to Massawah; and though at that time all the\ndonkeys in the town had been eaten, they still hoped for relief.\n\nIn June 1885, the city was hemmed in on all sides, and was in a\ndesperate condition. Nevertheless the attempted assault on the 15th of\nthe month was successfully repulsed, and the Mudir pursued the enemy, of\nwhom he killed 300. He also succeeded in capturing 1,000 head of cattle.\nThis enabled the town to hold out for a short time; and the news of the\nMahdi's death served to further encourage the garrison.\n\nBut at last the town was reduced to absolute starvation, and, on\ncondition that the lives of the inhabitants should be spared, the Mudir\nsurrendered. No sooner, however, were the arms given up than the\nconquerors began to pillage the town and inflict all sorts of cruelties\non the people. Osman Digna, who was at that time furious on account of\nhis defeat by Ras Alula on the 22nd of September at Kufit, vented his\nwrath on the unfortunate Mudir, Ahmed Bey Effat, Hassan Agha, and\nIbrahim Eff Shawki, and also on two Greeks, Stello Apostolidi and Tadros\nManioseh, whom he caused to be beheaded on the 30th of September, 1885.\n\nFrom that time Kassala remained under Osman Digna; but in 1886, when the\nlatter was fully occupied in his operations against Sawakin, the Khalifa\nsent Abu Girgeh there as emir. When Abu Girgeh was subsequently sent to\nTokar, Sayid Hamed became emir of Kassala, which from that time formed a\npart of the province of Galabat, of which Sheikh Nasri, of the Bederieh\ntribe, became emir.\n\nAbu Girgeh was eventually sent to Berber to replace Osman Wad Dekeim,\nwho had fallen into disgrace. This Osman was very anxious to marry a\npretty woman he had seen in Berber, and had frequently visited her in\nthe hope that she would consent; but the woman, who did not want to\nmarry him, decided on a stratagem, and agreed to have a rendezvous on a\ncertain day. She, however, told her brothers and relations to lie in\nwait; and when Osman arrived at the appointed hour, and was almost sure\nthat he had succeeded, the brothers suddenly broke into the hut and\nthrashed him so soundly that he made off, and resolved not to urge his\nsuit a second time.\n\nAbu Girgeh did not long remain on good terms with this low Arab, and\nsoon they were both recalled to Omdurman; the former was again sent to\nKassala, where he accused Nasri of having oppressed the inhabitants, and\nappropriated a quantity of money; the latter fled to Omdurman, where the\nKhalifa pardoned him.\n\nSayid Hamid also quarrelled with Abu Girgeh, and just before I left the\nSudan I was told that the Khalifa had recalled him on suspicion that he\nwas in league with the Italians. It is generally believed in the Sudan\nthat Italy will shortly take possession of the weakly defended Kassala,\nbut accurate information of occurrences in the Eastern Sudan is more\nlikely to be received in Cairo than in Omdurman.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nTHE ESCAPE OF FATHER BONOMI.\n\n     Ohrwalder continues to describe his personal experiences--Mahmud\n     the emir of El Obeid--His unsuccessful attempts to entrap the\n     Nubas--The arrival of Olivier Pain in El Obeid--His motives in\n     joining the Mahdi--His journey towards Omdurman--His sad\n     fate--Lupton Bey arrives at El Obeid from the Bahr el Ghazal--He is\n     sent to Omdurman and thrown into chains--Life in El Obeid--The\n     escape of Father Bonomi--Ohrwalder's solitude--The death of the\n     Khojur Kakum.\n\n\nI must now return to the narrative of my own personal experiences, which\nI broke off in order to follow those events of the Mahdi's career in\nwhich I did not take part.\n\nBefore the Mahdi left Rahad, I was again handed over to yet another\nmaster; this was Sherif Mahmud, the Mahdi's uncle, and Governor of\nKordofan, and I was put into his charge when he came to Rahad to see the\nMahdi off. I stayed a few days with Mahmud at Rahad. I was then in a\nwretched state of health; to my horror I discovered black spots on my\nbody, my teeth were chattering, and then I knew that I had scurvy. I\nlonged to escape to the Dobab hills, but my guards were always with me,\nand I could not succeed.\n\nAt length Mahmud started back for El Obeid, and he gave me one of the\nfew surviving mules of the Hicks expedition, which had been wounded by a\nbullet in the neck and which had never healed. The heavy rain had\nentirely changed the aspect of the country, which was now a mass of\ngreen, and under any other circumstances the journey would have been\npleasant enough. We were twice overtaken by terrible thunder-storms,\nwhich obliged us to halt, as the heavy rain made travelling impossible;\nat night we had to sleep on the wet ground.\n\nAs we approached El Obeid we heard the war-drums beating, to announce\nthe Governor's arrival. The great sandy plain around was transformed\ninto green fields planted with dokhn. We halted for a time under the\nleafy Adansonia tree, under which the Mahdi's tent had been pitched, and\nI noticed that the entire bark of the tree had been peeled off. I\nafterwards learnt that the people believed the Mahdi's presence had\nhallowed the tree, and that in consequence the bark had been stripped\noff and boiled, the liquid being used as medicine or for witchcraft\npurposes.\n\nOnly a few huts were left standing in El Obeid, and Mahmud went to live\nin the Mudirieh. He had a great reception on his arrival, and the most\nprofuse flattery was showered upon him. It was the usual thing to say\nthat \"during his absence the town had been as still as the grave and as\ndark as night, but, thanks be to God, on his return light was once more\nrestored,\" &c., &c. The Sherif delighted in this adulation.\n\nA few days after our arrival, Father Bonomi was brought from Rahad to El\nObeid in chains, and he and I were given a small hut in the midst of his\nslaves' quarters, where it was thought we would be in safe custody.\n\nSherif Mahmud was a small thin man about fifty years of age, full of\nwiry strength and with evil, malignant-looking eyes. He had formerly\nbeen a slave-dealer in Dar Fertit and had then joined Zubeir Pasha's\narmy. Even at Abba he was one of the Mahdi's most fanatical adherents.\nHe pretended to hate the things of this world, was always poorly\ndressed, and before others always eat of the worst and humblest food.\nBut he was inordinately proud, and loved the power of commanding. During\nhis prayers he used to throw about his arms and legs and shout \"Hoa!\nHoa!\" (\"It is He! it is He!\" _i.e._ God). His followers used to say that\nwhen he did this he saw God in his vision; but others who knew him of\nold laughed at these antics, though at the same time they were afraid\nof him and indulged him with flattery. He was excessively severe and\nstrict, but was impartial in his administration of justice.\n\nHe dealt very severely with the robbers who now infested El Obeid, and\ncut off a number of hands and feet. He thoroughly believed in the\nMahdi's divine message, and had the reputation of being the bravest of\nthe family. He had received a bullet wound at Gedir, and at Shekan he\nwas always in front, carrying a flag, until he disappeared in the smoke;\nhe fell pierced by two bullets and was thought to have been killed;\nafter the battle, however, his people found him lying on the ground with\nboth legs broken; but he recovered. He carried such a number of arms\nthat men laughed at him. In addition to the two broad-bladed spears, he\ncarried two smaller ones, as well as a number of javelins in a quiver;\nfrom his shoulder hung his sword and a small Remington rifle, while his\ngirdle was stuck all over with revolvers and knives. Women always fled\nout of his path, for he whipped them ruthlessly; sometimes he would dash\namongst a crowd of women on his horse and lay about him right and left.\nHe had a very choice harem, and amongst his women was a young Egyptian\ngirl; it is the great desire of a Mahdiist to possess a fair woman, and\nthey often have recourse to the most violent and cruel practices in\norder to acquire what they want.\n\nMahmud frequently went through his prayers with his wives and\nconcubines, and on one occasion they began to laugh, in consequence of\nwhich the Egyptian girl was sent away and the rest flogged. From this\ndate he took an intense dislike to all the fair-skinned people, and the\nfew Egyptian families who still lived in El Obeid were banished from it.\n\nHe flattered himself that neither Abu Anga nor Nejumi understood how to\nwage war against the Nubas, and therefore he once more determined to\nattack these mountaineers; but he set about it in a very different\nmanner from his predecessors. He armed 400 Takruris and instructed them\nto encamp at the foot of the mountain; they were to say they were at\nenmity with the Dervishes and desired the friendship and assistance of\nthe Nubas.\n\nMeanwhile Mahmud pitched his camp at Rahad, and was in constant\nreadiness for the attack. At first the Nubas were inclined to fall into\nthe trap, and made a treaty of friendship with the Takruris; but they\ntoo had recourse to a still more successful stratagem, and when the\nTakruris seemed quite certain of their prey, the Nubas suddenly fell\nupon them during a wild, stormy night and killed almost all of them,\nvery few escaped, and Mahmud was obliged to return crestfallen to El\nObeid.\n\nOn the 15th of August, 1884, a great surprise came upon El Obeid. Quite\nunexpectedly, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, a European and\nthree Arabs, mounted on good camels, entered the open yard of the\nMudirieh, where Ali Bakhit, the chiefs, and a number of Dervishes were\nassembled. The European dismounted, and boldly advanced towards the\ncrowd. He was tall, and gave one the impression of being a powerful and\nenergetic man; he had a fair beard, and his face was very sunburnt. His\nappearance made a great commotion amongst the Dervishes.\n\nImmediately all sorts of wild rumours were flying about; some said he\nwas the King of France; others that he was one of the principal\nministers of that nation. He wore a jibbeh, white cap and turban, and at\nonce was directed to Ali Bakhit. Being unable to speak Arabic, Father\nBonomi was immediately summoned to act as interpreter; but he had much\ndifficulty in making himself understood.\n\nThe stranger informed Bonomi that he had marched from Dongola to El\nObeid in thirteen days; that he had escaped from Dongola, as the English\nhad endeavoured to thwart him in his projects; that his name was Olivier\nPain, and that he was the bearer of letters from Zubeir Pasha to the\nMahdi; but that fear of the English had obliged him to destroy them. He\nsaid that he came in the name of France, to place his nation's\nsubmission in the Mahdi's hands; and that he was prepared to assist the\nMahdi, both by advice and, if required, by deeds.\n\nAfter this statement Olivier Pain was searched, and at once relieved of\nhis money; a small hut was then pointed out, in which he was to live, in\ncharge of a guard; the three guides were also secured in another place.\nThe Dervishes did not credit Pain's statement; they could not believe it\npossible that a European would voluntarily come into the Sudan to join\nthe Mahdi; they entirely distrusted Europeans, whose mental superiority\nthey thoroughly recognised; they therefore concluded that Pain was a spy\nsent by the English to take stock of the situation.\n\nOn the following day Bonomi was again summoned; the various articles\nPain had brought with him were laid before him, such as books of travels\nin the Sudan, an Arabic dictionary, a Kuran in French, a few maps,\nletters, and a passport. Bonomi had to explain these various articles to\nthe Dervishes, who were not a little surprised about the maps of the\nSudan, and more especially that of Kordofan. It is true there was\nnothing found in Pain's baggage of a suspicious nature; still, the\nDervishes did not trust him; and he was kept under a very strict guard;\nwe were not permitted to visit him.\n\nThe next day Pain complained of the bad food he was given; but the\nDervishes gave him wholesome instruction: they told him that the true\nadherents of the Mahdi were dead to the things of this world. Poor\nPain's mind must have been sadly disabused by this reception.\n\nThe Dervishes were full of curiosity about this strange Frenchman's\ndoings and intentions, and kept worrying us to know why he should have\ncome; but it was also a mystery to us; and when they asked him, he\nalways gave the same answer--\"The whole of the European nations, more\nespecially France, and with the one exception of England, entirely\nsympathised with the Mahdi.\" He was asked if the Senussi had risen\nagainst the unbelievers in Egypt; but he replied that the Senussi\nfeared the English. When asked what the English were doing, he replied\nthat they were building forts at Assuan; whereupon Ali Bakhit\nobserved--\"May God destroy their forts.\" But, question as they would,\nPain's arrival and his reasons for coming still remained a mystery to\nthem. He was therefore sent, in charge of a large escort, to Mahmud at\nRahad; Mahmud received him well, gave him a horse and a female slave,\nand sent him on to the Mahdi, who was then on his march to Omdurman.\n\nOn the 28th of August Pain arrived at Aigella, where one of our El Obeid\nMission brothers was staying; the latter at once inquired of Pain what\nhe was going to do. On this occasion, it appears, he spoke more openly;\nhe asked if the brother understood French; but the latter replied that\nhe could not speak it, though he understood it. Then Pain proceeded to\nsay that he was correspondent of a newspaper, and came to see the Mahdi\nand his empire, about which he intended to write full accounts to his\npaper.\n\nThis brother endeavoured to explain to him the difficulties he would be\nsure to meet with, and on what dangerous ground he was treading, adding\nthat it was most unlikely he would ever return; but Pain replied that if\nhe succeeded in his undertaking, he would receive an immense reward; and\nthat hitherto the Dervishes had not treated him badly; moreover, he was\nfull of energy, and would not give up hope of escape in the future. Pain\nalso explained to the brother the difficulties with which the English\nexpedition would be sure to meet, and how he believed Khartum would\ncertainly be lost.\n\nPain caught up the Mahdi at the village of Busata. Various were the\nsurmises of those in camp regarding his intentions. Slatin, Klootz, and\nthe other Europeans were especially perplexed. Olivier Pain had imagined\nthat the immense services which he would be able to render the Mahdi\nwould cause the latter to receive him with open arms; but the poor man\nwas sadly deluded. He was presented to the Mahdi, who greeted him\ncoldly, and asked him his reasons for coming. Pain replied--\"To\nacknowledge you as Mahdi, and to lay before you the submission of the\nFrench nation.\" The Mahdi gave an ironic smile, as much as to say he did\nnot believe a word Pain was saying; and then he ordered Abu Anga to take\ncharge of him, guard him most carefully, and permit no one to see him.\n\nDuring the march to Shatt, Klootz managed to approach Pain, and began\ntalking to him; but for this disobedience he was at once seized and put\nin chains. On Slatin's representations, however, to the Khalifa\nAbdullah, he was released.\n\nAt Shatt, Pain began to suffer from dysentery and fever, brought on by\nover-fatigue and bad water. The Mahdi permitted Slatin to visit him; and\nPain's wretched condition so disturbed Slatin that he begged the Mahdi\nto give him a little money, with which he could buy some better food,\nwhich it was absolutely necessary Pain should have.\n\nBut his disease became worse; and it was with the greatest difficulty he\ncould continue his march to Om Sadik. Here his condition became\nhopeless; he explained that he could go on no longer, and begged for\nsome medicine. The custom in the Sudan is to drink melted butter; and\nafter Pain had taken a little, he was placed on a camel; but it had\nscarcely gone a few steps, when he was seized with a fainting fit, and\nfell off. As he lay unconscious on the ground, and was deathly pale, his\nguards believed that he must be dead; so they dug a rough grave, in\nwhich poor Pain was laid, covered him over with sand, and then hurried\non. It is quite possible the unfortunate man was not dead. They marked\nhis grave by planting his stick in the sand, and tying his sandals to\nit. This event occurred on the 15th of November, 1884.\n\nEarly in September, Lupton Bey, Mudir of Bahr el Ghazal arrived at El\nObeid; he had been permitted to retain his property, and he was most\nkind to us; indeed, I have no words to express our gratitude to him for\nhis unvarying generosity to us. He told us a great deal about his own\nfights, and related how, after the destruction of General Hicks, the\nMahdi had despatched the two slave-dealer brothers Karamallah and\nKirkesawi from Dongola to the Bahr el Ghazal. Karamallah had summoned\nLupton Bey to surrender; but Lupton, as his letters to Emin Pasha show,\ndetermined to fight; his subordinate officers, however, almost all\ndeserted him, and joined the Mahdiists, and the few who remained loyal\neventually refused to fight. Indeed, I have seen the actual document\nthey drew up and signed to that effect. Lupton, who at that time was\nthoroughly exhausted by his constant warfare against the Dinkas, had\ntherefore no alternative but to submit, which he did on the 28th of\nApril, 1884.\n\nA few days later Lupton, with his kavass and clerk, were sent as\nprisoners to El Obeid, _vi\u00e2_ Shakka. His arrival was a welcome addition\nto our little circle, and it was a very great comfort to us to have the\nsociety of such a genuine and kind friend as Lupton in these times of\ntrial. He remained with us for about a month; at that time we had daily\ninformation about the movements of the English expedition, and we now\nhoped that the time for our deliverance was approaching. Many of the\nMahdiists themselves were getting tired of the new _r\u00e9gime_, which gave\nneither rest nor security of property to anyone. It was through these\nmalcontents that we obtained news which gave us food for argument and\nspeculation during the long and weary days of our captivity.\n\nThis life of a slave was terribly obnoxious to poor Lupton, who\nfrequently gave way to bursts of indignation, and in one of these Sherif\nMahmud arrested him, and in the first week of October he despatched him\nunder escort to the Mahdi. On his arrival at Omdurman he was put in\nchains, where he remained for ten months, as he had attempted to escape\nto Khartum. During this period of captivity, Lupton underwent terrible\nsufferings, which I could not possibly describe.\n\nShortly after Lupton left us, we received a letter from Slatin, saying\nthat Gordon intended holding out until the English arrived, at the same\ntime he urged us to try and obtain leave to come to Omdurman; but this\nwas impossible. Another friend also told us that he hoped shortly to be\nable to effect our release; but in his letter he wrote in such a manner\nthat we alone were able to grasp his meaning, for he feared that what he\nhad written might fall into the hands of the Dervishes.\n\nOur anxiety can readily be understood, for we felt certain that if the\nEnglish were victorious, we should be killed in revenge. Sherif Mahmud\nhad already received orders from the Mahdi to encamp outside the town,\nand be prepared for any eventuality. So our days passed in a whirl of\nhopes and fears, and death would have been welcome.\n\nBut now a new disaster occurred; the circumstantial account of the death\nof Colonel Stewart and his party, and the fact that the state of Khartum\nwas rapidly becoming desperate, made us full of doubt as to Gordon's\nfate. The fall of Omdurman further confirmed our fears, and we trembled\nto think that Khartum would fall before the English arrived. The\nprolonged resistance of the town, and the knowledge that the English\nwere almost there, caused no small alarm amongst the people in El Obeid;\nwhen, therefore, Sherif Mahmud ordered a salute of one hundred guns to\nbe fired to announce a great victory, the reaction was tremendous.\n\nThe news of the fall of Khartum and of the English victory at Abu Klea\nreached El Obeid the same day. Mahmud held a great review, and the\nMahdiists were wild with joy. Thus the last bulwark of Egyptian\nauthority in the Sudan had disappeared; the English turned back and left\nthe Sudan to its fate. The Mahdi rested for a time on his laurels, and\noccupied himself with bringing into subjection the few who still\nresisted.\n\nSherif Mahmud now determined to make himself famous for his bravery, and\nresolved to conquer the whole of Nuba, and convert the inhabitants. As a\nfirst step, he proceeded with a force of two thousand men straight to\nDelen; these good people had been left unmolested since Mek Omar had\ntaken his departure, and had gone back to their peaceful ways and former\nmode of life, which consisted largely of breeding swine, planting\ntobacco, and drinking marissa to their heart's content.\n\nThe Baggaras, who lived in Nuba, and of whom many had been unwillingly\nforced to follow the Mahdi, were getting somewhat tired of the new\nfaith. Khojur Kakum was just in the same position as before, and had\ngained considerably in reputation, as he had foretold correctly how the\nMahdi would conduct himself. Mahmud duly arrived at Delen, and encamped\nat the foot of the hills.\n\nOn Mahmud's departure, we thought the time had at length arrived when we\nmight attempt to escape, for long ago we had projected a plan to get the\nKababish to assist us. Formerly this tribe did much of the carrying\ntrade between Dongola and El Obeid, and they had already proved that\nthey were loyal to the Government. It was said that when the English\ncame to Dongola, this tribe was bringing thousands of camels laden with\ncorn from Dar Hamer; but when Mahmud heard of it, he sent after them,\nand captured two thousand five hundred loads, so from that time no\nKababish ever came to El Obeid. This, therefore, greatly interfered with\nour plans; besides, we had no money either to buy camels or pay the\nguides, so I reverted to my old idea, which I had formulated at Rahad,\nto escape to Jebel Dobab and live with the brave Nubas.\n\nI was thinking over this plan, and casting up in my mind the chances of\nsuccess, when, on the 4th of June, 1885, a Coptic friend of ours called\nSideham arrived, and handed Father Bonomi a small note, saying at the\nsame time that a man had come to take him back to Dongola, and that he\nwould meet him in the market next day. Bonomi and I then retired to a\nplace where we knew no one would see us, and there in fear and trembling\nwe tore open the letter; then Bonomi, in the deepest agitation, read as\nfollows:--\n\n\"Dear Friend, I am sending this man so that you may escape with him.\nTrust him--he is honest. Monsignor Sogaro awaits you in Cairo with\noutstretched arms. Your fellow-countryman, ALOIS SANTONI.\"\n\nFor some moments we were so excited we could scarcely speak; but my\nfirst thought was, \"Why is Bonomi only sent for?\" and the feeling that\nflight was debarred from me, filled me with the most utter dejection.\n\nIt was to be my sad fate to see my companion in adversity start without\nme; then a ray of hope flashed across my mind, possibly the man might be\nthe bearer of a verbal message. It was the very moment for flight; there\nwere very few Dervishes in El Obeid. Oh, the terrible length of that day\nand night! How slowly the hours went by!\n\nThe next morning Bonomi went alone to the place of rendezvous. I thought\nif I went with him it might create suspicion; but at the same time I\nbegged him to urge the man to take me with him as well. Bonomi met the\nman, and it required only a very few moments to come to an arrangement.\nHow I longed for him to return and know the result. At length he came,\nlooking very pleased; but the man, he said, had definitely declined to\ntake me with him; however, he promised that if he succeeded in\nconducting Bonomi safely, he would return for me in fifteen days.\n\nI grieved terribly at the news that my flight must be deferred; but, on\nthe other hand, I rejoiced that one of us should be fortunate enough to\nescape from this terrible bondage. The man told Father Bonomi not to\ntrouble about anything, but merely to meet him on Mount Korbatsh, where\nhe would find him with the camels.\n\nOn the afternoon of the 5th of June, Bonomi prepared himself for flight,\ntaking a large knife with him. We left our huts, and proceeded to the\nrendezvous; our hearts were too full to speak. At last I left him; and\npressing him to my heart, bade him farewell, saying--\"Do not forget your\npoor companion in adversity, who is left behind.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"MANY A TIME DID I TURN AROUND TO LOOK BACK, UNTIL BONOMI\nDISAPPEARED FROM VIEW IN THE WOOD.\"]\n\nMany a time did I turn round to look back, until Bonomi disappeared from\nview in the wood. It was just sunset, and a lovely evening, which made\neven that dull plain look beautiful. Wild, anxious thoughts kept\ncareering through my brain, as I walked back to my wretched and solitary\nhome. Would Bonomi succeed, and what would happen to me? for I knew that\nthe Dervishes must conclude that I knew about Bonomi's flight. So\nimmersed was I in these thoughts that I kept on losing my way, and did\nnot get back till late.\n\nMy delay had already caused some suspicion; but I found a ready excuse.\nI said that I had been searching for corn; for at that time there was\nfamine; and nothing was to be had in the market. My excuse was accepted,\nand fortunately they did not think of asking for Bonomi. I now threw\nmyself down on my hard bed; but my weary eyes found no sleep. I kept\nrevolving in my mind all that had occurred; but at length I determined\nto pluck up courage and put my trust in God; and then my thoughts turned\nto more practical considerations. How should I explain Bonomi's absence\nto the emir without saying anything which would implicate myself?\n\nIt was a hot, sultry night, but a refreshing shower fell just then; and\nin the midst of the patter of the rain-drops, I thought I heard Bonomi's\nvoice in the hut. What could it be? Had he returned? A thousand wild\nthoughts crowded into my mind; but I did not dare make a noise, though\nit was all I could do to control my curiosity.\n\nI rose very early the next morning, and searched about the hut; but\nfound no one. It was at any rate quite certain Bonomi had gone; but yet\nI felt sure he must have come back during the night. It was not until\nsix long years afterwards, when I returned to Cairo, that I solved the\nmystery; and then he himself told me how, after parting from me, he had\nlost his way, and could not find the guide or camels; after vainly\nwandering about, he had returned to the hut, where the Copt who had\ngiven him the note found him, and conducted him to the Arab with whom\nhe had escaped.\n\nI must here explain why it was the messenger had only been commissioned\nto rescue Father Bonomi; and this I did not learn till after my own\nescape. News had reached Cairo that I was in Omdurman, and that Bonomi\nhad been left alone in El Obeid; and therefore arrangements had been\nmade for his rescue only.[H]\n\nMeanwhile, I kept Bonomi's escape concealed; and it was not until the\nfourth day after he had left, and when I was assured of his safety, that\nI informed the emin beit el mal[I] that he had gone to Khartum to fetch\nsome medicine. I believe this man thoroughly knew that he had escaped;\nbut he did not show the slightest suspicion, and ordered us to go to\nKhartum as well; and we were placed under close surveillance. He also\nwrote to Sherif Mahmud at Delen, and to Khartum; a few days later orders\ncame from Mahmud that we were to be imprisoned in the zariba of the beit\nel mal. That evening, soldiers came and dragged us and our slender\nproperty to the zariba; and while waiting till huts should be made for\nus, we were housed with slaves suffering from small-pox.\n\nThis disease was then very prevalent in El Obeid, and horrible sights\ncontinually met our eyes. These unfortunate sufferers had no one to help\nthem, and they were left to die, either of the disease, or of hunger;\nthey lay about under the trees in the market-place, shunned by every\none; often, when still living, they were dragged off by men, who tied\nropes round their bodies, and pulled them along the ground till they\nwere beyond the outskirts of the town; and there they were left to be\ndevoured by the hyenas.\n\nA dreadful famine prevailed, and the population was decimated by\nhunger; ten to twelve pounds of corn were sold for a dollar, and the man\nwas fortunate who could buy it at this price. In the market, fights were\nfrequent; meat, however, was not so expensive, and we lived for days on\nmeat only, without any bread. The poor people used to dig about the\nstreets and in the houses for gum, which they knew had been concealed\nduring the siege; and this unwholesome food frequently caused their\ndeath.\n\nThe air in the zariba was poisoned by the number of people suffering\nfrom small-pox; but curiously enough, the disease never seemed to touch\nthe white people. My new abode turned out to be not so bad as I\nexpected. I became friends with some of the soldiers who used to be in\nthe Government service, and sympathised with them in their wretched\nstate; these poor men often tried to do me any little service they\ncould.\n\nIt was about this time that Sultan Dud Benga, flying from Zogal,\narrived, on his way to give himself up to the Mahdi in Omdurman, and\nalso a certain Sherif, who set himself up to be the fourth\nKhalifa--Osman. The latter, however, on his arrival in Omdurman, was\nthrown into chains, and his wives, horses, and slaves confiscated. I\nplanted a few water-melons round my hut, which grew well; and I used to\namuse myself by watching the movements of the chameleons which disported\nthemselves underneath the leaves; but one day a fire broke out, which\ndestroyed my hut, water-melons, chameleons, and all; and so this little\ndissipation was denied me. However, I built a new hut in a few days.\n\nAlmost a month had now passed since Bonomi's departure, and I began to\nlook about anxiously for the return of the Arab who was to help me to\nescape. During the night I had cautiously loosened the zariba hedge, so\nthat I could easily get out, when the time came; but day by day passed,\nand I began to lose hope. I did hear a rumour once that a man had come\nto help us to escape, but that on hearing we were locked up in the\nzariba, he had gone away. This was very probably true; for the Arabs are\nexcessively timid; and we were as universally shunned by all as if we\nwere infested with a plague; if anyone dared to speak to us, he was\nalmost sure to be arrested and locked up.\n\nThus we dragged out a miserable existence, devoid of hope, shunned by\nall, and suffering much from continual sickness. One event, however,\nunexpectedly occurred, which we thought would completely alter the state\nof affairs, and would produce a revolution, in which we again thought we\nsaw some chance of escape.\n\nEarly in July 1885, the news of the Mahdi's death arrived. At first it\nwas not credited, and the leading people thought it better to keep it a\nstrict secret, but their dismal countenances belied them. It was a\nterrible blow to the Dervishes, and they themselves believed that\ndisturbances would undoubtedly take place, for the number of malcontents\nwas by no means small. The truth, however, soon came out, and the\nimmediate effect on the ignorant masses was the realization that they\nhad been deceived, and that the Mahdi was no Mahdi at all. Hitherto\nMahdiism had been thoroughly admitted, and it was their belief in the\nMahdi's divine mission which had given birth to the fanaticism which had\nmade them so bold and fearless--the belief that to die in battle as\nmartyrs assured them paradise with its myriads of lovely houris, its\nlovely gardens, laden with milk and honey, fruits and flowers.\n\nAll this was implicitly believed. What wonder then that they should\nthrow themselves into the very thickest of the fight in the sure and\ncertain hope that to die in the Mahdi's cause ensured eternal delights\nand pleasures! Now all these glorious visions had collapsed like a house\nof cards, and in the future Mahdiism to live would have to be enforced.\nFrom this time forth there was no voluntary seeking to obey, and it was\nclear that the new Religion was on the wane.\n\nThe family and adherents of the Mahdi were at variance with the\nfollowers of Khalifa Abdullah, the latter by his immense energy had made\nhimself master of the situation. But the glow and fervour of religious\nenthusiasm was gone.\n\nThe blow of the Mahdi's death almost killed Sherif Mahmud; many of his\nchiefs and emirs muttered: \"See how the Mahdi has deceived us. Had he\nbeen the real Mahdi he would not have died in Omdurman. Alas! what\nthousands of human lives have been sacrificed to this false Mahdi's\ncaprice.\" Mahmud was at a loss to know what to say and contented himself\nwith murmuring: \"Even if the Mahdi be dead, his religion did not die\nwith him; let us therefore fight in the cause of religion.\"\n\nNevertheless all obedience and discipline did not disappear, for these\nmen had still their own interests to look after: but it was unfortunate\nthere was no one to place himself at the head of the malcontents and\nopenly declare that the Mahdi was no Mahdi.\n\nMahmud now returned without delay to El Obeid, and immediately on his\narrival he ordered the criers to announce that he required some account\nof Father Bonomi's escape. He was furious at his flight; he sent for me\nand asked where he had gone; I simply replied, that he had disappeared\none night and that the next morning I could find no trace of him in the\nhut. If Mahmud had not been so upset by the Mahdi's death, I believe I\nshould have had to pay dearly for his flight. As it was he believed that\nBonomi would be seized by the Dervishes in Dongola, and at the same time\nhe sent out spies to try and discover who had assisted him to escape.\nSuspicion fell on Mohammed Suleiman, who had been our old captain at\nDelen and who was now the kadi's clerk; he was threatened with a\nflogging, which he would certainly have received had not his master\nbegged him off.\n\nMahmud brought with him from Delen the unfortunate Khojur Kakum; this\npoor man was thrown into chains soon after his arrival, and his hut and\nthe chair which he used for his religious ceremonies were burnt. The\nNubas were solemnly abjured to desist from their superstitious beliefs,\nand Mahmud made a small straw mosque for them in which they were obliged\nto say prayers; but the Nubas set fire to it, and after Mahmud's\ndeparture they named their pigs after the Mahdi's important emirs.\n\nWhen Kakum was on his way to El Obeid, he had had a bad fall from a\nbullock, which had injured him internally and made it almost impossible\nfor him to move: he was put into our zariba, and soon after he came I\nwent to see him and found him in a state of profound dejection. He was\nvery pleased to see me, and the tears rolled down his black cheeks; he\nwas so affected he could barely speak, and lost all control over\nhimself. His two wives were sitting near him--one of them, Mea, was a\nthoroughly good woman, and many a happy hour did I spend playing with\nher little child of six years old. Kakum gave me coffee, and we talked\nover the old days at the Mission, then I left him to rest. That same\nnight I was suddenly summoned by Mea, who said that Kakum was seriously\nill; I hastened to the hut and found him almost unconscious, and in a\nfew hours he was dead. He was a thoroughly good, sensible man, and had\nbeen a faithful friend to the Mission and to the Government. He died in\nJuly 1885, and I think he must then have been about fifty-five years of\nage. His second wife married the Khojur of Sobei, who had also been\ndragged to El Obeid by Mahmud; but Mea did not marry again. She devoted\nherself to her little child.\n\nThe boy delighted in being with me, and said he always wanted to stay\nwith the Christians; but a month later Mea and her child were allowed to\nreturn to Delen. I gave the boy a little shirt, and in return Mea\npromised to send me some tobacco; and, true to her word, a messenger\narrived soon afterwards with that luxury, in return for which I sent her\nsome glass beads.\n\nDuring his stay at Delen, Mahmud had captured Shirra, one of the\nrenegade Baggara chiefs, and his two sons. This man had formerly been\nour sworn enemy, and had declared that he would kill every one of us\nChristians; but when this great chief and his sons came into the zariba\nthey greeted me like lambs, and when, in fun, I recalled to them their\nformer oaths, they admitted that they had been completely deceived, and\nnow that they had not words sufficient to praise the Christians or to\ncurse the Mahdi. It was no little satisfaction to me to find such an\nentire change of mind and purpose in one who had been our bitterest foe.\nThus was justice tardily meted out to us.\n\nMeanwhile Khalifa Abdullah had sent an order from Omdurman to Mahmud,\ntelling him to set out forthwith for Omdurman to swear the Bea'a (or\noath of allegiance) to the Mahdi's successor. Mahmud therefore, in\nAugust 1885, left El Obeid with a large number of followers.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[H] Father Bonomi arrived safely in Dongola, and Mr. Santoni,\nwho is now director of posts at Assiut, was rewarded by His Holiness\nPope Leo XIII. with the Order of Gregory the Great, in recognition of\nthe humane service he had rendered.\n\n[I] _I.e._ the official in charge of the beit el mal or Dervish\nstorehouse and treasury.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nREVOLT AGAINST THE DERVISHES.\n\n     The black soldiers of the old Sudan army--They revolt against the\n     Dervishes in El Obeid--And march off to Dar Nuba--The emir Mahmud\n     pursues and is slain--Ohrwalder quits El Obeid for Omdurman--Zogal\n     and Abu Anga at Bara.\n\n\nThe old Sudanese soldiers of the Egyptian army were perhaps, of all\nothers, the most dissatisfied with Mahdiism. These brave blacks who, as\nthey say in the Sudan, \"had eaten the Khedive's bread,\" were now in a\nwretched state compared with the once miserable Gellabas, who now\ngalloped about proudly on horseback, while in former years they had\nscarcely a donkey to their name. Several of these soldiers had been to\nEgypt, some had been servants to Europeans, and most of them had been in\nthe various fights which had previously taken place in the Sudan. Sherif\nMahmud, it is true, treated them with some deference, and gave them corn\nwhen he refused to give it to the Gellabas who were starving; but in\nspite of this, their previous condition was infinitely preferable to\ntheir life under Mahdiist rulers. There were about two hundred of these\nsoldiers in El Obeid; shortly afterwards, a number of slaves arrived,\nand quite recently their numbers had been further increased by the\naddition of a company sent by Zogal.\n\nMany of these men had fought under Munzinger Pasha, and under Slatin\nBey, and were distinguished for their bravery; their total number was\nnow three hundred, under the command of an Egyptian mowallid,[J] named\nAbdullah. These men used to complain of being always placed in the\nforefront of the battle; and they were further irritated by the arrogant\nway in which they were treated by the Danagla and their unbearable emir\nWad el Hashmi, who used to call them \"abd\" (_i.e._ slave); they\ntherefore decided to revolt against this tyrannical rule, and in this\ntheir emir supported them. It was agreed that they should await the\ngreat Dahiyeh festival, and when they were all out on parade, and the\nDervishes were going through their prayers, they would suddenly separate\nthemselves and, trusting to their good rifles, would be able to\nannihilate their hated enemies; but the thought that a number of\ninnocent people would be thus sacrificed, decided them to await some\nother more favourable opportunity. It was often a matter of surprise to\nme how these blacks managed to keep their secret, which even all their\nwomen knew.\n\nA clever young mukuddum lived near my hut, and did me many a kindness;\nhe often used to bring me some meat to eat, as the soldiers who looked\nafter the sheep and goats taken from the Arabs frequently killed some\nfor their own food and then reported that they had died. At this time I\nsuffered a great deal from fever, I could not remain in my close and\nsmall hut, and used to lie wide awake and tossing about on my hard bed\noutside. I often saw the mukuddum in secret conversation with some of\nhis men, and then they would look at their arms to see they were all\nright; this made me feel certain that some plot was brewing.\n\nAmongst the soldiers I had also another good friend, Hajji Selim, who\nwas at all times ready to render me any little service, in return for\nwhich I used to give him a little coffee or some tobacco. Hajji Selim\nhad a curious story. He was born in Bornu, and when young had joined his\nfather, who was going with a caravan to Mecca. Whilst journeying through\nthe Sahara, they came to a district in which two tribes were at war; he\njoined one of them, but was taken prisoner by the other, sold as a\nslave, and taken to Tunis; from here, he was brought to Constantinople,\nwhere he became the playfellow of his master's son, and in this way\nlearnt the Turkish language. Soon afterwards his master was sent to\nEgypt as a Pasha, and he came with him, from thence they went on a\npilgrimage to Mecca, hence his title of Hajji. On their return to Cairo,\nthe master died, his property was confiscated, and Selim was taken into\nthe army. He was sent to Sawakin, then he served under Munzinger Pasha\nat Massawa, and was with him at the time of his murder; from here he was\nsent to Darfur, then to Kordofan, and eventually to Delen, where he was\ntaken prisoner with Mohammed Suleiman, and thus became attached to the\nMahdiists.\n\nThis unfortunate man, though comparatively young, had become aged by\nconstant travelling, he was homeless, and had neither wife nor child; he\nwore an old coat which had been given to him by some of Hicks Pasha's\nsoldiers, it was riddled with bullet-holes, covered with patches of\nblood, and very dirty; however, that did not much matter to him, as he\nhad no soap to wash it; he always wore the hood of his coat over his\nhead, which further added to his curious appearance. He made his coat\ninto a species of Dervish uniform by patching up the holes with the\npieces of an old tarbush; but withal he was a thoroughly honest man, and\nI liked him. I also knew I could rely on him to carry out a secret\nmission, and therefore, after Bonomi had fled, I had made over to him\nsome money and two volumes of the 'Popular Educator,' which Lupton Bey\nhad given me, and which I looked upon as a priceless treasure. I did\nthis because I was afraid that Sherif Mahmud would confiscate my little\nall; but when all fear was over, the honest man brought back everything\njust as I had given it to him. At that time I had no suitable place in\nmy hut to hide them, so I asked him to keep them a few days longer; but,\nalas! my books were to become food for the flames, which soon afterwards\ndevoured the camp, and this was an irreparable loss. I tried to find but\nfrom Hajji Selim what plot was brewing; but all my inquiries were\nfruitless. He would not breathe a word, and from that time I saw no\nmore of him, for he was afraid that my importunity might make him\ndivulge the secret. I knew perfectly well that he must have been one of\nthe conspirators, and as I never saw him again, I presume he must have\nbeen killed.\n\nThe above little incident is merely mentioned to show how zealously the\nsoldiers kept their secret; but all the same, the people in El Obeid had\na notion that something was going to happen, and one day an order was\nsuddenly given that a hundred soldiers were to prepare to proceed to Dar\nHamer. In this way they thought to split up the party, and then disarm\nthem; but the men guessed that this was the intention, and therefore\ndecided to execute their plan the following day.\n\nThat night I was lying outside as usual; the sky was particularly\nbrilliant, and I was watching the myriads of shooting stars which,\nleaving bright trails behind them, burst suddenly like rockets, and\nillumined the night till it became for an instant almost as light as\nday. Every one wondered at this curious phenomenon, and foretold that it\nmeant mischief of some sort, and, curiously, there was mischief enough\nin the air that night.\n\nThe next day, at about noon, I was startled by the sound of firing, and\nbullets were suddenly flying over my head. In my alarm I had rushed out\nof the hut, and saw that the firing was from the direction of the\npowder-magazine. To my intense surprise, I did not see a solitary\nsoldier in the zariba; even their wives had gone, and had taken their\nhousehold goods away with them. I shouted and cried out, but no one\nanswered; a few women passed by, but they were too occupied to answer\nme; they, too, soon disappeared, and the whole place, which but a few\nmoments before had been a Babel of din and noise, became silent as the\ngrave. In the distance I could hear continuous firing, and occasionally\nI caught sight of women and children running away in a northerly\ndirection.\n\nI now thought it time to quit the zariba myself. I seized a bayonet, and\ntried to push aside the thorns, but they were so firmly fixed in the\nground, that I could not move them. I then made for the gate, and here\nthere was not a soul to be seen; even the slaves in chains had\ndisappeared. Bullets were now flying in all directions. I went towards\nthe Emir Abdullah's house, and found him standing by his door in a state\nof great agitation, with only two soldiers. In reply to my question as\nto what was the matter, he answered in a surly tone: \"These beit el mal\nslaves have destroyed everything.\" These words were scarcely out of his\nmouth, when fifty Dervishes with drawn swords suddenly rushed up, and\nwith frightful yells dragged him and his men off to the courtyard of the\nMudirieh. I followed them. Here an enormous crowd of Dervishes was\ncollected, and, wild with rage, they would have torn Abdullah to pieces\nhad not Wad el Hashmi stopped them.\n\nThe Dervishes now accused Abdullah of having incited the soldiers; but\nhe protested that he knew nothing of the affair, and in proof of his\nstatement urged that he had not quitted his house; but it was useless.\nThe air resounded with cries of \"Cut off his head!\" and he was obliged\nto kneel down. With one blow his head rolled on the sand; both the\nsoldiers were also beheaded, and their bodies thrown down near the\nmosque, so that everyone might see them.\n\nI now learnt that the soldiers had taken possession of the powder\nmagazine, which consisted of a square yard, with small towers at the\ncorners; it had been utilized as a magazine in Government days. All arms\nand ammunition were stored here, and a number of Egyptians were employed\nmoulding bullets and filling cartridges; there were also quantities of\ncaps, and all the necessary implements. The soldiers had broken into\nthis place, killed the guards, made loopholes, and prepared for defence;\nthey had burnt down most of the houses in the town, and forced all they\nmet to join them. Two Egyptians who refused to do so were at once\nkilled. The Dervishes had rushed, in a body, to attempt to recover the\nmagazine, but had been shot down in numbers; several emirs also fell in\nthis assault, and no one dared to return to recover their bodies. At\nlength, having rallied from their first failure, they again collected\nand advanced--this time with more order--to the attack; but the\nsoldiers, who had learnt of their Emir Abdullah's death, fought with\ndesperate courage, and again drove them back, with heavy loss.\n\nThe Dervishes now assembled beside the great gate of the Mudirieh, and\nconsulted what was best to be done; they were thoroughly alarmed, and no\nwonder; for everyone who came within range of the fort was almost\ncertainly shot down. Amongst these was Fiki Isa, of the Shanabla, who\nwas struck in the neck by a bullet, and fell dead at once. Naturally, I\nfled as soon as possible from this dangerous proximity, and went to the\nhouse of a clerk, whose walls I knew would give me protection.\n\nThe firing now became faster, and the soldiers sounded the trumpet for\nthe attack on the Mudirieh, intending to capture the guns which stood\noutside the gate; but the Dervishes had withdrawn them and closed it, so\nthe troops were forced to retire; their ranks had been largely increased\nby a number of male and female slaves, who, on hearing of the mutiny,\nhad at once left their masters.\n\nFighting lasted till nightfall; and at length, under cover of darkness,\nI made my way back to the zariba, to see what had become of my\ncompanions in adversity. I found it empty and deserted; even the cattle\nhad escaped somehow; and only two miserable slaves, suffering from\nferentit (guinea-worm), and who were unable to move, remained behind. I\nwas feverish and restless; so returned again to the Mudirieh, to see\nwhat was going forward there. I found a crowd of Dervishes, exasperated\nat the idea of having been defeated by the \"slave-soldiers,\" as they\ncalled them; more of their emirs had been killed; and the chief, Wad\nHashmi, had been mortally wounded, and died the following day. When the\nDervishes caught sight of me (hitherto I had passed unnoticed), they\nordered me back to the zariba, threatening to kill me if I again left\nit; I suppose they did this because they thought I might join the\nmutineers. It was believed that the soldiers would attack and capture\nthe town the next day. How I wish they had had a good leader!\n\nMy companions and I now found ourselves in the beit el mal again, under\nthe guard of four soldiers. Worn out with excitement, I threw myself\ndown on my angarib; the success of the mutineers again revived in my\nbreast hopes of release; and with this pleasing thought, I dropped off\ninto a sound slumber.\n\nI was suddenly roused up by one of the guard prodding me with the butt\nend of his rifle, and saying--\"When everyone is in terror of his life,\nhow can you sleep?\" So I reluctantly had to get up, and began chatting\nto the guard, as I feared any display of satisfaction on my part would\nprobably call down vengeance from them. We talked over the events of the\nday; and I soon realised that the Dervishes were, in truth, greatly\nalarmed.\n\nThe powder magazine was not far from the beit el mal, so we could\noverhear a great deal of what was going on there; and one would have\nimagined that they were engaged in marriage festivities rather than in\nbloody warfare. The whole night through they kept up singing; the women\nwere dancing, and the men drinking marissa: every now and then the\ntrumpets were sounded, which seemed to add to the women's delight; they\nwere all laughing over the Mahdi's doings, heaping insults on him and\nhis religion; and still further exasperating the Dervishes by shouting\nout to them to come and join them in a drinking bout.\n\nBut whilst these good blacks were enjoying themselves in the magazine,\nthe Dervishes had fortified the beit el mal, and placed bodies of\ntroops, with their flags, in different parts. Occasionally, the blacks\nfired a volley into them, which made them disperse, leaving their flag\nbehind them. Everyone was in a state of most anxious expectancy for the\nnext day; it was looked upon as certain that a fight would take place\nbetween the Dervishes and the soldiers, which would finally decide\nmatters; and that night there was little sleep for anyone.\n\nEarly the next morning the soldiers played the Khedivial salute, which\nstirred us to the quick; and by the time the sun had risen, firing had\nrecommenced, and was continued up till nine o'clock. The soldiers made a\nfew raids on camels and donkeys, but did not attempt to attack the\nDervishes; and it was not at all clear what they intended to do. The\nDervish emir, being certain that the mutineers were quite demoralized,\nsent their imam (priest) to tell them that if they wished to surrender,\nthey would receive pardon; this exasperated the blacks beyond measure;\nthe imam was told not to talk nonsense; and was then deliberately\ndragged out about fifty paces from the fort, pierced through and through\nwith his own spears, and his body thrown out in the direction of the\nMudirieh, whilst the soldiers shouted out--\"This is the head in return\nfor the head of our Emir Abdullah.\" They continued to make desultory\nsorties during the day, and captured a quantity of animals.\n\nIn the afternoon they left the powder magazine; the band playing, women\nand children marching in front; then came the ammunition, surrounded by\narmed men, and lastly, the soldiers, marching in good order, and\ndisposed in such a manner as to resist any sudden assault.\n\nThe Dervishes, however, determined to attack, and, marshalling their\nbanners, they made for the powder magazine, which they found quite\ndeserted; the soldiers had thrown into the wells all the powder they\ncould not carry. There were only five fresh graves in the magazine,\nwhich showed that the soldiers had lost only five men, whilst the\nDervishes had lost about five hundred.\n\nMeanwhile, the blacks were marching gaily towards Melbeis; but the\nDervishes, more furious than ever after their discoveries in the\nmagazine, set off in hot pursuit; and when they had got within a short\ndistance of their enemy, they were received by a well-directed volley,\nwhich killed some fifty of them; the remainder fled in disorder to El\nObeid. The total number of the blacks, including the slaves who had\njoined them, did not exceed one thousand men, whilst the Dervishes more\nthan trebled that number. Had they only had a competent commander, there\nis no doubt they could easily have captured El Obeid. They continued\ntheir march, unopposed, to Nuba, and arrived first of all at Delen,\nwhere they established themselves, and selected Beshir, an old soldier\nof Slatin Bey's, to be their Mudir. Mahdiism was entirely renounced, and\nthe Khedive's Government proclaimed. Anyone who swore by the Mahdi's\nname received eighty lashes; the regular form of swearing was--\"Hakk ras\nEffendina\" (\"By the Khedive's head!\") Strict discipline was enforced.\nAny one found selling arms or ammunition to the Nubas was punished with\ndeath, and the sentence was carried out by shooting.\n\nShortly afterwards, they quitted Delen and marched to Jebel Na\u00efma, the\ninhabitants of which place are known as the bravest of the Nubas; but\nhere they still seemed to think themselves too close to their hated\nenemies, and therefore moved on to Golfan, where they took up a position\nin an inaccessible mountain, were recognized by their neighbours as the\nrulers of the country, and were supplied by them with quantities of\ncattle and sesame.\n\nIn the meantime Sherif Mahmud, in Omdurman, had been fully informed of\nall that had occurred. He fell into a terrible passion, accused all his\nemirs of cowardice, and proceeded forthwith to El Obeid. He would not\neven enter his house, but encamped outside the town. Khalifa Abdullah\nhad ordered him to leave the mutineers alone, and to proceed, _vi\u00e2_ the\nEs Safiyeh Wells, to Dongola; but Mahmud entirely disregarded this\norder. He thirsted for vengeance against these rebels, and determined to\nsubdue them. Added to this, he had also conceived the idea of usurping\nKhalifa Abdullah's authority. His object, therefore, was to increase\nhis power by regaining the co-operation of the soldiers, and so proud\nand self-confident was he, that he believed they would never attempt to\nfight against him.\n\nHere, underneath the great Adansonia tree where the Mahdi had stayed so\nlong, he pitched his camp and made preparations for his advance on Nuba.\nHe called for volunteers, saying that he did not wish to force anyone to\ngo to war, and at the same time he endeavoured to encourage the people\nby telling them that the Mahdi had appeared to him in a dream, and had\ntold him to advance and attack the rebels, promising him certain\nvictory. In spite of this summons, very few volunteered, and getting\nthoroughly annoyed, he now threatened with death anyone who refused to\njoin him. Thus did Mahmud realise that the spirit of Mahdiism had almost\ndied out, and that in future force would be required to carry out its\nbehests.\n\nHe rapidly advanced with a force of 2,500 men, most of them armed with\nRemingtons. On his way he was joined by a number of Arabs, which raised\nhis force to some 8,000 men. On arrival at Na\u00efma he found that the\nmutineers had moved on; he therefore advanced to Golfan, and sent in a\nletter to the effect that if they surrendered he would give them a free\npardon. But the soldiers had had previous experience of Mahdieh\npromises, and received the messengers with volleys, which soon made them\nturn back. Mahmud determined, therefore, to invest his former adherents,\nand, putting himself at the head of his troops, he advanced towards the\nmountain; but the soldiers, concealed behind rocks, sent volley after\nvolley into the Dervish ranks. Mahmud received a bullet in his side,\nbut, nothing daunted, he continued to advance, carrying his own flag,\nuntil another bullet, hitting him full on the forehead, killed him.\n\nAlready over a hundred Dervishes had fallen, and the remainder, hearing\nthat Mahmud was dead, turned tail and fled in disorder towards El Obeid.\nThe soldiers did not pursue, but took up Mahmud's body and gave him an\nhonourable burial befitting the brave man he was. In his death Mahdieh\nlost perhaps the boldest of its adherents, and certainly the bravest of\nthe Mahdi's family. And though he had latterly given himself up to a\nlife of pleasure and debauchery, as all the rest had done, still he did\nnot fear exposing himself to every sort of danger.\n\nMahmud fell in the month of November 1885, and Khalifa Abdullah was by\nno means displeased to be rid of a rival whose prowess and popularity he\ngreatly feared and envied.\n\nIn place of Sherif Mahmud, Abdullah despatched his brother Bakhit to\nKordofan; but he was a very different class of man, and was nicknamed\n\"Tor\" (\"The Bullock\").\n\nSoon afterwards Bakhit received orders to leave all his men at El Obeid\nand to return to Omdurman. He was succeeded by the emir Wad el Hashmi,\nwho was followed by Osman Wad Adam (nicknamed \"Ganu\"), the Mahdi's\nnephew.\n\nPreparations were now made to transport all Mahmud's people to Omdurman,\nand in order to convey so many thousand people, camels were forcibly\nseized. We also were released, and permitted to go to Omdurman. I had\npassed too many miserable years in Kordofan not to rejoice at the\nchange: for a time I had a faint hope that someone might be sent by\nFather Bonomi to assist me to escape, but now it seemed useless to hope\nfor this any longer, whereas, once at Omdurman, I might manage to escape\nby myself. Our departure was delayed for a month.\n\nEl Obeid had gradually become a dirty Arab village; except meat and\ndokhn, there was absolutely nothing to be got in the market. I suffered\nmuch from dysentery. There were no medicines to be had, so I had to\ntrust to the recuperative powers of nature, assisted by a little rice\nwhich was grown in the marshes about Birket. I had not a civilized soul\nwith whom to associate.\n\nThe Nubas of Jebel Dair did their utmost to harass El Obeid; they were\nalways hovering about in the outskirts, ready to pounce down on any\ncattle and slaves they saw. It would have been madness to go an hour's\ndistance from the town without an escort. The Dervishes frequently made\nattempts to clear the neighbourhood of these brigands, but I observed\nthat they always returned considerably fewer in number, and I secretly\nrejoiced at their inability to cope with these brave Nubas. Taking\neverything into consideration, I was not sorry to say good-bye to this\ndreary and inhospitable town.\n\nWe were given four camels, whose owners acted as the drivers. It was\nagreed that on arrival in Omdurman we should pay them at the rate of\nseven dollars a camel.\n\nOn the 25th of March, 1886, we left El Obeid. What a flood of\nrecollections welled up in my mind as we marched for the last time\nthrough the desolate ruins of the city! How strange had been the\nvicissitudes of this once flourishing place during the last few years!\nFrom a thriving and peaceful township it had been transformed into the\ntheatre of constant warfare and bloodshed. It had then been the scene of\nthe Mahdi's debaucheries, when he rested after his victories, and now it\nhad dwindled down into a wretched Arab village.\n\nOur road took us past the site of the El Obeid Mission-house, of which\nnot a trace remained. In its place was the market, and a heap of white\nbones indicated the locality of the cook's shop. We halted that evening\nat Korbatsh; the next day we started very early; and after a two days'\nmarch, arrived at Bara. This beautiful little town is situated in a\nwoody depression of the great Kordofan plain. In the distance we could\nsee the white ruins through the high acacia trees. Formerly the place\nhad been well planted with date-palms; but during the siege the\ninhabitants had cut them down, and lived upon the crushed core.\n\nIn the Government days Bara had been a sort of sanatorium for El Obeid,\nwhere the richer inhabitants used to spend the summer; they had made\nlovely gardens, full of date-trees, lemon-plants, banana-trees, and\nvines, while the vegetables used to be sold in El Obeid. The soil is\nexceptionally fertile, and there is an abundance of water obtainable at\nonly six feet below the surface. But now the place was completely\ndestroyed and neglected; and wild bushes and thorns grew apace amidst\nthe ruins.\n\nAs we approached Bara, we heard the thunder of guns, and were told that\nit was a salute announcing the arrival of Zogal, the Governor of Darfur,\nwith his troops. It was the 2nd of April. We halted under a large acacia\ntree, and took down our angaribs, over which mats were tightly\nstretched. The arrival of two large parties, one from El Obeid and one\nfrom Darfur, soon changed this dismal graveyard into a noisy camp.\n\nZogal had brought with him 2,500 infantry, 4,000 black soldiers and\nsingers, and 1,500 good horses. He had over 10,000 dollars in his beit\nel mal, besides what each of his men possessed--and that was no\ninconsiderable quantity: for everyone had enriched himself in Darfur;\nand all this wealth was destined to become the Khalifa Abdullah's\nproperty. Zogal had organized bands in his army; and the same tunes\nwhich had been played in the days of the Government, now resounded over\nthe deserted plains of Bara. Zogal's camp was a scene of pleasure and\nmerry-making. Marissa was publicly sold and drunk openly; all idea of\nbeing within the Mahdi's jurisdiction seemed to have been forgotten.\nZogal was a liberal man; his principle was \"live and let live;\" and he\nthoroughly enjoyed the good things of this life, which the Mahdi's\nrevolt had placed within his reach. He was a powerfully built, stout\nman, of about sixty years of age, with a white beard, which gave him a\npatriarchal appearance. He was known as the father of many children, and\nwas of an open-hearted and generous disposition.\n\nZogal's camp was pitched on the ruins of Bara; rich carpets were spread\nover the sand, and there he sat, ready to see anybody and everybody at\nany time of the day; abundance of food was always ready for all his\nguests. The only thing for which Zogal should be blamed was his shooting\nto death twenty-five Sanjaks and Turks, who had surrendered with Slatin,\non the fall of Darfur. These Sanjaks had sworn to revolt against\nMahdiism, but had been betrayed. With this exception, he had conducted\nhis rule with great moderation; he did all he possibly could to further\ntrade; and when in Bara I saw some French calico, which had come from\nTunis, _vi\u00e2_ Wadai, to Darfur. Zogal's Bazingers made a great impression\non me; they were a wild and turbulent lot, capable of great marching\npower, and able to support long-continued privations.\n\nLupton Bey often used to tell me of the cannibal propensities of these\nblack warriors. In many instances, their only dress consisted of the\nleather bandolier, or cartridge case, and a big leather bag, from which\na human leg could often be seen protruding; and in almost every bag some\nhuman flesh or bones could be found. When I used to go to the market,\ncrowds of these swarthy warriors would collect to gaze on my white skin,\nwhich, in truth, the sun had long since tanned to a very brown colour.\n\nZogal's nine days' halt in Bara soon came to an end. News came that\ndisturbances had occurred in Omdurman between Khalifas Abdullah and\nSherif; the latter had frequently written to Zogal to come to Khartum at\nonce, as he was most anxious to have him there. News was brought at the\nsame time that Abu Anga had arrived at El Obeid _vi\u00e2_ Birket; it was\nrumoured that Abu Anga had been sent by Abdullah to arrest Zogal, for it\nwas reported that Zogal and Sherif had agreed to combine and wrest the\nauthority from Abdullah. Zogal was quite strong enough to overturn\nAbdullah; but unfortunately he was no soldier, and Abdullah had secretly\nwon over a number of his emirs to his side.\n\nAbu Anga pressed on from El Obeid, and, arriving at Bara, summoned Zogal\nto surrender. The latter, however, prepared to fight; but most of his\nBazingers and emirs went over to Abu Anga's side, and he was soon left\nwith but a few followers, and easily fell into Abu Anga's hands; he was\nat once put in chains and handed over to Said Bey Guma, who was at that\ntime commander of the artillery. All his property was confiscated. Abu\nAnga did this in revenge, for Zogal had done exactly the same to Said\nBey when he took possession of Darfur. Zogal was now dragged in chains\nto El Obeid, where he was left for a year to think over his changed\nstate. His emin beit el mal, Ibrahim Ramadan, was also seized on his way\nto Omdurman, and brought back in chains to El Obeid, where he was\nmercilessly flogged to make him disclose the hiding-place of the money;\nbut nothing would induce him to tell. He was subsequently taken to\nOmdurman, where Abdullah received him well and gave him a situation in\nthe beit el mal.\n\nZogal's arrest was the signal for ill-treating all the Khalifa Sherif's\nadherents; these were deprived of all their positions, and were replaced\nby Abdullah's nominees. I had relied considerably on seeing a change for\nthe better if this attempt of Sherif and Zogal to upset Abdullah had\nsucceeded; but it had failed, and we again moved on towards Omdurman,\nstill further depressed by the feeling that Abdullah was growing more\nand more powerful. By the time we arrived near Omdurman my camel had\ndied; the poor Arab wept bitterly for his loss, and I could do nothing\ntowards repaying him. On the evening of the 24th of April, 1886, we\nencamped close to the town. A fearful sandstorm was blowing, and we were\nenveloped in clouds of dust--a fitting advent to the capital of the\nMahdi's empire!\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[J] The name given to natives of a mixed parentage; _i.e._,\ngenerally an Egyptian or Turkish father and a Sudanese mother.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nOHRWALDER'S IMPRESSIONS OF OMDURMAN.\n\n     Ohrwalder's arrival in Omdurman--His first impressions of the\n     Dervish capital--Khalifa Abdullah's intentions to conquer\n     Egypt--Wad Suleiman of the beit el mal--Wad Adlan\n     succeeds--Gordon's clothes, medals, &c.--Adlan reorganizes the beit\n     el mal--The slave market, museum, mint, and system of\n     coinage--Counterfeit coining--The lithograph press--The Khalifa's\n     system of justice.\n\n\nThe next morning--the 26th of April, 1886--we rose covered with dust\nfrom head to foot, and by the time we had got under way again, the sun\nwas already high in the heavens, and was unusually hot. This was the\nworst season of the year. The first place we came to was the Mahdi's old\ncamp, which was marked by a line of mud walls. From this position the\nfort of Omdurman had been besieged, and innumerable human and animal\nbones marked the site of this long-sustained conflict. To our right lay\nthe White Nile, flowing between its green banks, beyond it the Blue Nile\ncould just be seen, and the ruins of Khartum were visible behind the\nthick belt of palm-trees.\n\nEmerging from the arid deserts of Kordofan, the Nile with its green\nbanks was a most refreshing sight; on the other hand, the view of\nKhartum in ruins awakened the saddest recollections. Of the vast crowd\nwhich had beset Gordon on every side, some were scattered far and wide,\nwhile others had settled down around their new master in Omdurman. The\nlittle hill on the west bank just opposite to the junction of the two\nNiles was called Omdurman, hence the name of the Mahdiist capital.\nPrevious to the revolt, there had been merely a few huts; but it was\nalways considered a place of importance, as the hills in the vicinity\nsupplied lime and stone in quantities for building works in Khartum. In\nthose days, the lime-pits were in Omdurman, and the place where the\nMahdiist capital now stands was a thick and thorny bush--the abode of\nthe Batahin robbers.\n\nWhat a change had now taken place! From the old fort at the south end,\nright up to Khor Shambat, and even further, the new capital extends, a\ncountless conglomeration of straw huts (tokuls), surrounded by small\nzaribas; here and there a few mud huts, some of which, larger than the\nothers, denote the residences of the Khalifas and principal emirs--they\nare looked upon as palaces.\n\nFormerly the mosque consisted merely of a square enclosure, surrounded\nby a hedge; but this had now been replaced by a wall of sun-dried\nbricks. In the distance we could see the galvanised-iron mosque where\nthe Mahdi used to perform prayers. The Mahdi's original camp had been\nsituated some kilometres' distance to the north of the fort, where the\nplain widens out.\n\nOn our arrival we at once made inquiries about the market, and sought\nnews of the other Europeans. The market was a sort of maze, and arranged\nwith no idea of system. Merchants never left their goods there\nover-night; but always took them to their own houses. A Greek had made a\nbakery, and drove a good trade, as long as people had money to buy.\nThere were such crowds of people that it was almost impossible to make\none's way through; there were quantities of provisions for sale, and\ntrade seemed very lively. Egyptian merchants brought their goods as far\nas Ed Damer, whence they were brought by Arab merchants to Omdurman. The\nonly tax levied by the Khalifa's order was 2-1/2 per cent. zekka (_i.e._\nalms for the poor), and people seemed generally contented and happy.\nThere were quantities of money in the beit el mal, and at that time\nthere was no occasion to oppress the inhabitants.\n\nThere were numbers of Greeks, Jews, and Syrians, all of whom were doing\nfairly well in business. I also saw Klootz. Slatin at that time\nhappened to be absent, he was commanding some troops under the Emir\nYunis at Wad el Abbas.\n\nKhalifa Abdullah was full of ideas of conquest and pretensions; he used\noften to announce publicly that the end of the Turks' rule in Egypt was\napproaching. He was most anxious to obtain possession of that country,\nand thought the time had now come. Several of the sheikhs and ulemas in\nCairo and in other parts of Egypt had written to him inviting him to\ntake possession of the country where, they assured him, he would be most\ncordially received.\n\nThe Mahdi's summons and proclamations were sent in all directions.\nPilgrims arrived from Samarkand, Bokhara, India, and Mecca, to examine\nMahdieh with their own eyes. All this tended to make Abdullah more\ndesirous than ever to conquer Egypt. He despatched Nejumi and his men to\nDongola, whilst Yunis was instructed to collect all the men he could in\nthe Gezireh. Sherif Mahmud's followers were also sent to Dongola; thus\ndid Abdullah dispose of the adherents of those emirs whom he knew to be\nhostile to him. Zogal once arrested, Abdullah had now little to fear.\nHitherto he had treated his two brother Khalifas, and the Ashraf and\nDanagla with the utmost respect; but now he conducted himself in a very\ndifferent manner, and could not bear to have anyone in the smallest\ndegree associated with him who was of almost equal rank; he therefore\ndid all in his power to weaken the opposition party, and to increase the\ninfluence of his own party. The first blow he struck fell on Ahmed Wad\nSuleiman, emin of the beit el mal. The day that we arrived in Omdurman\nhe was put in chains, and his house and the beit el mal were put under\nguards. Wad Suleiman had been one of the Mahdi's most fanatical\nadherents, and whenever he passed the Mahdi's tomb he used to stretch\nout his hands and weep like a child--indeed he had every reason to do\nso, for the Mahdi had raised him from a low position to a post of great\nhonour, and the thought of losing this position distressed him greatly.\n\nSuleiman's wheel of fortune had come round at a good time, when the\namount of money in the beit el mal was considerable. The immense\nquantities of loot taken at El Obeid, Shikan, Khartum, Sennar, and\nBerber, had all passed through his hands, and any Dervish who was in\nneed of anything always came to him, and in this way he acquired great\ninfluence. Since the Mahdi's death there had been great enmity between\nSuleiman and Abdullah, and on the pretext of examining the accounts,\nAbdullah had him arrested, and intended to send him away, while he\nappointed Mohammed Osman (Zogal's son) in his place.\n\nIn Suleiman's house some 5,000 grammes of unstamped gold was found, and\nit is more than probable that this was but a small portion of what he\nhad previously appropriated. He was therefore thrown into chains, where\nhe remained for a year and more. A month after his arrest, a certain\nIbrahim Wad Adlan, of Wad Medina, on the Blue Nile, and sometime\nmerchant in El Obeid, was appointed emin beit el mal. He had frequently\nbeen in Cairo, was a pleasant-looking man, and had enlightened ideas. At\none time, when a dispute arose between the commercial house of Arbib in\nCairo, and their two partners in El Obeid, Adlan had been nominated\narbitrator by the Cairo house. He had for long remained loyal to the\nGovernment, and had stayed in El Obeid until it fell into the hands of\nthe Mahdi, who permitted him--as a special favour--to keep 2,000 of the\n30,000 dollars he then had.\n\nFor a long time Adlan had nothing to do; but he was always an\ninfluential man, and was continually trying to help those in distress.\nAfter the fall of El Obeid, and when all the clerks had been exiled to\nvarious parts, he never ceased until he obtained permission for their\nreturn. A short time before the Mahdi had quitted El Obeid, he had been\nemployed in the beit el mal, and at Rahad, Wad Suleiman had appointed\nhim his assistant. He was then despatched by the Mahdi to Berber, to\nsecure the \u00a360,000 which had been sent to Gordon from Cairo, and which\nhad been left in the Berber treasury, owing to the interruption of\ncommunications with Khartum. Ibrahim brought the money, clothes, medals,\ndecorations, and other valuables belonging to Gordon to the Mahdi. The\nclothes were sold, and cut to pieces to repair other garments, the metal\nof the medals, &c., was melted down, whilst the precious stones were\nsold, and eventually found their way to Cairo.\n\nAdlan soon gained considerable influence over the Khalifa, and had\nsufficient tact to moderate the inborn tyranny of his master. His desire\nto continually give assistance when he could, had made him very popular.\nHe soon set to work to reorganize the beit el mal, and began by removing\nit from its original position to the river bank, thus avoiding the\nunnecessary transport of articles brought by boats to the stores.\n\nHere he built an extensive yard of sun-dried bricks, which he divided\noff into sections for the various departments of the administration. He\nmade a large corn-store, in which a mountain of dhurra was\ncollected--indeed, so high was it, that it could be seen from a\nconsiderable distance. This store was placed in charge of his assistant.\nAnother yard was built containing a number of rooms, in which the slaves\nwere kept under a guard of soldiers. Here the slaves were shackled,\ntwenty or thirty together in one long chain, with iron rings round their\nnecks. Any obstreperous slaves were generally shackled with one or two\nmakias or iron rings round their ankles, joined together by a small\nchain or iron bar, which made walking very difficult.\n\nSlaves received a little dry dhurra from the beit el mal as food until\nthey were sold. The female slaves generally grind the dhurra, and make a\nsort of polenta out of it, which is either eaten with water or boiled\nand eaten as balila. The dhurra ration of a slave is generally so small\nand so bad that numbers of them die of starvation long before they are\nfortunate enough to be sold.\n\nSlaves are sold by auction in the beit el mal, and a written certificate\nis given to the purchaser, stating in detail the description of the\nslave, whether male or female, and that the purchase was effected in\nthe beit el mal. Before an auction the slaves are generally well rubbed\nwith oil, to improve their appearance. The bulk of the slaves sold are\nfemales, as male slaves are generally attached to the army. A special\nwoman is also employed, together with the other officials, to see to the\nfemale slaves. Adlan also railed off a part of the beit el mal for the\nreception of cattle--camels, sheep, goats, donkeys, &c.; these are also\nsold by auction.\n\n[Illustration: A SLAVE WOMAN FROM EQUATORIA.]\n\nThe Mint forms a distinct sub-department. When the Mahdi was alive, gold\nand silver coins were struck by his order, not so much to supply the\ndemand, but rather to prove his independence of Egypt and the\nestablishment of his new kingdom. He ordered guineas to be coined, just\nlike the Egyptian pounds; they were made out of the gold ornaments\ncaptured in Khartum. Dollars were coined, and made similar to the\nTurkish Medjidie dollar. A certain Hajji Abdullah Granteli, of Bokhara,\nformerly jeweller in Khartum, and Elias el Kurdi, watchmaker, were made\nchief coiners. In 1889 the latter lost his hand and foot for issuing\ncounterfeit money. Almost all coins bearing the stamp, \"By order of the\nMahdi,\" have disappeared.\n\nWhen I arrived in Omdurman there was a great scarcity of small coins,\nand in consequence pieces of damur (a twilled cotton fabric manufactured\nin the Sudan), valued at ten, five, and two and a half piastres, were\nmade currency; but these rags soon became so dirty, from being passed\nfrom hand to hand, and so covered with oil and grease, that people\nrefused to accept them. Khalifa Abdullah, when he heard of this,\nthreatened those who refused with confiscation of property and\nimprisonment, and employed spies in various parts of the market to\nreport the names of those who objected; but the spies were bribed to\nkeep silence, and Abdullah was obliged to give in. Merchants had\nrecourse to every sort of deception to evade his orders, so the dirty\nrags were withdrawn from currency.\n\nAdlan had organized the Mint rather with the object of making a profit\nthan of supplying a want. Silver was cheap, and he was able to make 50\nper cent. profit on the manufacture of dollars. At that time gold\ncoinage was no longer current. On one side of the dollars was stamped\nthe Mohammedan date, with the words, \"Struck in Omdurman,\" while on the\nreverse was the Sultan's Toghra, underneath which was written the word,\n\"Makbul\" (accepted); hence the dollar became known as the \"Makbul\ndollar.\" Pieces of five and ten piastres value were also coined, as well\nas a few single piastre pieces, on one side of which was stamped the\nToghra, and on the other the word \"Omdurman.\" The Mahdi on his coins had\nwritten, within the Toghra, the words, \"By order of the Mahdi,\" but\nKhalifa Abdullah did not follow his example.\n\nBesides these coins, English sovereigns were also current in Omdurman,\nand were known as \"khayala\" (cavalry) pounds, on account of the St.\nGeorge and the dragon being engraved on them. Egyptian pounds were also\ncurrent, but now all gold coins have become rare.\n\nThe principal currency is the Medjidie dollar, and these have been in\nsuch constant use that they are much obliterated. The Maria Theresa\ndollar (also known as the \"Abu Nokta\") is current as well, but chiefly\nwith Sawakin, Massawa, and Abyssinian traders, and notably with the\nlast. The French 5-franc-piece and the Spanish dollar (known as Abu\nMadfa) are current in a very minor degree. Egyptian piastres and\nhalf-piastres, introduced by the Hicks Expedition, are occasionally\nseen. The Austrian quarter-gulden piece (fiorini) is considered to be\nworth 2 piastres. In addition to all these silver pieces, copper coins\nof all descriptions are current.\n\nThe Khalifa Abdullah had no small trouble in circulating the Makbul\ndollar; the merchants refused to value them at 20 piastres, and, in\nspite of most stringent orders, and continued threats of confiscation of\nproperty, imprisonment, &c., the order was somehow continually evaded.\n\nMerchants set high prices on their goods, and would never accept until\nthe buyer had shown all the different sorts of dollars he possessed; he\nwas thus obliged to do this or to buy at exorbitant rates. Complaints\nbecame rife, and eventually they reached Abdullah's ears. He got very\nangry, and one day in October 1887, he sent troops to the market with\ninstructions to bring all the goods in the market to the beit el mal. It\nwas useless to resist; the owners were obliged to look after their own\ngoods, which were piled up near the big gate of the beit el mal, in the\nopen, and under a burning sun. Abdullah was now raging, and publicly\nmade the following curious statement:--\n\n\"That unbeliever Gordon induced merchants to accept miserable bits of\npaper as equivalents for money, and now I offer you silver and you won't\neven take it.\"\n\nFor fourteen days these wretched people sat by the gate, trembling for\ntheir property. All sorts of rumours were flying about. Some said that\nthe Khalifa intended to throw all the goods into the river; others said\nthat he was going to burn them, and perhaps the most likely notion of\nall was that he intended to confiscate the lot and transfer it to the\nbeit el mal. By this time the merchants were thoroughly alarmed, and\nbegged some of their influential friends to mediate with the Khalifa. At\nlength the latter summoned the principal merchants, and asked them if\nthey would accept the Makbul dollar at the value of the old dollar,\nwhereupon they not only accepted gladly, but declared their readiness to\naccept any sort of money he chose to issue, even should it be made of\nleather.\n\nThus was a reconciliation effected. The Khalifa treated the merchants\nwell, gave them plenty of food, and condescended even to eat with them\non this festive occasion. After this episode there were no more\ndifficulties about making the Makbul dollar current in Omdurman, though\nto this day the Arabs refuse to accept it.\n\nBut gradually silver became dear, and the Mint began coining bad\ndollars, made of two parts silver to three parts copper; consequently\nthe value of the old dollar has now gone up to 25 piastres. This gave\nfurther opportunities to the counterfeit coiners. The silver-workers in\nthe Mint began making dollars on their own account, and, those being\ndifferent from the others, caused great confusion. These false dollars\nwere very well coined, and it required a practised eye to notice the\ndeception; indeed, it was not until a very large quantity of these false\ncoins had got into circulation that the fraud was found out.\n\nAn inspector was now sent to examine all dollars; all false coins were\nbroken into pieces, and no compensation given to the owners. Thieves and\nsmugglers purchased the bad dollars at 10 piastres apiece, and then, of\ncourse, every description of bribery and corruption was practised. For\ninstance, an Arab would agree to sell his camel for 150 dollars, on\ncondition that the money should be submitted to the examining\ncommission. The president, who was of course bribed, gave out as his\ndecision that the dollars were all good, and received a good round sum\nfrom the purchaser for his falsehood; thus it happened that the Arab was\ngenerally defrauded of 40 or 50 dollars. In spite of several false\ncoiners being punished with the loss of a hand and foot, still the evil\npractice continued, and it is only within the last few years, since the\nprice of silver has increased so much, that false coining has, to a\ngreat extent, ceased.\n\nA printing and lithograph press was also established in the beit el mal;\nit had originally been set up in Khartum, and was now used for pulling\noff numbers of Mahdi proclamations. Several \"Ratibs,\" or Mahdi's book of\nprayers, were also printed and distributed.\n\nA museum of curios also formed part of the beit el mal. It is known as\nthe Beit el Antikat, and contains numbers of interesting things, such as\ntrophies from Darfur, Abyssinia, and Egypt. The Abyssinian section is\nthe largest, and includes King John's throne. Amongst the Darfur\narticles are the robes of Sultan Yusef and of the Sultan of Masalit. The\nrobe of one of the Ababdeh sheikhs, who was made a Bey by the\nGovernment, and then came to Omdurman and submitted to the Mahdi,\nrepresents Egypt.\n\nThe beit el mal also contains a dispensary, in charge of an Egyptian\ndoctor; here are numbers of shelves, laden with medicines, which have\nlong since gone bad, but the doctor has taken entirely to native\nremedies, of which cauterization and burning are the most usual.\n\nAmongst the Khartum survivors was a certain Greek soap-boiler, who had\nestablished a soap manufactory in the beit el mal, and had handed over\nto it his large supplies of soda; but gradually other private\nindividuals began to establish soap works, and soon they began to sell\nsoap so cheaply that all the beit el mal customers came to them. The\nconsequence was that the Khalifa at once issued an order that the beit\nel mal held the soap-boiling monopoly, and anyone who infringed this\nrule would lose one hand, and all his property would be confiscated.\n\nA careful system of accounts was elaborated in the beit el mal showing\nall revenue and expenditure. If an expedition is ordered to any part of\nthe country, money, clothing, and other necessaries must be supplied\nfrom the beit el mal. The staff to work this large administration\nconsists of an emin beit el mal, his assistant, head clerk, and a host\nof smaller officials and clerks. When the merchants refused to accept\nthe Makbul dollar the staff was increased, as at that time the whole of\nthe boats and canoes were also confiscated. Of these there were upwards\nof 1,000, and they were eventually hired out by the beit el mal. Wad\nAdlan always tried to secure for the beit el mal the services of those\nclerks who had formerly served under the Government; but this plan did\nnot please the Khalifa. Adlan naturally preferred the old clerks, who\nthoroughly understood their work; besides, they were terrified of the\nDervishes, and thus did not dare to cheat. On the whole, Adlan's\nadministration was very good, and he received the Khalifa's thanks.\n\nAbdullah now turned his attention to reorganizing the system of justice.\nHitherto, and during the Mahdi's lifetime, the office of Kadi had\ncontinued, but the Ashraf (Mahdi's relations) also acted in the capacity\nof judges, and the result was the greatest possible confusion. For\ninstance, supposing a man was sentenced by the judge, Sayid Abdel Kader\n(the Sheikh el Islam) would immediately pardon him. Abdullah, not\nunnaturally, wanted to change this anomaly, not so much in the interests\nof justice as to break down the power and authority of the Ashraf. He\ntherefore nominated Kadi Ahmed as the Kadi el Islam, and appointed a\nnumber of assistant judges, whom he called Nuab.\n\nIt was ruled that everyone, old and young, should report all causes of\ndispute to the Grand Kadi, and it was his duty to look into it and give\na decision. Kadi Ahmed is a particularly good man, and gives protection\nto the white people, more especially when they are attacked and abused\nby the native populace. He is, however, of rather a vacillating,\ntimorous disposition, and is therefore a pliable instrument in the\nKhalifa's hands; consequently there is often a miscarriage of justice.\n\nThus did the Khalifa secure, in his own person, the right to pardon or\nto convict, and thus he became absolute master of life and death. As for\nthe law, he only appealed to it when it suited his own convenience; on\nevery other occasion he absolutely ignored it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nTHE KHALIFA DECIDES TO CONQUER ABYSSINIA.\n\n     Events subsequent to the fall of Khartum--Capture of Gedaref and\n     Galabat--Dervishes defeated by Abyssinians at Galabat--Abu Anga's\n     victorious expedition to Tagalla--His triumphant return to\n     Omdurman--The Khalifa's grand review--Destruction of the Gehena\n     tribe--The Khalifa decides to send Abu Anga's army to conquer\n     Abyssinia--The battle of Dabra Sin--Abu Anga sacks Gondar--The\n     victorious Dervishes return to Galabat--Rejoicings at Omdurman.\n\n\nThe preceding pages have given a glimpse of Omdurman, the new Dervish\ncapital of the Sudan; let us now turn briefly to the military events\nwhich had occurred since the fall of Khartum.\n\nWhilst Khartum was besieged on all sides, so also were the various other\ngarrisons still holding out, closely beset. Gedaref, also known as Suk\nAbu Sin, the name of the patriarchal sheikh of the Shukrieh tribe, was\nsituated in the midst of a fertile plain which produced such quantities\nof corn that it was the common saying, three camel-loads could be sold\nfor half a dollar. The ground was so productive that anything could be\ngrown. There was no want of water. The Greeks and several Egyptians had\nmade gardens, in which there was found every description of fruit-tree;\ngrapes grew in abundance, and were of particularly good quality; they\nwere to be had all the year round; for it was of no consequence in what\nmonth the vines were pruned. Quantities of sesame were also grown as\nwell as a special kind of dhurra, with a sweet stalk, from which a\nsubstance something like honey was extracted. Water-melons, cotton,\ntobacco, and all sorts of vegetables were grown in the greatest\nprofusion, and everything was of exceptionally good quality.\n\nThe garrison of Gedaref consisted of only two hundred men, and on being\nsummoned by the Jaalin to surrender, they did so, in April 1884. This is\nhardly to be wondered at, for the inhabitants of Gedaref are, for the\nmost part, Jaalin, and resistance would, under such circumstances, have\nbeen next to impossible. The principal merchants were permitted to keep\ntheir goods, and the change of hands did not, for the moment, greatly\nalter the situation; but we shall see, later, what became of this rich\nand valuable province after a prolonged Dervish occupation.\n\nAs regards Galabat, the difficulties were considerably greater. This\ntown was situated about six days' journey from Gedaref, and was the\nresidence of the well-known Takruri, Saleh Bey Shanga, who was Mamur of\nthe district. This brave official remained loyal to the Government\nthroughout, and was bitterly opposed to Mahdiism. He succeeded in\ngaining the friendship of the neighbouring Abyssinian tribes, and,\nthrough their assistance, inflicted great losses on the Dervishes. In\nNovember 1884, he severely defeated the besieging Jaalin; but a few days\nlater, the Dervishes, being heavily reinforced, beset him very closely.\n\nThrough the intermediary of the English, King John sent a relieving\nforce of Abyssinians, which reached the vicinity of Galabat on the 27th\nof January, 1885; and making known their approach to Saleh, the latter\nmade a sortie, while at the same time the Dervishes were heavily\nattacked by the Abyssinians, who drove them off, thus enabling the\nentire garrison, men, women, and children, to escape; they marched _vi\u00e2_\nGondar to Massawa, under the protection of an Abyssinian force. Galabat\nwas subsequently occupied by the Dervishes, who collected here in great\nforce under the Emir Wad Arbab.\n\nMeanwhile, Saleh Bey, who was now staying with Ras Adal, the chief of\nAmhara, was not idle, and was continually urging him to take possession\nof Galabat; he was shortly afterwards joined by the Fiki Medawi,\nformerly a wild, fanatical adherent of the Mahdi, and who, together with\nAbu Girgeh, had been one of the first to lay siege to Gordon in Khartum;\nthis man, after the Mahdi's death, began to find out that he had been\nfollowing an imposture, and fled from Omdurman; he stayed in Abyssinia\nfor a time, and eventually reached Cairo. Abdullah was furious at his\nflight, and put a number of his friends in chains, believing that Fiki\nMedawi had been instrumental in pushing on Ras Adal to attack Galabat.\n\nShortly after the festival of the \"Three holy kings,\" in commemoration\nof the baptism of our Saviour in Jordan, known as \"Ghittas,\" which means\nimmersion (on this occasion--the 5th of January--a cross is always\nimmersed in the river); Ras Adal, having collected a large army,\namounting, it is said, to 100,000 men, of whom 20,000 were horsemen,\nadvanced across the mountains and descended on Galabat.\n\nSheikh Egeil, of the Hamran Arabs, who had always been loyal to the\nEgyptian Government, and had combated Mahdiism continuously, also joined\nRas Adal, and entered Dervish territory. Wad Arbab, who had received\nfull information of the Abyssinian movements, was awaiting their attack,\nstrongly entrenched within Galabat. He had 16,000 well-seasoned troops,\nmostly Jaalin, and a quantity of rifles and ammunition. In a few minutes\nthe Abyssinian cavalry, dashing down with wild impetuosity, completely\nsurrounded Wad Arbab; the fight did not last long; the Dervishes were\ndriven out, pursued in all directions, and Galabat was soon in flames.\nArbab's men could not face the wild rush of the Abyssinians, and fell in\ngreat numbers; the high wind caused the flames to spread with terrible\nrapidity, and soon the powder magazine blew up with a terrific report,\nburying hundreds in its ruins; amongst these was a Greek who had come\nfrom Sawakin the year before to Omdurman, where he was imprisoned for a\ntime, then released, and came to Galabat, hoping to escape into\nAbyssinia, just a few days before this fight which took place in\nJanuary 1887. The Abyssinians captured a large number of women and\nchildren, whom they dragged off as slaves.\n\nA few months prior to this action, Gustav Klootz had died in Galabat. He\nhad left Omdurman in September 1886, for Galabat, intending to escape\ninto Abyssinia; but having no money, he was forced to walk the entire\ndistance, and the great fatigue he had undergone made him seriously ill;\nhe lingered on for a time, but eventually died; and perhaps it was\nfortunate that he did die, for only a few days afterwards an order\narrived from the Khalifa Abdullah at Gedaref, ordering him to be thrown\ninto chains and brought back to Omdurman, where a miserable death\nawaited him.\n\nWhilst the Abyssinians were attacking Galabat, Sheikh Egeil fell upon\nDoka, a place situated between Galabat and Gedaref, which he succeeded\nin capturing, and putting its inhabitants to the sword. The Abyssinians\nnow returned to their own country, after having sacked and pillaged\nGalabat, which they left absolutely empty.\n\nThe disaster at Galabat was a great blow to the Dervishes; Abdullah now\nappointed his nephew Yunis as emir of the district, and ordered him to\nreoccupy the town. Yunis, on his return from Wad el Abbas, had encamped\nsouth of Omdurman Fort, at a place which is still known as Dem Yunis;\nhis force consisted of about 1,000 men, armed with Remingtons, and 2,000\nsword-and spearmen, of whom the majority had been amongst the Mahdi's\noriginal followers at Abba. Abdullah himself now crossed over to\nKhojali, and led Yunis's troops for some distance.\n\nThe equipment and transport of the force were not expensive items; each\nman received about half a dollar; and perhaps that was sufficient, for\nthe troops always plundered the villages for their food as they went\nalong. Yunis marched direct to Abu Haraz, on the Blue Nile, and thence\nfollowed the Khor Rahad up to Galabat, which he found quite empty and\ndeserted. He now settled down, and, to his credit, he occasionally made\nraids into Abyssinia, destroyed a few villages and churches, and sent\nthe ornaments he took to Omdurman. This so delighted the Khalifa that he\ndubbed him \"Mismar ed Din\" (or the \"Nail of Religion\"), and had special\npoems about his deeds sung in his presence.\n\nBut soon Yunis abandoned hostilities, and guaranteed free passes to\nmerchants travelling in the country; the Abyssinians believed in these\nassurances of peace, and descended into the Galabat plain at various\ntimes in the year, bringing with them for sale thousands of mules,\ndonkeys, and horses, also quantities of coffee, garlic, lentils, beans,\nwax, and honey. Things went on quite peaceably for some time; but one\nday Yunis suddenly fell on all the merchants collected within their\nzariba, killed numbers of them, seized their goods, and sent off about\n1,000 of them as prisoners to Omdurman. Several died of starvation on\nthe journey, and on their arrival in Omdurman the remainder were\nreleased, but had to go about the markets begging their bread. It\nfrequently happened that they would take shelter for the night in the\nmerchants' empty stalls; and on the latter arriving with their goods in\nthe morning, they would find their shops full of dead and dying\nAbyssinians; afterwards, slaves were left by the merchants to guard the\nshops and prevent these miserable creatures from making use of them.\nThese wretched, gaunt, half-starved people used sometimes to come to us\nto beg for food; they knew no Arabic, but knowing that we were\nChristians, they would repeat that word, or sometimes \"Wad Maryam\"\n(\"Mary's child\") to excite our pity. Their wretched condition at length\nreached the Khalifa's ears, and he ordered the beit el mal to take\ncharge of them; the emin beit el mal now sent a crier to the market to\nwarn all Abyssinians that if they came to the beit el mal they would\nreceive assistance. The poor starving creatures dragged themselves\nthere, but were still kept two or three days without food; numbers of\nthem died, and their bodies were thrown into the river, whilst the\nremainder were at last given a miserable pittance of dhurra, which\nserved to keep body and soul together for a time; but these, too, at\nlength succumbed to starvation; and after that, I never saw an\nAbyssinian prisoner again.\n\nIn July 1887, Khalifa Abdullah wrote a letter to King John, offering to\nmake peace, on condition that he would become a Moslem, and that he\nwould return all the women and children he had captured, but more\nespecially was he to surrender the persons of Saleh Bey, Fiki Medawi,\nand the Sheikh el Egeil. If he refused to accept these terms he must\nexpect war. King John did not deign to reply.\n\nDuring the feast of Bairam on the 31st of July, 1887, Khalifa Abdullah\nsummoned Abu Anga to Omdurman, and here I must give a short description\nof this renowned warrior.\n\nHamdan Abu Anga had been a slave, and had been brought up in the Khalifa\nAbdullah's household; he had been well treated by his master, and was\neventually looked upon as a member of the family, a custom which was\nformerly in vogue amongst the Baggara, Rizighat, and Taisha tribes. In\nfact, these Arabs used not infrequently to give their daughters in\nmarriage to their slaves. It was amongst the Baggara that Abu Anga had\nfirst learnt to ride on horseback and to go out hunting, and it was from\nthem that he had acquired such dexterity in handling and throwing\nspears, for which he had frequent opportunities in the continual raids\nwhich took place on neighbouring tribes.\n\nAbu Anga had taken part in the campaigns against Zubeir Pasha, by whom\nhe and his entire family had been captured, but subsequently released.\nWhen the Mahdi declared himself he joined with his master, Abdullah.\nDuring the siege of El Obeid little was known or heard of him, but after\nthe fall of that city Khalifa Abdullah handed over to him the charge of\nall captive soldiers in El Obeid, as well as in other places. The astute\nKhalifa had for long had his eye on these blacks, whose fighting powers\nhe well knew, and he was most desirous to bring them under his direct\ncontrol, and utilize them.\n\nPrevious to the Hicks Expedition Abu Anga had already secured a number\nof them, and they were largely instrumental in compassing the complete\ndownfall of that ill-fated army. Then, again, his blacks had shown the\ngreatest bravery in their campaigns against Jebel Dair, when they had\nacquired a great name for themselves, and, finally, it was through their\nmeans that Gordon's Fort of Omdurman had been compelled to surrender.\nAfter the fall of Khartum these brave but undisciplined troops, having\nno more fighting to do, took to highway robbery. Numbers of them hovered\nabout in the desert a few hours' distance from Omdurman, and amused\nthemselves by falling on caravans coming from Kordofan or Berber, and\npillaging and killing to their heart's content. Their depredations\nbecame so constant that the Mahdi decided that he must employ them\nsomewhere, so he ordered Abu Anga to proceed with them to the still\nindependent Dar Nuba country, which he was to conquer, and obtain from\nthence recruits for his Jehadieh, or Black Army.\n\nBut there was also another reason which induced the Mahdi to undertake\nthis campaign. During the siege of Omdurman a certain Baggara Sheikh, of\nBirket, named Noa\u00efa, deserted, and gathering a number of malcontents in\nDar Nuba, he defied the Mahdi's authority. When I was at El Obeid there\nwere all sorts of strange stories current about the doings of Noa\u00efa, who\nhad gathered numbers of horsemen from the Howazma and Miserieh tribes,\nand had made himself decidedly formidable. All those disappointed\nslave-hunters and slave-dealers who--annoyed with the suppression of\ntheir trade by the Egyptian Government--had flocked in numbers to the\nMahdi's standard, now had begun to find out that they were rather worse\noff than before, and were, in reality, little better than the Mahdi's\nslaves. These people sought every occasion to desert to Noa\u00efa. Abu Anga\ntherefore received orders to hunt him down and annihilate him. He\ncollected his men, quitted the now debauched and pleasure-loving\nOmdurman, and proceeded to the Tagalla Mountain, at the foot of which he\nencamped.\n\nAfter the death of King Adam, his followers had again thrown off the\nDervish yoke and were now in open revolt; against these Abu Anga\nconducted several successful expeditions, and captured numbers of\nslaves, but suffered some loss as well. As long as Abu Anga was in the\nneighbourhood, Tagalla was more or less in a state of submission; but\nthe moment he moved off they again broke out into active opposition.\n\nAbu Anga now advanced on Noa\u00efa, whose adherents, alarmed by the presence\nof the soldiers, dispersed. These blacks are greatly feared in the\nSudan, not only on account of their great bravery in battle, but also it\nis well known that they are merciless to their conquered enemies.\n\nSheikh Noa\u00efa was eventually secured and thrown into chains, and a few\ndays later he died of small-pox. Abu Anga attacked almost all the Nuba\nmountains; at times he was successful, at other times he suffered\nreverses. Tolodi, Gedir, and lastly Na\u00efma, were scenes of bloody\ncombats, and at the last-named place Abu Anga, in spite of his\nartillery--which was commanded by Said Bey Guma--was heavily defeated\nand driven back.\n\nOne of Abu Anga's most capable assistants was Abdullah Wad Ibrahim, who,\non account of his unparalleled cruelties, made Abu Anga's name a terror\nthroughout the land. Abu Anga was now recalled from his campaign by\nKhalifa Abdullah to take possession of Zogal and his army, who was then\non his way from Darfur to Bara. We have seen how rapidly and skilfully\nhe carried out this order.\n\nNow all that was left for Abu Anga to do was to punish the mutinous\ntroops of El Obeid who had killed Sherif Mahmud. Wad Ibrahim was sent on\nthis duty, and after a severe fight, in which numbers were killed on\nboth sides, he succeeded in capturing several of the mutineers, whom he\nattached to his troops; but some of them escaped to the Nubas, and Wad\nIbrahim proceeded in consequence to Golfan-Na\u00efma, which he besieged,\ntook, and reduced the inhabitants to slavery; the heads of Bishir and\nthree other leaders were sent to Omdurman, where they were exposed for a\nmonth on the gallows as a warning to all mutinous-minded persons.\n\nBy all these various actions Abu Anga had succeeded in adding\nconsiderably to the numbers of his troops, and he moreover drilled them\nconstantly and instilled a spirit of discipline which had been hitherto\nunknown--thus he raised up a power which it was almost impossible to\ndefeat. Khalifa Abdullah now sent instructions to Abu Anga to return to\nOmdurman in time for the Bairam festival, and at the same time he sent\norders to all the inhabitants of the Gezireh and Nile Valley to collect\nat Omdurman for a great review. Abu Anga, as usual, complied with the\norder with alacrity, and making forced marches, _vi\u00e2_ Tayara, Shatt, and\nOm Sadik, he reached Omdurman in a very short time. Abdullah sent\nnumbers of emirs to meet and welcome him.\n\nIn Omdurman the only topic of conversation was about Abu Anga and his\ngreat army. The Khalifa himself also prepared a magnificent reception\nfor his faithful general, in which he strove to do him all possible\nhonour. On the night preceding the great festival, criers were sent\nthrough Omdurman announcing that any one who failed to present himself\nat the great review the following morning would be seriously dealt with;\nthis order was willingly complied with, and at the foot of the hills\nnear Kerreri were assembled enormous crowds, who waited--as the\nmalcontents said--on the pleasure of that \"slave,\" Abu Anga. The guns\nhad all been drawn out in line the evening before, and the festival was\nushered in by prolonged salutes.\n\nIn the meantime Abu Anga had arrived at Om Sadik, where a careful\ninspection was made to see that no one was in possession of unlawful\nbooty; numbers of female slaves were found, who were subsequently sent\nto the beit el mal. He then moved on to his camp near Omdurman, and\nprepared to make his formal entry the following morning.\n\nBy the time the sun had well risen, the Dervishes were assembled in\nendless lines under their various flags. Khalifa Abdullah left his\nresidence accompanied by his bodyguard; he was mounted on a magnificent\ncamel, and advanced to the sound of the great onbe\u00efa trumpet. Abu Anga,\nmounted on a pony and clad in a casque and coat-of-mail, now advanced to\nmeet him, and his magnificent figure created no small impression on the\nassembled multitudes. His bodyguard, consisting of his very best\nsoldiers, accompanied him, as well as a number of mukuddums. On\napproaching the Khalifa he adroitly dismounted and kissed his hands; he\nwas warmly greeted, and ordered to mount again.\n\nThen the march past began. Upwards of 31,000 black troops, armed with\nRemingtons and formed up in long lines, went by to the sound of drums\nand trumpets; but the latter, on which the players attempted to produce\nsome specially Dervish music, raised the most discordant sounds, which\ngave an intensely comic aspect to the whole proceeding. Each emir, with\nhis flag, rode at the head of his division; the chief emirs were Ibrahim\nWad Abdullah, Nur Angara, Zeki Tummal, and Ibrahim Wad Abu Tagalla. When\nthe Jehadieh had passed, the sword-and spearmen followed, some 20,000 in\nnumber; then came the inhabitants of Omdurman in countless numbers.\nThere could not have been less than 60,000.\n\nAfter the march past all were formed up again, and then the Khalifa,\ndismounting from his camel, stood on his sheepskin and conducted\nprayers. The shout of \"Allahu Akbar\" from over 100,000 throats was\nimpressive in the extreme, and, as the sound rolled down the immense\nlines, it was echoed again and again through the hills, lasting for over\na minute after each shout.\n\nOn the conclusion of prayers the guns pealed forth salutes, and such\nwild fanaticism and enthusiasm prevailed that several men dashed up to\nthe very muzzles of the guns and were blown to pieces. Of course the\nKhalifa announced that the souls of these stupid people had gone\nstraight to paradise. The salutes over, the lines were once more\ninspected, and then all the flags were collected in one place, in the\ncentre of which stood the Khalifa; this was the signal for the whole\nforce to gather around and vie with one another in their shouts of\nloyalty that they would die a hundred times over for him and his cause.\nKhalifa Abdullah became so wildly impressed by the enthusiasm of these\nsavage hordes that he could scarcely contain himself, and it was as much\nas his bodyguard could do to keep the impetuous crowds from crushing him\nto death. Numbers were bruised and kicked by the horses; but they were\nleft quite unnoticed--a mere remark, \"Umru Khalas\" (\"It is the end of\nhis life\"), was all the sympathy these heartless men ever offered.\n\nFrom that day to this I do not think the Khalifa has ever had such an\novation. At that time Omdurman was unusually full, trade was brisk, and\nit was thought that he would now undertake the invasion of Egypt. But,\nas it soon transpired, he had still a good deal of work to do in the\nSudan itself. One enemy he undoubtedly had--this was El Merhdi Abu Rof,\na descendant of the ancient Kings of Sennar and sheikh of the great\nGehena tribe, which, amongst the mass of Arabs allied to the Mahdi, had\npersistently held aloof. This tribe possessed a large number of camels\nof a curious dark-coloured breed, and also quantities of gray-coloured\ncows.\n\nEl Merhdi had instigated a purely local movement of his own against the\nGovernment, and had once besieged and set fire to Sennar; long before\nAbu Anga's arrival he had shown hostility to the Khalifa, and had\nannihilated a number of small Dervish garrisons; his power extended as\nfar as Karkoj, and he levied taxes on all boats going north. For a long\ntime the Khalifa had let him alone, but now finding himself in\npossession of such an enormous force, he decided to attack El Merhdi,\nmore especially as at this time his audacity considerably endangered the\nnavigation of the Blue Nile, from whence Omdurman drew its main supplies\nof corn. He therefore despatched Ismail Wad el Andok up the Blue Nile,\nwhile Abdullah Wad Ibrahim was sent up the White Nile.\n\nEl Merhdi, attacked thus on both sides, was powerless; he was unable to\nwithstand the advance of the victorious black troops, and he and almost\nall his Arabs were killed. El Merhdi's head was sent to Omdurman, where\nit was exposed for a long time on the gallows, and was at last thrown\ninto the pit in which lay the heads of Bishir and those who had been\nslain with him.\n\nThus one by one did the Khalifa's enemies become subdued. The vengeance\nwreaked on the unfortunate Gehena tribe by the Dervishes is almost\nbeyond description. The property of the survivors was seized, men,\nwomen, and children were dragged off to Omdurman, and there, naked and\nhelpless, they were left to starve on the river bank. One would see\nwretched mothers of three or four children, who looked just like\nskeletons, miserably abandoned in a place utterly unknown, and subject\nto the insults and indignities of the proud and cruel Dervishes. Numbers\nof them, especially children, died of starvation, whilst those who still\nhad sufficient strength would wander about begging their bread; if any\none had money enough he would buy a waterskin, and would go half a mile\nto the river, fill it, carry it back and sell it in the market for a\nquarter of a piastre; thus they eked out a miserable existence. Men who\nbut lately had ridden on good horses and had owned hundreds of camels\nwere reduced to this mode of gaining their livelihood, whilst poor women\ncould be seen, with babies at their breasts, toiling under the heavy\nweight of a filled waterskin towards the market-place; then they had no\nrest, for in the evening they had to grind the dhurra and make a sort of\npap which the poor little mouths of their infants could hardly\nmasticate; they had but one meal in the twenty-four hours.\n\nIt was impossible not to be struck by the mother's love of these poor\npeople for their offspring, and at the same time to feel bitterly\nincensed against the Khalifa and his cruel followers who could thus\nintentionally inflict on people of their own race such untold cruelties.\nThousands of Gehena camels were brought to Omdurman and sold at low\nprices; thus was the wealth of their country utterly destroyed, and now\nthe terrible famine, which was so soon to fall upon the land, was close\nat hand.\n\nIn the meantime Abdullah was considering with his advisers the\ndesirability of permitting war to break out with Abyssinia. The great\npower of which he now felt himself possessed inclined him to war, and of\ncourse the majority of his emirs, whose sole desire was to pander to his\nwill, agreed with him. Then news reached Yunis that Ras Adal was making\ngigantic preparations; this finally decided Abdullah to wage war, and\nwith this object in view, he despatched his faithful Abu Anga to conduct\nthe operations.\n\nThe three Khalifas, Abu Anga's brother Abdel Maula, who commanded the\nJehadieh in Omdurman, and several other important people embarked on the\nsteamer and proceeded to the east bank, where Abdullah himself led off\nthe troops. For some days before, every boat had been requisitioned for\ntransport, and these were now laden with provisions for the army; but\nwhat with overloading and the strength of the current, several foundered\nand numbers of persons were drowned; however, this was of little\nconsequence, for human life is of small value among the Dervishes.\n\nThe troops advanced in divisions along the banks of the Nile, and before\nfinally taking leave of them the Khalifa addressed Abu Anga and his\nemirs, urging them to be ever united, and to keep always before them the\nrewards which would be theirs on their return, promising them the divine\nhelp of the Mahdi and a certainty of victory.\n\nThis speech was delivered in such an impressive manner that there were\nfew dry eyes amongst these hardy warriors, and the Khalifa himself was\nby no means ignorant of the gravity of the step he had now taken, for\nAbyssinia was looked upon as even a more powerful country than Egypt.\nAbu Anga followed his troops in a steamer as far as Abu Haraz, near\nwhich the Khor Rahad joins the Nile, and which during the winter is\nquite full and navigable almost up to Galabat.\n\nSome time before, Abdullah Wad Ibrahim and Ismail Wad el Andok had been\nsent to collect people in the Gezireh; they now joined Abu Anga, whose\nentire force numbered 81,000 men. After a short halt at Galabat, Abu\nAnga advanced into Abyssinian territory, leaving Wad Ali in Galabat.\nMaking forced marches, the troops made their way over hills and across\nvalleys, through the most rugged country. Numbers died of exhaustion,\nbut still they continued to move on; they met with no opposition, the\nvillages through which they passed were deserted, and wherever they went\nthey found provisions in abundance. This magnificent country was a\nsource of intense astonishment to the Dervishes.\n\nMeanwhile Ras Adal had collected his forces in the great plain of Dabra\nSin, some six days' journey from Galabat, and here he patiently awaited\nAbu Anga's advance. As the Dervishes approached, numbers of the Gezireh\ntroops who could not keep up with the force lagged behind, and were\ninvariably killed or mutilated by the Abyssinians.\n\nAbu Anga, on arrival on the plain, formed up in battle-array, and\nputting himself in the centre of a square composed of his best troops,\nhe advanced on the Abyssinian camp, which was much extended, and\nstretched as far as the eye could reach.\n\nThe Abyssinians now attacked in wild disorder; they fought with the\ncourage of lions, for their religion and fatherland, against the hated\nMoslems who had dared to enter their country. The horsemen especially\nfought with the most reckless bravery; but Abu Anga's blacks here as\nelsewhere showed their sterling fighting qualities; they mowed down the\nmasses of Abyssinians in thousands with their well-aimed fire, whilst\nthe latter were vainly endeavouring to break through their solid ranks;\nand soon Abu Anga's victory was assured. He had conquered through his\ngood discipline, the arrangement of his troops, and the galling fire of\nthe Remingtons, and now the rest of the fight was merely a massacre,\nwhich was continued until the troops were quite tired out. Most of Ras\nAdal's principal chiefs had fallen, and amongst the captives was one of\nhis sons, who was well cared for and sent to Galabat.\n\nThe entire camp, with its countless tents, donkeys, and mules, fell into\nthe hands of the Mahdiists. The captured animals were in such quantities\nthat the victors could not possibly carry them off, and in consequence\nthey either hamstrung them or cut their throats. Amongst the other\nthings captured were two guns.\n\nThe road to Gondar, the former capital of Abyssinia, was now clear, and\nAbu Anga advanced towards it, hoping that he would secure great\nquantities of treasure. It was a march of only thirty miles from the\nbattlefield, and was soon reached; sacked, plundered, and reduced to\nashes; the churches were pillaged and then burnt; priests were thrown\ndown from the roof and killed; the population massacred, and women and\nchildren dragged in hundreds into slavery.\n\nAbu Anga only stayed a short time in Gondar, the change of climate had\nalready caused the death of a number of his troops, and, laden with\nbooty, he returned to Galabat, which he reached at the end of December.\n\nMeanwhile there was great anxiety in Omdurman. Abdullah could not\nconceal his alarm, for it was well known that the Abyssinian army was\nvery powerful. Abu Anga had crossed the border thirty days before, and\nstill no news reached Abdullah: those who did not wish the Dervishes\nwell, rejoiced at the thought that a great part of the army must have\nbeen destroyed, and the anxiety so told on Abdullah, that he was seen to\nvisibly age in this momentous time. Besides, there was the prophecy of\nMohammed, who had forbidden his followers to make war against the\nAbyssinians, unless the latter first provoked it. Abu Anga's expedition\nwas in direct disobedience to this order, and it was thought that he\nmust suffer defeat as a punishment, and it was urged that if Abu Anga\nreturned in safety, then the Prophet Mohammed must be a liar as well as\nthe Mahdi.\n\nAt length the arrival of twelve heads which Abu Anga had sent to Galabat\nproved conclusively that a great victory had been won, and now the news\nof the destruction of Gondar and the return of Abu Anga's victorious\ntroops was indeed a welcome relief to the terrible suspense.\n\nThis news was followed up soon afterwards by the arrival of numbers of\nwomen and children, and quantities of loot. Several of these miserable\ncaptives had died on the journey, and those who had not been already\nsold, had their ears cut off, and were sent to the beit el mal.\n\nAbdullah, without the smallest shame, went himself to the beit el mal,\nand chose all the best-looking girls for his harem, and each of the\nprincipal men of his household received an Abyssinian girl as a present.\n\nAbu Anga received great praise at the hands of the Khalifa, and many\nverses were made in his honour. Shortly before the victor's arrival in\nOmdurman, criers were sent out to say that he should no longer be called\nAbu Anga, but Sidi Hamdan, and Abdullah himself went out to meet the\nconqueror, and shed tears of joy on seeing him. The booty included\nthirty thousand Maria Theresa dollars, of which Khalifa Abdullah at once\ntook sole possession.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nKING JOHN OF ABYSSINIA KILLED IN BATTLE.\n\n     Destruction of the Kababish tribe and death of Saleh Bey--Events in\n     Darfur--Revolt of Abu Gamaizeh--His death and destruction of his\n     army--Rabeh Zubeir--King Theodore's son visits Omdurman--The\n     conspiracy of \"Sayidna Isa\"--Death of Abu Anga--King John of\n     Abyssinia attacks Galabat--Success of Abyssinians, but the king\n     killed--Victory turned to defeat--The king's head sent to Omdurman.\n\n\nLet us now leave Abyssinia for a moment, and turn to the course of\nevents in other parts of the country. The most powerful and determined\nopponent to Mahdiism was Saleh Bey Fadlallah Wad Salem, the brother of\nSheikh Tome of the Kababish, who had been executed in El Obeid. This\ntribe has enormous quantities of camels and sheep, and occupied the\ndesert between Dongola and Kordofan; they formerly paid taxes to the\nextent of 100,000 dollars a year to Government. They did all the\ncarrying trade between Dongola and Kordofan. It will be remembered that,\nduring the siege of El Obeid, Saleh Bey had come to the Mahdi's camp;\nbut had left it quite suddenly, and thenceforth had become one of the\nMahdi's bitterest enemies.\n\nIn 1884 he had given considerable assistance in camels to the English\nexpedition, and had been in constant conflict himself with the\nDervishes.\n\nWhen Khalifa Abdullah had consolidated his authority he determined to\nrid himself of this rebel. Saleh Bey was at that time weak, for many of\nhis tribe had joined the Mahdiist ranks, and had fought against him. He\nlearnt that Abdullah intended to strike a serious blow to his power, he\ntherefore appealed to the Egyptian Government for help, and sent fifty\nof his slaves to Wadi Halfa; the Government granted them two hundred\nRemington rifles, forty boxes of ammunition, and \u00a3200 in cash.\n\nNeufeld, a German merchant, joined Saleh's men on their return to\nKordofan, intending, if possible, to re-open a trade with the Arab\nsheikhs in gum and ostrich feathers.\n\nNejumi, who was then at Dongola, having learnt through spies of their\ndeparture, occupied the wells of Selima on the Arbain road, through\nwhich the Kababish would probably pass. Fifteen days after leaving Halfa\nthe little caravan arrived at the oasis, only to be received by Dervish\nbullets. Most of them were killed, and a few, including Neufeld, were\ntaken captive to Dongola; there they were beheaded, with the exception\nof Neufeld, who was sent on to Omdurman, where he arrived on the 1st of\nMarch, 1887.\n\nThe capture of the caravan and arms was a great blow to Saleh, and now\nAbdullah no longer delayed to carry out his intentions. He despatched\nthe Emirs Greger Hamed and Wad Nubawi, of the Beni Jerrar, against him.\nIn the first fight Saleh was successful; but lost his brother and a\nnumber of men. After this, a number of Dar Homr Arabs, who had formerly\nbeen allied to him, now deserted to the other side, and with the\nDervishes occupied the wells of Mahbas. This being the only water in the\nneighbourhood, there was now nothing left but to fight, and Saleh and\nhis men performed prodigies of valour, killing great numbers of the\nDervishes; but he was hampered by numerous camp-followers, women and\nchildren, whom it was impossible to defend; and at length, seeing his\nthird brother fall before his eyes, he dismounted from his horse, sat on\nhis \"fur\" (sheep's skin), and waited to receive his death-blow, which\nwas dealt by one of Greger's relatives, between whom and Saleh a blood\nfeud existed; the latter having killed both Greger's father and uncle.\n\nAnother account relates, that Greger had severely wounded Saleh in the\nhead with his axe, but Saleh plunging his sword through Greger's body,\nthey both fell from their horses, and died together. This fight took\nplace on the 17th of May, 1887, and by Saleh's death Abdullah succeeded\nin ridding himself of the enemy he most feared. Wad Adam was despatched\nwith Saleh's head to Omdurman, where it hung on the gallows for a month,\nand where I myself saw it.\n\nAfter Saleh's death the Kababish were dealt with in the most cruel\nmanner; several of them were brought to El Obeid as prisoners, where\nthey were executed. On one occasion Wad Adam had one hundred of them\nhanged together, and then threw their bodies into a well. The same\nevening groans were heard from the well, and it was found that one of\nthe victims was still alive; he was taken out and allowed to live. The\ncamels and sheep of this wealthy tribe were all brought to the beit el\nmal at Omdurman. Most of the she-camels were killed and sold for about\ntwo dollars apiece. In this way the Dervishes ruined the possibility of\nbreeding, and destroyed the prosperity and well-being of the country.\n\nThe once powerful Kababish tribe has now almost disappeared, and is\nseldom even mentioned. Abdullah having thus vanquished his last enemy,\nnow seriously set to work to mature his plans for the conquest of Egypt.\n\nBut before entering on this part of my story, it may be as well to give\na brief historical sketch of Darfur, and the recent events which had\noccurred there.\n\nDarfur had, for the last four centuries, been governed by its native\nsultans, who had gradually extended their authority into Kordofan, and\nit was here that they first came into contact with the Egyptian\nGovernment. Mohammed Ali had sent his son Ismail Pasha to take\npossession of the Sudan, and whilst he was engaged in subduing the petty\nkings of Shendi and Halfaya, his general, Ahmed Bey Defterdar, had\nadvanced from Dongola into Kordofan. This province was then administered\nby a Magdum appointed by Sultan Musallem, of Darfur, who, hearing of the\nadvance of the \"Turks,\" collected a large force, and awaited the\ninvaders at Bara. Spies had told him that it would be impossible to\nfight the Turks, as they used fire; but the Magdum laughed at the idea,\nand said he had no fear of fire. Moreover, to prove his word, he had an\nimmense quantity of thorns and brushwood collected, which he set fire\nto, and then ordered his cavalry to dash through it; these bold and\nfearless riders did so, and received no great harm. Thus did he impress\nhis followers that they need have no fear of the Turks; but the good man\nhad no notion of firearms and what they were. He met the attack of the\nTurks in the most heroic manner; but he and most of his followers fell,\nand the province became an Egyptian possession, though no steps were\ntaken to establish a government there.\n\nIt was not until August 1874, that the bold slave-hunter Zubeir Pasha\nattacked and took the ancient kingdom of Shakka, and thus did Ismail\nPasha extend the Egyptian authority over Darfur.\n\nFrom that date the country knew no peace; there was a constant series of\nlittle wars. Slatin had fought no less than twenty-seven battles. Then\nafter the defeat of Hicks Pasha came the Dervishes, and Zogal became\nEmir of Darfur, residing at El Fasher; but his rule was not peaceful.\nThe Sultan Dudbenga was fought, overcome, and sent to Omdurman a\nprisoner in 1884; thence he was sent to Galabat, where he died. After\nthis, Zogal was left undisturbed, and succeeded in accumulating a\nconsiderable amount of riches; but when the Mahdi died, Zogal, as we\nhave seen, was summoned to Omdurman, and left Darfur in the hands of\nSultan Yusef, Dudbenga's son; this sultan was entirely submissive to the\nKhalifa; and when Sheikh Madibbo, of the Rizighat tribe, revolted\nagainst Karamallah, the Dervish Emir of Bahr el Ghazal, and fled to\nJebel Marra, Sultan Yusef took him prisoner, and sent him back to\nKaramallah, who passed him on to Abu Anga, by whom he was decapitated in\nEl Obeid.\n\nBut Abdullah did not wish Darfur to continue in this semi-independent\nstate; he therefore instructed Karamallah to raid the country from\nDara. Yusef sent word, begging that their respective boundaries might be\nadhered to, but Karamallah only raided the more. In self-defence Yusef\nsent out his army, and thus a war broke out, which was just what\nAbdullah wanted. Yusef allied himself with Sultan Said, of Jebel Marra,\nand their combined forces defeated Ketenbur, who had been sent by\nKaramallah in command of a force.\n\nIn consequence of this disaster, Abdullah despatched his uncle, Osman\nWad Adam (nick-named \"Ganu\"), with a strong force to Shakka, where he\njoined Karamallah. Yusef, fearing that he had been betrayed, sent a very\nstrong force, and in the month of December a great battle took place, in\nwhich the Furs were almost annihilated, and it is said that Karamallah's\nbrother, Kerkesawi, killed so many men with his sword that his right arm\nbecame bent.\n\nDarfur once a prey to the bloodthirsty Dervishes, Osman Wad Adam\ncontinued his victorious march to El Fasher. Sultans Yusef and Zayid\nthen fled to Jebel Marra, and sought the assistance of Sultan Jabrallah.\nOsman sent troops in pursuit. Yusef detached himself from Jabrallah and\nfled again, while Jabrallah betrayed and murdered the brave Zayid and\nsent his head to Osman. Shortly afterwards Yusef was captured, brought\nto El Fasher, and there decapitated. The heads of both these sultans\neventually reached Omdurman, and were hung up beside the Abyssinian\nheads, where I saw them in January 1888.\n\nAfter this the captor of Zayid returned to El Fasher, whilst Jabrallah,\nanticipating a great reward for his treacherous conduct, was sent with\nhis five sons to see the Khalifa in Omdurman. He was allowed his liberty\nfor a time, but having once attempted to escape, he and his sons were\nthrown into chains; four of the latter died in prison, and just before I\nescaped I saw the unfortunate Jabrallah and his surviving son in a\npitiable state in the streets of Omdurman.\n\nFor the second time Darfur had now become a Dervish province, under the\ndirection of Osman Wad Adam. The Khalifa believed that all opposition\nwas over, and that he had nothing to fear from that direction. Indeed,\nthe majority of the inhabitants had been killed, and the few surviving\nsheikhs had taken refuge in the Dar Tama and Masalit districts; but they\ndid not remain inactive; there were constant meetings, in which they\ndiscussed how they should rid themselves of these \"enemies of Islam,\" as\nthey called the Dervishes.\n\nThe Masalit people are savage and cruel to a degree; they are in the\nhabit of making waterskins out of the skins of their slain enemies.\nSlatin Bey told me that when in Darfur he had two of these skins--of a\nmale and a female--which he had kept as curios. Some of the Darfur\nsheikhs had gone as far as to apply to the Sultan of Borgo for help, but\nhe had refused to interfere in any way with Mahdieh. Then a man suddenly\nappeared amongst the Masalit about whose origin little was known; he\nrepresented himself as the arch-enemy of the hated Dervishes, who, under\nthe guise of Mohammedanism, robbed, plundered, ravished, and murdered\nall they could lay their hands on.\n\nSuch influence did this fiki, or religious teacher, gain over the\nsuperstitious masses of the west that some said he must be the true\nMahdi; others said he was the fourth Khalifa (Osman); then again many\nsaid he was the celebrated Sheikh es Senussi, the great religious head\nof all the North African tribes, and whose influence has extended far\ninto Central Africa. Several asserted that he was merely a delegate from\nthe great Senussi.\n\nThis religious reformer and adventurer styled himself \"Abu Gemaizeh\"\n(Gemaizeh is the Arabic name for the sycamore fig-tree), because it was\nsaid that the shade of this tree always accompanied him. At Omdurman all\nsorts of extraordinary stories were current about his supernatural\ngifts. Some said that he had the power of miraculously increasing food;\nan ordinary plate-full he would make sufficient for hundreds of people;\nothers said that they had seen him produce milk from his finger-tips,\nand it was said that he could produce, in a moment, all sorts of things\npleasant to the palate. He could raise a palm-tree out of barren\nground, which, in the space of an hour, would become covered with fruit.\nIn his sermons and letters he reproached the Khalifa for having\noppressed and slaughtered Moslems, and having taken their wives for\nhimself--a crime only committed by the \"unbelievers\"--and with God's\nhelp, he declared his intention of coming to Omdurman to annihilate\n\"God's enemies,\" as he called the Dervishes.\n\nThe sayings and doings of this extraordinary being attracted great\nattention throughout the entire Sudan. The Mahdi had first appeared in\nthe west, and now an anti-Mahdi had sprung up from the west. Immense\nnumbers of adherents flocked to his standard. Not only did the Furs,\nthirsting for vengeance, join him, but people from Bornu, Borgo, and\nWadai collected around him.\n\nOsman Wad Adam despatched a force against him, which was annihilated,\nand he now begged the Khalifa to send him reinforcements. In answer to\nthis appeal a number of Beni Jerrar Arabs were sent to him, but these\nalso were destroyed almost to a man. These two important victories\nincreased Abu Gemaizeh's prestige enormously, and when Abdullah saw that\nthe oppressed Sudanese were secretly rejoicing at his discomfiture, he\nhimself began to tremble for his authority.\n\nA third expedition, despatched by Osman, met with a similar fate to the\nother two, and now the Khalifa vented his wrath on his unsuccessful\nlieutenant. In October 1888, he wrote to him to retire at once to El\nFasher, to confine himself entirely to defensive operations, and on no\naccount to attack the enemy. There was great excitement in Omdurman,\nwhere the importance of Abu Gemaizeh's victories had been enormously\nexaggerated. It was even said that Osman had been killed, El Fasher\ncaptured, and Kordofan on the point of being invaded. Then came the news\nthat El Obeid had been captured, and now the rejoicings at the Khalifa's\ndefeat were an open secret. But these highly-coloured rumours were\nmerely the outcome of an intense desire and longing on the part of the\nwretched inhabitants of the Sudan, groaning under the Dervish yoke, to\nsee themselves once more free from the tyrannical oppression which their\nown short-sighted conduct had brought upon themselves.\n\nAbu Gemaizeh had, it is true, been very successful. He had three times\ndefeated Osman, who was now besieged in El Fasher, and in great want of\nfood. All Darfur had sided with Abu Gemaizeh, and the Dervishes were\nalmost powerless; but in the zenith of his success the great religious\nsheikh was suddenly struck down by small-pox, and died at Kebkebieh in\nFebruary 1889. His death caused many of his adherents to quit the cause,\nand his successor--who, had he not attacked El Fasher, might have\nsucceeded in compassing the downfall of Osman, who was then entirely cut\noff and in great straits--felt that he must do something to keep his\narmy together. But his force was hampered by a large number of women,\nchildren, and camp followers. He was deficient in firearms, whilst Osman\nwas well supplied with rifles and ammunition, and his Shaggieh troops\nfought magnificently.\n\nThe final action took place under the walls of El Fasher, on the 22nd of\nFebruary, 1889, and resulted in the death of the leader and the massacre\nof thousands of his followers. This was the death-blow to the movement,\nand is an example of how easily Moslems are imposed upon by religious\nadventurers. Numbers of those who had joined and left Mahdiism,\nthoroughly convinced of its fraud and deception, had unhesitatingly\nallied themselves to this new religious movement, which they inspired\nwith almost greater enthusiasm than that they had just quitted. The\ncollapse of this new delusion was therefore comparatively greater. The\nheads of Abu Gemaizeh and a number of his important leaders were sent to\nOmdurman, where they found a place on the gallows, and were subsequently\nrelegated to the pit in which lay the whitening skulls of Merhdi, the\nAbyssinians, and the mutinous blacks.\n\nOsman's victory delighted the Khalifa even more than Abu Anga's success\nin Abyssinia, because he had always considered Darfur a place of\nrefuge, to which he had a secure line of retreat in case of attack from\nthe north.\n\nThe victorious Osman now vented his wrath on the tribes who had\nsupported Abu Gemaizeh's movement. The Beni Helba tribe especially fell\nunder his merciless hand, and was almost exterminated; but the country\ntook some time to recover its normal state, and, in consequence, the\nKhalifa had to forego the pleasure of summoning Osman to Omdurman, and\nloading him with benefits as he had done to Abu Anga. However, he had a\nspecial house built for him near the mosque, and prepared to do him all\nhonour when his presence could be spared from Darfur.\n\nBut this was not to be. The successful Osman fell ill, and died shortly\nafterwards at El Fasher. He was succeeded by the Khalifa's brother\nMahmud Wad Ahmed, who was also accompanied by the kadi Suleiman el\nHejazi. This latter individual was deported to Darfur because he had had\na disagreement with the Khalifa's principal spy, Hajji Zubeir.\n\nMahmud was ordered, on his arrival at El Fasher, to send to Omdurman all\nthe money found in the late Osman's safe, and to take over all his\nhorses, wives, &c., and keep them for himself. He left Omdurman with a\nlarge number of followers, and travelling _vi\u00e2_ El Obeid at length\nreached his province. Here he found the country desolate; during the\nrecent wars all cultivation had lapsed, a terrible famine had set in,\nand he was unable to find food for his troops. On reporting this to the\nKhalifa, he received orders to retire to Nahut in Kordofan, which he\ndid, but his black soldiers disliked the change, and conspired together\nto kill Mahmud and desert back to Darfur. They attempted to carry out\nthis project one night, but failing to secure the ammunition, which was\nessential to the success of their undertaking, they deserted from the\ncamp, about 1,000 strong, and set off to join Rabeh Zubeir.\n\nThis Rabeh had been originally brought up in Zubeir Pasha's family, had\nshown military ability, and at the time of the suppression of the\nrevolt in Bahr el Ghazal by Gessi Pasha commanded with Suleiman\n(Zubeir's son) the supposed rebel army. On Suleiman's capture and death,\nRabeh fled with the remnants of the force towards Bornu, and after a\nhost of strange adventures and constant fights with the kingdoms of\nBorgo, Wadai, &c., he succeeded in establishing himself in an\nindependent position on the banks of the Shar\u00e9 river which empties into\nLake Chad. Here he has collected a considerable force, and appears to\nhave at last established friendly relations with his neighbours. The\nKhalifa has frequently sent messages to him to return to Omdurman, where\nhe would be most honourably received, but Rabeh has persistently\nrefused.\n\nOsman, when at El Fasher, also communicated with him in the same sense;\nbut Rabeh, who had a shrewd idea of the Khalifa's intentions, summoned\nto his aid a Fiki who had been in Omdurman, and who quite understood\nAbdullah's character. On Rabeh telling the Fiki of his message from\nOsman, the Fiki asked that a cock should be given him, and he proceeded\ndeliberately to pull out the feathers of its wings. He then bound its\nlegs together, and plucked it completely; and last of all cut its head\noff. The Fiki said not a word, but Rabeh thoroughly understood the moral\nof the proceeding, and came to the wise conclusion to stay where he was.\nThe last news is that a portion of his force has re-entered Dar Fertit,\nthe country to the north-west of Bahr el Ghazal.\n\nAs for Mahmud, after the disturbance at Nahut, he retired on El Obeid in\n1890, and left Darfur to its fate. All that portion of it bordering on\nKordofan is entirely depopulated. Herds of elephants roam the plains as\nfar as El Fasher. There is continual internecine warfare, which is still\nfurther reducing the population, and creating a wilderness of this once\npopulous district.\n\nLet us now revert to the operations against Abyssinia. In consequence of\nAbu Anga's victory over Ras Adal, the tribes on the north-western\nborders of Abyssinia, and who are known as Makada, embraced Mahdiism;\nand it was at this time that Todros Kasa, the son of the Todros Kasa\n(King Theodore), who had been vanquished by the British at Magdala,\nsuddenly appeared at Galabat, and offered his services to the Dervishes\nto fight against his own countrymen. He was at once sent on to Omdurman,\nwhere he was received with great pomp by Khalifa Abdullah, who promised\nto place him on the throne of Abyssinia, and in return for this promise\nTodros agreed that all the Abyssinians should turn Moslems, and should\npay the Khalifa an annual tribute.\n\nBefore going further, it may be as well to explain briefly who this\nTodros was. He was the second son of the King Theodore who had been\nsubdued by the English army. The eldest son had been taken to England,\nwhere he died. At that time the Todros of whom I speak was a mere child,\nand had been concealed by his relatives from King John, who wanted to\nkill him. When he grew up he wandered about Abyssinia, and happened to\nbe in the neighbourhood of Galabat when Abu Anga made his successful\ndescent on Abyssinia. It at once occurred to Todros that an alliance\nwith the Dervishes might secure him his father's throne, and we have\nseen how successfully he had deceived the Khalifa, who implicitly\nbelieved in his good faith.\n\nTodros had two children of twelve and fourteen years of age, who always\naccompanied him when he went about in Omdurman, and he always carried a\nred umbrella, which made him the laughing-stock of the place. He did not\nspeak Arabic, and all intercourse with him had to be through an\ninterpreter.\n\nAmongst the female slaves taken by Abu Anga were two girls, who\naccidentally came into the possession of one of my friends. These girls\nwere related to Todros, and when he heard of them, he at once bought\ntheir release, and eventually took them with him to Galabat. We used\noften to talk to him, as he was not in the least afraid, and told us of\nhis real projects and intentions. Suddenly Abu Anga, without any\nprevious warning, set off for Galabat, no one knew why, and it was\ngenerally supposed that some very important information had reached the\nKhalifa. Abu Anga took Todros Kasa with him.\n\nBefore leaving, Abu Anga asked the Khalifa to whom he should refer in\ncase of his (the Khalifa's) death. Abdullah replied to his brother\nYakub, and from this it was generally understood that he intended to\nretain the succession in his own family.\n\n[Illustration: ABYSSINIAN DANCING GIRLS.]\n\nShortly after Abu Anga's departure, the Khalifa received a small note in\nAmharic, written on parchment, from King John. Two of the Abyssinians in\nOmdurman interpreted it to the Khalifa, and it was to the effect that he\n(John) was prepared to make a reasonable treaty of peace with the\nKhalifa; basing his argument on the fact that they all--both Sudanese\nand Abyssinians--had a common descent through their mutual forefather\nHam, and that, being neighbours, they should rather combine to fight\nagainst their common enemies, who were the Europeans, and whose power\nwas always extending. To this the Khalifa replied that if he would\nbecome a Moslem, they would become good friends; but if he refused to do\nthis, he (the Khalifa) felt obliged to brand him as the enemy of God and\nHis Prophet, and that he had no other course open but to exterminate\nhim.\n\nOn Abu Anga's arrival at Galabat, the most violent jealousy sprang up\nbetween him and Yunis. The latter separated his camp from Abu Anga's,\nand lost no opportunity of showing his hatred and envy of the \"slave\"\n(as he called him), who had so successfully combated the Abyssinians.\nEven on the usual Friday review, in spite of Abu Anga having been\nappointed to the supreme command, Yunis always drilled his men\nseparately from the rest. This Abu Anga reported to the Khalifa, who at\nonce instructed Yunis to place himself under him in every respect.\n\nMeanwhile a conspiracy was brewing amongst the emirs in the camp of\nYunis. One of the ugliest types of Takruris that have ever been seen\ntook to calling himself \"Sayidna Isa\" (\"Our Master Jesus\"). Yunis and\nhis emirs believed in him, although he subsequently betrayed him. It is\nimpossible to understand how it is that these fanatical people could\nbelieve in the nonsense told them by Isa; yet, if he heard that any one\ndisbelieved in him, he would at once have him summoned, and there, in\nthe presence of four witnesses, he would convert him. He asserted that\nhe was the Messiah foretold by the Mahdi who should wrest the power from\nthe Khalifa. Indeed the day was actually fixed when it was decided to\nkill Abu Anga and proclaim Isa publicly; but Yunis betrayed the\nconspiracy to Abu Anga, and after afternoon prayers on the following\nFriday he summoned the sixteen mutinous emirs and threw them into\nchains; he then wrote to the Khalifa asking his instructions. The latter\ndespatched some judges to Galabat, who were told to instruct these\ndeluded people in the right way. They were tried one after the other;\nbut none of them would deny their belief in Isa; then they threatened to\nkill them; but Isa laughed, and said he was immortal. At length the\njudges, seeing that further talking was useless, condemned Isa to death,\nand in a few minutes he was dangling on the gallows. Even this was not\nproof enough for the sixteen deluded emirs, who still believed he was\nnot dead, and so one by one they were hanged, and their heads sent to\nOmdurman, where they also remained on the gallows for a month and were\nthen relegated to the pit. Yunis was summoned to Omdurman, and for some\ntime was quite out of favour.\n\nThus did Khalifa Abdullah score success after success over his enemies,\nand there is little doubt that, had Abu Anga failed to act as quickly\nand decidedly as he did, Isa's rapidly-increasing power might have\nbecome a serious menace to the Khalifa's authority. There is no doubt\nthat these sixteen emirs had been instigated by Yunis to revolt against\nthe Khalifa and put him at the head of the movement; they knew perfectly\nwell that Isa was a mere fraud and deception; but I do not think it is\npossible ever to start a movement on a large scale in a Moslem country\nunless it is based on some religious grounds. The Mahdi only succeeded\nby working up the fanaticism of his own countrymen. Such motives as\nliberty, freedom, and the love of the fatherland are entirely unknown\nfactors in the composition of feelings which go towards creating a\nnational movement amongst Moslems.\n\nAbu Anga, who was now growing old and fat, did not live long after the\nevents just described. He was attacked by typhus, which at that time was\nprevalent at Galabat, and in a few days this great warrior, who had shed\nsuch quantities of blood, was dead. His soldiers mourned him bitterly,\nand his name is still held amongst them in affectionate remembrance;\nthey loved him because he himself had been a slave, and knew how to\ndiscriminate between severity and kindness. He was one of the best emirs\nof Mahdieh, and of an infinitely more generous nature than Wad En Nejumi\nor others. Once a poor woman came to him and complained that a soldier\nhad forcibly taken her milk, which was all she had to live upon. Abu\nAnga sent for the soldier and asked him if the woman's complaint was\ntrue; the thief denied it most emphatically and abused the woman\nunmercifully. Abu Anga was almost convinced that he was speaking the\ntruth; but the woman still persisted in the most violent manner that the\nman had drunk the milk. After a moment's thought Abu Anga gave the\nfollowing judgment: \"The man's stomach to be ripped open, and if no milk\nis discovered, the woman will be executed.\" The woman accepted this\njudgment with delight, while the unfortunate man had to undergo this\nterrible operation. The milk was found in his stomach, and Abu Anga made\ngood to the woman her loss. Thus did he maintain discipline amongst his\nmen, and as long as he commanded in Galabat there was no fear. In battle\nhis cruelty knew no bounds, and the most horrible atrocities were\nperpetrated by his men, especially in Abyssinia. His death was deeply\nfelt by the Khalifa, and with reason, for he was not only a brave and\ncapable leader, but he was absolutely honest; any other man in his place\nwould have, long before, abused his power. He was buried in Galabat in\n1888, and his men have canonized him as a saint.\n\nWhen dying, Abu Anga nominated Wad Ali as his successor, until the\nKhalifa's orders should be received; but very soon after his death there\nwas discontent amongst the men and want of harmony amongst the emirs,\nwith whom Wad Ali was by no means a favourite. These dissensions reached\nthe Khalifa's ears, and he despatched the Kadi Ahmed, in whom he placed\ngreat reliance, to Galabat, with instructions to do all he could to put\ndown discord, and to nominate some one as leader who was popular with\nall ranks. After several meetings, the Kadi at length succeeded in\nquieting the people, and it was agreed, by common consent, to nominate\nZeki Tummal as Abu Anga's successor. This appointment was subsequently\nconfirmed by the Khalifa.\n\nThe Galabat army was now made into four divisions--Zeki Tummal commanded\nthe first division, and was also Commander-in-chief of the whole;\nAbdallah Ibrahim, Nur Angara, and Mahmud Wad Ali commanded the other\ndivisions. In addition to these four great emirs there were also other\nwell-known men in the Galabat force--such as Sheikh Abu Tagalla,\nFaragallah (Gordon's old commandant of Omdurman Fort), Omar Wad Elias\nPasha, Sheikh Nuri, of the Bederieh tribe, Ismail Wad el Andok, and\nothers. The immense zariba was now further fortified and strengthened.\n\nThere were already rumours that King John was making preparations to\ntake Galabat, after which it was said he would advance on Omdurman and\nutterly destroy Mahdiism. King John was accompanied by all his most\nimportant chiefs--Ras Adal, Ras Aria Salasseh, Ras Michael, Ras Mariam,\nRas Alula, Saleh Shanga, and several others. In all, the army numbered\nsome 150,000, of whom 20,000 were horsemen.\n\nThis news caused the greatest alarm in Galabat and Omdurman; but it also\nhad the effect of making us indulge in pleasant dreams of release. Zeki\nTummal took counsel with his emirs whether it would be better to await\nthe enemy's arrival in the zariba or whether it would be advisable to\nadvance and fight in the open. Kadi Ahmed urged that it would be better\nto stay in the zariba, and his advice was adopted; there is little doubt\nthis was the wisest course to take, as the Abyssinian cavalry would\nundoubtedly have struck confusion into their ranks. Zeki's force now\nnumbered 85,000 men, and was well disposed in the zariba to resist\nattack. Criers went through the market-place summoning all people to\nleave their business and take up arms for the defence of the town;\nmessengers were also sent to the Khalifa to beg his blessing--in fact,\ngreat fear prevailed. Spies reported that the enemy were as numerous as\nthe sand, that their numbers stretched beyond the horizon, and that when\nthey moved such clouds of dust arose that the sun was quite obscured.\n\nThis news created almost a panic in Omdurman; besides, there is an old\nprophecy that the Abyssinians should come to Khartum; that their horses\nshould wade knee-deep in blood, and that the King should tether his\nhorse to the solitary tree on the White Nile near Khartum.\n\nAt the end of February the King quitted Gondar, and marched out to make\nholy war against the most bitter enemy to Christianity. When near\nGalabat he sent word to Zeki to say he was coming, lest it should be\nsaid that he had \"come secretly as a thief.\" Numbers of women had also\njoined the Abyssinian army; they were, for the most part, the wives and\nconcubines of the soldiers, and many others had fled from their parents\nto follow their lovers to battle.\n\nOn Saturday, the 9th of March, 1889, the King began his attack on\nGalabat. Such clouds of dust were raised that it was almost impossible\nto see anything. The zariba was stormed; some attempted to drag away the\nthorn bushes, others tried to set fire to it, whilst the Dervishes\nopened a terrific fire on the masses. Some Takruris, who had deserted\nZeki's camp, reported that the part of the zariba held by Wad Ali was\nthe weakest, and, in consequence, the Abyssinians made a supreme effort\nto break in at that point.\n\nThe din and noise was beyond description. At length, after a very hard\nfight, the Abyssinians succeeded in forcing an entry, and then their\nmasses rolled in like a great storm stream, carrying everything before\nthem. The thousands of Dervish women within now raised terrible cries as\nthe enemy approached, killing and destroying all in their path; they set\nfire to the straw huts; the din of the firing, the shouts and screams of\nthe men and women, mingled with the crackling and wild rush of the\nflames, were terrible beyond description. Already the Abyssinians had\ntaken possession of the beit el mal, and had occupied the house in which\nAbu Anga's harem lived, and now they were searching for his body, which\nthey wanted to pull out of the ground and throw into the flames, in\nrevenge for the burning of Gondar.\n\nThe strength of the Mahdiists was now almost exhausted, ammunition was\nrunning short, and it was thought the fight was nearly over, when\nsuddenly the news spread amongst the Abyssinians that their King had\nbeen struck by a bullet. This was the signal for a general retreat:\neveryone seized all the booty he could lay his hands upon, and soon the\nzariba was evacuated; several of the women were carried off as captives,\nincluding Abu Anga's harem, and the Abyssinians then made for the river\nAtbara.\n\nNow was the time for the Dervishes to reverse their defeat; they had\nsuffered very heavily, Wad Ali's division had been almost annihilated;\nbut they lost no time in cutting off some of the Abyssinians' heads and\nsending them at once to Omdurman, with the information that they had\ngained a great victory, for Kadi Ahmed well knew how anxious was the\nKhalifa, and how fearful that defeat should overtake his forces.\n\nThe Dervishes thought the Abyssinians would renew their attack the next\nday, but to their surprise no one appeared; then spies were sent out to\ndiscover their whereabouts, and they brought back information that the\nAbyssinian force was now in full retreat towards the Atbara. This\ninformation decided Zeki to pursue, and on the 11th of March the Dervish\nforce came up with a large portion of the Abyssinian army encamped on\nthe river bank; a battle ensued, in which the Abyssinians lost heavily\nand fled precipitately, leaving the dead body of King John in the hands\nof the Dervishes. It was discovered carefully packed in a long box and\nsealed with wax; at first it was thought to contain treasure, but on\nopening it the odour of decay left little doubt that the body they had\nattempted to embalm was none other than that of the unfortunate John,\nand this was confirmed by the Abyssinian prisoners. The King's head was\ncut off and sent to Omdurman.\n\nHere the wildest excitement prevailed, the Khalifa Abdullah ordered the\ngreat war-drums to be beaten and the onbe\u00efa to be sounded. A large\nreview took place. The Abyssinian heads were paraded and said to be\nthose of Eas Alula, Eas Mariam, and Saleh Shanga; but this was not true.\nHowever, the Khalifa's delight knew no bounds, and our sorrow was\nproportionately great. Once more our cherished hopes had been dashed to\nthe ground, and it seemed as if all chance of escape was now quite at an\nend.\n\nThe heads were put upon the gallows, and left no doubt that a great\nvictory had been won, then three days afterwards came the news that the\nKing had been killed. Fixed high up on a camel's back, John's head was\nparaded up and down through the market-place, preceded by a herald\nshouting out that the mighty Neg\u00fbs had been slain, and that now was a\ntime for festivity and rejoicing. The Khalifa was quite intoxicated by\nhis success. He publicly exposed the articles captured with the King's\nbody, amongst which was the throne from which the cross had been\nremoved; this was afterwards replaced in Omdurman and retained in the\nbeit el mal.\n\nA wonderful copy of the New Testament had also been taken; it was\nwritten on parchment in Amharic language, was profusely illustrated and\nilluminated, and bound in a triple leather cover; then there was a gold\nwatch marked \"Crosdi, Paris,\" which showed the day of the week and the\nmonth of the year; a telescope, and also an original letter from Her\nMajesty Queen Victoria to King John, dated November 1887. I myself read\nthis letter, in which the Queen inquired after King John's health, and\nasked him how he and his family were; that England having occupied Egypt\nhad become a near neighbour to Abyssinia, and that it was Her Majesty's\nearnest wish to continue to live on terms of peace and friendship with\nthe Neg\u00fbs. The letter concluded with good wishes for the King's health,\nhappiness, and long life, and was signed by Lord Salisbury. Amongst\nother things I also saw the King's tent and a number of richly jewelled\ncrosses.\n\nOn the same day of its arrival, the Khalifa ordered the King's head to\nbe sewn in a piece of leather and sent it on to Dongola, from whence it\nwas to be sent on to Wadi Halfa as a warning to the Khedive and the\nEnglish that a like fate would await them if they did not at once\nsubmit.\n\nIt now seemed that the Khalifa was at the very zenith of his power.\nThere in a dirty pit near the market-place lay the decaying heads of all\nhis principal enemies, the Sultan Yusef, Abu Gemaizeh, the Abyssinians,\nSayidna Isa, all huddled up together in a heap, and I could not help\nreflecting deeply on all these strange events every time I passed that\npit. Gradually the skin and hair dropped off, leaving only the bare\nwhite skulls, deep eye-holes, and grinning teeth, and yet these were the\nskulls of crowned heads, prophets, and patriarchs gathered together in a\nnarrow pit from far-distant countries--a solemn evidence indeed of the\nfar-reaching power of Mahdiism. Passers-by struck them with their\nsticks, and yet for what thousands of lives had these now empty\nbrain-pans been responsible, which lay rotting on far-distant\nbattlefields--proof in truth of God's judgment on the Sudan!\n\nAbdullah now thought himself master of the whole world. In his moments\nof wildest enthusiasm he had never dreamt of gaining such a tremendous\nvictory over the Abyssinians, and yet another such victory would have\nalmost destroyed his power; he had lost thousands of his best warriors,\nand the women and cattle captured could never compensate him for such a\nloss. Of course Zeki and his emirs did not always adhere to the truth in\nwriting to the Khalifa, nor was the latter anxious they should do\nso--indeed, it would have been tantamount to a crime on Zeki's part to\nreport that the Galabat garrison was weak; had he done so, and even if\nhe had been the Khalifa's own relative, he would probably have been\nrelegated to prison. It would have been treason to have said anything\nwhich would detract from the Khalifa's idea of his own power, and he was\nsurrounded by wretched flatterers and trimmers who were the last to tell\nhim the truth.\n\nBut all these wars and disturbances had now almost completely ruined the\ncountry, and then came the terrible famine, which lasted almost a year\nand brought untold sufferings on the people. The Khalifa, however, was\nblind to all this misery and distress. His only idea was\nself-aggrandisement, and he did not realize that hunger was likely to\nprove by far the worst and most dangerous enemy with which Mahdieh had\nto cope; but this he eventually learnt by bitter experience.\n\nAfter the death of King John there was a certain amount of intercourse\nbetween the Dervishes and Abyssinians, and not a few of the latter used\nto come to Galabat and promise to lead Zeki to where the late king's\ntreasures had been hidden; but this they probably did with the intention\nof trying to draw him into an ambush. It was eventually hunger which\ncompelled Zeki to take some active measures. He despatched Abdullah\nIbrahim into Abyssinia with several thousand men, and a few words\nrespecting the career of this emir may not be amiss.\n\nHe was a nephew of Ahmed Bey Dafallah, of Kordofan, and had come to\nnotice during the siege of El Obeid. Whenever he saw any cattle near the\ntown he was always on the watch with his slaves, and generally succeeded\nin making a successful sortie, capturing them and bringing them into the\nfort. It was said that on one occasion, when the Mahdi was approaching\nEl Obeid, Ibrahim left the fort and made straight for him, intending to\nkill him, but was twice wounded by his revolver; he however succeeded in\nreturning to the fort, and after its fall the Mahdi, already greatly\nimpressed by his bravery, pardoned him, and placed him in command of a\ndivision under Abu Anga. He accompanied his chief in all his numerous\nfights, and displayed even greater bravery in fighting for the Mahdieh\nthan he did in fighting for the Government. Had he only been a Baggara\nhe would undoubtedly have succeeded Abu Anga in command.\n\nThis Abdullah now penetrated Abyssinia; for a long time nothing was\nheard of him, and it was thought he must have been annihilated; but at\nlength he returned to Galabat, having lost a large portion of his force.\nThe actual events which happened in this expedition are wrapped in\nobscurity, and it is more than probable that it fared badly.\n\nAfter the King's death Abyssinia became a prey to civil and internecine\nwar, which left the inhabitants no time to revenge themselves for the\ndeath of their King. The Dervishes, too, were quite exhausted, and had\nto combat a terrible famine, which swept them off in thousands. This\nfamine induced the sensible emirs at Galabat, such as Abderrahman Wad\nAbu Degel, to enter into commercial relations with Abyssinia, which have\ncontinued uninterrupted up to the present time.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nDEFEAT OF NEJUMI AT TOSKI, AND OF OSMAN DIGNA AT TOKAR.\n\n     The Khalifa's intentions regarding Egypt--Wad en Nejumi despatched\n     north--Various operations on the Egyptian frontier--Battle of\n     Toski--Defeat and death of Nejumi--Subsequent events in\n     Dongola--Osman Digna's operations against Sawakin--Is defeated at\n     Tokar--Emin Pasha and events in Equatoria--Recent events in Uganda\n     and Unyoro.\n\n\nHaving briefly considered the Khalifa's operations within the Sudan, let\nus now turn and follow his movements and intentions regarding Egypt.\nEver since the annihilation of Hicks Pasha's expedition the conquest of\nEgypt had been the dream of the Mahdi's life. Those of his followers who\nhad seen Egypt described it in the most glowing terms to the Sudanese,\nwhose cupidity was fully aroused. The immense wealth in Cairo, the\nlovely women in the harems, had excited their most ardent desires.\n\nThe Mahdi himself had decided on the Khedive's palace of Abdin as his\nplace of residence, whence it was his intention to proceed to Syria, and\nafter conquering it, to advance on Mecca. He had prophesied that the\nconquest of Egypt should be carried out by Khalifa Sherif's flag, and he\nhimself had done all in his power to incite the Egyptians to revolt. He\nwrote numbers of letters to the leading sheikhs and principal people in\nCairo, and had he not died, there is no doubt his influence would have\npermeated, in no small degree, into Egypt. Several people in Egypt\nbelieved in him as the true Mahdi, and besides, he was now the ruler of\nhundreds of thousands of people. With his death belief in Mahdiism began\nto decline. His successor, it is true, was a man of boundless energy,\nand had just as ambitious ideas as his predecessor in regard to the\nconquest of Egypt, but circumstances had entirely altered.\n\n[Illustration: AN ARAB SHEIKH OF UPPER EGYPT.]\n\nThe Mahdi's death and the Khalifa's accession had caused Mahdiism to\nbreak up into two distinct parties, viz. the Baggara Arabs, who called\nthemselves the Arabs of the Sudan, and the \"Aulad Belad,\" or country\npeople, such as the Danagla, Barabra, Jaalin, and other tribes on the\nWhite Nile. This division in Mahdieh considerably weakened it. Wad En\nNejumi and his emirs belonged to the section opposed to the Khalifa, and\nwho would like to have freed themselves from his control; in consequence\nAbdullah always arranged that a Baggara emir should be attached to\nNejumi, to keep him informed of all the latter's doings.\n\nThe Mahdi had laid down the plan for invading Egypt, which should be by\ncombined movements from Dongola towards Halfa, and from Abu Hamed\ntowards Korosko; and accordingly, when the English evacuated Dongola in\nJune 1885, Mohammed el Kheir, the conqueror of Berber, together with\nAbdel Majid, at once took possession of the province, and the first\naction which took place between these latter and the British and\nEgyptian troops occurred in December the same year at Giniss. El Kheir\nwas defeated, and fixed his advanced camp at Kerma.\n\nThe fall of Sennar enabled the Khalifa to send forward more troops for\nhis operations against Egypt, and the Mahdi's prophecy that the conquest\nof Egypt was to be carried out by Sherif's flag, entirely fell in with\nhis own arrangements, for he entrusted the command of the advanced force\nto Wad En Nejumi, who belonged to Sherif's raya (flag), and thus\nsucceeded in keeping this powerful emir, whom he regarded with great\nfear and jealousy, as far away from him as possible.[K]\n\nNejumi set out from Omdurman in November 1885, and marching along the\nriver bank to Berber, robbed and pillaged as if he were advancing\nthrough an enemy's country. He seized the goods of merchants at Berber,\ngiving them receipts signed to the effect that they should receive\npayment when he had taken Assuan. He captured two Egyptian spies, one of\nwhom he decapitated, and the other had his hand and foot cut off. During\nhis stay at Berber he robbed and pillaged in all directions, and used to\nboast of his approaching conquest of Egypt. He stopped all trade with\nthe north, and drove on the entire population towards Dongola.\n\nIt was not, however, until the end of November 1886, that he reached\nDongola, and there he began to organize his fighting force, which was\ncontinually increased by reinforcements sent from Omdurman.\n\nEarly in 1887 four messengers were despatched with letters to Her\nMajesty the Queen of England, His Majesty the Sultan of Turkey, and His\nHighness the Khedive. These envoys were permitted to come to Cairo, and\nto personally deliver their letters; but when they were opened, perused,\nand found only to contain a summons from the Khalifa to adopt Mahdiism,\nand submit to him, or the recipients would suffer the same fate as\nGordon and Hicks, the messengers were at once sent back without any\nreply being given to them, and this was considered by Abdullah to be the\ngreatest insult that could have been offered to him.\n\nThe Dervish advanced-guards continued to creep on towards the Egyptian\nFrontier, whilst Hassan Khalifa, the nephew of the former Mudir of\nBerber, occupied the desert wells, and made several incursions on the\nriver to the north and south of Korosko. Mounted on dromedaries, these\nbold raiders made sudden descents on defenceless villages, carried off\nquantities of booty, and then disappeared into the desert.\n\nAt this time the Egyptians had retired to Wadi Halfa, and the Dervishes\nhad occupied Sarras, a little to the south, from whence they constantly\nharassed the Egyptian outposts. A variety of circumstances, however,\noccurred to prevent Khalifa Abdullah from carrying out his projects\nagainst Egypt. The revolt in Darfur, the Abyssinian war, internal\ndissensions, all contributed to impede the despatch of troops north.\nBesides, the Dervish garrison in Dongola had already done much to\ndestroy the well-being and prosperity of the province; they plundered\nthe inhabitants, who, in their turn, became averse to the Dervish\noccupation; continued warfare had produced a famine; numbers died of\nsmall-pox.\n\nBahr el Karrar in 1888 occupied the wells of Haimar and Ongat, and from\nhere was able to annoy the inhabitants on the Nile between Assuan and\nKorosko. He raided the village of Kalabsheh, some fifty miles south of\nAssuan, killed the Egyptian police guards, and carried off their officer\na captive to Omdurman. All this time there was a great deal of talk in\nthe capital about the conquest of Egypt, but we never received any very\ndecisive news. The captured officer was paraded through the streets in\ntriumph, and was then brought before the Khalifa, who received him\nkindly, and questioned him very fully about Egypt; but he quite\nunderstood what sort of replies to make to the Khalifa's questions, and\nonly told him what he knew would please; so he was well treated, set at\nliberty, and now lives in Omdurman.\n\nFrom time to time the Khalifa despatched reinforcements to Dongola which\nnever returned, and this was the reason of the main road leading north\nout of Omdurman being called \"Darb Esh Shuhada\" (\"The Martyrs' Road \").\n\nThe Egyptian Government had now confined itself to the defence of its\nown frontiers. In June 1888, Bishir Bey, a subsidized Government sheikh,\nturned Bahr Karrar out of Haimar; but on the other hand, the Sarras\nDervishes made a sudden descent on the Dabarosa bazaar, killed a number\nof merchants, and escaped before the troops from Haifa could intercept\nthem. Meanwhile, there was not much harmony between the big emirs.\nNejumi and his followers were jealous of the masterful Baggaras, and it\nwas only with the greatest reluctance that they brought themselves to\nshow any respect to the Emir Mussaid of the Baggara Habbanieh, who had\nbeen sent to Dongola by the Khalifa to watch and report on Nejumi's\ndoings.\n\nThe Baggaras hated Nejumi to such an extent that one of their number\nattempted to poison him; but he recovered after a long illness, though\nhe never entirely got the poison out of his system. It is said that his\neyesight was always bad afterwards. This constant bickering between the\nBaggara and Nejumi crippled his energy. Formerly he had been greatly\nfeared by them, but now his own people were annoyed that he showed so\nmuch deference to the Khalifa and his emirs. As for the Khalifa, he was\nthoroughly exasperated by Nejumi's indolence, and summoned him to\nOmdurman.\n\nDuring his absence from the province, a deserter from the Egyptian side\nled the Dervishes into the fort at Khor Musa, within five miles of\nHalfa, where they killed some of the garrison, but were unable to take\nthe whole fort. Colonel Wodehouse having been informed of their attack,\nat once sent out help, and the Dervishes were surprised and annihilated.\n\n[Illustration: BISHIR BEY, SHEIKH OF THE ABABDEH ARABS.]\n\nTowards the end of 1888 Nejumi was in Dongola again. The Khalifa had\nthreatened to throw him into chains unless he showed more energy in his\noperations against Egypt. He had already exhibited his displeasure by\nimprisoning Sheikh Idris and Makin Wad en Nur, who had shown a\nreluctance to go forward, for they had made up their minds that a\nsuccessful attack on Egypt was an impossibility. They could not even\ncapture Wadi Halfa. The desert roads were next to impassable owing to\nwant of water, whilst the river was in the hands of the enemy, who had\nnumbers of steamers, and could prevent any Dervish advance by water. All\nthese difficulties were quite apparent to Nejumi and his emirs; but so\nself-confident was the Khalifa, that he could not believe there was any\ngreat difficulty in conquering Egypt; added to this, several sheikhs of\nUpper Egypt had assured him that when the Dervishes advanced they would\nbe joined by the entire population.\n\nThus the Khalifa insisted, and Nejumi could not do otherwise than obey.\nHe had already transferred to Dongola the entire Batahin tribe, which\nhad showed a mutinous spirit, and early in 1889 he sent a further\ndetachment, consisting of thirty flags, composed for the most part of\nGehena Arabs, who are not warlike, and were most averse to fighting in\nthe Dervish cause. Thus, like lambs to the slaughter, were these\nunwilling tribes driven forward to battle.\n\nWhen the revolt in Darfur had been suppressed, and Abyssinia had been\nhumbled, the Khalifa turned his attention more earnestly than ever to\nthe invasion of Egypt. He despatched Yunis ed Dekeim to Dongola, and on\nhis arrival, Nejumi was to begin his advance north.\n\nNejumi was now nominated Commander-in-chief, and being one of the\nMahdi's most determined and fanatical emirs, he had given him the title\nof \"Emir el Umara\" (\"The Emir of emirs\"). He had under his command\nseveral brave emirs, such as Abdel Halim, Makin en Nur, Wad Gubara,\nSheikh Idris, Osman Azrak, and several others. But the fighting\nconditions of these Dervishes had considerably changed during the last\nfew years. The Ansar no longer fought for Mahdieh. All those promises\nof joys in paradise were no longer believed in, for by dying the Mahdi\nhad proved himself to be false, and so were all his prophecies. They did\nnot fight to obtain booty, for long experience had shown them that the\nbooty was exclusively appropriated by the Khalifa and his emirs. It was\nnow fear of the Khalifa's anger which drove them to fight, and numbers\nof them deserted when a favourable opportunity occurred for them to do\nso.\n\nNot only were all these feelings at work in Nejumi's force, but also the\nconditions of the country in which he was operating were very different\nfrom those in which he had won all his early victories. Then he knew\nevery path, almost every tree. It was his own country; the inhabitants\nwere of his own race; volunteers flocked to his standards. He always\nlargely exceeded his enemies in point of numbers; but now it was all\nentirely different. He knew nothing of the country through which he had\nto march; enormous difficulties blocked his every movement. Even had the\npopulation of Upper Egypt been desirous of joining him, they were much\ntoo carefully looked after by the troops and the Government to be able\nto do so. An enormous desert separated him from the position he desired\nto reach, and the result was that his force--just as Hicks's force had\ndone--suffered greatly from want of water. As usual he was accompanied\nby numbers of women and children, and sometimes even five dollars would\nnot purchase a drink of water.\n\nAbdullah showed his mistrust of the men by permitting their wives and\nfamilies to accompany them, for he thought that they could not well run\naway, leaving their wives and children behind, and therefore they would\nhave to fight; but this great crowd of women and children hampered\nNejumi's movements enormously, and still further increased the want\nwhich already prevailed in the Dervish camp. When in Dongola, the\nGehenas were suffering so terribly from famine that they stole the\nDervishes' sheepskins, on which they prayed, and ate them.\n\nIt was madness to attempt to invade Egypt with such a force as Nejumi\nthen had, made up of almost every tribe and nationality, all huddled\ntogether, and yet absolutely wanting in cohesion. Then the enemy which\nthey were going to fight was of an entirely different stamp to the one\nthey had overcome in the Sudan. The Egyptian was not the same as in the\nold days. The army was now composed of well-trained battalions under\nEnglish officers; and it is not out of place here to remark that the\noccupation of Egypt by England was a heavy blow to the Khalifa and his\nfollowers. Often have I heard him say, \"If the English would only\nevacuate Egypt, I should very soon take possession of it.\"\n\nThus did Nejumi set out from Dongola with his force. At Sarras a parade\nwas held, and some 14,000 souls counted; but of these nearly half were\nwomen and children. His intention was to avoid Halfa, and march direct\non Bimban, as the inhabitants of that place had promised to join him;\nbut in the village of Argin, he was attacked and defeated by Colonel\nWodehouse. Here Nejumi lost about 1,000 men, amongst whom were several\nemirs, including Sheikh Idris and Abdel Kader Guru, besides many more\nwounded. On account of this victory, Wodehouse Pasha was known in the\nSudan as \"the vanquisher of Wad Nejumi.\"\n\nBut, in spite of his defeat, Nejumi still continued his advance,\nalthough the only food he had for his force was camels' and donkeys'\nmeat, and his troops were more dead than alive. He was obliged to make\nhis cavalry into a rear-guard to prevent desertion, but still large\nnumbers succeeded in joining the Egyptian troops.\n\nThe Sirdar, General Grenfell Pasha, wrote a letter to Nejumi, in which\nhe showed him that he understood the wretched state his troops had come\nto, and urging him not to expose uselessly the lives of so many of his\npeople; but take the wise course and surrender. Nejumi, however, boldly\nreplied that if Grenfell Pasha would adopt Mahdiism he would guarantee\nhim happiness and contentment, otherwise he would sweep him and his\ntroops off the face of the earth.\n\nOnly one of the two messengers who had been sent with General Grenfell's\nletter returned with this reply; the other--an Arab named Abdel\nHadi--was sent on to Omdurman bearing the General's letter to the\nKhalifa, who was also informed by Nejumi, that Abdel Hadi had originally\nbeen on the Dervish side at Abu Hamed, but had deserted over to the\n\"Turks.\"[L] On his arrival, Abdullah questioned him closely regarding\nthe latest news of Nejumi and the condition of the opposing armies.\nAbdel Hadi replied that the \"Turks\" were very strong, and that it was\nprobable that Nejumi would be defeated. For this saying, he was thrown\ninto prison for months, and would have starved to death had not Neufeld,\nwho was with him in prison, given him some help; he was eventually\nreleased through the intermediary of Hajji Saad, and permitted to return\nto Abu Hamed, whence he escaped back to Egypt.\n\nMeanwhile Nejumi still continued his advance; he could not and would not\nsubmit. On the one hand he was of far too proud a nature to submit to\nthe hated Egyptian troops; and on the other, his fear of the Khalifa\nadded to his natural obstinacy. At Toski his advance was arrested by\nGeneral Grenfell at the head of the Egyptian troops, and he had no other\ncourse open but to fight. He was utterly defeated, himself and most of\nhis emirs killed, whilst a mass of men, women and children fell into the\nhands of the Egyptian force.\n\nThis battle took place on the 3rd of August, 1889; by it the\nannihilation of Hicks Pasha's expedition was avenged, and the project of\ninvading Egypt, which had been maturing for the last three years,\nentirely collapsed. The news of this defeat caused great commotion in\nOmdurman; it was at first rumoured that every one had been killed; and\nthe Khalifa was in despair. He hated the Europeans and Egyptians, and\nthough we, in our hearts, were rejoiced at the news, we suffered no\nsmall anxiety as well, for we thought it quite possible that the Khalifa\nwould appease his wrath to some extent by venting his annoyance on us.\nIt was, indeed, a most crushing blow for him and his followers.\n\n[Illustration: WAD EN NEJUMI.\n\n_From a photograph of a drawing made by an Egyptian officer of the great\nEmir, as he lay dead on the field of Toski._]\n\nThe Emirs Hassan en Nejumi--a relative of Wad Nejumi--and Siwar ed\nDahab, who had escaped from the massacre, returned with all speed to\nDongola, and thence to Omdurman. They reported that it was madness of\nNejumi to have attempted what he did; that all his emirs were opposed to\nit, and that they had told Nejumi that they were sure, if the Khalifa\nwere fully informed of all the circumstances, he would never have\npermitted him to advance. As it was, famine, want of water, and the\nunseasonable time of the year, ought to have been sufficient reasons for\npostponing the expedition; but Nejumi turned a deaf ear to all their\nprotests, he feared the Khalifa; his plundering and cruelties cried to\nheaven for vengeance, and the instruments of that vengeance appeared in\nthe persons of General Grenfell and Colonel Wodehouse.\n\nSaleh Bey, the son of Hussein Pasha Khalifa, and a subsidized sheikh of\nthe Egyptian Government, drove his nephew out of Murat, advanced almost\nto Abu Hamed, and we fondly hoped that the Government would at least\nadvance to Dongola, which is the key of the Sudan; but we were again\ndoomed to disappointment.\n\nAnd now Mahdiism was far too exhausted to make any further attempts on\nEgypt. The province of Dongola had been utterly ruined, and Yunis's\nill-treatment of the inhabitants was beyond description. Complaints of\nhis evil deeds eventually reached the Khalifa's ears, and fearing that\nthe inhabitants might be induced to join the \"Turks,\" he relieved Yunis\nof his appointment, and replaced him by Zogal, who, in spite of his\nformer fall from power, was known to be a just man, and the Khalifa\ntrusted to him to restore the confidence of the people. Yet the Khalifa\ndid not entirely trust Zogal, and still left Mussaid to watch him, he\nalso sent another Baggara called Arabi with three hundred troops to\nobserve his doings.\n\nDongola now became a hotbed of spying and cross-spying. Matters became\nso serious that it seemed a fight between the rival parties was\nimminent, and every post brought letters from either section, accusing\nthe other of malpractices. The Khalifa therefore summoned these two\nemirs--Mussaid and Arabi--to Dongola, and on their arrival they reported\nthat it was Zogal's intention to deliver up the province to the Egyptian\nGovernment. Thereupon the Khalifa recalled Zogal, and replaced him by\nYunis.\n\nZogal, on his arrival in Omdurman, was well received, and did not\nhesitate to refute the misstatements of the emirs; but he was not\nbelieved, and was thrown into chains, where he remains to this day.\nZogal's only fault is, that he is a Dongolawi, and a relative of the\nMahdi, whilst his opponents are all Baggaras, who are the governing\nparty, and therefore he is not likely to receive any pity from them.\n\nBesides Wad en Nejumi and Abu Anga, there yet remained one of the\ngreatest of the Mahdi's old emirs. I mean Osman Digna, to whom I\nreferred in the early pages of this work. He had been sent to the\nEastern Sudan after the fall of El Obeid, and in July 1883, had taken up\na position near Sawakin. The Mahdi had given him proclamations to\ndistribute to all the tribes in the neighbourhood of Kassala and\nSawakin, ordering them to rise against the Government. The summons was\nobeyed, and by the end of 1883 Osman Digna was in possession of all the\nprincipal posts in the vicinity. The most important work which Osman\nDigna performed for the Mahdi was cutting the communication between\nSawakin and Berber, and thus blocking the shortest and best road into\nthe Sudan. Fully alive to the importance of this route, the Government\nmade repeated attempts to re-open it, but Osman, with his dauntless\nHadendoas, caused every effort to fail.\n\nOn the 3rd of February, General Baker Pasha made a vain attempt, but was\ncut to pieces at El Teb, losing over two thousand men and all his arms\nand ammunition. After Baker's defeat, the English made another effort,\nand after General Graham had defeated Osman Digna at both Teb and Tamai,\nthe proposal was made to open the road to Berber, and thus relieve\nGordon, then besieged in Khartum; but it was thought impossible to fight\nOsman Digna's hordes, and to overcome the difficulties of the desert, so\nthe idea was abandoned.\n\nFor seven long years Osman Digna continued alternately to harass and\nbesiege Sawakin; but gradually numbers of the local Arabs--notably the\nAmarar--fell away from his cause, and intertribal conflicts ensued.\nWhen almost quite deserted, Osman Digna came to Omdurman. In January\n1887, he returned _vi\u00e2_ Gedaref and Kassala, where he collected some\nfour thousand men, eventually occupied Handub, and again besieged\nSawakin. He also defeated the Amarar, and killed over seven hundred of\nthem.\n\nKitchener Pasha, the Governor-General of the Red Sea Littoral, was\nseverely wounded during his attack on Handub; in March of the same year\nAbu Girgeh arrived with a force from Kassala, and thus Osman became\nalmost as powerful as ever. He continued to harass Sawakin, and to\ndevastate the neighbouring country. It was useless for him to attempt to\ntake the town, he therefore received the Khalifa's orders to establish\nhimself at Tokar in January 1889, and at the same time he was permitted\nto open commercial relations with Sawakin. A small post was established\nat Handub, and Dervish merchants were actually permitted to enter the\ntown and purchase goods.\n\nThese commercial relations existed for about two years between Sawakin\nand the Dervishes, and, as a famine prevailed at Tokar, the enemy drew\nmost of their supplies through the port of Trinkitat. Suddenly news\nreached Omdurman to the effect that the gates of Sawakin had been\nclosed, and all traffic stopped between Tokar and Handub. In consequence\nthe famine increased, and merchants arriving in Omdurman said that no\ndoubt it was the intention of the Government to attack Osman Digna very\nsoon.\n\nThe wealthiest of these merchants was a certain Omar Kisha, who had\nsmuggled quantities of lead and powder through Sawakin. The news they\nbrought was soon confirmed, and in February 1891, Handub was occupied.\nIn March a message was received from Zogal, in Dongola, to the effect\nthat a salute had been fired at Halfa to announce the occupation of\nTokar by the Government, and the complete defeat of Osman Digna. This\nnews created almost a panic in Omdurman, and what made it worse was the\nuncertainty, for no news had been received either through Berber or\nKassala. It was not until eight days later that a Shukrieh Arab arrived\nfrom Kassala, and said that he had heard much talk about the defeat at\nTokar, but the fate of Osman Digna was uncertain, some said that he had\nbeen killed, others, seriously wounded. A month afterwards letters\narrived from Osman himself confirming the news of the defeat. This\ncaused great consternation, and the Khalifa at once assembled a council.\n\nIt was said that an Egyptian expedition had already reached Berber, and\nevery day it was thought news would arrive of the capture of Dongola. It\nwas decided to make a camp at Metemmeh. The whole of Omdurman was\nsecretly rejoicing at the approaching downfall of the Khalifa, but again\nwe were all doomed to the most bitter disappointment. News came from\nBerber that the \"Turks\" had no intention of advancing further, and were\ncontent to have occupied Tokar, where they had built a fort and securely\nestablished themselves. But, though thus temporarily relieved, the loss\nof Tokar was a very severe blow to the Khalifa, as the Government was\nnow in immediate contact with the tribes on the Sawakin-Berber road, and\nthe way was clear.\n\nOn the last Muled (the anniversary of the Prophet's birth) Osman Digna\narrived at Omdurman, accompanied by a few followers. During his flight\nfrom Tokar towards Kassala his followers had nothing to eat but wild\nfigs, and many had starved. The Khalifa received Osman very coldly, and\nreproached him for his defeat; he afterwards sent him to cultivate on\nthe Atbara, where he now lives at a place called Adaramab.\n\nOf all the opponents to Government, Osman Digna was perhaps the most\nbitter; he had done great things at Sawakin, Kassala, and on the\nAbyssinian frontier, but by his ruthless cruelty he had alienated the\nArabs from his cause. In his present seclusion he has, probably,\noccasion to think of all his evil and bloodthirsty deeds, which have\nended in the ruin of his country and the death of his followers. Almost\nall the Arabs who espoused his cause with so much zeal are now dead,\nand his present humiliation is a fitting reward for his blind adherence\nto a false and ruthless tyrant.\n\nScarcity of money in the beit et mal at Omdurman was the main reason for\nthe despatch of an expedition up the White Nile. Since 1885 Emin had not\nbeen disturbed by the Dervishes, and Karamallah had long since retired\nto Bahr el Ghazal, from whence no news had been received of him for\nyears.\n\nThere was no Dervish post south of Fashoda, which was the market to\nwhich the blacks brought their cattle for sale. The negro tribes all\nalong the White Nile had been left quite undisturbed by the Dervishes,\nbut now it occurred to the Khalifa to send an expedition to collect\nivory and slaves and to subdue Emin Pasha. Omar Saleh was appointed to\ncommand, and was given three steamers and a number of sailing vessels;\nhe was also the bearer of a letter to Emin informing him of the various\nevents which had occurred in the Sudan, and calling on him to surrender\nto Omar. To add weight to his letter, he also ordered the Syrian\nStambuli to write in a similar sense; also some of the Copts in Omdurman\nwere ordered to write to the Copts who were known to be in Emin's\nservice.\n\nOmar Saleh left Omdurman in July 1888, and a whole year passed without\nany information of his movements reaching Omdurman; it was thought that\nEmin must have annihilated the expedition and captured the steamers. The\nKhalifa became restless, but at length one of the steamers returned,\nladen with ivory and slaves.\n\nWe were all naturally most anxious to hear about Emin, and the men who\nbrought the despatches informed us that they had arrived at Regaf in\nOctober; this place they took by storm, and had sent down to Omdurman\none of the clerks they had taken prisoner there. As to Emin, they stated\nthat he and an Englishman (we thought this Englishman must be the\nintrepid Stanley) had been put in chains by the mutinous soldiers,\nbecause the Englishman wanted to bring Emin to Egypt, as the Khedive had\nsent him there for that purpose. Omar Saleh had seized this opportunity\nto take possession of the province, but he had been driven back by the\nmutineers; this last news was not told the Khalifa, but we heard it in\nconfidence. Omar had begged the Khalifa to send back the steamer without\ndelay, and in consequence it went south again a few days afterwards.\n\n[Illustration: A NATIVE WOMAN OF MAKARAKA, THE WIFE OF ONE OF EMIN\nPASHA'S OFFICERS, WHO REACHED EGYPT FROM UGANDA IN JUNE 1892.]\n\nA long time after this another steamer arrived from Equatoria, but it\nbrought no important information. It seemed that Emin had left the\nprovinces, that on his departure the country had fallen into a state of\nanarchy, and that the blacks had massacred all the Arabs. The Khalifa\ndespatched two emirs, Hasib and Elias Wad Kanuna, to Regaf in the\nsteamer; and as it was reported that the Dervishes there suffered a\ngreat deal from the climate, he decided to make it a place of exile, and\nafterwards sent only bad characters there.\n\nIn 1891 the Emir Hasib arrived in Omdurman; he came as a fugitive, and\nreported that he was with two of the steamers which had been sent to a\nplace two days' journey from Regaf to collect ivory; they made a zariba,\nand one steamer was already loaded up when they were suddenly attacked\nby the blacks, who killed everyone in the zariba, and he had retreated\nwith the remaining empty steamer, but the other had fallen into the\nenemy's hands.\n\nSome of the blacks who came to Omdurman with Hasib said that they had\nheard Emin had returned to the province and had stirred up the blacks to\nrevolt against the Dervishes; but Hasib was of a different opinion, and\nbelieved the attack to have been purely a local affair.[M]\n\nKhalifa Abdullah now felt some alarm for the safety of his posts at\nLado and Regaf, more particularly as he was now at war with the\nShilluks, and his post at Fashoda was hemmed in by this warlike tribe;\nhe therefore despatched another steamer south to obtain more\ninformation, but the Dervishes he wished to send refused to go, and had\nto be dragged on board in chains.\n\nIn my opinion the Khalifa will have some difficulty in retaining his\nposts on the White Nile. When I left Omdurman, the head of the Shilluk\nKing was hanging on the gallows, and his brave people revolted against\nthis act of treachery which had deprived them of their chief. The revolt\nhad assumed large proportions, and the Emir Zeki had been despatched to\nFashoda from Galabat, and had been heavily pressed by the infuriated\nblacks.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[K] It was the knowledge of this fact that caused General Sir\nF. Grenfell, in his letter written to Nejumi, calling on him to\nsurrender just prior to the action of Toski, to say, \"I know that you\npersonally have been the victim of a base jealousy imposed upon you by\nthe false Khalifa.\"--_Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan_, p. 418.\n\n[L] It must be remembered that with the Arabs of the Sudan the\nterm \"Turk\" is a synonym for the hated oppressor of whatever\nnationality. The British troops, even, were confounded under the same\nappellation.\n\n[M] The arrival of a portion of the old Equatoria garrison in\nCairo in June 1892, who had travelled under the \u00e6gis of the Imperial\nBritish East Africa Company through Uganda to Mombasa, throws further\nlight on the present situation in Equatoria. They state that after\nStanley's departure from Kavalli's, Selim Bey (Emin's old commandant),\nwho had been despatched north to collect the garrison, finding that\nStanley had gone, settled down with a small number of men in his old\ncamp at Kavalli's, while the rebel officer, Fadl Maula Bey, with the\nbulk of the garrison, remained in the neighbourhood of Wadelai. This\nplace was eventually attacked by the Dervishes, who were driven off, but\nmost of the garrison, feeling that they could not trust Fadl Maula, who\nwas known to have been in communication with the Dervishes, deserted to\nSelim Bey. Emin had come to Kavalli's in April 1891, but on stating that\nhe was in German employ had been joined by only a few of his old\ngarrison, and had not attempted to re-enter his old province. Shortly\nafter Emin's departure, Captain Lugard had arrived, and had taken the\nentire force into Uganda and Unyoro, where he had established some\nmilitary posts.--F. R. W.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nTHE FAMINE AT OMDURMAN--1888-1889.\n\n     Ohrwalder describes Omdurman--The Mahdi's tomb, and how it was\n     built--Pilgrimage to Mecca forbidden--A description of the great\n     mosque--The Khalifa's palace--The markets--The population--The\n     Khalifa's tyrannical rule--The terrible famine of 1888-1889--Awful\n     scenes and sufferings--The plague of locusts.\n\n\nIn this chapter I propose to give a description of the great Mahdi\ncapital of the Sudan. I have already given a brief account of the place\nas I found it on my arrival from Kordofan in 1886, but now the city is\nvastly increased in size.\n\nWhen Khalifa Abdullah had quite consolidated his authority within the\nSudan, and was contemplating the invasion of Egypt, it also occurred to\nhim to define the limits of his kingdom, and establish an hereditary\nsuccession in his family. Indeed his only reason for carrying on his\nrule under the guise of Mahdiism was his fear that a change of name\nmight involve him in difficulties, but nevertheless he adhered strictly\nto his intentions, with the result that now nothing of Mahdiism remains\nbut the name. He has adopted many of the old Government systems of\nadministration, and were it not that he feared he might lose his new\nkingdom, I believe that he would not be averse to substituting the\nSultan's for the Mahdi's name.\n\nIt is now thoroughly understood that the Khalifa's authority is no\nlonger based entirely on religious principles as in the case of the\nMahdi: he has substituted for it--if not in name, at any rate in\nfact--the system of \"molk,\" or temporary authority. He has abolished\nalmost all the Mahdi's decrees. His predecessor had substituted for the\ngallows the system of decapitation for death-sentences, but the Khalifa\nhas reinstituted the gallows, his reason for doing this was to make the\nmode of execution more alarming to the Sudanese, for whom he considers\ndecapitation a too painless death.\n\nHe has changed the name of his followers. The Mahdi had decreed that the\nFoggara (or \"poor\" as the Dervishes first called themselves) should take\nthe name of Asyad (_i.e._ masters), and this system of nomenclature was\npartially adhered to up to the date of his death; but the Khalifa\nthought the name Foggara very derogatory to the spirit of his rule, and\ntherefore ordered that this name should be abolished and substituted by\n\"Ansar ed Din\" (_i.e._ auxiliaries or helpers in the cause of religion);\nit was also permitted to be called the Habib or Sahib el Mahdi (_i.e._\nthe friend or disciple of the Mahdi), consequently the women are known\nas Habiba--a play on words which has given rise to much joking on the\npart of the men. It took only a few days to cause the name of Fakir to\nbe completely forgotten, and now Ansar for the men and Ansariat for the\nwomen have been adopted throughout the Sudan.\n\nThe Khalifa also abolished the name Fiki, which is given to religious\nteachers. There is a Sudan proverb which runs, \"El Fiki yefik ed Din\"\n(_i.e._ \"The Fiki analyses religion\"), and the Khalifa knew well how\nthese fikis imposed on the minds of the people, how they wrote amulets\nfor preservation against the evil-eye, witchcraft, diseases, and\nill-luck; how they pretended to be able to give women the means of\ntaking revenge on their husbands whose love had grown cold, and help\nthose who desired to secure the sole affection of their husbands.\nAbdullah well knew how credulous were the Sudanese in such matters;\nalready the Mahdi had given the strictest injunctions that the practice\nof writing amulets was to be discontinued, and now the Khalifa was even\nmore severe; he decreed that any fiki found writing an amulet should\nlose his right hand, but in spite of these stringent measures it is\nalmost impossible to eradicate the people's belief in these\nsuperstitions; the Khalifa himself has openly declared that he has not\nthe smallest belief in witchcraft, amulets, &c., and that God, who is\nalone the Judge of right and wrong, has alone the power to reward or\npunish. However, he is a believer in the power of the evil-eye, and will\nnever permit a one-eyed man in his presence, as it is said the one eye\nthat is good can do great damage.\n\nThe Khalifa, like the Mahdi, is bent on the destruction of the old\ntowns, so as to further wrap in oblivion the former Government rule.\nThus old Berber has been long since deserted, and a new Berber has been\nbuilt just to the north of the old town. Of course Omdurman--the Dervish\nKhartum--is by far the most important of all the towns; and being the\nplace of the death and burial of the Mahdi, it is quite right that it\nshould be the capital of the kingdom which he founded. Just as Medina is\none of the most holy places of Islam, so is it considered advisable to\nraise Omdurman to a similar position.\n\nBy far the most important and conspicuous structure in Omdurman is the\nMahdi's tomb; and in spite of the Khalifa's divergence from his Master's\nviews, still he considers it politic to show that he is grateful to his\nbenefactor. His desire was to build a tomb which should excel everything\nbetween Omdurman and Alexandria. It is said that the dome can be seen\nthree days' journey from Omdurman, but on this point I am not prepared\nto give an opinion, as I never went beyond Khartum. From here, of\ncourse, the dome, rising high above the miserable mud hovels and straw\nhuts, is a most conspicuous object, and it is certainly the tallest of\nall the buildings in the Sudan.\n\nAbdullah spared no expense in erecting this structure. He first ordered\nthe plans to be drawn out, and selected that of the engineer Ismail, who\nwas the architect of the Sidi Hassan dome at Kassala. Omar, the former\nGovernment architect, was lent to Ismail to assist him. Laying the\nfoundation stone was a great spectacle, and was celebrated with general\nrejoicing and festivity. Enormous crowds collected to witness the\nceremony. Several people were crushed to death, and were looked upon as\nfortunate to have died on such a day.\n\nThe work of construction was now vigorously taken in hand. Khartum\nsupplied the materials. Thousands of people were sent there, and the\nwork of destruction went on apace. Walls were pulled down in order to\nprocure the burnt bricks, which were sent across to Omdurman. The corner\nstones of Government house were pulled out and used as the corner stones\nof the dome. The woodwork was made by carpenter Mohammed Bornawi. The\nmasons were for the most part Egyptians who had learnt their trade in\nthe construction of the Mission house and church in Khartum; and by them\nthe Dervish workmen were instructed how to break down walls without\ndestroying the bricks. The foreman of works was in the habit of secretly\nchewing tobacco, and one day he rather unguardedly put a piece into his\nmouth; but he had been observed by some of the Dervishes, who fell upon\nhim, knocked him down, and would have torn him to pieces had not Wad\nAdlan interposed and taken him off to the steamer, where he concealed\nhim.\n\nIn the eyes of the Dervishes it was an unpardonable crime to chew the\nforbidden weed whilst working at the dome of the Mahdi's tomb. Most of\nthe Dervishes worked without pay--\"Fi shan Allah\" (\"For the sake of\nGod\"), as they say. A small quantity of dhurra was allowed them; but the\nmasons received pay. Lime was obtained from Omdurman itself.\n\nIn order to push forward the work, Khalifa Abdullah, accompanied by the\ntwo other Khalifas, and all the emirs and judges, went to the river bank\nand assisted to carry the stones to the dome. Of course the whole town\nfollowed them. Abdullah put a great stone on his shoulder and marched\noff with it. The others all followed his example; and in this way it\ntook no time to bring up all the stones required. The Khalifa promised\nthe Mahdi's blessing to all who assisted in this work; and he solemnly\nassured the labourers that they should be possessors of as many palaces\nin paradise as stones which they carried to the dome. The women carried\nthe water required for the work. The tomb is built much in the same\nstyle as all Mohammedan domes erected to the memory of some holy sheikh.\n\nSeveral of the domes in the Sudan are made of clay; but the Khalifa had\ndetermined that the Mahdi's dome should be the grandest in the Sudan.\nThe mud hut in which the Mahdi had died was pulled down, and a square\nstructure about thirty feet high built round the spot, with large\nwindows. Above this superstructure rose the dome some eighty feet above\nthe ground. The foundations were laid very deep, and the walls were\nimmensely thick. On the four corners of the superstructure, and just\nwhere the dome begins, are four round balls supported on four small\npillars. On the summit of the dome are three large balls, the centre one\nbeing the largest; and above these again is a gigantic gilt spear-head\nresting on the balls.\n\nThe doorway is really a work of art which does credit to Sudanese\nlabour. It is painted in bright colours, and was made in the arsenal at\nKhartum; and when it was finished, Yakub, the Khalifa's brother, himself\nwent to fetch it, and rewarded handsomely the men entrusted with the\nwork. The outside walls of the building are white. At first they\nattempted to paint the tomb with oil-colours; but as they were not\nproperly prepared, the paint soon peeled off when it was dry, and so\nthey had to be content with simple whitewash. The fanatics said that\nthere had been some evil Christian substance mixed with the paint, which\nprevented it sticking; and by its falling off, it proved that it was not\nacceptable to the Mahdi.\n\nThe large windows admit a quantity of light into the tomb, which is\ndecorated inside with the most glaring colours. The actual grave is not\nsituated quite in the centre of the building, and is covered by a\npainted wooden catafalque. To reduce the glare, the windows are well\ncurtained. Every night, and all through the night, quantities of\ncandles are kept burning; and it is impossible not to be impressed with\nthe solemnity of the tomb. The walls are so thick that the tropical sun\ncannot penetrate, and there is always a cool refreshing breeze inside.\nThe rich perfumes with which the tomb is being continually sprinkled\nfill the air with the most agreeable odours. The surrounding wall, which\nmarks the limits of the Mahdi's original enclosure, is so high as to\nconceal the superstructure on which the dome rests.\n\nThis tomb means to the Sudan Moslems what the Kaba at Mecca means to the\nthousands of pilgrims who visit it; but pilgrimage is not enjoined to\nthe Mahdi's tomb. To come to Omdurman is quite sufficient without being\nobliged to go through various ceremonies. Omdurman is detested in the\nSudan; and no one who is not obliged to live there would stay for a day\nlonger than he could help; and the farther people can distance\nthemselves from it, the better they like it.\n\nSince the Mahdi appeared, pilgrimage to Mecca ceased, because, while he\nwas alive, a visit to him was supposed to supply all its advantages. And\nwhen he died, a visit to his tomb was supposed to confer even greater\nbenefits than the pilgrimage to Mecca. Several of the Fallata, who came\nfrom distant parts of Bornu, Wadai, &c., were stopped at Omdurman when\non their way to Mecca.\n\nThus have the Sudanese become schismatic to the orthodox Moslem\nreligion, asserting that those who do not believe in the Mahdi, even\nthough they be Moslems, are unbelievers. Now, of course, all these ideas\nhave quite disappeared, and all true friends of Islam in the Sudan\nbitterly deplore the present state of affairs. Several people used to\nsay to us, \"Our position is a most miserable one! You Christians have\nnothing to reproach yourselves with on the score of religion, but with\nus Moslems such a state of affairs as the present is too dreadful to\ncontemplate, and we know no rest.\" A great number of people now repeat,\nin the privacy of their own homes, the daily prayers, although they\nhave gone all through them in the mosque; but as they do not believe in\nthe Mahdi, they consider the prayers said in his mosque to be valueless.\n\nQuantities of women visit the Mahdi's tomb; for, though most of them no\nlonger believe in him as the Mahdi, they still look upon him, on account\nof his great victories, as a saint to whom God has given a great\nposition in the other world because of his holiness. But, after all,\nthese ideas are held for the most part by his enormous circle of\nrelations, whose motives are always somewhat interested.\n\nKhalifa Abdullah did not, however, confine himself only to beautifying\nthe Mahdi's tomb. Being now the sole monarch, he desired also to\nbeautify his own residence. It will be remembered how, with Wad Adlan's\nassistance, he had organized the beit el mal. Now, close to the Mahdi's\ntomb, was the great mosque--not a mosque in its usual sense, but an\nimmense yard, which would hold upwards of 70,000 men extended in long\nrows of 1,000. It was roofed in by enormous mats, held up on innumerable\nforked sticks, which gave it the appearance of a forest. This \"rukuba,\"\nor kneeling-place, was capable of holding 30,000 men, whose murmuring\nsounded like distant thunder. At first the great enclosing wall was made\nof mud; but afterwards Khalifa Abdullah had it pulled down, and a good\nwall made of burnt bricks and lime.\n\nThe mihrab, or niche, marking the direction of Mecca, in which the Mahdi\nrepeated prayers, is situated a little to the east of the centre, and is\nsquare in shape with mud walls, and a gable roof, made of iron plates\nfrom the Khartum arsenal; gates open in the walls on the north, south,\neast, and west. The mihrab is entered from the west, but is well\nprotected by branches of trees, so as to prevent the Ansar from crowding\nup too close. The floor is sprinkled with fine sand; the Khalifa repeats\nprayers in the big mosque on Friday at noon; but he says daily prayers\nin the rukuba, in which there is a whitewashed platform about six feet\nhigh, on which he stands.\n\nClose to the rukuba is a square building with thatched gable roof\nsupported by two pillars. This is open on three sides, but surrounded by\nwell-carved and painted wooden railings: in this there is a seat about\nthree feet high, in which the Khalifa sits when he addresses the Ansar.\nAs one leaves the east gate of the rukuba, the Khalifa's palace gate is\nvisible, being built quite close to the mosque.\n\nThe Khalifa's palace is known as the \"Bab,\" just as the Sultan's palace\nis known as the Bab Ali, or Porte. This palace contains a number of\ndifferent divisions, all built of mud besmeared with red sand. Just\nwithin the great gate is the only two-storied house in Omdurman, which\nthe Khalifa has purposely built in order to overlook the whole town, and\nfrom here he can see as far as Kererri to the north, and as far as\nOmdurman fort to the south. Gordon's ruined palace in Khartum is also\nvisible. Near the great gate, and close to the outside wall of the\nmosque, is a building surrounded by wooden railings, in which the judge\nsits and carries on his court.\n\nThe Khalifa is very fond of going about to different parts of the town,\naccompanied by crowds of people, and as he found the narrow streets\nimpeded his progress, and detracted from his splendour, he ordered his\nengineer Omar to construct broad straight roads to all the principal\nplaces. This necessitated the removal of thousands of mud huts, which\nwere immediately demolished; but I never heard that the proprietors\nreceived any indemnity for the losses they sustained. A broad road now\nleads from the north gate of the mosque to the Hejira (or place from\nwhich expeditions start) near the Khor Shambat. This road, as I\npreviously mentioned, is called \"the Martyr's Road.\" The second large\nroad leads from the west gate of the mosque to the Arda (or parade\nplace), and is known as the \"Darb el Arda.\" A third main road leads to\nthe southern Hejira, whence expeditions leave for Kordofan, Darfur, &c.\n\nIn addition to these main roads are innumerable winding streets and\nlanes, to traverse which a guide is absolutely necessary. The great\nMahdi's dome forms an excellent landmark.\n\nThe Khalifa pays the most special attention to the requisites necessary\nfor war, and for this purpose he has had a large building constructed a\nlittle to the south of the mosque, consisting of a large hall supported\nby pillars, and built of burnt bricks. This is known as the \"beit el\namana,\" and it is subdivided into various compartments, in which are\nstored powder, ammunition, guns, rifles, and other implements of war.\nThis building is entered through a large vaulted gate, and no other\nhouses are allowed to be built near it. It is surrounded by a high wall,\nand is carefully guarded night and day by detachments of soldiers.\nWithin the yard the flags are all firmly planted in the ground, and\npresent the appearance of a small forest of staves. The great black flag\nof the Khalifa Abdullah towers high above them all. Near the flag yard\nis a small two-storied building, in which the war-drums are stored, and\nthey are purposely put high up so that they may be heard from a greater\ndistance. In front of the beit el amana is a large open square connected\nwith the mosque by one of the main roads.\n\nBesides his palace, Abdullah possesses a number of other houses, which\nhe visits from time to time. Of these one is situated close to the bank\nof the White Nile, and its roof is ornamented with two gigantic\nhippopotamus heads. He has another house at the beit el mal, from which\nhe can easily reach the river, and embark on one of his steamers to\nvisit his Eastern Hejira, whence expeditions start for the Gezireh, or\nfor Abyssinia. And, lastly, he possesses a large house on the Arda, or\nparade ground, and at the northern Hejira. In all these houses he keeps\nup a large establishment of women.\n\nOmdurman is built almost entirely of mud, the straw huts or tokuls have\ndisappeared. Every house-owner surrounds his yard with a wall, in order\nto keep out thieves and spies with which the city abounds. It is not\npermitted to build good houses, as they might prove a temptation to\ntheir owners to hide money. Whenever a man is known to be well off, or\nprosperous, he is almost certain to have his wealth taken from him.\n\nOne of the most important places in Omdurman is the market, to which a\nbroad road leads from the mosque. It is a place full of life, abounding\nin buyers and sellers, as well as idlers, who come to tattle and pick up\nany news they can. The proof that Mahdieh is not considered to be a\ndurable r\u00e9gime is evident from the feverish anxiety of everyone to hear\nthe latest news, and the market is the rendezvous for all news-seekers.\nHere are collected merchants from Kordofan and the Gezireh, from Berber,\nDongola, and Sawakin, all earnestly occupied in learning each other's\nnews.\n\nIt is impossible to give an idea of the wild rumours which are\ncontinually flying hither and thither. It is equally impossible to\nseparate the false news from the true. On this account the market is\nlooked upon by the Khalifa with the utmost distrust, and he would\nreadily abolish it if he thought it was possible to do so. It consists\nof a strange medley of shops and stalls, workshops and straw huts.\nKhalifa Ali Wad Helu has been put in charge of the place, he has\napportioned special quarters for each variety of goods, and the\ndifferent marts are now separated off in lines.\n\nAt night all goods, working tools, &c., are removed, as it would never\nbe safe to leave them there, so that in the daytime the market is the\nvery life of Omdurman, while at night it is absolutely empty and\ndeserted. Since, however, Wad Helu has taken it in hand, small brick\nhuts have been run up in which some merchants lock up their goods, and\nleave them in charge of caretakers. Cloth dealers, druggists,\ngreengrocers, salt and meat vendors, all have their special quarters\nnow, as well as gold-and silversmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, tailors,\nand barbers. There are also special quarters for public eating-houses,\ncoffee-shops, firewood vendors, builders, and shoemakers.\n\nThe women have their own separate divisions, and for the last few years\nmen have been forbidden to have any dealings with them. For the\nsettlement of quarrels and disputes which frequently occur in the\nmarket, there is a special market court, presided over by a judge, and\nall delinquents are interned in a large zariba quite open to the sun's\nburning rays. Close to the zariba are three sets of gallows, besides two\nothers in different parts of the town. The gallows are erected close to\nthe market, in the hope that if the executions are seen by the masses,\nit will have a deterrent effect on crime.\n\nThe inhabitants of Omdurman are a conglomeration of every race and\nnationality in the Sudan: Fellata, Takruris, natives of Bornu, Wadai,\nBorgo, and Darfur; Sudanese from the Sawakin districts, and from\nMassawah; niggers as black as ebony, down to a light chocolate colour,\nNiam Niam and Mombuttu cannibals, Bazeh, Dinka, Shilluk, Kara, Jangh\u00e9,\nNuba, Berta, and Masalit; Arabs of every tribe--Baggara, Rizeghat,\nTaisha, Homr, Howazma, Miserieh, Kababish, Habbanieh, Degheim, Kenana,\nGowameh, Bederieh, Beni Jerrar, Gehena, inhabitants of Beni Shangul, and\nof Gezireh, Shukrieh, Batahin, Hadarba, Hadendoa, Barabra, Jaalin,\nDanagla, Egyptians, Abyssinians, Turks, Mecca Arabs, Syrians, Indians,\nEuropeans, Jews; and all these various nationalities have their own\nquarters, and marry into their own tribes and sections. Arabic is the\nuniversal language, and all free inhabitants of the Sudan speak it or\ncorrupt dialects of it.\n\nThe Danagla, Barabra, and Hadendoa have their own special languages; but\nbeing derived from Arabic, they are called \"rotan,\" as if Arabic were\nthe only original language in the world--the language of Adam and Eve,\nand the language of paradise. Arabic is not compulsory, so the blacks\nstill talk in their local dialects.\n\nThe population of Omdurman amounts to about one hundred and fifty\nthousand persons; but it is by no means fixed, for during the winter\nnumbers quit the town and go off into the Kordofan or Gezireh districts\nto cultivate. But when the Khalifa orders a general assembly, the\nnumbers of course increase considerably. In 1888 the city was perhaps\nlarger than at any other time, for in that year the Khalifa ordered all\nthe inhabitants of the Gezireh to come and live in Omdurman. The reason\nfor this was never exactly known, but it was thought he feared a revolt\non the part of the Ashraf.\n\nAll the principal towns and villages on the Blue Nile as far south as\nKarkoj have been destroyed, such as Kemlin, Messalamieh, Wad Medina, Abu\nHaraz, Wad el Abbas and Rufaa; the inhabitants of all these towns, men,\nwomen, and children, under great fatigue, had to come to Omdurman, where\nthey settled in the north of the town near Khor Shambat.\n\nAll these severe measures quite alienated the people from the Khalifa;\nwives were furious with their husbands for having so abjectly submitted\nto his yoke, and it was now quite plain that they feared him greatly.\nOne word from him was sufficient to make them pull down their houses,\npack up their goods, load them on camels, donkeys, and mules, and\ntransport them to hated and dreaded Omdurman. How they longed for the\nGovernment they had so bitterly abused. \"Alf turba wala rial tulba\"\n(\"Thousands of graves are better than a dollar tax\") had been their\nwatchword in the beginning of the revolt; it had proved true with a\nvengeance, and how bitterly they repented of their folly when it was too\nlate! Khalifa Abdullah now gripped them in the palm of his hand, and the\nutter disunion and discord which he created between tribes and\nnationalities, made all hope of future liberty and freedom quite out of\nthe question.\n\nThose who detested Mahdiism prior to 1888 had much greater cause to do\nso in 1889 and 1890; the first of these years brought a terrible famine\non the land, and in 1890, though the actual period of want had passed\naway, everything was excessively dear.\n\nThe 1888 harvest had turned out badly; during the summer of that year\nthe Khalifa had issued stringent orders that no one should keep more\nthan one ardeb of dhurra in his own house, under penalty of severe\npunishment; all over and above that amount was ordered to be brought to\nthe landing-stage at Omdurman; and as there were but few transport\nanimals to carry the dhurra into the town, their owners charged\nexorbitant rates for its carriage, consequently large stores of it lay\non the bank, and quantities were stolen.\n\nSoon the price per ardeb rose from twelve to twenty dollars, and\nlatterly to sixty dollars. Even the most aged people, in the whole\ncourse of their existence, had never seen such a famine as now fell on\nthe land. Continual wars had prevented cultivation, and want of rain\ninto the bargain were the main causes of this terrible calamity. In\n1878, when there was a scarcity of rain, the price of dhurra never\nexceeded sixteen dollars the ardeb, now the price was almost four times\nas great. The supplies of corn received from Fashoda alone saved\nOmdurman from absolute starvation. The supplies from the Blue Nile were\nquite exhausted. Up to 1889, Fashoda continued the supply mart; the\nnative cultivators receiving in exchange glass beads, pieces of copper,\niron, cowries, and old Medjidie dollars; and in return for all this, the\nKhalifa despatched Zeki Tummal and an army from Galabat, who\ntreacherously murdered their king, and fought these people who had\nactually saved him and his capital from the jaws of death!\n\nThe dhurra thus imported to Omdurman by the merchants was unloaded there\nunder the strictest watch, and was sold to the Baggaras only at six\ndollars the ardeb, under absolute compulsion, whilst the other tribes\nhad to purchase it at ten times that amount. This called forth the\nbitterest complaints against the Khalifa's injustice.\n\nThe awful scenes enacted by the starving inhabitants in the market-place\nat Omdurman are beyond description. People flocked from Berber, Kassala,\nGalabat, and Karkoj, thinking that the distress would be less there than\nit was in the provinces; but here they were quite mistaken. As one\nwalked along, one could count fifty dead bodies lying in the streets,\nand this quite irrespective of those who died in their own homes.\n\nIn the provision market the sellers stood over their goods with big\nsticks in their hands, to turn away the poor wretched skeletons who,\nwith eyes deeply sunk in the back of their heads, would cast wistful\nglances at the food which was denied them. Sometimes twenty or thirty of\nthese miserable starving people would join together, and, regardless of\nthe blows showered upon them, which covered their bodies with wounds and\nbruises, they would wildly attack the sellers, madly seize whatever they\ncould lay their hands upon, and swallow it on the spot, begrimed with\ndust, and probably besmeared with their own blood.\n\nOthers would sneak about like wild beasts, their loins covered with the\nmerest rag, and if they saw anyone alone carrying eatables, they would\npounce down on him like tigers, content even to seize a handful. These\nwere called \"Khatafin\" (_i.e._ snatchers, or birds of prey), and at\nfirst they were fairly successful in their sudden attacks; but gradually\npeople understood what to be prepared for, and the wretched creatures\nwould be beaten off with sticks: hunger seemed to make them insensible\nto pain.\n\nOne could see hundreds of these starving people wandering about, mere\nbags of skin and bone, and almost shapeless; they would eat anything, no\nmatter how repulsive. The skins of the camels which had been killed\nafter the defeat of the Kababish and Gehena, and which had been used as\ncoverings for the roofs of the houses, were now taken down, roasted, and\neaten in that condition.\n\nPerhaps the most horrible scenes occurred at the places where animals\nwere slaughtered. Hundreds of starving men and women would be seen\nstanding around with cups or gourds in their hands, ready to catch the\nblood before it fell, and then, as the animal would be writhing on the\nground in its death-agony, they would fall upon it to catch the blood as\nit flowed out of its wound, whilst a crowd would be seen struggling on\nthe ground for the few drops which had escaped and become mixed up with\nthe dust and sand; these struggles generally ended in fights, in which\nthe receptacles were broken, and the people besmeared with their\ncontents, which added to the grim ghastliness of this dreadful sight. No\npower on earth could have restrained these poor sufferers--the pangs of\nhunger had driven them mad.\n\nAlthough famine swept off hundreds, still people poured in from the\nprovinces. Male camels and bullocks had become scarce, and the females\nwere now slaughtered without mercy, even should they be with young. Old\nbones of animals were ground to powder and made into a sort of bread,\nwhich was eaten with avidity; even the decaying carcases of donkeys were\nconsumed in this terrible struggle for food.\n\nBut in all this wretched misery the Khalifa showed no mercy, pity, or a\ndesire to relieve these terrible sufferings. He took good care that his\nBaggaras should be fed, but for the others he cared not a jot. Hunger\ncertainly had the effect of bringing to the front all manner of\ninventive genius; as it was now no longer possible to rob and steal, the\nkhatafin decided to let the sellers alone, provided they would not\nhinder them in their attempts to get what they could out of the buyers.\n\nOmdurman was full of strangers who had no notion of the existence of the\n\"khatafin,\" and would carelessly go to market to buy their food; but no\nsooner had they placed their money in the shopman's hands than the\n\"khatafin,\" with wild yells, would seize the money in a trice, and leave\nthe purchaser standing with empty hands. Naturally, the shopmen would\nnot deliver to them the goods, the price of which had been stolen by the\n\"khatafin.\"\n\nOne could fill a book with the thousands of strange episodes which\noccurred during this awful famine. Children, deserted by their\nmothers--poor, wretched, starving little things--would beg in the most\npitiful, heart-breaking way for alms. Beggars would follow one about\ntill late at night, and would stand about one's house; they would beg\nfor hours even for a grain of food. A poor naked little boy one day\nbroke into our house, crying, \"Gian Gowi!\" (\"I'm very hungry!\") The\ntone in which it was said, the wistful, sunken eyes, and the wretched\ncondition of the boy, could not but excite our pity, though hundreds of\nbeggars had been turned away before he came; we fed him, and he survived\nthe terrible year of famine, but he had forgotten his name, so we always\ncalled him \"Gian Gowi.\" Often did I see poor little skeletons of infants\ntrying to get nourishment from their dead mother's breasts.\n\nThe following instance will give the reader some insight into the\nhorrors of this famine. One day a poor woman came to me with three\nstarving children; she carried one in each arm, while the eldest clung\nto her skirt, the whole four looked like wandering skeletons. With a\nvoice of agonised supplication, which could come from a mother only, she\nearnestly begged me to take the boy and feed him, and that if he\nsurvived he could remain for ever my slave. Here was a poor mother who\npreferred to see her child a slave than to look on whilst he died of\nstarvation before her eyes. This touched me to the very heart, but I\ncould not accept the offer, for I had scarcely enough food for myself,\nso I dismissed her with a handful of dhurra.\n\nThe next day the mother came with one child less, and the third day she\ncame with one child only; and at last she came alone, saying that she\nwas now going to follow her three loved children. After that I never saw\nher again. If grief did not kill her, hunger must certainly have claimed\nher as a victim.\n\nOne day a girl presented herself before the judge of the market court,\nand reported that her mother had roasted her little brother and eaten\nhim, and that now she had run away, as she was afraid she might suffer\nthe same fate. The Kadi at once sent some soldiers with the girl to\nseize the unnatural mother; they found a poor half-starved woman with an\near and a piece of a leg. She was taken before the Kadi, and took a\nsolemn oath that the only child she ever had was the girl; she was\nimmediately interned in the zariba, and the matter reported to the\nGrand Kadi, who ordered the leg and ear to be exposed on the gallows.\nEven the savage blacks, who were hardened by constant warfare, were\nimpressed with the horror of the poor woman's action, and crowded round\nthe zariba to gaze at her; but it was soon discovered that the wretched\ncreature was raving mad, so the Khalifa pardoned her, but she died a few\ndays afterwards.\n\nIt was never safe for children to appear in the streets at night, or\nthey would certainly have been seized by the starving people. One\nevening I heard a cry at my door, and myself and several neighbours at\nonce ran out to see what was the matter. We saw a man dragging a boy\naway: we at once gave chase, and the man dropped the boy and fled; he\nintended to have a good meal off the boy that night.\n\nDuring the famine several sold themselves or their children into\nslavery; but when it was all over, the Khalifa ordered all such to be\nset free without remuneration to their masters.\n\nDervishes, who had heaped insults on the Turks during the siege of El\nObeid for eating donkeys, and other unclean animals, were now feeling\nHeaven's vengeance, for not only did they eat unclean animals, but their\nown children as well. There were so many dead bodies about that it was\nnot possible to bury them all. At first they used to bury them within\nthe city, but the Khalifa put a stop to this, and they were then taken\nout to the north-west side, and up to this day, if anyone walks in that\ndirection he will find the plain scattered with innumerable skulls and\nhuman bones, which lie there glistening in the sun, as white as snow;\nthe driving sand and burning sun have polished them like glass.\n\nHow many dead bodies were carried away by the Nile, God only knows; if\npeople thought of it I do not think they would ever eat any more fish,\nfor the fish must have had a surfeit of human flesh. The scent of the\ndead bodies brought hyenas everywhere, and they became so bold that\nthey would come almost up to my door. As for the vultures, their name\nwas legion, but even they with the help of the hyenas were unable to\nconsume all the bodies.\n\nLet us leave Omdurman for a moment and trace the course of the famine in\nthe provinces. In Dongola and Berber the price of dhurra rose to one\nhundred dollars an ardeb.\n\nThe entire districts between Omdurman and Berber had become depopulated.\nIn a hut might be found a man, his wife and children all lying dead on\ntheir angaribs. Even in the salt districts near Shendi, almost the\nentire population had died of hunger. In Kassala and Galabat matters\nwere even worse; here the price of an ardeb had gone up to two hundred\nand fifty dollars, and even for this enormous price it was almost\nimpossible to get it, for there was really none in the country. The\ngreat Shukrieh tribe had eaten almost all their camels, and its numbers\nhad dwindled from forty thousand to four thousand souls.\n\nThe large tribe of Wad Zayid (the Debaineh) in the neighbourhood of\nGedaref, who for his opposition to Mahdiism had been thrown into prison\nin Omdurman, had become almost extinct. The population of Kassala,\nGalabat, and Gedaref had dwindled almost to nothing. Zeki Tummal, to\nobtain food for his troops, had mercilessly robbed the corn merchants\nand compelled them to give up their very last supplies; he left them\nwithout even a handful.\n\nAround Galabat the hyenas became so bold that they would sneak into the\nvillages almost before the sun was down and drag off the wretched\nhalf-dead people. Out of Zeki's force of eighty-seven thousand souls\nbefore the famine there remained, after it was over, only ten thousand,\nincluding women and children. Karkoj and Sennar, which were generally\ncalled the granaries of the Sudan, were desolated by famine. It was,\nindeed, Heaven's terrible retribution on a people who had practised\nuntold cruelties and shed rivers of innocent blood.\n\nSo great was the distress that it became a general saying that any one\nwho did not die in 1889 would never die; and this year, corresponding to\nthe year 1306 Moslem era, will remain engraven for ever on the minds of\nthose who went through the famine in the Sudan and had the good fortune\nto survive it.\n\nWhen the first supplies of the new harvest reached the market, there was\nthe most heartfelt joy throughout the country, and every one\ncongratulated his neighbour on the termination of their distress; but\neven the new harvest was not good, and dhurra did not go below\ntwenty-four dollars the ardeb. The locusts did much harm to the harvest,\nand this plague has devastated the land now for nearly four years.\n\nThere are two sorts of locusts, the yellow and the bright red, and they\nhave infested the whole country from Kordofan to Dongola and to Tokar.\nThey came in such swarms that at times the sun was obscured; on one\noccasion they passed through Omdurman, and took from two to three hours\nto do so. The rushing sound they made alarmed the people greatly, and\nwherever they established themselves they left the place completely\nbare. They demolished the hard palm leaves so completely that it seemed\nas if they had been cut with a pair of scissors; even the bark of the\ntrees they did not spare. Where-ever they settle they look like a big\ncloud, which completely covers streets, roofs, and walls. Sudanese, as a\nrule, sleep out of doors, so that their beds were covered as well, and\nas soon as one swarm was driven off another settled.\n\nLocusts are considered by the Sudanese as a great delicacy, and when\nwell roasted in butter they taste like fried fish; the locusts generally\ncame between June and September, just when the harvest is ripening or\nthe new crops sprouting after the rains. There is no attempt made to\ndestroy their eggs. Another plague was mice: these little animals, which\nare of a reddish colour, came in such quantities as to drive the\ncultivators to despair. No sooner was the seed in the ground than the\nmice had rooted it up and eaten it. Often the fields had to be planted\ntwo and three times over; and then when a heavy rain came the mice would\nall be drowned, and as the water subsided the ground would be covered\nwith the dead bodies of these little animals.\n\nIt seemed as if the entire Sudan lay under a curse. The people knew it\ntoo, and looked upon it as God's righteous judgment on them for the evil\ndeeds they had been prompted to do at the instigation of a wicked and\nfalse Mahdi.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nTHE KHALIFA AND HIS GOVERNMENT.\n\n     The Khalifa's system of government--His household--An outline of\n     his character--His system of prayers in the mosque--His visions and\n     dreams--His espionage system--His household troops--His great\n     activity and circumspection--The great Friday review described--The\n     emigration of the Baggara and western tribes to Omdurman--The\n     flight of Sheikh Ghazali--Management of the beit el mal--System of\n     taxation.\n\n\nThis chapter I propose to devote to a brief description of Khalifa\nAbdullah and his system of government.\n\nAbdullah is a Baggara of dark chocolate-coloured complexion, with a long\nand prominent nose; he wears a short beard cut according to the Moslem\ncustom. When I first saw him at the siege of El Obeid he was very thin,\nbut now he is extremely stout, and his skin hangs in great folds\nunderneath his eyes; he has a strong clear voice, and though well\ninstructed in Arabic, he cannot conceal his Baggara dialect and accent.\n\nHis dress consists of the usual Dervish jibbeh and drawers, he also\nwears sandals, and over his jibbeh, which is generally reeking with\ngrease and fat, he wears a tob or light cotton cloth; on his head is the\nusual Mecca takia, round which a turban is bound.\n\nAs regards food, the Khalifa is more moderate and simple than the Mahdi;\nhe still adheres to his native dishes--asida (a sort of polenta), eaten\nwith milk or meat, over which a strong sauce full of spices and pepper\nis poured. Sometimes he eats roasted chicken and drinks quantities of\nmilk and sugar, especially camels' milk, to which all Baggaras are\ndevoted. He has no fixed hours for food, but eats whenever he feels so\ninclined; and it is perfectly astonishing the amount of food which a\nSudanese can consume at a sitting.\n\nLike his master the Mahdi and all important persons in the Sudan, the\nKhalifa is much addicted to harem life. Shortly after he had established\nhimself as supreme ruler, he thought to surround himself with all the\npomp and splendour of a Sudanese Sultan, of which the most important\nitem is a very extensive harem. As the Mahdi had done before, so did he\ntake to himself numbers of wives. Wherever a pretty woman is to be\nfound, he at once gets information about her from his spies, and she is\nimmediately brought to the harem.\n\nEach of his wives has her own house, kitchen, and slaves quite apart\nfrom the rest, consequently the expenditure of his household is\nconsiderable. His first wife is head of all the other wives, who now\nnumber one hundred and fifty. She is a Baggara woman, and is waited on\nby numbers of eunuchs, who were formerly in the service of the Turkish\nand Egyptian pashas; and although the making of eunuchs is strictly\nprohibited by Mahdi law, nevertheless the Khalifa secretly employs\nnumbers of persons who arrange to supply eunuchs when required.\n\nThe chief eunuch is a certain Abdel Gayum, who is head of the entire\nhousehold. He has under his orders numbers of female slaves, who grind\ndhurra and prepare the food; it is estimated that three ardebs of dhurra\na day are consumed in the Khalifa's household.\n\nAbdullah is endowed by nature with a good constitution, but his\nirregular mode of life has gone far to destroy it. Twice he has had\nsevere attacks which have all but killed him; on both occasions he was\ndelirious, and his body became enormously distended. The last time he\nwas ill all hope of his recovery had been given up, and the doctor who\nwas attending him, and had given him a purgative, was on the point of\nbeing beheaded, when at the last moment the medicine took effect, and\nwas the happy means of saving the lives of both the Khalifa and his\ndoctor.\n\nThe Khalifa's illnesses are always kept secret, so that whenever he\nfails to attend prayers, it is generally thought that he is sick.\nFifteen days after the last crisis, and when all danger was over,\nAbdullah summoned the other two Khalifas and the judges to show them\nthat he had recovered, whereupon Khalifa Ali at once offered up a prayer\nof thanksgiving, though, if his real feelings had been analysed, it\nwould have been found that he was anything but thankful. After leaving\nAbdullah, the Khalifas announced to the people in the mosque that he had\nbeen very dangerously ill, but that God in His mercy had spared him.\n\nThis news was the signal for a wild shout of delight, which reached the\nKhalifa's ears and pleased him not a little. Eight days afterwards he\nappeared for the first time in the mosque, then the rejoicings knew no\nbounds, and the shouts were heard miles off; all the emirs congratulated\nhim on his recovery, and the air resounded with the cries of \"Allah\netawil Omrak!\" (\"May God prolong your life!\") All this flattery pleased\nthe Khalifa immensely, and this eye-service is a particularly\nhighly-developed characteristic of the Sudanese.\n\nAnd now a few words as to the Khalifa's character: he is an intensely\nvain and proud man, very cruel and quick-tempered. Occasionally his\nideas are good, but he is surrounded by so many fanatics that his ideas,\nhowever good they may be, generally die almost before they are born. He\nis of a most distrustful nature, because he knows he is surrounded by\nenemies--thus he is a curious mixture of resolution and inconstancy. He\nlistens eagerly to calumnies, and delights in hearing evil spoken of\nother people; this causes his decisions to be changeable and capricious;\nhe is guided a good deal by what low slanderers tell him, but they have\nto watch his temper very closely, and have become great adepts at\nhumouring him. He is fearful and jealous of his authority, and the very\nsmallest infringement of it is looked upon as a most serious crime and\npunished accordingly. He has surrounded himself with spies, who pander\nto his jealous and tyrannical nature.\n\nThese spies are everywhere, they get into private houses, attend every\nmeeting, and often start a discussion against the Khalifa and against\nMahdiism, merely to draw the unwary into a trap and make them divulge\ntheir real feelings and opinions. He is told about the most trivial\nthing, and sometimes during his speeches and sermons he will give way to\nthe wildest denunciation of his unfavourable critics. He knows perfectly\nwell that he is hated, but he will never allow it to be said openly;\nfor, though he cares little whether he is liked or disliked, he does not\nwish anything to intervene between him and his authority.\n\nThe Khalifa adheres most strictly to the prescribed forms of prayer;\nevery day he attends five times in the mosque and enforces the presence\nof all the principal emirs. He does not like the Ansar to get into\ncomfortable and luxurious modes of life, but insists on their always\nbeing hardened and in readiness to withstand the fatigues of war; all\nprayers end with the \"fatha,\"[N] after which is an invocation for the\nvictory of religion, the long life of the Khalifa, and the continual\nsuccess of his arms; then follows a prayer calling down God's vengeance\non unbelievers and those who have erred from the paths of Mahdiism, and\nasking that their wives and children may be given as booty to the true\nbelievers; at the end of the prayers the whole congregation joins in a\nloud \"Amen.\"\n\nAfter afternoon and evening prayers, the Khalifa generally holds short\npolitical conversations, in which the affairs of the empire and of the\ncapital are discussed; he receives his emirs and gives them\ninstructions; he frequently gives discourses from the place in which he\nrepeats prayers, and sometimes turns and addresses in the most\nbenevolent manner those who are gathered around him with heads bent in\nobedient submission. If he bears any one a grudge, he never attempts to\nconceal it, but refers to it in the most open manner in the mosque, when\nthe culprit generally comes hurriedly forward, throws himself at his\nfeet, and implores forgiveness: if he fails to do this, he is generally\nthreatened with imprisonment.\n\nThe mosque is at the same time both barracks and prison, for here he\nteaches his followers humbleness, obedience, and submission. He\nfrequently repeats his orders that all should be most punctual in their\nattendance at the mosque, and if, when the appointed hour comes, people\nare found in the streets, they are invariably flogged and carried off to\nthe zariba. This is the way the Khalifa tests the obedience of his\npeople, and assures himself that they are at all times ready to obey his\nsmallest behest.\n\nThe highest punishment possible for an absentee is that he shall attend\nregularly at the mosque five times a day for eighteen months, under a\npolice guard, who is as a rule a Baggara, and who never lets him out of\nhis sight. A man under such a sentence may, if he have money, pay a fine\nor bribe his guard; but if he cannot do this he must attend, no matter\nhow far off his house may be. Some unfortunate people who live a long\nway off spend their whole day in going backwards and forwards between\ntheir dwellings and the mosque. The emirs even, if they neglect this\norder, are very severely dealt with. This enforced attendance at prayers\nhas greatly added to the unpopularity of the Khalifa, for work is being\ncontinually interrupted, and all real feelings of religion are\nsubverted.\n\nFormerly every important emir and fiki had his own rukuba, in which he\nprayed with his own people; but the Khalifa put a stop to this, fearing\nthat all such meetings would have a tendency to conspiracy and mutiny.\nHe himself is much more a supporter of authority than of religion, but\nhe induces the former through the latter. Personally, he cares little\nfor religion. All his absurd dreams and imaginary visions only make him\na laughing-stock of the people, and he is considered by the orthodox\nMoslems to be an absolute heretic.\n\nOn one occasion, when his spies reported to him that he was very\nunpopular, and that it was the general wish that he should die, he\nwithdrew for three days. This considerably alarmed the people, for they\nhad no notion what form of revenge he might not be preparing for them.\nAt the end of this period he reappeared, and from his place in the\nmosque he announced as follows:--\n\n\"I have been taken in the spirit to the third heaven, where I beheld the\nMahdi, the Prophet Elias, and Jesus Christ; when I saluted the Mahdi, he\nintroduced me at once to the two prophets; the Prophet Elias had a very\nruddy and sunburnt appearance, and took me very roughly by the hand; but\nthe Prophet Jesus was white and soft as wool. These two prophets were\npleased to know me, and I represented to the Mahdi that I had no desire\nto quit this pleasant heaven; I begged him, therefore, to send some one\nto rule my people instead of me, as I was tired and exhausted by trying\nto govern people who did not care for me; but the Mahdi told me not to\nlose heart, and that he would give me power to please all; the Mahdi\nalso told me that he was quite satisfied with my ruling. He afterwards\ntook me into the presence of God, who also showed pleasure at knowing\nthe Khalifa of the Mahdi.\"\n\nAll true Moslems who heard this extraordinary tissue of lies were very\nangry that he should dare to take God's name in vain in this way, and\nthoroughly understood his reasons for having such absurd and blasphemous\npretensions.\n\nOn another occasion he was told that the two Khalifas were very\ndissatisfied with his arbitrary ruling, and resented being excluded from\na share in the government of the country. This induced another vision,\nin which he declared that the Mahdi had told him he should live eight\nyears more, after which the Prophet Jesus would appear. In this way he\ngave them to understand that they had not much hope of being given any\nauthority; but this vision appeared to have exactly the opposite effect\non the Khalifas, who became more clamorous than ever. He therefore\ninstructed his \"vision secretary\" to withdraw this vision from\ncirculation, and added that should any one ever be heard talking on this\nsubject again, he would be punished by the loss of a hand and a foot.\nAnd then he tried to justify his action by declaring that it was the\nfault of his secretaries, who had put an entirely different construction\non the vision to what he had intended, and indeed to what he had\nactually seen!\n\nAfter noonday prayers he ordered extracts to be read from the book\ndealing with the early wars of Islam. This was quite a new departure. To\nkeep any book on religion or religious history, it was necessary, in the\nfirst instance, to obtain the Khalifa's permission; and indeed it was\nvery difficult to keep any such books safe from the wild fanaticism of\nthe Dervishes. It was the Mahdi's intention to destroy, as far as\npossible, everything which would serve to remind his people of the old\ndays, so that they should believe the more readily in his revelations\nonly.\n\nThe Khalifa will not accept written petitions, as he himself cannot\nread. If any one has a complaint to make, he must call out, as the\nKhalifa enters the mosque for prayers, \"Khalifat el Mahdi!\" or \"Sidi!\"\nor he may cry out, \"Ya Sidi ana mazlum!\" (\"Master, I am oppressed!\")\nAbdullah then listens to what he has to say, and decides the matter.\nWhether the decision be favourable or not to the complainant, he must be\nsatisfied with it.\n\nGifts and alms are frequently besought of the Khalifa, chiefly because\nhe is not of such a benevolent nature as the Mahdi, and moreover, he has\nless to dispose of than his predecessor.\n\nIf the Khalifa does not at once dispose of a case that is brought before\nhim, it is a sure sign that he has no intention of giving a decision on\nit, and woe to him who dares to again bring forward the question!\nAbdullah gets very angry if he is interrupted when speaking. The various\nexpressions of content, restlessness, and revenge are so clearly\nportrayed on his face that one seldom mistakes the frame of mind he is\nin at any particular time, though he often vainly tries to conceal his\nactual feelings.\n\nThere are some people in Omdurman who make the expressions of the\nKhalifa's face their study, and are wonderful adepts at knowing what is\npassing in his mind. They listen attentively to every word he says, and\ntheir estimates of his moods go the round of their friends, but are\noften rather distorted in course of transmission. These thought-readers\nassign causes to his various moods, which they put down to a variety of\nreasons, such as ill-health, a disaster, or a quarrel with one of his\nmany wives. All these reports spread at once throughout the country, and\none would think that the people had nothing else to do but to discuss\nthe Khalifa and every incident of his daily life. And perhaps this is\nnot to be wondered at, since he exercises so indiscriminately the powers\nof life and death. One word from the Khalifa is able to rouse up the\nenergies of all those spies whose special duty it is to report the\nsmokers and marissa-drinkers. The liberal payment to them of bribes by\nthese law-breakers occasionally serves to make them neglect their\nduties; but should the Khalifa wish to replenish the waning supplies of\nthe beit el mal, the reporting of a few delinquents rapidly fills the\nexchequer again.\n\nThe Khalifa is a man of great activity, and personally directs all\nimportant matters. He receives reports on the most trivial affairs, and\nis always overwhelmed with business. This, however, helps to keep him in\nhealth, and prevents him leading a life of sensual ease to which his\ninclinations undoubtedly tend. He has nothing but his activity to thank\nfor the fact that he is still alive, though during the last few years he\nhas greatly deteriorated in this respect, consequent on his indulging\nmore than usual his uxorious appetites.\n\nAfter morning prayers he generally takes a short sleep, and during the\nremainder of the day he is busy with the affairs of State. Posts are\ncontinually coming and going; and the telegraph having been destroyed, a\ncamel postal service has been organised, but is exclusively used for\nofficial letters. Any one who wishes to send private letters must do so\nthrough the intermediary of merchants and travellers.\n\nAfter the day's work is over, the Khalifa delights in gossiping till\nlate in the night, surrounded by his emirs and judges. Sometimes just\nbefore midnight he will again enter the mosque, and will summon the\npoets to sing his praises. He delights in music, and keeps a number of\nDar Fertit and Niam Niam singers, who accompany themselves on the rubaba\n(a sort of native guitar), and their strange and weird melodies delight\nthe Khalifa's soul. These native musicians have a sort of school of\nmusic, in which they practise all day; but they never seem to learn\nanything new.\n\nAbdullah is by no means a ruler in name only. His palace is crowded with\nmale and female servants, slaves, eunuchs, and young boys, who\ncontinually wait upon him, and carry after him the inevitable \"ibrik.\"\nOne slave is especially told off to carry the \"farwa\" or sheepskin to\nthe mosque. The other servants are called mulazimin, and act rather in\nthe capacity of spies than personal attendants. A good or bad word from\nthem has no small weight with the Khalifa. Of course they are all\nsubmission to their master; and if they have been brought up in the\nKhalifa's service, when the time comes he permits them to marry, and\ngives them a horse as well--the two things they long for most. The\nKhalifa has also his special barber, who is a slave; and his master of\nthe horse, who is an immensely tall Dinka. He has also a sort of giant\nslave who lifts him on and off his horse. His life-guards consist of 500\nblack slaves armed with Remington rifles, who always accompany the\nKhalifa whenever he rides out. They wear a very short jibbeh--not unlike\na soldier's tunic--and short knickerbockers. Amongst them are about 100\nTaisha and Homr Arabs, whose special duty is to prevent any one\napproaching the Khalifa's person. To further add to his prestige, he has\nalso appointed an honourable council, composed of all the principal\nsheikhs of the great Sudan tribes.\n\nHis mulazimin el bab, or \"household cavalry,\" are obliged to be in\ncontinual attendance at the great gate of the palace, and never quit\ntheir posts until Abdullah has retired for the night. He occasionally\nselects one or two of their principal officers to despatch on important\nmissions into the provinces. The household cavalry rank next to the\njudges in the mosque precedence. If any man seek employment, he must\nattend at the mosque at prayer-time and humbly make known his request to\nthe Khalifa; and if he wishes to succeed, he must not be sparing in the\nlavishness of the compliments with which he prefaces his demand. The\nKhalifa is specially open to such eye-service, and always selects for\nhis servants persons who possess this qualification in a marked degree.\n\nThe business affairs of State are conducted by an army of clerks, of\nwhom the most influential are Fauzi, Muntasser, Abu el Gharem, and\nAhmed; these are all men who possess a good knowledge of Arabic, and\nknow something of history and the Moslem laws; they read all incoming\nletters to the Khalifa, and answer them in accordance with his\ndirections; one of these clerks is his special seal-bearer; all letters\nare supposed to be strictly confidential, as well as the deliberations\nand discussions of the council. If he ever mentions a matter in public,\nin which he conveys blame or censure, then it is understood that this is\nmerely a warning; if he wishes to inflict punishment, then the culprit\nis seized unawares, and the chastisement or imprisonment inflicted\nwithout further ado; thus does he bring the men of the Sudan low before\nhim, and tramples on their necks.\n\nAbdullah specially delights in a display of magnificence; whenever large\nexpeditions start from any of the hejiras, he generally proceeds there\nin the afternoon, returning in the evening. Latterly he has made fewer\nof these excursions, as much work and an irregular life are beginning to\ntell upon him. He never announces beforehand what he intends to do, but\njust before noonday prayers the onbe\u00efa is sounded, and a herald shouts\n\"Khalifat el Mahdi yerkab\" (\"The Khalifa of the Mahdi is about to ride\nout\"); then everyone who owns a horse prepares to mount and accompany\nhim. The horses in Omdurman have become so accustomed to the sound that\nwhenever they hear the onbe\u00efa they begin to neigh and prance, as if\nrejoicing in the honour of being allowed to join the Khalifa's ride.\n\nImmediately after prayers the giant slave puts him on his horse, and as\nhe proceeds, hundreds of horsemen and thousands of men on foot follow\nhim shouting and showing all the signs of joy. He always carries a large\nspear, and is little different from other riders. These latter do not\nmarch quietly behind, but continually dash forward in groups of four and\neight, their spears poised to strike, then suddenly pull up and re-enter\nthe ranks; this \"fantasia\" delights the mob, who shout the most violent\napplause.\n\nDuring these excursions the Khalifa observes carefully all that is going\non around him and what the people are doing. On one occasion, when he\nrode to the beit el mal and was surveying the mighty river, a woman\nwearing man's clothes was brought to him from a ship close by. In reply\nto the Khalifa's question what she was doing, she said she was preparing\nthe crew's food; he then asked if she was married, and she said no,\nthereupon he began joking and presented her to Wad Adlan; but the\nlatter, seeing that she was neither young nor pretty, readily answered\nthat he was already possessor of the four lawful wives. The Khalifa\ncould not of course violate the law, so he summoned the captain of the\nship and insisted on him marrying this old creature on the spot; he also\ncasually remarked that the sailors had a noggara (copper drum) on board,\nand he immediately gave a general order that no drums were to be allowed\non board boats.\n\nOn another occasion he noticed a very thick cloud of smoke, and on\ninquiry he found that it came from a soap manufactory; he therefore\nimmediately issued orders that the soap monopoly rested with the beit el\nmal, and that any other manufactory was prohibited. In this way he\ndeprived numbers of people of a means of livelihood.\n\nOne day he remarked a large heap of sewage in the centre of the town,\nwhich spread a most foul odour all around; this was the cause of the\nKhalifa himself stating in the mosque that if, when he inspected the\ntown three days hence, he found any refuse, the trespassers should be\nvery severely punished.\n\nEveryone now became directly responsible for the cleanliness of his own\ndwelling and its vicinity, and this order had a most excellent effect;\nit was further enforced by the presence of horsemen, who took good care\nto see that the instructions were carefully carried out. The Khalifa\nalso went so far as to order that if any impurity should be found in the\npublic streets, the owner of the defiled place should carry it away\nhimself with his own hands to the appointed place. This was a cause of\ngreat delight to the street-arabs, who heaped insults on the disgraced\nindividual by shouting after him \"Shalhu!\" (\"He has taken it away!\") But\nas it was with the Mahdi, so it is with the Khalifa--at first orders are\nobeyed with the greatest alacrity, and then people get as careless as\never. Omdurman at the present time is by no means a particularly clean\nor sanitary town.\n\nThe occasions on which the Khalifa appears in the greatest splendour are\nwhen he rides to parade. In accordance with the Mahdi's orders, these\nreviews have always taken place on Fridays, no matter what the weather\nmay be, rain, sunshine, or sandstorm. The review, or \"Arda,\" as it is\ncalled, is a religious ceremony, and those who take part in it are\nsupposed to obtain special blessings and advantages. The Mahdi of course\nwanted to keep up the martial spirit of his followers, and therefore he\nbased his reviews on religious grounds. Sometimes Khalifa Abdullah is\nabsent from these parades, in which case his brother Yakub takes his\nplace.\n\n[Illustration: A TROPHY OF ARMS, BANNERS AND DRUMS CAPTURED FROM THE\nDERVISHES.]\n\nOn parade days the great war-drums begin beating two hours before\nsunrise, and the slaves whose duty it is to beat them have two\nvarieties of cadence, whilst a small drum beaten in quick time completes\nthe call to arms. The people apply all sorts of expressions to the\nbeating in quick time, such as \"Nakelkum\" or \"Naktulkum\" (\"We will eat\nyou up,\" or \"We will kill you\"), _i.e._ their enemies. In the stillness\nof the night these drums are heard a very long way off, and in the\nterrible times of the Mahdi wars their weird and monotonous roll created\na most sad and depressing effect on me.\n\nImmediately after morning prayers the leaders proceed to the flag yard,\neach takes his flag, and they all stand in line in the open space in\nfront of the beit el amana.\n\nThe flags of the Khalifas Abdullah and Ali Wad Helu are kept quite\napart. Khalifa Sherif seldom goes out, and keeps himself as much as\npossible from appearing anywhere in public with Abdullah, with whom he\nis on very bad terms, because he has been deprived of all authority.\n\nThe four drum-beaters stand in front of the flags, and gradually the\nfollowers all collect round their respective leaders. As soon as the sun\nrises they begin shouting, and then march to the parade ground. Arrived\nhere, the flags are all placed in line. The horsemen follow Yakub or any\nother person whom the Khalifa may delegate.\n\nThe Ansar are drawn up in a long line facing eastwards, and all the\npeople immediately rush to get into the various divisions to which they\nbelong. Then the onbe\u00efa sounds to indicate that the great master himself\nis arriving; this is the signal for all those who have stayed behind,\nattempting to shirk parade, to rush helter-skelter to the ranks, as the\nKhalifa gets very angry unless the review is well attended. He is\ngenerally mounted on a very good camel led by Wad Beshir; he sits with\ndrawn sword, and moves very slowly, surrounded by his black life-guards\nformed in square.\n\nThe four onbe\u00efa-blowers march just in front, and take it in turns to\nsound the great elephant's tusk. Behind the Khalifa follow the mulazimin\nriding. Arrived on parade he first inspects the whole line, and\noccasionally performs some cavalry manoeuvres in the hills which\nstretch towards Kererri. These hills are supposed to be the abode of the\nJinns,[O] who are said to be the Khalifa's auxiliaries in battle, and he\nfrequently indulges in visions, retiring into a small hut, while the\nAnsar have to stand outside waiting for hours in the burning sun.\n\nAt length he gives the signal to march off; again the flags unite in two\ngroups, followed by the shouting Dervishes. The horsemen keep dashing\nround the flanks to see that no one goes away. All must march back to\nthe beit el amana, where they await the Khalifa's arrival to be\ndismissed.\n\nThe orders respecting the arms and equipment to be carried by the Ansar\non parade are all strictly adhered to; everyone must carry at least\nthree spears, _i.e._ one large and two small ones; also a sword, which\nis slung round the shoulder, and a girth as well; anyone appearing\ndeficient of any of these articles is flogged.\n\nAt large festivals the reviews are most imposing. Months before, orders\nare sent in all directions for the Ansar to assemble. On these occasions\nthere are generally about 1,000 horsemen. The Khalifa, wearing a suit of\nmail armour and a helmet, is generally mounted on a good charger, and is\nsurrounded by some 200 horsemen, also clad in mail, wearing helmets and\ngreaves; the horses also wear brass head-armour lined with\nthickly-quilted stuffs, which are intended to protect from sword-cuts.\n\nThe riders wear thick red turbans, which they wind round the helmet, and\nthen tie tightly under the chin, thus leaving only very little of their\nface exposed; they also wear red girdles, which they throw over their\nshoulders. The combination of red with the dark Baggara complexion is\npeculiarly effective, and gives them a most martial appearance. The red\nturban and girdle are entirely the Khalifa's idea. At first the horses\nwere not shod, but recently Abdullah ordered some thousands of\nhorse-shoes to be made in the arsenal.\n\nThe wild excitement and confusion prevailing on these occasions can\nreadily be understood. The guns are all brought out, arms distributed\namongst the Ansar, and the shouting and yelling is endless; crowds of\nhorsemen dash hither and thither at a wild gallop, raising clouds of\ndust.\n\nHorses and horsemanship are a great delight to the Sudanese; the best\nbreeds are from Dongola and Abyssinia. At one time there were quantities\nin Darfur, and there was no difficulty in raising 4,000 of them, but\nsince Mahdiism has fallen on the land the numbers have greatly\ndecreased. Every horse-owner is entitled to half an ardeb of dhurra from\nthe beit el mal.\n\nThe reviews which I have just described tend to keep alive enthusiasm,\nand also to intimidate those who are secretly opposed to the Khalifa,\nand whom the sight of such numbers of foot-and horsemen cannot fail to\nimpress. The best riders are the Khalifa's own countrymen--the\nBaggaras--who are brought up on horses from their early childhood. The\nKhalifa has craftily arranged that all horses remain in the hands of the\nBaggaras. At first not many of this tribe joined the Mahdi, they\npreferred to remain in their own happy hunting-grounds, rearing horses,\nand living in unfettered liberty in their great plains and forests, and\nin consequence the Arabs nicknamed them \"Arab el Shedera\" (Arabs of the\nforests), but when the Khalifa succeeded to supreme power, he thought\nthat his authority would be considerably strengthened by collecting his\nown countrymen around him.\n\nAfter conquering Sultan Yusef, of Darfur, the Khalifa ordered Osman Wad\nAdam to gather his own countrymen--the Taisha--nearer Omdurman. The\nyouthful Osman gave to those wild nomads a most glowing account of the\nmagnificent countries near the Nile, and of the Khalifa's enormous power\nand authority, and to prove the truth of what he said, he showed them\nall sorts of glittering dollars, and various kinds of cloths; nor did\nhe rest until he at last persuaded them to leave their homes.\n\nThey set out with all their movable property--women, children, and\nflocks--all bound for Omdurman; they plundered the inhabitants of the\nvarious countries through which they passed, and forcibly seized their\ncamels for transport. The Dar Hameda tribe alone, through whose country\nthey passed, lost 4,000 camels. When they reached El Obeid, a special\ntax was levied for their maintenance, but, quite regardless of this,\nthey broke into the houses, and laid hands on all they could find.\n\nFrom El Obeid they passed on to Tayara and Shatt, whence the Khalifa had\nthem conveyed in steamers to Omdurman. There were, in all, 7,000\nwarriors, exclusive of women and children; their arrival in Omdurman was\nviewed with a certain amount of alarm, and not without reason. As the\nArnauts and the Bashi Bazuks were utilized by the Government in the old\ndays, so were the Taisha to be now utilised under the Khalifa's rule; he\nfavoured them in every possible way, the beit el mal was made\nresponsible for their maintenance and pay. After they had partially\nsettled down, and some had been given the richest patches on the Nile\nbanks, as well as several of the islands, the others were then removed\nto Berber, Abu Hamed, Dongola, and the Gezireh.\n\nIn all these places they very soon made themselves masters of the\nsituation, and the Khalifa gave them the most important Government posts\nto fill; but notwithstanding all this favoured treatment, still they\nwere not content: the more they had, the more they wanted. Upwards of\n4,000 of them deserted from Omdurman, to proceed to their own country;\nbut they were overtaken, and, as an example to the remainder, the right\nhand and left foot of three of them were cut off, though it was with the\ngreatest reluctance that he ever punished his own countrymen in this\nway. Two hundred of the deserters were put in prison, where some of them\ndied in a few days: the horrors of this prison so impressed these wild\nchildren of the desert, that to this day they tremble at the thought of\nit.\n\nThe sheikh of the Taisha was a man named Ghazali, who was by no means\nhappy in his new position; and though he was well received by Abdullah,\nstill he could not brook the feeling of being under the authority of a\nman who at one time had been one of his lowest menials. It was reported\nto the Khalifa that he was discontented, he was therefore summoned\nbefore him, and addressed as follows:--\n\n\"When you were sheikh in your own country, were we not obliged to kiss\nyour hand, and show you all reverence and respect? Yes: and it was quite\nright to do so. But now God has placed me over you as your master, then\nwhy do you now refuse to give me the same honour and respect which you\nrequired of your own subjects when you were in a similar position?\"\n\nGhazali made no reply, but then and there decided to run away. This\nshowed a spirit of independence which had been dead amongst the Arabs\nfor centuries, and to find it we have to go back to the time of Saladin.\nSheikh Ghazali was a man who knew no fear, and he confided his plans to\nhis wife and daughter, and they--far from deterring him--rather\nencouraged him to carry it out. His wife saddled his horse, and urged\nhim rather to die than to submit to a position so far beneath him.\n\nGhazali, accompanied by two of his relatives, mounted his horse in the\nmiddle of the night; without shedding a tear, his wife bade him\nfarewell, and wished him all success in his undertaking. In order to put\nhis enemies off his track, he at first went in a northerly direction\ntill just below Kererri, then turned south-west, and made for Kordofan.\nBut Ghazali made a fatal mistake in using horses for such an enterprise,\nfor, winter being over, there was a scarcity of water in the desert; it\nwould have been far better had he used camels.\n\nThe poor man had to pay dearly for his error. Scarcely was he out of\nOmdurman than one of his own tribesmen reported his flight to the\nKhalifa, who became very angry, cursed the Taisha for their\ningratitude, and ordered the fugitives to be pursued at once. They\nsearched the desert around Omdurman in every direction, and, thinking\nthey must have taken camels, they did not at first take any notice of\nthe horses' tracks, but eventually they decided to follow up the latter,\nand were soon convinced that they were on the fugitives' heels.\n\nSome distance after leaving Kererri, they came up with the horses which\nGhazali and his companions, owing to their fatigue, had abandoned, and\nhad continued their flight on foot. The pursuers were now two days\ndistant from Omdurman, and were on the point of giving up the chase,\nwhen they heard a shot fired from a thickly-wooded khor. It was Ghazali,\nwho, suffering greatly from thirst, had separated from his companions in\nsearch of water; he had been digging about in the sand, and, discovering\nthe longed-for liquid, he had fired a shot to let his companions know he\nhad been successful.\n\nThis shot was his betrayer; the pursuers rushed to the spot, surrounded\nhim, and although he killed and wounded several, he was overpowered and\nfell riddled with bullets. His head was cut off, for the Khalifa had\ngiven orders that on no account was he to be brought back alive. His two\nrelations submitted, and were subsequently pardoned by the Khalifa, who\nis always more lenient to his own tribesmen than to others. Ghazali's\nhead was brought to Omdurman, and thrown amongst the heap of\n\"unbelievers'\" heads.\n\nThere is no doubt that if Ghazali had succeeded in regaining his own\ncountry, he would have become a dangerous rival to Abdullah. Most of the\nTaisha infinitely prefer the liberty of their native forests to holding\nhigh posts in Omdurman, and would have rejoined Ghazali in large\nnumbers.\n\nOne of the most important measures taken by the Khalifa to get all power\ninto his own hands was his attempt to gain possession of all firearms.\nHe had over and over again given orders that any one found with a gun\nwould be punished by the loss of a hand and a foot, and, of course, the\nnatural result was that every one feared to deliver up his gun, dreading\nthe punishment which would inevitably follow. This plan having failed,\nthe Khalifa then ordered two Jew merchants to buy up all firearms for\nthe beit el mal, and the people having no fear of Jews freely sold them.\n\nIn this way about 1,000 Remington rifles were secured: in a like manner\nthe Khalifa got possession of the coats of mail; but, as may well be\nimagined, the Jews did not make much profit out of the business. They\nwere put into chains for eight months, and had to pay back a\nconsiderable sum of money as well.\n\nThus did the Khalifa gradually concentrate all power in himself. The\nemin beit el mal is obliged to give him a daily statement showing all\nrevenue and expenditure; the Sheikh es Suk (or sheikh of the market) has\nto render a daily report of everything that has taken place in the\nmarket, and the chief judge must keep the Khalifa fully informed of all\nimportant cases which come under his notice. The Khalifa reserves to\nhimself the powers of life and death, although the judge passes the\nsentence.\n\nEvery province has a governor or emir, _i.e._ Dongola, Berber, Galabat,\nKarkoj, Gezireh, Fashoda, Kordofan, Lado, and Jebel Regaf. All these\nemirs are Baggara, and have several emirs under their commands. Each\nemir has his own beit el mal, and has the power of appointing his own\nemin beit el mal and kadi (judge). The emir is the supreme civil and\nmilitary governor of his province, and is entirely responsible for its\nadministration.\n\nThe beit el mal at Omdurman is known as the \"Beit el mal el Um[^u]m,\"\nand the head of it gives orders direct to all his provincial assistants.\nEach emir is obliged to report all events of importance to the Khalifa,\nthey are frequently summoned to Omdurman to give an account of their\nadministration, and to take the Khalifa's instructions.\n\nAbdullah watches most carefully all events in frontier provinces, such\nas Dongola, Berber, &c., and spies, disguised as merchants, are\ncontinually sent to Egypt to get the Arabic newspapers, which are always\nread to the Khalifa by his secretaries. An emir should never pay a visit\nto Omdurman empty-handed, or he is likely to fall into serious disgrace.\n\nIn addition to the emirs are the omala (tax-gatherers), who visit the\nprovinces annually and collect the ushr (one-tenth) and the zeka (alms\nfor the poor, two and a-half per cent.). These appointments are let to\nthe holders at an enormous rate--several thousand dollars a year. The\nomala have to cover all their own expenses, which they do, and get a\nvery considerable profit besides.\n\nIt is therefore apparent that the inhabitants are grievously oppressed.\nThe emirs and omala act in the most arbitrary manner in their own\nprovinces; their will is absolute, and horrible systems of cruelty\nprevail everywhere. One of the omala, Wad Hamdu Allah, by way of\nextorting money from a man, bound his hands so tightly behind his back\nthat when released they remained quite powerless. The poor man went to\nOmdurman to seek redress, and the Khalifa, on the principle of \"an eye\nfor an eye and a tooth for a tooth,\" ordered that the amil's hands\nshould be cut off, or that he should pay the injured man a sum of money.\nThe man, of course, chose the latter, as the cutting off of his\noppressor's hands could not have done him any practical good; so he\nreceived 200 dollars compensation and four slaves. But this is an\nexceptional case; as a rule these cruelties seldom reach the Khalifa's\nears, and if the instigator of the crime is a Baggara it is never\nnoticed.\n\nThe Khalifa's brother Yakub is his principal supporter. He and Abdullah\nare not of the same mother, and Yakub is a few years the senior; he has\na somewhat lighter complexion, but if possible he is even more cruel\nthan his brother, and is in charge of the harem. The two brothers work\nentirely together, and Abdullah, being satisfied with Yakub's integrity,\ngives him the fullest liberty. Orders given by Yakub are carried out\nwith the same alacrity as if they were given by Abdullah. He receives\nevery day from the emin beit el mal all surplus cash, and moreover has\ncharge of spare leather, sacking, &c., with which to supply the wants of\nthe Baggaras. It is said that Yakub is already possessor of great stores\nof wealth.\n\nThus do the brothers, Abdullah and Yakub, hold the entire Sudan in the\nmost cruel bondage, whilst the inhabitants are harassed by the merciless\nBaggaras, who have made themselves the ruthless masters of the whole\ncountry.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[N] The first chapter in the Kuran; it is held in great\nveneration by Mohammedans, and is used by them very much as the\nPaternoster is recited by Roman Catholics.\n\n[O] Jinn is the Arabic equivalent for genii, in the existence\nof whom the Mohammedans are believers, and by whom they are divided,\ninto \"believers\" and \"unbelievers.\" The Mahdi always asserted that in\nbattle thousands of Jinns fought on the side of the Dervishes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nA CHAPTER OF HORRORS.\n\n     The revolt of the Batahin tribe--Revolt suppressed with appalling\n     cruelty--Wholesale executions--Method of hanging--Punishment by\n     mutilation--The execution of Abdel Nur--Trade with Egypt--Wad\n     Adlan, the emin beit el mal--His imprisonment and death.\n\n\nAnother example of the Khalifa's cruel and merciless treatment of all\nwho oppose him is shown by the manner in which he dealt with the Batahin\ntribe.\n\nThis small but warlike tribe inhabits the right bank of the Blue Nile\nnear its confluence with the White, and extends as far as Rufaa; also\nportions of this tribe are found scattered in the Gezireh. They are the\nmost daring robbers, and, mounted on swift camels, they lie in ambush\nawaiting caravans and merchants, whom they generally kill and make off\nwith their goods. Bruce, in his 'Travels,' remarks that the wooded\ncountry around Omdurman was their favourite haunt. They were the\nstaunchest adherents of the Sheikh el Obeid, whom Gordon's \"fighting\npasha,\" Mohammed Ali, had so severely defeated.\n\nDuring the massacre in Khartum the Batahin were most cruel and pitiless,\nand for their evil deeds God's just vengeance overtook them before long.\nAbdullah had sent an emir with a few soldiers to collect the ushr tax,\nbut the wild Batahin, whose own system was to rob and plunder the poor,\nleaving them not even the wherewithal to live, resisted the emir and his\nmen, and forced them to flee their country. When this news reached the\nKhalifa, he was infuriated, and determined to deal in the harshest\npossible manner with this rebellious tribe. He therefore despatched the\nemir Abdel Baki with a considerable force, with instructions to seize\nevery Batahin he could find, put him in chains, and bring him to\nOmdurman.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThis tribe was now hunted down over the whole country, and Abdel Baki\nsucceeded in securing a few hundred of them, as well as Taher Wad Sheikh\nel Obeid, who had been instigating them, and these were all brought to\nthe capital. The influential El Obeid family had taken a very prominent\npart in the siege of Khartum, but after the Mahdi's death they had\nbecome discontented and were not on good terms with the Khalifa; Taher\nhad, therefore, been ordered to leave Rufaa and settle in Omdurman.\n\nOn reaching Khojali, which is just opposite to Omdurman on the other\nbank, he wrote to the Khalifa to say that his father, who since his\ndeath had been revered as a saint in the Gezireh on account of his\nholiness, and who had received innumerable presents on account of his\npower in preserving the lives of infants, had appeared to him in a\ndream, telling him to stay at Khojali and make that the headquarters of\nthe family; he was not, therefore, able to come to Omdurman. Taher\nshowed his sagacity in refusing to comply with the order; but Abdullah,\nwhose earnest desire it was to abolish the \"saints\" of the Sudan, agreed\nto give Taher twenty-four hours to decide whether he would come to\nOmdurman or not, so there was nothing for it but to go. However, after a\ntime he was permitted to return to Rufaa, leaving his family as hostages\nin Omdurman. This is the Khalifa's usual mode of acting with all\ninfluential persons whom he suspects of disloyalty.\n\nBut to return to the Batahin. Most of them died of starvation and\nill-treatment, sixty-nine were taken to the square opposite the beit el\namana, where they were kept under a soldiers' guard whilst the Khalifa\nheld a consultation regarding their fate. No decision was come to for\nsome time, and this was because more gallows were being prepared.\nHitherto there was only one, now there were three near the \"court\"\nzariba--two at the south end of the market-place, and one at the west\nend; all were provided with camel-hair ropes.\n\nEarly the following morning the war-drums were beaten, the onbe\u00efa\nsounded, and eighteen Batahin were executed, three on each gallows. Such\nexecutions have always a great attraction for the Sudanese. The\neighteen men were all brought up to the gallows with their hands tied\nbehind their backs. Without a sound or even a change of expression, they\ngave themselves up to their fate, or, as the Moslem says, they gave\nthemselves up to \"El Mektub\" (_i.e._ \"to that which is written\"), for it\nis supposed that God writes down in a book the birth, experiences, and\ndeath of everyone, which things cannot be changed.\n\nBelow the gallows is an angarib, on which the condemned stands, while an\nimmensely tall Dinka called Bringi puts the noose round the man's head,\npulls it tight, fastens it to the gallows, and then draws away the\nangarib; and in this way the whole eighteen were soon swinging in the\nair, whilst the assembled masses sent up shout after shout of\nexultation.\n\nIt was a most horrible sight. The poor creatures wore only a miserable\ncloth round their loins; they had had nothing to eat for some days, and\npresented a most wretched condition as the wind blew their emaciated\nbodies backwards and forwards. All were powerful young men, and the\nbystanders--as is always the way with the Dervishes--vituperated them\nfreely, accusing them of every description of wanton cruelty, whereas it\nis more than probable that all these just executed were entirely\ninnocent, and were expiating the crimes of those who had been fortunate\nenough to escape. When all contortions were over, the bodies were untied\nto make room for the remainder, who had been quietly gazing at the fate\nof their brothers which was so soon to be theirs.\n\nOn this occasion--as it had often happened before--the cord broke under\nthe last man's weight; but Bringi was very quick, he lost no time in\njoining the ends and completed his brutal work. The impressions which\nall those dreadful scenes left on my mind can never be obliterated. But\nif the fate of the eighteen was cruel, the fate of the remaining\nfifty-one was even worse.\n\nThe Khalifa now rode out accompanied by the cavalry and thousands of\nspearmen, and taking the wretched Batahin with them they marched\ntowards the parade ground. Every now and then on the way he ordered one\nof them to be decapitated, and in this way twenty-four more were killed;\nthere were now only twenty-seven left, and on arriving on the ground he\nsent for the butchers to cut off their hands and feet; soon there was a\nheap of these bleeding members, whilst the bodies of the poor Batahin\nlay writhing on the ground, beads of anguish pouring from their brows;\nyet not a cry did they utter; most of them died in a very short time.\nEven the most stony hearts were touched on beholding this terrible\nspectacle, but no one dared show it--in fact everyone tried to force a\nlaugh or a jeer, because the Khalifa himself revelled in scenes of\nuseless bloodshed and cruelty, while in truth the whole population of\nOmdurman secretly lamented it.\n\nThe bodies hung on the gallows for a day, so that everyone might see\nthem, whilst the mothers and sisters of those who had been mutilated on\nthe parade ground begged the Khalifa's permission to go to the spot and\nsee if any of their relatives were still alive; they were allowed to go,\nand there they found a few still living; they dressed their bleeding\nlimbs and carried them on their backs to the market-place, where they\nbegged food for them.\n\nNever shall I forget the face of one poor woman. With tearless eyes she\nbore her mutilated son in her arms, and it would be hard to say which of\nthe two was suffering more--the mother or the son--the latter lifting up\nhis mutilated right arm while he rested his mutilated left leg on his\nright to prevent anything striking the wounded stump.\n\nIt was indeed a shocking and pitiful sight. Several of the survivors of\nKhartum would pass by these wretched people, and staring at their wounds\nwould shout out, \"Have you forgotten Khartum?\" Long after this I used to\nsee these poor creatures dragging themselves about in the market-place\nbegging for alms.\n\nSoon after this the Khalifa pardoned the Batahin, and sent Ahmed Wad el\nBedri to try to persuade them to come and settle in Omdurman; eventually\nthey formed part of Nejumi's force, and were almost all killed at\nToski. Thus did God's vengeance overtake them for their untold cruelties\nduring the massacre in Khartum. It is said that the Khalifa has repented\nof his wanton slaughter of this tribe.\n\nAfter this, fear took possession of even the bravest, and no further\nattempts at resistance were made; discontent was everywhere rife, not in\nOmdurman only, but throughout the provinces, and even the Baggara, who\nwere favoured in every way, and given every possible advantage, longed\nto return to their own country.\n\nIt is usual, when the day's work is done, for neighbours to collect\ntogether in the lovely moonlight nights, for which the Sudan is so\nfamed, and talk over matters. The conversation always turns to politics;\nthe latest news from all directions is eagerly discussed, and often the\nmost unlikely and impossible stories are credited. The fact is that the\npeople long for freedom, and their smallest hopes become exaggerated\ninto not only possibilities, but certainties. The proverb, \"El gharkan\nyemsik fi shaaru\" (_i.e._ \"The drowning man catches at a\nstraw\"--literally, a hair), is being continually exemplified. Talk also\nturns much on what the Khalifa said and did, what he intends to do, what\nhas taken place in the last council, &c. But the Khalifa, fearing that\nall these conversations might lead to conspiracies, ordered them to be\ndiscontinued. But nevertheless they are still carried on secretly.\n\nNear the market-place there lived a certain fiki named Abdel Nur (_i.e._\nthe slave of light--that is to say, the slave of the light of the\nProphet; though, when the Copts are called by this name, the reference\nis to the light of the Redeemer). The fiki's neighbours used to assemble\nin his house every evening, and of course the conversation always turned\non Mahdiism, and the Khalifa was abused freely. Abdel Nur would talk\nmore excitedly than the rest, and used to say that the Sudan no longer\nformed part of Islam, that both the Khalifa and the Mahdi were\nunbelievers, and this he proved by quotations from the sacred books.\nAll this was reported by a spy to the Khalifa, who at once despatched a\ncompany of soldiers by whom the unsuspecting party were suddenly\nsurrounded and carried off to prison.\n\nEarly the following morning Abdel Nur was brought before the judges, who\nasked him if he had really spoken against Mahdiism. Seeing that he was\nnow lost, he thought this a good opportunity, in the presence of such a\nlarge audience, to prove his assertion; he declared that the true Mahdi\nshould not die in Omdurman, and that true Mahdiism would not be confined\nto the Sudan alone; that the people having been once deceived, the paths\nof wickedness should be avoided, the paths of truth followed, and the\noppression of the Moslems abandoned once and for all.\n\nThe judges, who in their own hearts were convinced of the truth of Abdel\nNur's assertions, were unable to browbeat him, whilst all those who\nlistened had little doubt in their own minds of the truth of the\nstatements of this outspoken man, but fear of the Khalifa intervened to\nstop them from admitting their convictions. One of the judges at length\nstood up, and, desiring to make an end of this dangerous and humiliating\nposition, said to Abdel Nur: \"We are with the Prophet, the Mahdi, and\nhis Khalifa; are you with us or not?\" The fiki replied, \"I am not with\nyou,\" whereupon the Khalifa sentenced him to death, and at ten o'clock\nthe same morning his body was dangling from the gallows; his friends\nwere not executed, but were severely reprimanded.\n\nThis execution was so sudden and unexpected that everyone was asking\nwhat his crime could have been, but the Khalifa was careful to send\nspies to all quarters to spread false reports about him, to the effect\nthat he was an unbeliever and a magician; these spies were also told to\nascertain exactly what the people said, but the latter knew they were\nbeing watched, so they said nothing and retired; the spies set fire to\nthe fiki's clothes, and the next morning reported to the Khalifa that\nhell-fire had burnt them up.\n\nBut the matter was not ended here; according to the Moslem law, if an\nunbeliever be discovered, all his neighbours within a forty yards'\nradius are considered guilty, and their houses may be plundered and\ndestroyed. This law was carried out in the fiki's case, and several\nfamilies with all their goods were dragged off to the beit el mal, while\ntheir homes were occupied by the soldiers; several men were threatened\nwith the gallows, and there was a good deal of disturbance in the town.\nThe Khalifa's adherents were shouting, \"Away with these unbelievers!\"\nSeveral suspected persons were seized and kept for three days in\ncontinual fear of death.\n\nOn the third day several of the wives and families came to the Khalifa\nand begged his forgiveness, throwing dust on their heads and making\nevery show of Oriental grief. On this occasion the Khalifa thought it\nwas sufficient to thoroughly frighten them all, so on the expiration of\nthe three days he released them and returned their property. He took\nthis opportunity of giving an order that it was the duty of every one to\nreport to him any fiki who was in the habit of writing amulets; spies\nand informers soon produced numbers of such fikis, who only saved their\nlives by making most solemn promises to the Khalifa that they would\nnever again be guilty of this disobedience of orders.\n\nOn another occasion a boat-boy was accused of having said something\nagainst Mahdiism; he was hurried before the judge, confessed his crime,\nand was then taken off to the parade-ground, where the Khalifa ordered\nhim to be beheaded. Ahmed el Talia was the executioner, but he made a\nfalse stroke and only gashed the youth's shoulder, but with the second\nblow the head was clean severed from the body.\n\nAbdullah's jealousy and alarm for the safety of his kingdom now induced\nhim to turn his attention to Wad Adlan. As I have already narrated,\nAdlan had rendered the Khalifa great services: he had put the beit el\nmal in good order, had regulated the accounts on the old Government\nsystem, and in order to increase the revenue without having recourse to\nforce, he had persuaded him to open trade with Egypt.\n\nIt had been the Khalifa's original idea to erect a sort of great wall of\nChina between Egypt and the Sudan, to prevent all ingress into his\nnewly-acquired dominions; but Adlan was a very tactful man, and by\ndegrees he induced the Khalifa to agree to his proposal. Ivory and gum\nwere declared to be the monopoly of the beit el mal. Ivory comes in\nsmall quantities from Regaf and Lado, while gum, which is purchased by\nthe beit el mal for five dollars a hundredweight, is sold out by the\nbeit el mal to merchants for twenty dollars; the beit el mal will also\naccept gum as payment in lieu of money. A lively trade soon sprang up\nbetween Berber, Sawakin, Assuan, and Korosko; and Omdurman merchants\nwere allowed to come to Sawakin and purchase goods; the beit el mal made\nconsiderable profits, and the people were less oppressed than before.\n\nThus did Adlan render a great service to the inhabitants of the Sudan,\nand through his influence many of the cruel measures of the Khalifa were\naltered. As long as he was in charge of the beit el mal he was very\npopular with all, the capital was in good hands, the markets throve, and\neven when the funds in the exchequer were low he had no difficulty in\nraising loans from rich merchants on payment of bills of exchange.\nUsually a loan of 5,000 to 6,000 dollars could be raised between fifteen\nor twenty merchants with ease, because of the feeling of security which\nAdlan's presence induced. The white people also owe him a deep debt of\ngratitude, for he gave them continuous protection.\n\nOn one occasion, when it was rumoured that the Sudan was to be invaded\nby Egypt, the Khalifa proposed separating all the whites and scattering\nthem amongst the Arabs in various parts of the country, but Adlan\nimpressed upon him the necessity of retaining them all under his own eye\nin Omdurman, and thereby he rendered us an immense service; his main\nidea was to lighten the Mahdiist yoke and relieve the oppression of the\npeople.\n\nBut this growing contentment gradually began to be displeasing to\nAbdullah, whose main object was to reduce every one to poverty and to\nenrich his own tribe, the Baggara; thus his and Adlan's views frequently\nclashed, but Adlan was most prudent, and knew when to give way. What\ndispleased the Khalifa most was to see numbers of people assembling\nevery morning outside Adlan's door waiting for him to go to the beit el\nmal, where they would lay their complaints before him.\n\nThe honour they paid and the praises they heaped upon him excited the\nKhalifa's jealousy, and the latter frequently rebuked him sharply; but\nhe took no notice of these outbursts, and in a fit of anger he was, on\none occasion, thrown into chains for fourteen days. On his release Adlan\nnow thought that the Khalifa could not get on without him, and began to\nshow less submission to his master's will than before. This still\nfurther widened the breach between him and Abdullah, which was made\nworse by Adlan's many enemies, who envied him his high position.\n\nThe Khalifa's brother Yakub was his most dangerous rival, as Adlan's\npopularity had rather detracted from his authority. He and others\nrepresented him to the Khalifa as a dangerous man, who might at any\nmoment bring his influence to bear in direct opposition to the Khalifa.\nIt is therefore not to be wondered at that Abdullah grew suspicious, and\none day, when Adlan was presenting his daily report, the Khalifa took\noccasion to tell him that he was far from pleased with him, and blamed\nhim for his delay in sending corn to the starving Dervishes in Dongola.\nAdlan answered: \"What can I do? The people won't have Mahdiism any\nlonger, and that is why I meet with so much opposition.\" Some say that\nhe even said much more than this; but the Khalifa was not accustomed to\nbe talked to in this way, so he ordered Adlan to give up his sword, and\nthe same night he sent him to prison. This gave his rivals ample\noccasion to speak against him, and Yakub insisted that he should suffer\ndeath.\n\nAdlan was very heavily chained, and forbidden all intercourse with the\noutside world. His arrest did not at first create much excitement, but\nthis was due to the many false reports which were circulated regarding\nthe cause. On the following day it was announced that he might have to\nsuffer death, on the third day this sentence was confirmed, and a\nmessenger was sent to Adlan to ask him if he had any choice between\nbeing hanged or having his hand and foot cut off. Adlan chose the\nformer.\n\nTo the beating of war-drums and the sound of the onbe\u00efa, he was led,\nwith his hands bound, to the market-place. Here numbers of Baggara\nhorsemen formed a square round the scaffold, and Adlan, escorted by a\nguard, entered the square with firm footsteps. When he reached the foot\nof the gallows, the judge called on him to repeat the Shahada or Moslem\ncreed, which he did with a clear voice, then jumped on to the angarib,\nadjusted the noose himself, which Bringi pulled taut, and he swung into\nspace, whilst at the same instant the Baggaras drew their swords and\nflourished them in the air, to signify that a like fate would surely\nbefall all the Khalifa's enemies. But grief was read on every face, and\nnever before had there been such heartfelt lamentations in Omdurman.\n\nIbrahim Wad Adlan was a most intelligent Sudanese, with black face and\naquiline nose. He was about thirty-five years of age.\n\nAfter his body had been suspended for half-an-hour, Yakub, accompanied\nby several others, took it down, and laid it out on the angarib; the\nbystanders say that Yakub could not conceal his look of half repentance,\nhalf terror, as he gazed on the corpse of his victim. It was wrapped in\na cotton shroud, and taken to the cemetery outside the city, where it\nwas buried, Yakub leading the procession. That night robbers pulled out\nthe body and stole the clothes in which it was laid, leaving the corpse\non the sand to be food for hyenas.\n\nThe Khalifa's reason for sending Yakub to attend Adlan's funeral could\nnot well be misunderstood, for every one knew that Yakub had been the\nprime instigator in securing his condemnation; and yet Abdullah was\nshort-sighted enough to imagine that in thus sending his brother he\nmight to some extent dissipate the bad impression which Adlan's\nexecution had created.\n\nThe mourning for Adlan was both general and sincere; during his whole\nadministration he had done no harm to anyone; he had done his utmost to\nsmooth over difficulties and lighten oppression, and I can confidently\naffirm that he is the only man of whom this can be said, for, as a rule,\nSudanese who rise to positions of power and authority invariably become\nmost cruel and arbitrary.\n\nNow what good could this execution have done for Mahdiism? No doubt the\nKhalifa thought to justify himself in the public estimation, because\nAdlan was too popular, but the real reason was, that the Khalifa feared\nhim, for he knew that his justice and prudence had made him beloved by\nthe people.\n\nWith the one exception that Adlan had opened commerce with Egypt,\nchiefly through the secret intermediary of a former Khartum merchant\nnamed Abdel Majid, I do not believe there was anything else against him.\nIt was said that letters had been found, purporting to have been written\nby Adlan, in which he had begged the Egyptian Government to retake\npossession of the Sudan; but this statement, had it been true, would\nhave been announced far and wide by the Khalifa; this, however, had not\nbeen done, and it was generally agreed that it was entirely fear on the\nKhalifa's part which prompted him to take Adlan's life.\n\nAll his property was confiscated, and his friends persecuted. Some of\nthe latter, after his death, remembered that he had told them how, when\nstudying in Cairo, an old woman had foretold that he would die a violent\ndeath. For long he paid little attention to this prophecy; but during\nthe siege of El Obeid, he called it to mind, and thought it would\nperhaps be fulfilled there. But when he eventually rose to high position\nin Omdurman, he used to laugh at the old woman's saying. However,\nduring his last imprisonment, he had been firmly convinced it would come\ntrue, and that was what made him so bold and firm when he actually came\nto look death in the face.\n\nIn place of Adlan, the Khalifa nominated his relative Ez Zaki, now Emir\nof Berber; but he fell ill shortly afterwards, and resigned. The Khalifa\nthen appointed Nur el Gereifawi (that is, a native of Gereif, near\nKhartum). He had been in charge of the beit el mal at Berber; as Nur was\nan intimate friend of Adlan's, it was thought that he might suffer a\nlike fate, but he was a crafty individual, and had sent the Khalifa\n30,000 dollars, which he knew would have the desired effect.\n\nOn arrival at Omdurman he stood by the great gate to see the Khalifa;\nbut Abdullah did not summon him that evening, so he lay that night on\nthe ground beside the Khalifa's door--an act of humility which quite won\nhis heart--and the next morning Nur was officially appointed Adlan's\nsuccessor. In order to thoroughly impress Nur with the dangers of his\nnew situation, the Khalifa announced to him that on the previous night\nhe had beheld a vision, in which he had seen hell, and Ibrahim Adlan\nsuffering untold agonies in the lowest abyss, with a long chain fastened\nround his neck; Nur was shackled to the other end of the chain, and\nAdlan was trying to drag him down into the abyss; but the Khalifa had\nunfastened the chain and released him.\n\nThus was Nur completely overawed, and did his utmost to comply with the\nKhalifa's and Yakub's wishes. He discharged all the Copts employed in\nthe beit el mal, and replaced them by blacks. Awad, formerly head clerk\nof the Kassala Mudirieh, he appointed as his assistant, and through his\nastuteness and knavery he lost no opportunity of forcibly extracting\nmoney from the people.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nSOCIAL LIFE AT OMDURMAN.\n\n     System of public security and justice in Omdurman--The court of\n     small causes--Bribery and corruption--The story of the slave and\n     her mistress--How the Khalifa deals with quarrelsome\n     persons--Thieves and pickpockets--The story of Zogheir--Usurers and\n     their trade--The chief of police--Brigandage--Disproportion of\n     males to females in Omdurman--How the Khalifa overcame the\n     difficulty--Immorality--The marriage ceremony.\n\n\nIt may be imagined that fear of the Khalifa and his tyrannical rule\nwould produce at least a feeling of public security and immunity from\nlawlessness; but the following chapter will show that this is not the\ncase.\n\nIn the early years of Mahdiism there was no discipline, and laws were\nentirely put aside, because the whole population was at war and everyone\non the move. They were living on the captured wealth and prosperity of\nthe Government. At that time there were not many robbers. When we were\nliving in Kordofan we were perfectly safe, and could sleep with our\ndoors open at night. No one ever thought of taking precautions against\nthieves, though nothing would have been easier than to break into our\nloosely-built straw huts.\n\nAfter the capture of Khartum, and when Omdurman became a large city, the\nformer prosperity of the country gradually began to wane, famine broke\nout, and then public security became seriously threatened. Thieves\nincreased in such alarming numbers as to be a terror to all; and in\n1888-89 they became so bad that people scarcely dared to go to sleep. It\nis true the punishment of cutting off hands and feet was freely\nexercised; but even this had little effect, chiefly because robbery and\ncorruption went hand in hand, and a thief had no difficulty in disposing\nof a bribe.\n\nAs I have already narrated, the Khalifa nominated his own judges, with\nAhmed the Kadi el Islam as their head; a special court was also\nestablished to deal with the innumerable marriage disputes which form so\nlarge a part of Moslem legislation. Abdullah specially instructed his\njudges to consider these cases from their external rather than from\ntheir internal aspect.\n\nThe usual proofs required are the evidence on oath of witnesses. The\nwitness is obliged to wash himself before taking an oath, so that he may\nbe pure. He then places his right hand on the Kuran, and says, \"Hakk\nkitab Allah\" (\"By God's book\"), following it by his statement. In cases\nof complaints, the defendant only has the right to take an oath, whereas\nthe complainant must produce witnesses. If no witnesses are forthcoming,\nthe defendant has only to take an oath, and is then acquitted.\n\nThe real sense and meaning of an oath is absolutely ignored. Hundreds of\noaths are taken every day in the market court on the smallest trifle,\nperhaps not exceeding a piastre. The falsehood of the individual taking\nthe oath is frequently quite apparent; but unless the witnesses come\nforward, the most flagrant case will go unpunished.\n\nIt is the popular idea that if a man swears falsely on the Kuran, he\nwill immediately fall down dead. This constant perjury is very clear\nevidence of the depth of moral degradation and religious decadence which\nthe followers of the Mahdi have now reached.\n\nIn cases relating to debt, acknowledgment on the part of the debtor of\nhis liability is considered sufficient; but if this is not forthcoming,\nthen two witnesses are required. As a consequence of the widespread\nmistrust and duplicity which exists, everything, even to the smallest\nmatter, is generally written down on paper; or a bargain may be struck\nin the presence of witnesses; but this is not considered a safe\nproceeding, owing to the prevalence of bribery. The Khalifa has given\nvery strict injunctions that all debts must be repaid, and if there be a\ndelay, the debtor is to be put in prison, and brought to reason by\nhunger.\n\nLet us glance for an instant into the court of justice in the\nmarket-place of Omdurman, where most of the small cases are tried. Here\nwe find the sheikh es suk (or sheikh of the market), together with the\njudge, some soldiers, and (latterly only) a few Arabs, as a police\nguard. The sheikh generally rides to the court at eight o'clock every\nmorning on a donkey. One of his guards places his sheepskin on a small\nstraw rukuba (latterly this has been constructed of clay), and on this\nthe sheikh seats himself. He has the Kuran beside him.\n\nThe parties in dispute arrive, and the case turns, for example, on\nfraudulent dealing, debts, payment in false coinage, &c. As there are no\nlawyers, each party must defend himself. As a rule the Sudanese are\nclever and astute in their conversation, and the man who can talk best\nhas already gained half the victory. The noise and shouting is\ndeafening; and the Sudanese have a wonderful display of sly cunning. The\nsheikh's last resource is the Kuran.\n\nSometimes bystanders attempt to mediate between the disputing parties,\nand this course generally prolongs the talk and noise indefinitely, and\ndoes not often succeed. The usual punishment is flogging, which is\ninflicted on the spot. Marissa-drinkers and tobacco-smokers receive\neighty lashes. The individual sentenced has to lie prone on the ground,\nsupporting his head with his hands, while two slaves take it in turns to\nbelabour him with whips made of hippopotamus hide. The first few strokes\ngenerally draw blood, but as a rule the victim remains immovable, whilst\nthe bystanders applaud him for his courage. If he utters a cry or a moan\nhe is laughed at and derided. The sheikh and his supporters are much\naddicted to bakshish, which enables many a culprit to escape punishment.\n\nShould the dispute be of a very serious nature, it is brought before\nthe high court at the Bab el Khalifa; but here money plays even a more\nimportant part than in the smaller court. The success or failure of the\ncase depends on the ability with which the opposing mediators influence\nthe judgment; a hint or a sign with the hand is quite sufficient to make\nthe judge understand, and with marvellous astuteness he will contrive to\ngive the case an entirely new aspect, and one which, probably, only a\nfew moments before he has most strongly condemned, but which now he\nthinks it advisable, under the circumstances, to adopt; and this change\nof front is carried out without the smallest hesitation.\n\nI will here give an example of what is considered justice in Omdurman. A\nfemale slave who had for a long time had a quarrel with her mistress\ndecided to have her revenge, and the fact that her mistress was in the\nhabit of smoking and wearing jewels aided her in her design. She took\nher lady's tobacco and cigarette papers, which were generally kept\nhidden under ground, tied them in a little bundle, ran off with them to\na soldier who was her relative, and who belonged to Yakub's bodyguard,\nand reported her mistress's evil doings.\n\nMeanwhile the lady, finding that her slave had run away, sent her\nbrother-in-law in search of her. The family were now thoroughly\ndisturbed, and anticipated all sorts of bad consequences. The lady's\nhusband hastened to Yakub's house, thinking that perhaps the slave might\nhave gone there, and there, sure enough, he found her, surrounded by a\ncrowd of Ansar. The latter, espying Ahmed (as we may call him),\nsurrounded him and were carrying him before Yakub, when Ahmed, who did\nnot lose his head, explained to the Ansar that he had always been under\nthe impression that the Khalifa had appointed a judge to inquire into\nall such matters, and that he was ready to bow to the judge's decision;\nso he, the female slave, and the Ansar all went to the court. The slave\nproduced from her pocket the bundle, laid it before the Kadi, and then\nstated her complaint against her mistress.\n\nMeanwhile Ahmed had met a friend, and told him how that for a long time\nthe slave had been on bad terms with her mistress, and had seized this\nopportunity for revenging herself on her, adding that she had probably\nobtained the tobacco and cigarette papers from elsewhere, and had\ntrumped up this case to harm her mistress, who had never smoked in her\nlife nor worn jewels; indeed, if they liked they might go and inspect\nthe house.\n\nThe mediator gave a sign to the judge, who at once decided the case in\nAhmed's favour, and ordered him to go to the sheikh es suk, who had been\ninstructed to send some one to inspect his house.\n\nIt was not a difficult matter to circumvent the sheikh es suk, and when\nthey all arrived at the house, the slave was called upon to show the\nplace in which she had been ordered to hide her mistress's tobacco.\nWithout a moment's hesitation the slave came forward and began scraping\naway the earth in a corner. It was evident that she had often done this\nbefore, and that the hiding-place had been carefully prepared--indeed,\nthe slave found some tobacco still there which she had not noticed\nbefore, and this she exultingly produced; but at that instant one of the\nAnsar gave her a slap on the face, saying, \"Look at this bint el kelb\n(daughter of a dog), she brought some tobacco here which she purposely\ndropped into the hole whilst she was clearing the earth away.\" Heaped\nwith insults by the bystanders, the poor slave was dragged off to the\nmarket-place, where she received eighty lashes because she had failed to\nprove the truth of her assertion. Such is Omdurman justice.\n\nAlthough this is but one amongst thousands of cases of the most\ndisgraceful corruption, still all this serves to keep the slaves in\norder, and were it not so, there is little doubt that masters would\nstand in constant danger, and would be at the mercy of their slaves.\nIndeed, many slaves have succeeded in getting their masters into great\ndisfavour by informing on them, and this makes the masters in great fear\nof their slaves Even if a slave has been born and brought up in his\nmaster's house he cannot be trusted, and if he receive some slight\npunishment, it is more than probable he will go off and report his\nmaster as a smoker, marissa-drinker, or that he has become lax in the\ncause of Mahdiism; and, as likely as not, he will be flogged, or receive\nsome worse punishment.\n\nAccording to Moslem law a slave's evidence against his master is\nconsidered invalid; but this law, as well as all other laws, is only\napplied according to the Khalifa's wishes and the circumstances of the\ncase: the same remark applies to the value of evidence given under\ntorture.\n\nCuriously enough, murders are seldom committed, and when the wild nature\nof the Sudanese is considered, it is contrary to what one would expect.\nQuarrels and disputes are endless, but in spite of being armed, both\nparties seem to expend their energy in violent talking and\ngesticulation. The Khalifa has given the strictest orders regarding\n\"assault and battery;\" if a man hits another man, he will be liable to\nhave his hand cut off, and this order is generally unflinchingly carried\nout, unless the condemned man be well off, and he will then have his\nproperty confiscated, as the following case will show:--\n\nA dispute once arose between a merchant named Yusef Kurdi and a certain\nMohammed, son of the rich Ben en Naga; both were intoxicated at the\ntime, had drawn their swords and slightly wounded each other. The affair\nreached the Khalifa's ears; he ordered both of them to be arrested, and\nthreatened to cut off their hands; but, as a matter of fact, he really\nwanted to secure some of their money. Old Ben en Naga, a man of ninety\nyears of age, threw himself at the Khalifa's feet and begged that his\nson's punishment might be altered, and after a few days' confinement and\ncontinued threats, the Khalifa was at length graciously pleased to\ncommute the sentence into confiscation of property. Yusef Kurdi paid\n6,000 dollars and Ben en Naga's son 5,000 dollars, while both of them\nwere kept in prison for many months to expiate their hasty step. With\nno less energy did the Khalifa deal with thieves and swindlers.\n\nThere are various classes of thieves: there are the pickpockets, whose\nfield of labour lies principally in the markets, the small bazaars, and\nlanding-places. They are principally Khartum people or Egyptians, and\ntheir feats of dexterity are marvellous. The removal and cutting out of\npurses and money-bags is for them a quite simple operation, and is\ngenerally performed when people are engaged in a violent dispute. The\nthief has generally a confederate with whom he works. They will sit in\nthe crowded ferry-boats, and whilst one of them attracts the attention\nof his fellow-passengers by singing or telling an exciting story, the\naccomplice is busily engaged in pocket-picking; or sometimes one of them\nwill begin rocking the boat whilst the other takes advantage of the\npassengers' alarm by robbing them. They hover about all day long in the\nmarket, watching their opportunities to steal both from purchasers and\nvendors. Stolen goods are sold to a particular set of men who are in\nleague with the thieves, and the money obtained is quickly squandered.\nThe art of pocket-picking has become quite a science, and so skilful are\nthey that detection is almost impossible. The stolen goods are passed on\nso readily from hand to hand that even if the original thief is caught\nthe person robbed will probably never secure what he has lost. Over and\nover again thieves are apprehended _in flagrante_, but when brought up\nbefore the judge, no trace of the stolen article is ever found.\nFrequently the judge does not fail to get his share of thieves' profits;\nso that the latter have every inducement to continue their nefarious\npractices.\n\nBut far more dangerous than the pickpockets are the housebreakers. Of\nthe latter there is a regularly organized body, of whom the chief is\nknown as the Sheikh el Haramieh. The band is made up of strong and bold\nslaves, who are experts at breaking through walls or climbing over them,\narmed with a long knife, with which they would not fail to stick anyone\nwho attempted to stop them. They employ women and children as spies, who\ngo about begging from house to house, and then give the housebreakers\nfull information, whereupon the thieves, stripped almost naked, and\narmed with swords and daggers, break into the house. One of them is\nalways told off to stand over the sleeping owner, and to give him his\nquietus if he should attempt to rise, whilst the others ransack the\ndwelling, and are off again as quickly as they came, to divide the\nspoil. Whenever the cry of \"El Harami\" (\"Thieves\") is heard at night,\nall sleep is banished, and a careful watch kept till morning.\n\nFormerly watch-dogs were most useful to warn against housebreakers, but\nthe Khalifa decreed that they were impure animals, and forbade them to\nbe kept. Not a dog is now to be seen in the whole of Omdurman; but in\nspite of this injunction, the Arabs living in the desert still keep\nthem. If one of these poor animals by chance strays into the town he is\nat once pursued by a multitude armed with spears, shouting \"Arian!\"\n(\"Naked!\") and he is soon despatched.\n\nA man called Zogheir--an Egyptian, born at Bara--became quite one of the\nmost celebrated of thieves. From an early age he was brought up to\nsteal, and became most skilful. To a strong constitution he added a\ncourage which was worthy of higher things. As head of a band of thieves\nhe led many a daring undertaking, and had the most wonderful knack of\nalways escaping all harm himself. On one occasion, when there were\nscores of complaints made against him, he was sent to the lock-up of the\nmarket. The sheikh es suk, who was at that time rather short of money,\npromised to release the prisoners if they could collect fifty dollars\namongst them.\n\nZogheir agreed to get the money, and was given one hour's release from\nprison. He at once went to the market, and very soon found a victim in\nthe person of a dammur (cloth) vendor, who had sold almost all his\ngoods, and sat with his purse full of money in front of him. Zogheir\nseated himself down beside him, and started a conversation about the\ncloth, which he began turning over piece by piece, and with great\ndexterity he succeeded in seizing the purse, which he secreted under his\njibbeh. He then went off to the judge, to whom he presented the purse,\nin which were seventy dollars, and then quietly returned to the lock-up,\nand told his guard to again put his chains on.\n\nThe cloth merchant soon discovered the theft, rushed off madly to the\nmarket court, and there represented that a thief--and it could have been\nno one else but Zogheir, for he had been sitting with him--had stolen\nhis money. The sheikh severely reprimanded the merchant for making a\nfalse accusation, asking whether he was a liar or was mad, and then,\ntaking him off to the prison, he showed him Zogheir heavily bound in\nchains; and after this the unfortunate merchant had to thank his good\nfortune that he himself did not receive a flogging.\n\nDuring the famine Zogheir drove a thriving trade. On one occasion he\ndiscovered some Arabs in the market who had just sold a quantity of\ndhurra, and were counting out their money, which amounted to 700\ndollars, which they were carefully examining, to see that all were good.\nThis sight made Zogheir long to get the money, so he winked to his\naccomplice, and then seated himself near the Arabs, and began asking\nthem whether he could offer them \"Medjidie\" in exchange for \"Makbul\"\ndollars.\n\nWhen the agreement was nearly concluded, Zogheir took two dollars out of\nhis pocket and gave them to one of his accomplices, to buy some dates,\nand when the man returned with the dates he began throwing them about in\nall directions, calling out \"Karama! Karama!\" (\"Alms! Alms!\"). The\nstarving beggars flocked to him in crowds, and began quarrelling over\nthe dates, whilst the leather bag in which were the 700 dollars suddenly\ndisappeared.\n\nThe cries of the Arabs, searching for their lost money, could scarcely\nbe heard in the frightful din occasioned by the distribution of the\ndates, and all this time Zogheir kept on condoling with the Arabs over\ntheir loss, and then he seized a favourable moment to make off and\ndivide the contents of the leather bag amongst his friends. At length\ncomplaints against him became so numerous that he was sentenced to have\nhis right hand and left foot cut off. He submitted quite cheerfully to\nthe operation, which is really a very simple one.\n\nA butcher is called up, who ties the arm and foot tightly with string\njust above the place where the cut is to be made. This butcher, who has\nhad an immensity of practice, knows exactly where to cut, and it takes\nonly a very few moments to sever the hand and foot at the joints. The\ntightly-tied string keeps the victim from bleeding profusely, and in\norder to prevent gangrene or mortification setting in, the mutilated\nmembers are at once dipped into boiling oil or fat, and are then smeared\nover with katran (a sort of mixture of tar and grease), or sesame. In\nthe course of about two months the cure is complete--that is to say, the\ncure of those who survive the first shock; but several succumb as well.\nHowever, the enormous number of cripples in Omdurman is practical\nevidence that the nerves of Sudanese are strong.\n\nZogheir survived the operation, but hardly had he recovered than he\nbegan his old tricks again. He now was possessor of a fine donkey, on\nwhich he rode about in far better clothes than he had before, and\naltogether, with his diminished members, his condition seemed to have\ngenerally improved. But continual thefts again drove him into prison,\nwhere he wore two chains on his foot and two on his neck; still he\nthought it beneath him to take to crutches, and contented himself with\nhopping about on one leg. He remained in prison for two years, and\nduring the whole of that time he was well looked after by his friends,\nwho supplied all his wants. At last he was released, and is once more\nthe best professional thief in the Sudan.\n\nBut thieves are not all--there are swindlers as well. Several people\nwished to give their money out to interest, and of course there were\nnumbers found ready to give them what they asked. The Prophet, however,\nforbids money to be lent out at a monthly rate of interest, and the\nMahdi renewed this injunction with threats that an infringement of it\nwould involve confiscation of property; this led the swindlers to adopt\na variety of subterfuges. For instance, some men would induce the Arabs\nto give them 200 to 300 dollars, with which they set up a restaurant,\npromising the lenders half profits in the concern. As long as the cook\nhas money in hand everything goes on well, and the Arab will probably\nmake daily inquiries as to the progress of the business. \"It is going on\ncapitally,\" is the reply, and the cook entertains his patron, who in\nturn is much gratified at his generosity, and generally makes a very\nexcellent meal.\n\nA careful account is kept, and prices are high. At the end of the month\nthe profits are divided, and the Arab gets from say eight to fifteen\ndollars. The business goes on perhaps for a year, the Arab is content\nand lavish in his praises, but he is not aware that the cook has paid\nhim his share of the profits out of the original money he put into the\nconcern. At the end of about a year the cook begins to complain that \"es\nsuk barid\" (\"The market is getting cold\")--_i.e._ business is slack,\nmeat is dear, customers are few, and instead of profit there is a\ndistinct loss. Finding he is the only customer, the Arab patron eats\nquickly and goes away. At last the shop is closed, and the Arab, coming\nfor his money, is met with the simple answer, \"There is none.\" The case\nis brought before the judge, the cook hands in a statement of his\naccounts, showing that the profit amounted to 150 dollars, of which\neighty were passed to the credit of the patron in food, and the rest had\nbeen lost owing to general depression of trade. The accounts are all\nright, and the Arab is thoroughly puzzled as to why he should have to\npay so dearly for his cook's proffered kindness.\n\nSeveral Arabs, who have considerably less knowledge of the world than\nthe Gellabas, have lost all they possessed by these swindles. The\nOmdurman market is, I suppose, the scene of more swindling and deception\nthan any other place of its size in the world. There is no shame in\nbeing a thief or a swindler; it is only when one is found out that some\nshame attaches.\n\nSeveral masters keep slaves for the express purpose of getting them to\nrob and steal, and share the profits with them. Slaves of this\ndescription are valuable commodities, as, if they are discovered, it is\ngenerally pretty certain that their master can bribe the judges; but\nthis, of course, all depends on the relations which exist between the\nindividual and the local authorities. Thus tobacco-smokers and\nmarissa-drinkers must pay a monthly sum to the sheikh es suk, which\nenables them to carry out their lawless practices with impunity. If any\nsuch individual refuse to pay, his habits are at once reported, and he\nis severely punished, the confiscated tobacco being then sold by the\npolice.\n\nComplaints against these evil practices, and regarding the absence of\npublic security in Omdurman, grew so continuous and so serious, that at\nlength the Khalifa was obliged to interfere, and the following case\nbrought the matter to a head. A drunken slave had shot one of his fellow\nslaves. In accordance with the law, the master is permitted to take the\noffending slave's life; but he forgave him, because he did not wish to\nlose two slaves at once.\n\nWhen the Khalifa heard of the case, he at once ordered the slave to be\nexecuted. After this, every one came and told him about the smokers and\nmarissa-drinkers; and then and there he appointed a certain Wad er Reis,\nalso named Hussein Wad ed Dayim, as sheikh of the market.\n\nThis man, who had been formerly Mamur of the Berber police, succeeded in\nmaking himself feared by the thieves. He openly told the Khalifa that it\nwould never do to treat thieves according to the law, and that only the\nstrongest and most energetic measures would effect the breaking up of\nthe band.\n\nThe Khalifa agreed; and at once the new chief of police seized all the\nwell-known thieves and put them in chains. They were then bastinadoed,\nand forced to confess what they had stolen, to whom the goods had been\nsold, and their value. And thus they got to know the names of almost all\nthe thieves in the town.\n\nThese measures created a great sensation in Omdurman, for it was found\nthat several people in high places were implicated, and they were\nconvicted. The thieves, too, seized this opportunity for extorting\nhush-money; but Wad er Reis soon re-established public security. To\nincrease the supervision, he divided the market into quarters, over\nwhich he appointed sub-sheikhs (known as sheikh el hara), who were\nresponsible, with the assistance of the inhabitants of the quarter, for\npreserving security at night. Numbers of marissa-drinkers were\napprehended, and a large quantity of confiscated tobacco was publicly\nburnt in the market-place. All the principal thieves were transported to\nthe convict-station at Regaf, a course which the Khalifa thought\npreferable to mutilation of the hand and foot.\n\nJust about this time an Egyptian convict, who had escaped from Sawakin,\narrived in Omdurman. He had been convicted of false coining in Egypt,\nand had been sentenced to ten years penal servitude at Sawakin. While in\nthe prison there, he and a companion had come to an agreement with the\nsoldier guarding them, and all three had escaped and set off for Berber.\nThe soldier and the other man had died on the journey, and the survivor,\nhaving reached Omdurman, begged to be presented to the Khalifa; but\nAbdullah thought it beneath his dignity to interview an escaped convict.\nHe was therefore transferred at once to the steamer bound for Regaf with\nall the thieves and other exiles, whilst the Khalifa was heard to remark\nthat anyone who came from Egypt was invariably a criminal or dishonest\nman.\n\nThe new posts of sheikh el hara were unpaid, and as the holders had to\nlive, they were forced to make money by unfair means. This led to the\nold tobacco and marissa abuse, so that matters soon drifted back into\nmuch the same condition as before.\n\nThe caravan roads into the interior are fairly safe, but merchants\nalways prefer to travel in parties of twenty to thirty; though, as a\nmatter of fact, the Baggara garrisons at the various posts are a much\ngreater source of danger to the merchants than are the thieves and\nbrigands. These Baggara wring money out of the merchants, and steal\ntheir goods; but if the caravan is large, they are afraid to do anything\nwhich may lead to reprisals. The Khalifa has, however, done much to\nimprove public security in the provinces, and punishes severely when\ncases are brought to his notice.\n\nThe state of public morality in the Sudan is very bad, and in Omdurman\nit could not well be worse. Before the Mahdi appeared, matters were bad\nenough. Almost all the large towns, such as Khartum, Messalamieh,\nMetemmeh, and El Obeid--especially the latter--were hotbeds of\nimmorality of the very worst description.\n\nThe Mahdi was utterly opposed to all these evil habits, and during his\nlife matters greatly improved; but this was due rather to the fact that\nthe whole country was under arms, and that the towns were practically\ndeserted. Besides, punishment for such crimes was ungrudgingly given,\nand the stoppage of marissa-drinking also tended to lessen the evils.\nMarriage ceremonies were simplified and made less expensive, and a\ndistinct advance in public morality was apparent.\n\nBut when the principal fighting was over, and the victorious emirs gave\nthemselves over to a life of luxury and debauchery, when idle town life\ntook the place of religious campaigns, when houses were built of mud and\nbricks instead of rough straw huts, and when the Mahdi died, then\nimmorality broke forth with the redoubled violence of long compression,\nand the state of affairs became infinitely worse than it had ever been\nin the old Government days. I refer especially to Omdurman. Constant\nwarfare had greatly diminished the male population. Omdurman was full of\nwomen who had neither husbands nor male relations; and this is the real\ncause of the evil state of affairs.\n\nMatters reached such a pitch in 1888 that the Khalifa issued an order\nthat every unmarried woman must be provided with a husband within three\ndays, or she would be handed over to a Baggara as a slave or concubine.\nIn consequence of this order, for the space of three days the whole town\nwas continuously occupied in marriage ceremonies. Men seized this\nopportunity of taking women whom they would never, under other\ncircumstances, have been allowed to marry; and of course these forced\nmarriages could not be of long duration--in a month or two most of the\ncouples were separated.\n\nAnother cause which tended towards immorality was the fact that numbers\nof men had been sent off to far-distant parts of the country on\nexpeditions, unaccompanied by their wives, most of whom were left in\nOmdurman for years; and it is hardly to be wondered at if in time they\nbegan to forget their husbands and to form unlawful connections, in\nwhich the Khalifa had frequently to interfere.\n\nOn one occasion upwards of eighty women, whose infidelity to their\nhusbands was unquestionable, were put in prison, and a council held to\nconsider what should be done to them. It was decided to make an example\nof one, and the victim selected was an unfortunate who had borne two\nillegitimate children. The poor creature was led into the women's\nquarter of the market, and there she was lowered into a grave with her\nlast child tied to her bosom, and both stoned to death by a cruel and\nhard-hearted crowd, who seemed to take a fiendish delight in this\ninhuman piece of work.\n\nThis, however, was the only execution of the sort which took place\nduring Mahdiism. The other women were released; but the only effect of\nthe above example was to induce women to take criminal means to rid\nthemselves of these evidences of illicit connection; and the open sale\nof abortive medicines only tended to further increase the moral\ndecadence of the people. One can truthfully say that feelings of horror\nand shame scarcely exist in the Sudan. From slaves of all ages and\nsexes, to the little child of six years old, all are instructed in the\nvery worst forms of immorality; but on this painful and disgusting\nsubject I will say no more.\n\nGradually the simple marriage laws introduced by the Mahdi gave place to\nthe old former customs. For example, the Emir of Berber, Abdel Majid,\nmarried the daughter of Abderrahman Bey Ben en Naga, and received from\nher father 2,000 grammes of gold. The marriage ceremony, which was\ncelebrated with dancing and singing, lasted about a month; but when the\nKhalifa heard of it, he had the emir imprisoned for some months,\ndeclared the marriage dissolved, sent the bride back to her father, and\nforbade him to let the bridegroom ever take her again.\n\nBut the Sudanese have a passion for such ceremonies involving dancing\nand singing, and will never be restrained by any of these new laws. The\nwomen wear jewellery as before; they dance, sing, and prepare marissa;\ngames of chance too are quite in vogue; but of course everything is\ncarried on secretly. From time to time the Khalifa raises his voice\nagainst it, and then for a few days everything stops; but it soon breaks\nout again, and goes on just as before.\n\nThe festivals consequent on the termination of Ramadan, on Bairam, on\nthe occasion of births, circumcisions, &c., are not carried out with any\ndegree of their former brilliance. Perhaps a meat meal is given, and\nvisits paid two or three times in the year. The old days of rejoicing\nhave vanished, all is anguish and fear, no man's life and property are\nsecure; every one has perforce to break the laws, which are most of them\nquite impracticable, and at the same time are in constant fear of spies,\nwho are everywhere. There is no security, justice, or liberty; and\nhappiness and content are unknown.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nTHE KHALIFA'S TREATMENT OF THE WHITE CAPTIVES.\n\n     Description of the prison, or \"Saier\"--The \"Abu Haggar\"--The\n     imprisonment of Charles Neufeld--Terrible sufferings of the\n     prisoners--Domenico Polinari--The danger of corresponding with the\n     European prisoners--Neufeld threatened with death--He is given\n     charge of the saltpetre pits--The fate of Sheikh Khalil, the\n     Egyptian envoy--The Khalifa's treatment of the \"Whites\"--Exile to\n     the White Nile.\n\n\nIn the preceding pages frequent reference has been made to the prison.\nThis is an institution of so much importance in connection with Mahdiism\nthat it merits a description in detail.\n\n\"Saier!\" In the Sudan the bare mention of this word causes a shudder.\nThe ordinary word for prison is \"siggen,\" but Saier is really a\ncontraction for beit es Saier (_i.e._ the house of the Saier). Saier is\nthe name of a terrible individual of the Gowameh tribe of Kordofan, who\nhas been gaoler since the early days of the Mahdi, and his name has\nbecome the synonym of the horrible place of which he is the guardian.\n\nA curious story is told about his name which is said to be true. The\nGowameh women are not renowned for moral virtue, and when Saier was born\nhis mother was asked whose son he was; she was unable to say, and when\nbrought before the authorities and again questioned, she replied that it\nwas \"Saier\" (_i.e._ it was the custom of her country); the boy was\ntherefore called Saier, and the name clung to him.\n\nUp to the time of the fall of Khartum, the prison had been merely a\nlarge zariba, and it was only after the Mahdi's death that a wall, built\nby the prisoners themselves, took the place of the thorn hedge. It is\nsituated on the river bank, and consists of a large yard, in the centre\nof which is a building made of mud, straw, and stones, known as \"abu\nhaggar\" (or the stone hut), with small square openings for a window and\na door; near the hut is a well. In one corner are the cells, which are\nscarcely large enough to contain a man, and which had been built by\nCharles Neufeld.\n\nThe ordinary prisoners are not kept apart, but lie under the shade of\nthe wall during the day, and at night they are packed, some into the abu\nhaggar and some left to lie about in the yard. A few of the well-off\nprisoners, who are in for long terms of imprisonment, have been allowed\nto build little huts for themselves. And just behind the gate is a small\nsun-dried brick building, which belonged to Wad Gazuli, late sub-Mudir\nof Khartum, who deserted to the Mahdi before Gordon's arrival; this hut\nis only big enough for two people, and so low that it is impossible to\nstand upright in it.\n\nIt is considered a very great favour to be given a hut of this\ndescription--a favour which is only conferred on very privileged\nprisoners; it is, moreover, very expensive, but it has this merit, that\nthe occupier can at any rate live separately. There are only three huts\nof this description in the prison.\n\nPrisoners are not allowed to use mattresses, but the owner of a hut can\nhave a small platform slightly raised from the ground, on which he is\nallowed to sleep. The ordinary prisoners generally lie on their\nsheepskins or on mats stretched on the ground.\n\nAll prisoners are in chains, the number of which depends on the nature\nof the crime committed. The chains, called makias, consist of large iron\nrings forged to the ankles, and joined by one and sometimes two thick\niron bars. The whole thing is very cumbersome and heavy, and most tiring\nto walk with. To lighten this difficulty, the prisoners generally attach\na piece of string to the chains, with which they lift them up as they\nwalk. If the connecting bar is twelve inches long walking is greatly\nfacilitated. Prisoners who have fallen under the Khalifa's special\ndispleasure are generally laden with four makias, which make it almost\nimpossible to rise; besides these, a long heavy chain is fastened round\nthe neck, and to prevent the skin being chafed, leather stocks can be\nbought of the prison warders. Close to the prison gate is a large anvil\nand several hammers; the foot is placed in the open ring, the ends of\nwhich are so tightly hammered together that it is quite impossible to\nwithdraw the foot; the anvil is in such constant use every day that it\nis almost worn out.\n\nPrisoners have to arrange for their own food; if they have any relations\nor friends they are generally supplied by them, or if they have any\nmoney they can buy their own food from hawkers who are permitted to come\ninto the prison. But woe to the unfortunate prisoner who has neither\nrelations nor friends--he must inevitably die of starvation.\n\nAt night, as I have remarked, the prisoners are locked up in the stone\nhut, and sometimes the Saier crowds it up to such an extent that the\ninmates are almost suffocated or crushed to death. When he is in want of\nmoney he does this, for a man will give anything to be released from\nthis awful black hole, in which he packs them like sardines in a box and\nthen closes the door. The walls of the hut become heated during the day,\nso that within the temperature is like an oven. A little air gets in\nthrough the small opening, but the pestiferous atmosphere caused by\nscores of perspiring human beings tightly huddled together is beyond\nmeasure unbearable. Several may be suffering from various illnesses, but\nthere is no possibility of getting out once the door is closed. These\nhorrible scenes can, however, be better imagined than described; suffice\nit to say that the noise and quarrelling amongst the prisoners,\noccasioned by the revolting operations which go on, is generally quelled\nby the guards coming in with whips, with which they lay about them\nroundly, and then go out and close the door again.\n\nSleep is almost quite out of the question, for there is no room to\nstretch out the legs, the heat is unbearable; scorpions abound, and\nevery now and then a yell shows that some unfortunate individual has\nbeen stung; but no one takes any notice. Cases of heat apoplexy often\noccur, and deaths on this account are frequent. When a person falls down\nin a fit, the only remark passed is, \"ed dam darabu\" (\"The blood has\nbeaten him\"). Thus, in utter anguish and misery, the night is dragged\nthrough. The moment the door is opened a rush is made for the open air,\nthe dead are dragged out, their chains knocked off, and then they are\nburied.\n\nPrisoners who have special permission to sleep outside are all chained\ntogether to prevent flight, and are guarded by numbers of soldiers. The\nslightest show of resistance on the part of a prisoner is punished by\nflogging. Unless the Khalifa gives special orders to the contrary,\nprisoners are allowed to receive visits from their friends and\nrelatives. There are no fixed periods of imprisonment, except in the\ncase of smokers and marissa-drinkers, the usual punishment for them\nbeing confiscation of property, eighty lashes, and forty days\nimprisonment; but latterly a fine, estimated at the value of their\nproperty, is levied instead of complete confiscation; the two other\nportions of the sentence are, however, always inflicted.\n\nPrisoners are generally divided into three classes: the first class\ncomprise those who are sentenced by the chief of the beit el mal, and\nalthough there is a special prison for offenders against the beit el\nmal, all serious cases are brought to the Saier.\n\nSecond-class prisoners are those undergoing sentences of the judges;\nboth these classes hope for release whenever a sufficiently influential\nperson will pay a sum of money for them, which sum must also be\naccompanied by a certificate from the Saier that they have been\nconducting themselves properly during their stay in prison.\n\nThe third class are those on whom the vials of the Khalifa's wrath have\nbeen poured out; their crimes are for the most part political, and all\nmediation in their cases is quite useless, no one, not even the judge,\nis allowed to say a good word for them to the Khalifa. It is only when\nhis wrath is somewhat abated that it may occur to himself to make\ninquiries about them, and then, perhaps, he may consider recommendations\nfor their release; but the Saier's opinion goes for much more than any\nother person's, and therefore it is a great point to secure this\nindividual's favour and get into his good graces. One bad word from the\nSaier can do an infinity of harm, and may indefinitely postpone a\nrelease which has been on the point of being made.\n\nThe Saier thoroughly understands how to work his influence, for he\nbenefits considerably by his exercise of power; he receives no pay, and\ntherefore he is entirely dependent on what he can make out of the\nprisoners. The richer his victims, the more pleased he is, for he knows\nhe can wring money out of them freely. Once a month the judge or his\nrepresentative goes with a clerk to the Saier and makes a list of all\nthe prisoners, showing how long each prisoner has been in confinement.\nOn these occasions numbers of the inmates throw themselves at the feet\nof the judges and beg to be released because they are starving. This\nlist is shown by the judge to the Khalifa, and Charles Neufeld's name\nalways appears at the top. Abdullah goes through the list, makes careful\ninquiries about the prisoners, some are released and others passed over\nin silence, a sign which bodes them no good.\n\nThe Saier has seen and heard not a few of the misfortunes of both\nSudanese and Europeans. The first Europeans he knew were Slatin Bey and\nLupton Bey. Gustav Klootz was put into chains in Abu Girgeh's camp.\nDuring the siege of Khartum it was thought the Europeans might attempt\nto escape to Gordon, they were therefore put in chains; both Slatin and\nLupton spent upwards of ten months in chains under the Saier; they\nsuffered dreadfully from hunger and ill-treatment, and were frequently\nthreatened with death. After the fall of Khartum they were released, and\nwere told by the Khalifa that they should feel thankful to have been in\nprison, otherwise they would undoubtedly have shared Gordon's fate.\n\nOne of our Mission brothers, Domenico Polinari, was also kept in prison\nfor six months; he was imprisoned the same day that I arrived from\nKordofan.\n\nAfter the fall of Khartum, Polinari's brother had been working as\ngardener in the Mission grounds, under his new master, the Khalifa\nSherif. The former gardener, a Dongolawi, had been dismissed for\ndishonesty, and before he left, Sherif ordered him to be carefully\nexamined, as it was thought he might have taken some of his master's\nproperty. Polinari, who was a most conscientious man, and had never even\ntaken a lemon without his master's permission, carried out the search\nmost carefully, and succeeded in getting back quantities of things the\nthief had made away with. For a time the thief said nothing, but soon\nhis innate Danagla astuteness came to his assistance, and he concocted a\nplan to revenge himself on Polinari, and again become chief gardener.\n\nThe war material, just as it had been left by Gordon in the Mission\nhouse, was still there, and it happened that one day some powder was\nstolen. In spite of the most careful inquiries, it was impossible to\ntrace the thief, and now the ex-gardener began to throw out hints that\nPolinari was implicated in the theft. A certain Hajji Zubeir was\nentrusted with the inquiry. Polinari's hut was overhauled, but nothing\nfound in it; his honesty was so well known that no one would credit any\nevil reports or slander against him. But the ex-gardener was not to be\nput off. Having failed in his first accusation, he now began to spread\nreports that Polinari drank liquor and chewed tobacco, and in proof of\nthis he produced a large glass bottle and some dried herbs; there were\nsome fresh dates in the bottle, with which Polinari intended making\nvinegar, which the gardener insisted was liquor; the dried vegetable was\na sort of cabbage which Polinari intended cooking for his food, but this\nthe Dongolawi asserted to be tobacco.\n\nThe unfortunate Polinari was obliged to walk through Omdurman with the\nbottle on his head, followed by an insulting and disorderly crowd, until\nhe came before the judge. Kadi Ahmed, who was well known for his\npartiality to Europeans, at once recognised that this was all a\ntrumped-up slander, and was anxious to release Polinari; but Hajji\nZubeir, who had still great influence with the Khalifa, and instigated\nby the ex-gardener, sent him off to the Saier. Every other day we used\nto send him some bread and dates, but the slave to whom the food had\nbeen consigned never delivered it, as we afterwards discovered, and had\nit not been that two of the sheikhs, who were fellow-prisoners with him,\nhad given him some of their food, he must have died of starvation.\n\nAmongst the many Sudanese who have at various times been inmates of the\nSaier, may be mentioned the aged sheikh of the Shukrieh, who had been\nmost loyal to Gordon, Awad el Kerim Abu Sin--he died in prison; Wad\nZaid, of the Debaineh tribe, had been kept in prison four years; then\nthere were Ahmed Wad Suleiman, who had been the Mahdi's chief of the\nbeit el mal; Saleh Pasha Wad el Mek, one of Gordon's principal officers;\nthe Ashraf Sayid Abdel Kader and Sayid Abdel Kerim; Wad Adlan we have\nalready referred to; Jabrallah, Sultan of Darfur, and his five sons,\nmost of whom died; Wad en Nejumi; Sheikh Idris; Makin Wad en Nur, and\nmany others.\n\nWhen the Khalifa's tribe, the Taisha, first arrived, they plundered the\nmarket, and Abdullah threw 200 of them into prison, \"to teach them,\" he\nsaid, \"the right way.\" Every night fifty of them were driven into the\nstone hut, which was, indeed, a terrible change from their forests and\nplains. Every day several died of typhus fever, and now the mere mention\nof Saier makes them tremble; even their head sheikh, El Ghazali, whose\nmisfortunes I have already narrated, spent some months in prison before\nhe made his unsuccessful attempt to escape.\n\nYasin, a Jaali, who had fallen into the hands of the English at Toski,\nand who was subsequently released, and given a letter to take to the\nKhalifa from the Egyptian Government, had to pay dearly for saying to\nAbdullah that they could not fight against the English.\n\nAnother of the captives taken at Toski, but who also returned to\nOmdurman, was much more crafty in his interview with the Khalifa; this\nindividual related that, when in Cairo, an old monk had said to him, \"Is\nnot the Khalifa of the Mahdi called Abdullah?\" to which he replied,\n\"Yes; it is so.\" \"Is he not slightly lame?\" \"Yes.\" \"Is he not marked\nwith small-pox?\" \"Yes.\" Then the monk said, \"Do you see this book? It\ncontains the history of the Mahdi and his successor, and it is stated in\nit that Khalifa Abdullah shall conquer Egypt, Syria, and Mecca.\" The\nKhalifa was so delighted with the story that, turning round to his\npeople, he said, \"You see the Christians know perfectly well that\nMahdiism is not false.\" The wily author of the story was then given a\npresent of money.\n\nOccasionally the Saier treats his prisoners very cruelly. Two fikis who\nwere suspected of being unbelievers were given 1,000 lashes each; one\ndied on the spot, and the other a few days afterwards. Occasionally he\nrelieves the monotony by giving his prisoners 400 lashes, which is not\nconsidered an out-of-the-way punishment.\n\nOn one occasion, two Ababdeh Arabs coming from Korosko as merchants,\nwere discovered south of Metemmeh with rifles in parts, carefully\nconcealed in bales of cloth; letters were also found on them. They were\nat once considered to be spies, and taken before the Khalifa. As soon as\nit was rumoured that Arabs carrying letters for the Europeans had been\ncaught, a friend came to me at once, and told me that the letters were\nsure to be addressed to me. This threw me into a fever of anguish and\nalarm; I was made a prisoner, and spent that night in the greatest\nterror. The Khalifa had warned us most distinctly not to correspond with\nEgypt, and threatened to imprison us if a letter should ever be\ndiscovered.\n\nOn this occasion I had every reason to be alarmed, for I had already had\na similar experience. After Father Bonomi had escaped, he sent a\nKababish Arab to Kordofan to try and secure my escape. The Arab remained\nwith Sheikh Saleh Bey, and did not, to my knowledge, ever come to El\nObeid. When Saleh was killed in 1887, they found amongst his papers a\nletter from Father Bonomi to me, advising me to trust the Arab, who\nwould not fail to guide me safely to Halfa. This letter was brought,\nwith the other correspondence, to the Khalifa, and was translated to\nhim: he was furious, and had not my guardian angel protected me, I must\nhave been relegated to prison.\n\nArabic letters are less dangerous, for they are read out to the Khalifa\nby his secretary, but he is always mistrustful that European letters are\ncorrectly translated. How I had longed for letters, even a word from the\noutside world, or from my relations or friends; but now in my captivity\nhow earnestly I prayed that no letter for me should be found amongst\nthose brought by the Arabs!\n\nAs soon as it was daylight I went out in search of news, and to my\ndelight was told that the letters were in Arabic and were not for me,\nbut for some one whom I knew very well. The contents of the letters were\nquite harmless, merely an interchange of compliments between families in\nCairo and Omdurman, and news of a wedding which had taken place in\nCairo. However, the two men who brought the letters were in no little\nfear, thinking they would certainly be executed; but the Khalifa had\nthoroughly mastered their contents, and though it was evening, he\nmounted his big white horse, in which position he usually made his\nimportant speeches to the Ansar, and he told them that letters had been\ncaptured which had come from Egypt and were addressed to the \"Ansar el\nGudad\" (_i.e._ the \"new Ansar,\" or inhabitants of Khartum and the Blue\nNile, in contra-distinction to the \"Ansar el Gudum,\" or old Ansar of\nKordofan, who were the original adherents of the Mahdi); that he did not\nintend to mention the names of the persons to whom the letters were\naddressed, but he was sure they would spend a sleepless night.\n\nThe next morning the two Arabs were sent to the Saier, but their lives\nwere spared. A few days later I went to see Neufeld in prison and\ninquired about the Arabs. I saw them both chained, and when they saw me\nthey at once asked me for something, addressing me as Baladieh (_i.e._\none of their own countrymen), as they took me for an Egyptian; and then\nthey told me in strict secrecy that they had come with the intention of\nsecuring the flight of two persons--one Mankarius Gottas, who had died\nin Galabat, and the other a resident in Berber, by whose imprudence they\nhad been betrayed; these unfortunate men had had nothing to eat for\nthree days, so I gave them a few piastres which I had brought for\nNeufeld, and as I did not dare to stay longer with them I begged Zogheir\nto look after them.\n\nFifteen days afterwards I returned and found the poor men stretched out\ndead under the wall, they had died of starvation, and the guards had\njust come to knock off their chains and carry their bodies out of the\nyard. The sight of these two Ababdehs filled my heart with sadness;\nthere they lay, nothing but a mass of skin and bone; they had come to\nhelp poor captives to escape, and this was their own miserable end.\nThis, indeed, was a warning to me to act with increased prudence and\ncaution.\n\nAn Egyptian, born in the Sudan, was also sent to the Saier for a few\nmonths for declaring that he was the fourth Khalifa--_i.e._ the Khalifa\nOsman. One day this individual had presented himself to the Khalifa and\nbegged to be heard for a few moments as he wished to tell him of a dream\nhe had had. It is quite an ordinary occurrence for the Ansar to relate\ndreams flattering to the Khalifa, in the hope of getting some bakshish.\n\nThus did our Khalifa Osman relate that in his dream or vision he had\nbeheld the Mahdi, who told him to declare himself the fourth Khalifa,\nand therefore he begged that Abdullah would confirm him as such and\npermit him to take his share of authority with the other Khalifas; he\nalso begged that all the honour due to him as Khalifa Osman should be\nforthwith paid to him.\n\n[Illustration: CHARLES NEUFELD.]\n\nThis poor madman paid dearly for his dream. Abdullah merely made a sign\nto one of his body-guard, on which he was hurried off to the Saier,\nwhere he received fifty lashes twice a day, and was eventually obliged\nto confess that the devil had tempted him to strive after this position.\n\nCharles Neufeld remained in the prison longer than any one else. I have\nnarrated in a previous chapter how he had daringly joined Saleh's people\nwith the intention of establishing commercial relations with the Arabs,\nand how he was entrapped by the Dervishes at the oasis of Selimeh. This\ngood man knew nothing of the Sudan and nothing about Mahdiism, and it\nwas just at this time that the Khalifa had made up his mind to crush\nSaleh and his Kababish.\n\nOn the 7th of March, Neufeld arrived in Omdurman--a prisoner under a\nstrong escort. News spread like wildfire that an English pasha had been\ncaptured, and this caused a great stir in the capital. The Khalifa\nconsidered him a most important capture, and Neufeld was ushered into\nthe presence of the three Khalifas and two Europeans, who were entrusted\nwith the examination of his papers. Neufeld spoke Arabic, and was quite\nfearless. His papers showed that he was a Prussian and had studied in\nthe Leipzig University. All the documents were most carefully translated\nto the Khalifa, as it was most important to assure him that Neufeld was\nnot an Englishman, as otherwise it would have gone very hardly with him.\nThere was one letter, however, in English, which, if it had been\ntruthfully translated, would have probably got him into great danger.\n\nAfter the preliminary examination, Abdullah's mind seemed to have been\nput at rest, for he delivered from his high seat a long speech to the\ninquisitive Ansar regarding this great English pasha, who he said had\ncome to the Sudan with arms and ammunition, intending to seize Kordofan\nand fight against Mahdiism, but fortunately the brave troops of Wad en\nNejumi had met him near Dongola, killed his soldiers, and captured him.\n\nIt was the Khalifa's habit to exaggerate facts and thereby encourage the\nAnsar; he also made out his capture was a most important event, for\nhitherto they had not succeeded in taking even one of the hated English.\nPoor Neufeld was therefore thrown into chains and carefully guarded by\nsoldiers; during the whole of that night a fanatical Dinka negress, who\nused to dress in men's clothes and wear a sword, shrieked continuously\nat him, \"Allah hu akbar alal kufar!\" (\"God's power is most great over\nthe unbelievers.\")\n\nIt was decided that Neufeld was to be hanged the next morning. Very\nearly the Khalifa sent orders that the great drum should be beaten,\nwhile the blast of the huge onbe\u00efa close to Neufeld's ears almost made\nhim fall down from fright. The slaves made game of him as if he were a\nmonkey; but he still kept up courage and answered all these insults with\na manly spirit; the rope had been fixed on to the scaffold, and already\ncrowds of people were collected to see the Englishman executed. But the\ncondemned man had not yet arrived, for the Khalifa's final decision had\nnot been taken. Hitherto he had never executed a white man in this open\nway, and he delayed, because he was still uncertain about his being a\nPrussian. Had Neufeld been an Englishman, there is not the smallest\ndoubt he would have been killed.\n\nAt length Abdullah made up his mind not to kill him, but he determined\nto frighten him; about midday, therefore, Neufeld was taken to the\nmarket-place escorted by horsemen; the crowd raised a yell of delight\nwhen he appeared, but Neufeld fearlessly walked on, and on reaching the\ngallows he jumped on to the angarib and bent his head so that Bringi\nmight adjust the rope round his neck. Just at the last moment the judge\nstepped forward and said that the Khalifa had been graciously pleased to\nrepeal the sentence of execution, and Neufeld was, therefore, again\nremoved to the lock-up.\n\nThree days later he was laden with three heavy chains, put on to a\ncamel, and led through all the streets of Omdurman, so that every one\nmight see him. He was also taken to a review where the Khalifa asked him\nif the Turks possessed as many troops as he now saw before him, to which\nNeufeld replied that the Khalifa's troops were more numerous, but that\nthey were not so well drilled in exercises and movements as the Turks\nwere.\n\nThis answer did not please the Khalifa; and in order to make him take an\ninterest in the Mahdi and his Khalifa, he was taken over to Khartum and\nwas there shown the Mission building, which the Mahdi had seized; he was\nthen taken back to the prison, where he remained four years. He was\nfrequently attacked with typhus fever, dysentery, and other ailments,\nand was terribly stung by scorpions; had not the Europeans in Omdurman\nsupported him he must have starved to death.\n\nThe depth of misery to which poor Neufeld was reduced may be readily\nunderstood when it is known that he spent a whole year in the stone hut,\nand it was not until he had completed two years in prison that, through\nthe intermediary of a friend, he was allowed to build a little cell for\nhimself in one of the corners of the yard, where he could sleep away\nfrom the other prisoners. This little building was about twelve feet\nsquare and very low, and here poor Neufeld used to sit all day long; his\njibbeh was very dirty and swarming with insects, which allowed him\nlittle rest at night, and in despair he used to get one of his\ncompanions in adversity to rub him with wet sand, which made his skin\nless irritable; some sympathizing Arabs told him to soak crushed cloves\nin water and then rub his body with the paste; this Neufeld found a\ncapital remedy, though it made his skin smart a great deal at first.\nNeufeld's kindness of heart soon won over his guards, and often they\nallowed him to remain undisturbed in his little hut for the night\ninstead of dragging him off to the stone hut.\n\nOne evening, hearing that the Saier was in a bad humour, he told his\nguards that he wanted to spend that night in the stone hut; but the\nsoldiers assured him that the moment they knew there was to be an\ninspection they would at once let him know. So Neufeld settled himself\nto sleep in his cell, when suddenly, about midnight, one of his guards\nawoke him, saying, \"Get up quickly! the Saier has sworn he will give any\none he finds outside the stone hut 100 lashes.\"\n\nNeufeld got up as quickly as possible and made his way to the hut, but\nthe chains prevented him from moving rapidly, and when he got to the\ndoor he could not turn the key; just at that moment the Saier came into\nthe yard, and seeing him, ordered him to be given 100 lashes on the\nspot; but the soldiers refused to obey--one said he had fever, and the\nother said that he had been flogging people all day and was too tired.\nThe Saier was therefore obliged to call slaves from his own house, who\nadministered the 100 lashes, and left poor Neufeld covered with deep\nscores all over his body.\n\nIn 1889 Neufeld obtained a new companion in adversity in the person of a\nBohemian baker, who had been employed with some Greeks at Halfa. One\nday, in a state of semi-intoxication, the baker had left Halfa with\nnothing but his violin, intending to go to Sawakin; but he lost his way\nin the desert, was overcome by thirst, and wandered towards the Nile,\nwhich he at length reached. Quite ignorant of the direction in which he\nwas going, he struck out towards the south, and fell in with a patrol of\nDervishes, by whom he was passed on to Omdurman.\n\nOn his arrival the Khalifa sent him to prison, where he remained two\nyears. Neufeld shared his every mouthful with him; but during the famine\nhe suffered dreadfully from want. At length, through the intermediary of\nthe mukuddum in charge of the Europeans, he was released; but a few\nmonths afterwards he made off to the Gezireh. The mukuddum, who had\nguaranteed him with his head, sent several camelmen in search of him;\nbut there was no trace to be found of him. After a time it was reported\nthat he had died of starvation at Rufaa on the Blue Nile, and this\ninformation greatly relieved the Khalifa's mind.\n\nAs for Neufeld, we did our utmost to obtain his release; but the Khalifa\nwould not hear of it; moreover, false reports were circulated about him.\nSome people who came from Dongola said that Neufeld, in disguise, had\nbeen sent by the Egyptian Government to find out whether the\nMudir--Mustafa Yawer--was still loyal or had thrown in his lot with the\nDervishes; but in reality it was Kitchener Pasha who had been entrusted\nwith this mission.\n\nOn another occasion an Arabic newspaper, printed in Cairo, was brought\nto him, containing a paragraph to the effect that an English officer had\nbeen captured by the Dervishes in Dongola. This amazed the Khalifa\ngreatly, for at once he believed that he had been deceived and that\nNeufeld was actually an Englishman. Being, in truth, a mere savage and\nan ignorant man, he believed that all news in a newspaper must be true,\nand blamed himself for not having executed Neufeld in the first\ninstance; he ordered him, however, to be more heavily chained than\nbefore.\n\nOthers again spread rumours abroad that Neufeld had come with the\nintention of aiding Slatin to escape--news which enraged the Khalifa\nperhaps more than anything else. Thus did Neufeld spend four years in\nprison, and his release seemed hopeless; but we left no stone unturned.\nWe secured the good-will of all the most influential people in Omdurman,\nincluding even the Om el Muminin (Mother of the Faithful--_i.e._ the\nMahdi's widow) and the Sherifa Sitt Nefisa (the daughter of Sidi Hassan\nel Morghani), who petitioned very earnestly for his release; but the\nKhalifa would listen to no one.\n\nWhen powder was scarce in Omdurman, some one suggested, at one of the\nKhalifa's councils, that it would be much better to make the unbelievers\nwork for religion instead of remaining all day long idle in the Saier,\nand that Neufeld ought to undertake the saltpetre refinery. The Khalifa\nsaid, \"Do what you think right--I am content.\" And on the same day\nNeufeld was sent to Halfaieh in search of saltpetre; he found some, and\na month later was moved to Khartum, where he is now working in the old\nMission-house with an Egyptian assistant named Said. He still wears one\nchain on the feet, which, from constant rubbing, has become as bright as\nsilver, while there are great black marks round his ankles. In Khartum\nhe is allowed greater liberty than he had in Omdurman.\n\nIn 1891 a Jewish merchant came from Massawa to Kassala, where the Emir\nAbu Girgeh was then commanding. The latter was in favour of opening\ncommercial relations by means of Jews, and permitting non-Mussulman\ndealers to come and sell their goods at Kassala, or let them go on\nfurther into the country. When, therefore, the Jew had disposed of his\ngoods, he went, on Abu Girgeh's advice, to Omdurman. On being presented,\nthe Khalifa summoned another Jew, named Passioni, whom he made\nresponsible for the new arrival. But, as usual, the voice of slander was\nnot silent; it was whispered that he was an Italian spy, and that it\nwould have been better to have him under surveillance. He had scarcely\nleft the Khalifa's presence, when he was recalled and sent to the Saier,\nthere to be \"educated as a true Ansar.\"\n\nThe fate of Olivier Pain and the experiences of Neufeld and this Jew are\nsufficient evidence to prove the utter uselessness of attempting to\npersonally enter into commercial relations with the present ruler of the\nSudan. Any one who comes to Omdurman need expect nothing but chains, the\nmost terrible form of imprisonment, insults and ignominy from the\nSudanese.\n\nA still worse fate befell Sheikh Khalil, who was sent from Egypt to the\nSudan on a special mission to the Khalifa. In company with an Ababdeh\nsheikh, he arrived at Abu Hamed, where Zogal was at the time. The latter\nbeing accurately informed of the nature of his mission, allowed the two\nmessengers to travel without escort to Omdurman, and on the journey\nKhalil had opportunities of speaking to the people, and ascertaining how\nthey were disposed to the Egyptian Government. He saw with his own eyes\nthe devastation wrought by the Dervishes and by famine in all the towns\nand villages along the Nile. For some days before he actually reached\nOmdurman, we heard of his approach, which occasioned no small stir in\nthe place. Some people thought he was bringing proposals of peace,\nwhich, if refused by the Khalifa, would oblige the Egyptian Government\nto again advance into the Sudan; rumours of all sorts were rife, but\nthere was no possible means of knowing the truth.\n\nLate one evening Khalil arrived, dressed as an Egyptian, with a long\nflowing abayeh (mantle). He was taken before Yakub, to whom he made over\nhis letter, and was then taken before the Khalifa, to whom, it is said,\nhe freely spoke his mind. That same evening he was sent under escort to\nKererri, where he was put into a hut under a strong guard, but he was\nnot chained. He was supplied with meat, butter, corn and sugar, and a\nfemale slave was placed at his disposal by the Khalifa, who had\npurposely sent him out of Omdurman to prevent him conversing with\nanyone, and to keep all information regarding his mission quite\nsecret.[P] In this way the Khalifa thought he would give him a different\nimpression of Mahdiism, while Hajji Zubeir was told off as intermediary\nbetween Khalil and Abdullah.\n\nIt was generally believed that Khalil had blamed the Khalifa for his\nill-treatment and oppression of the Moslems, and had shown him how his\nrule was ruining the Sudan. He had begged him to abandon the evil of\nMahdiism and return to the true orthodox religion. Whilst in confinement\nat Kererri he was frequently threatened with death. No one knew what his\nmission could be, and the Khalifa knew how to guard it secretly, so that\ngradually people began to forget all about him, and great was the\nsurprise when one day Khalil and his companion appeared riding on mules\nat the great parade held during the Bairam festival.\n\nThe Khalifa brought Khalil here to show him how immense was his power\nand authority, and just before the parade was concluded Abdullah and all\nthe cavalry galloped up to him, surrounded him, and asked whether he\nwould not rather stay in the shadow of the Mahdi's dome than return to\nEgypt. Khalil, who had now been for upwards of five months in\nconfinement, and thinking that he should never be allowed to leave, and\nat the same time longing to be allowed to return and report to the\nGovernment all he had seen, replied diplomatically that having once been\nin the light he had no wish to return to darkness.\n\nThis reply delighted the Khalifa, who ordered him to be set free, and at\nprayers in the mosque on that day he sat in the centre of the long line\nof Ansar just behind the Khalifa.\n\nIt is the custom at festivals for all European prisoners, Greeks,\nSyrians, Jews, &c., to go and offer the Khalifa their good wishes. When\nthey arrived on this occasion the Khalifa ordered them to be seated\naround him--he does not allow them to kiss his hand, as he might thereby\nbecome contaminated with their impurity; he usually makes a speech,\npointing out the punishments which may fall upon them; but this time he\nwas particularly gracious, asked how they were all getting on, and if\nthey had met with ill-treatment or injustice at the hands of anyone. He\ngave them to understand that they must look on him as their protector,\nand that should they die their children would become their heirs, and\nthat if a family had no children, the property would be sold and divided\namongst the other prisoners.\n\nThis kindly speech was a great surprise to us all; but the astute\nKhalifa only wanted to show Khalil how well he treated his prisoners. It\nis possible, also, that Khalil had observed to him how badly we really\nwere treated, but this is only surmise on my part. Abdullah's kindly\nspeech, however, did us much good, for of course all he says goes the\nround of the whole town, and when the people knew that we had been well\nreceived, they showed us much greater kindness and respect. If, on the\nother hand, the Khalifa ever imputes a word of blame to any of us, the\nreaction on the people is immediate, and we are at once insulted and\nmaltreated. It is always said that \"the whites\"--which is the name by\nwhich we are known in the Sudan--\"live under the shadow of the sword.\"\n\nThe Khalifa then asked Khalil's companion if he wished to return or stay\nwhere he was. The man replied that he was a messenger, pure and simple,\nand that as such \"he should return to him who sent him,\" and on the same\nday the Khalifa gave him permission to depart.\n\nBut now evil reports were spread abroad regarding Khalil. It was said\nthat he was a great friend of Mustafa Yawer, the ex-Mudir of Dongola,\nand that it was mainly through his influence that he prevented him\nadopting Mahdiism; it was also said that he was the chief of the spies\nsent by the English, and a bitter enemy to the Mahdi. It was imprudent\nunder such circumstances of Khalil to go as an envoy to Omdurman. He had\ngiven his services to the Government for this purpose, and he bravely\nadhered to it; but he was well known to the inhabitants of Dongola and\nDar Shaggieh, and it was quite certain that the Khalifa would never\npermit such a man to return to Egypt. Even in Omdurman he would not\nallow him to be at large.\n\nTwo days later the judges were assembled to consider Khalil's case:\nfalse witnesses came forward who asserted that they had seen Khalil\nworshipping the sun and frequently turning towards the west at prayers,\nand all sorts of stories were trumped up to induce the Khalifa to put\nKhalil in chains.\n\nThe pliable judges condemned the sheikh, and he was relegated to the\nSaier. Neufeld had to give up his cell, which was made over to Khalil.\nNone of the prisoners were allowed to speak to him--thus was the poor\nman left without a friend or acquaintance to help him; everyone shunned\nhim as if he were the victim of some foul disease. From the earliest\ndays of Mahdiism it was always the fate of those who fell in favour to\nbe deserted by all, and this was more especially the case with all those\non whom the Khalifa's wrath fell. Thus everyone--fearing for his own\nlife--avoids all intercourse with such prisoners.\n\nWhen Khalil had expended the little money he possessed, he sold his\nsword, sheepskin, and clothes, and bought bread--such bread too!--even\nSudanese, who are accustomed to eat all sorts of stuff, could only eat\nprison bread when hunger had made them like ravenous wolves; but Khalil\nhad come from Egypt and its flesh-pots, and the Sudan bread made him\nill.\n\nAt length he had no more money to buy even bread, and then he suffered\nthe pangs of hunger. For a month before his death his beard had grown\nquite white, and he himself had become like a skeleton. His wretchedness\nand loneliness brought on sickness, and he died a miserable death. It\noccurred on a Friday whilst the Khalifa was attending a review, and\nAbdullah accidentally fell from his horse on that day, but was caught\nbefore he reached the ground. This was considered a very bad omen by the\npeople, who thought that Khalil had been unjustly condemned. They\nbelieved it pointed to the overthrow of the Khalifa's rule, and he\nhimself was very much disturbed.\n\nThe disloyal Ababdehs of Hassan Khalifa were also locked up in the\nSaier. Hassan was a nephew of the former Mudir of Berber, had been for a\nlong time emir of Abu Hamed, and during Nejumi's advance on Egypt had\noccupied the wells of Murat. It was said that when there, he had acted\nin a most reprehensible manner, and had wrung quantities of money out of\nthe merchants. It was also said that when Saleh Bey advanced from\nKorosko on Murat, he came to an arrangement with him--for he was not a\nMahdiist at heart--and had retired on Abu Hamed without attempting to\nfight.\n\nAll sorts of reports about him reached the Khalifa's ears, but he\nrefused to believe them. When, however, a certain Abadi named Karrar,\none of the Khalifa's spies, who had been captured by Saleh at Murat, for\nhaving letters in his possession for the sheikhs in Egypt, and had been\nkept in prison for some months, was released and returned to Omdurman,\nthe Khalifa then became convinced of Hassan Khalifa's disloyalty; he\nsent four of his mulazimin to Abu Hamed, arrested him and his people,\nand confiscated all their property. About forty men were thrown into\nchains, dragged to Omdurman and there relegated to the Saier; several\ndied of typhus, and the remainder, after two years' imprisonment, were\nsent as exiles to Fashoda, except Hassan, who still remains in prison at\nOmdurman.\n\nNear the Saier is another small prison for females, but there are not so\nmany of them.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[P] Khalil had been entrusted with a few lines of a purely\nnon-political nature, politely asking the Khalifa to return to the\nbearer any clothes, papers, &c., belonging to the late General Gordon,\nwhich his family were very desirous of procuring. He was also given\nlists of all prisoners captured at Toski, showing how they were disposed\nof in Egypt, and a remark was added that when peace and tranquillity\nwere restored between the two countries, they would be permitted to\nreturn, but in the meantime they were well cared for.--F. R. W.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nLUPTON BEY AND THE AMMUNITION.\n\n     The Khalifa's powder and ammunition begin to fail--Lupton Bey makes\n     fulminate--Unsuccessful attempts to make powder--Yusef Pertekachi\n     at last succeeds--The explosion in the powder factory.\n\n\nAs a result of constant warfare and the careless expenditure of\nammunition, the want of it now began to be sensibly felt by the Khalifa,\nand it eventually became an all-important question. The principal want\nwas caps for the Remington cartridges, for, though there were quantities\nof empty cases there was scarcely any fulminate left.\n\nMany a starving Egyptian began to try and invent some substance which\nwould act as fulminate; there were still a few books on chemistry to be\nfound, but all attempts failed to produce satisfactory results. At last,\na certain Hassan Zeki, who had formerly been a doctor in Khartum,\ninvented the substance required. The Khalifa told off Lupton Bey, who at\nthat time was living in the most abject poverty, as his assistant.\n\nThe first trials of the new fulminate were made in the presence of\nYakub, and were most successful; the invention proved of the greatest\nuse to the Khalifa. The unfortunate Lupton Bey died on the 8th of May,\n1888, and Hassan Zeki continued the work. Within a comparatively short\ntime he prepared a very large number of caps. Abdullah had a special\nlaboratory made, and employed a number of boys as cartridge fillers. It\nwas principally owing to this invention that the Khalifa was enabled to\nconduct his successful campaigns against Abyssinia.\n\nAnd now another difficulty arose--this was the scarcity of powder;\nnumbers of persons presented themselves as prepared to make this\ncommodity. An Indian, named Kamal ed Din, came forward amongst others;\nhe had come from India to join the Mahdi, passed himself off as a doctor\nand proudly called himself \"Physician-in-chief to the Khalifa.\" He had a\nready tongue, and soon acquired respect and wealth; he painted his beard\nred with henna.[Q] He had immense powers of persuasion, and thereby\nobtained a concession from Abdullah to make powder. He demanded that a\nspecial laboratory should be built for him in Khartum, so as to be quite\nout of observation, and he asked for a quantity of money for the\npurchase of the chemicals he required.\n\nThe laboratory was built in the course of a month in the old corn store\nin Khartum, and the work was taken in hand. The Indian declared that it\nwas most necessary to obtain phosphorus, and therefore he had all the\nbones and skulls of the people who had been massacred in Khartum,\ncollected, and these he pounded in mortars into very fine flour, much to\nthe annoyance of people who objected to this desecration of the dead.\n\nEvery now and then he applied for more money from the beit el mal, which\nwas supplied to him at once, and now he began to work quite alone and in\nsecret; he put the bone flour in earthenware vessels, poured water on\nit, and then sealed the vessels hermetically; he now declared that to\nprepare the chemical substance only, another month was necessary. He\ntherefore stopped work and lived at his ease. At the expiration of the\nmonth he secretly opened the vessels; no one had a notion what he was\ngoing to do with the bone-paste, but he affirmed that so far everything\nwas most successful, and invited the head of the beit el mal, as well as\nseveral emirs, to be present at the trial of the powder.\n\nThe emirs came and sat in a circle round a furnace which slaves were\nblowing up with bellows; then the Indian produced the vessel, asked the\nemirs to take some of the substance and throw it into the fire. This\nthey did, and it exploded with a loud report, which greatly astonished\nthe spectators, one of whom then and there, knelt down and offered up a\nprayer of thanksgiving for the success of the invention.\n\nThe emirs accompanied Kamal ed Din to Omdurman in triumph, where he also\ngave proof of the excellence of his powder in the presence of the\nKhalifa. Abdullah was wild with joy, and presented the inventor with 200\ndollars and a concubine. The Indian now returned to Khartum with profuse\npromises that he would supply several hundredweight of the new powder in\nthe course of a month.\n\nBut soon people began to talk of him as being a cheat and a deceiver; a\nmonth passed and the powder was not delivered; the head of the beit el\nmal became anxious, and reported the matter to the Khalifa, who at once\nsent his brother Yakub and Wad Adlan to make inquiries on the spot; they\nwent, and it was very evident that the Indian had been duping them all\nthe time. He was brought before the Khalifa, and, strange to say, was\nnot punished. Abdullah merely remarked that he was a poor foreigner,\nand, of course, had to do his best to make a living. It is a curious\nthing that Abdullah has a much greater insight into the ways of\nforeigners than most natives.\n\nA certain mukuddum, however, of the Jaalin tribe did not get off so\neasily. In the days of the Government he had practised an extensive\nfraud in Khartum, and also in Sennar as an alchemist, and now he came\nforward to offer his services for the manufacture of lead. At first he\nhad been occupied in making gold, but now to the Khalifa lead was even\nmore precious than gold, and the want of it was causing him grave\napprehension.\n\nThe mukuddum's offer was accepted, he received presents from the beit el\nmal, where he was given a special place in which to carry on his work,\nand numbers of slaves were placed at his disposal; he was given all the\nmoney he required to purchase various things in connection with the\nmanufacture, and which he asserted were absolutely essential. Four\nslaves were told off to keep up an enormous furnace, whilst the\nmukuddum, his head and shoulders swathed in a great mantle, beat the\nground madly with a long whip in order to call the Jinns to his\nassistance. His curious antics greatly astonished the people, and he\nsoon became the principal topic of conversation in Omdurman. After\nfourteen days an enormous lump of lead was drawn out from the furnace,\nand his reputation was made.\n\nThe Sudanese are great believers in alchemy; and it was thought that the\npreparation of one of the ingredients required the greatest secrecy. The\nmukuddum, therefore, worked fully on the superstitious nature of the\npeople, and a thick cloud of foul-smelling smoke was seen continually\nissuing from his mysterious and dark laboratory. The lead was at once\nsent to the Khalifa, who appeared thoroughly convinced of the miraculous\npower of the maker, and indeed had the piece brought into the mosque to\nexpose it publicly. The sycophants of course told him that this was an\nundeniable miracle on the part of the Mahdi, who had been the means of\nsupplying the precious metal to his successor through this mukuddum.\n\nThe manufacturer was now in high favour, the Khalifa pressed him to\ncontinue the work, and supplied him liberally with money and female\nslaves. One of the Europeans had urged him to desist, telling him that\nit was quite impossible to manufacture lead; but the mukuddum answered\nhim three times in the most solemn manner: \"Do you think that you know\nthe knowledge of God?\" and then went on with his work. From time to time\nhe continued to send pieces of lead to the Khalifa, but his supply only\nlasted a few months; the more sensible people began to talk, they urged\nthat if he could make one piece of lead, he could also make several\nhundred-weight. The voice of the detractors grew stronger, the Khalifa's\nsuspicions were aroused, and the mukuddum was summoned into his\npresence. He asked him in the most kind manner if it was a fact that he\nreally knew how to make lead, or if he was only attempting to deceive;\nif the latter--and he confessed to it--then he might receive\nforgiveness.\n\nBut this kindly warning was entirely without effect; the mukuddum boldly\nanswered that he did know how to make lead, and moreover abused his\ndetractors, calling them enemies of Mahdiism, who hated the Khalifa, and\ndid not wish him to be possessor of the precious metal. He added that,\nif given sufficient time, he would prove his enemies to be liars. The\nKhalifa permitted him to continue his work a little longer; but the\nresults were still the same, and he was again summoned before Abdullah,\nwho now threatened to cut off his hand and foot unless he confessed that\nhe had been practising a fraud; but still the mukuddum persisted in his\ndenial, and the Khalifa ordered three chains to be forged for his feet,\nand had him sent back to his laboratory under a strong escort; he was to\nbe permitted to work for three days longer.\n\nHe now redoubled his antics, making the dust whirl in clouds about him,\nand crying on the spirits to aid him. He put a few pounds of substance\ninto the fire--all that was left of his lead-scrapings--but this time\nthe spirits left him in the lurch. Bathed in perspiration, he anxiously\nraked about the coals; but there was no lead to be seen. He begged and\nprayed for more time, which was granted. But at length one of his slaves\nlet out the secret; he said that the mukuddum used to purchase in the\nmarket the lead bullets which had been dug out of Khartum, he filed them\ninto thin shavings, mixed them with some concoction, and threw them into\nthe furnace; the melted lead was then drawn off and allowed to cool. On\nthe last occasion he had failed, and now his fraud was fully exposed;\nthe Khalifa ordered his hand and foot to be cut off, \"not,\" he said, \"so\nmuch for the fraud, as for the continual denials.\" The operation was\ncarried out, but the mukuddum died eight days afterwards of tetanus.\n\nThe failures of this man and of the Indian to manufacture powder and\nlead did not deter others from continuing their experiments, and amongst\nthe latter was a Greek named Yusef Pertekachi, who continued working on\nwith the most dogged determination. He had tried every plan to gain a\nlivelihood; but whatever he put his hand to, it seemed to fail, and he\nwas soon deeply involved in debt. In his desperate position he\ndetermined to study the manufacture of gunpowder. For a whole year he\ncontinued his experiments, and in his case the truth of the proverb,\n\"Necessity is the mother of invention,\" was fully exemplified; he\nsucceeded in making fairly good powder.\n\nThe experiences of the Indian and the mukuddum pointed to extreme\ncaution; he did not, therefore, tell Adlan, who he thought would not\nbelieve him, but after his death he applied to Yakub.\n\nYakub is a man whom even the leaders of Mahdiism find a difficulty in\napproaching, and poor Pertekachi tried for months before he obtained a\nhearing; but at length he was attended to, and the various trials and\nexperiments of the new powder, both in guns and Remington rifles, proved\nmost satisfactory.\n\nPertekachi at once rose in favour in the eyes of Abdullah and Yakub, and\nwas soon comparatively well off. The Khalifa ordered a bottle of the\npowder to be placed in the Antik Khana, on which was written: \"Powder\ninvented by the Osta (Master) Pertekachi.\"\n\nAt first Pertekachi set to work to improve the damaged powder, of which\nthere were quantities of old barrels taken out of the Government\nmagazines, but, having been left in damp places, it had become crusted.\nFor several months he continued his work, to the complete satisfaction\nof Abdullah, but the poor man was soon to come to a terrible end.\n\nOn the 26th of January, 1891, Pertekachi as usual went to the\nmarket-place at an early hour to have a chat with the other Europeans.\nHe happened to say: \"To-day is the anniversary of the fall of\nKhartum--Gordon's day--a black day!\" In the Sudan it is the custom to\ncall a day on which a misfortune has occurred \"Yom aswad\" (a black day).\nAnd to the survivors of Khartum, the 26th of January is always looked\nupon as a day of grief and sorrow; several people give alms for the rest\nof the souls of their murdered friends.\n\nPertekachi had intended to go and look at the new house he had just\nbuilt; but being the 26th of January, he would not go to it, and decided\nto go to the beit el mal instead, where he had some work to do. He found\nthe workmen busy opening one of the barrels of damaged powder, and after\ntaking a cup of coffee, he went to help them, as they seemed to be in\ndifficulty. He had scarcely reached the spot when--owing to a sudden\nblow or shock, or clumsiness on the part of the workmen--the powder blew\nup with a most terrific explosion which shook the whole town, and\nterrified the inhabitants, who rushed wildly about in all directions to\nsee what had occurred. I happened at the time to be sitting at my loom,\nand at once ran up to the roof of my house, and there, in the direction\nof the beit el mal, I saw a column of thick smoke ascending.\n\nMy first thought was for poor Yusef. I hastened to the beit el mal,\nwhich was half an hour's walk from my hut, and found crowds going in the\nsame direction. The Khalifa himself appeared on the scene, he came\nriding along on a donkey, with only one or two men. His first question\nwas, \"Osta Yusef fi?\" (\"Is the Master Yusef alive?\") \"Taish enta!\" (\"May\nyou live!\") was the reply. These are the words in which Arabs always\nannounce a death.\n\nA poor Egyptian woman, whose only son was employed as Pertekachi's clerk\nand had been killed, was weeping and wailing in the most heart-rending\nway--her husband and another son had been murdered in Khartum--and now\nwild with grief she was cursing the Mahdi, through whom her dear ones\nhad been brought to an untimely end. Some of the Ansar approached, and\nthreatened to beat her with a whip if she did not stop. But she shouted\nat them, \"Kill me as well! Why should I live any longer? You have\nkilled my dear ones--may God kill you!\"\n\nThe Khalifa, who was standing near, rebuked his officious followers,\nsaying: \"Let her weep, she is 'mahar[=u]ka'\" (_i.e._ consumed with the\npain of affliction). He did not stay long at the scene of the accident,\nbut went away very sadly.\n\nAll Pertekachi's fellow-countrymen hastened to the spot. Of the large\nsquare house built of rough sun-dried bricks, only the four walls were\nleft standing; the wooden roof had been blown to pieces, and it was no\nsmall difficulty to collect the shattered remains of those who had been\nvictimized. A pair of legs were found fifty yards away, a head was found\nhalf buried in the wall; there was not a hand to be found anywhere.\n\nAnother Greek had been killed with Pertekachi, named Yusef Angeli. His\nhead and feet had disappeared, and his body was so shattered as to be\nalmost unrecognizable; he had been in chains, and his foot makia was\nfound fixed in his leg. Poor Angeli had led a miserable life in\nOmdurman; he had neither home nor friends, and had lived in the market\nas a Greek hawker. Towards the end of 1890 he had been sent by another\nGreek to Berber, to try and recover a debt for him. This mission was to\nbe carried out in secret, for Europeans are strictly forbidden to leave\nOmdurman, and the mukuddum in charge is obliged at once to report any\nabsentees.\n\nBut Angeli was a man of no account, and could easily have gone to Berber\nand back without anyone being any the wiser. A Syrian, however, who bore\na grudge to the Greeks, hearing that Angeli had left, went secretly to\nthe Khalifa, but as he was at that time staying at his house in the\nnorthern hejira, he saw Yakub instead; he said that, in accordance with\nthe orders of the Khalifa el Mahdi, he had to report that Yusef had\ndeserted to Berber in a sailing boat. Yakub at once informed the\nKhalifa, who imagined that it was I who had deserted (my Arabic name\nbeing Yusef), and at once ordered Nur el Gereifawi, head of the beit el\nmal, to send camelmen in pursuit. The latter was eventually very\nannoyed when they found out which Yusef it was, for he would not have\nthought it worth while to send after Angeli. The pursuers, however, had\ngone, and found Angeli in the market at Berber; they secured him and\nbrought him back to Omdurman.\n\nPertekachi, who was a countryman of Angeli's, had begged that he might\nbe spared, and had obtained a promise from Yakub that he should come to\nno harm. He was brought before the Khalifa, and said that he was very\npoor, and had only gone to Berber to recover a debt, in proof of which\nstatement he produced the man's written receipt for the money; but when\nthe camel-men who had captured Yusef were asked whether they found any\nletters on him, they denied it, and in consequence Yusef had been sent\nto the lock-up in the beit el mal. This was only a very special favour,\nfor the _r\u00e9gime_ here is not so severe as in the Saier, and prisoners\nconfined in this place generally obtain a speedy release.\n\nAngeli had to thank no one but Pertekachi for this lenient treatment,\nand his benefactor did not cease begging until he procured the Khalifa's\npermission for him to work at the powder factory at a fixed monthly rate\nof pay; but he had still to wear one makia, and this Pertekachi was\narranging to have removed when the terrible catastrophe occurred--he had\nonly been working for three days altogether in the factory. There were,\nof course, slanderers found, who affirmed that Angeli used to smoke\ncigarettes, and had purposely set fire to the powder in revenge for his\ncaptivity, but this time the Khalifa would not listen to them. He merely\nsaid it is \"Amr Allah\" (\"God's will\"), and added that he was sure Yusef\nwould never have deliberately tried to destroy his own and his\ncountryman's life. The force of the explosion had driven the iron into\nYusef's leg, and it was impossible to take it off; we therefore\ncollected all that remained of the two poor fellows and buried them.\n\nThe Khalifa's enemies secretly rejoiced over his misfortune about the\npowder, for now, they thought, there will be no one to make it; but one\nof Pertekachi's labourers, who had learnt the manufacture from his\nmaster, replaced him as head of the factory. After the catastrophe the\nfactory was removed to Tuti Island, where a large yard was built, around\nwhich the necessary workshops were constructed.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Q] This worthy was taken prisoner by the Egyptian troops at\nthe capture of Tokar in February 1891.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nAGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE IN THE MAHDI'S KINGDOM.\n\n     Remarks on the agriculture and commerce of the Mahdiist kingdom--A\n     sandstorm in Omdurman--The paucity of cattle--System of taxation on\n     imports--Provincial beit el mals--Local manufactures--Slavery and\n     the slave-markets--Torture of slaves.\n\n\nIn the following chapter I propose to make a few remarks on the\nagriculture, commerce, and business of the Mahdiist kingdom. The greater\npart of the Sudanese live by agriculture and cattle-breeding.\nAgriculture goes on most of the year; the lands are sown during the\ntropical rains. The winter is called the \"kharif,\" and in Omdurman\nbegins in July and lasts till the end of September. During this period\nthere are three or four very heavy falls of rain, usually at night, and\noccasionally during the day there are heavy storms, which are at times\nvery grand.\n\nThese outbursts are preceded by great sultriness, the whole ground is\nhot, everything is burning, even in the shade one dare not touch metal;\nthen in the east a cloud of dust arises, which indicates the coming\nstorm; the clouds bank up with astonishing rapidity, and now it is time\nfor people to make the best of their way home as quickly as they can.\nThe dust-clouds, lighted up by the evening sun, show the exact direction\nof the storm; some are of an inky black, others gray, and in the\ndistance they can be seen dashing up against one another, and forming,\nas it were, a series of hills and valleys; yet there is scarcely a leaf\nmoving, and all nature seems hushed.\n\nThen the storm-clouds seem to touch the earth, there is a sudden\nrustling of the leaves; the distant houses are lost in obscurity, and\nnow it is time to shut oneself up in one's house. In a few minutes day\nhas been turned into night, the wind howls round the house, windows and\ndoors creak and rattle, till one begins to think in another moment the\nhouse will fall about one's ears. Lights are used, for now it is blacker\nthan the darkest night; the fine dust penetrates everywhere and covers\neverything; the heat is overpowering, one perspires at every pore, and\nthe dust cakes on one's face and hands, giving one the feeling of being\nintensely begrimed and dirty; but there is nothing for it but to wait\npatiently for the return of daylight, when one rises with one's eyes and\nmouth full of dust, and nothing but a complete bath makes one feel in\nany degree clean again. These sand-storms are generally followed by\nheavy showers, which completely lay the dust.\n\nA tropical thunderstorm is also full of solemn grandeur--deafening peals\nof thunder and howling wind, followed by a veritable deluge, which seems\nto transform the country into a lake in a few minutes.\n\nThese sudden storms are a source of no small danger to Omdurman,\nespecially in the quarter where the mosque and market are situated. Here\nthere is no outlet for the water, which overflows into the yards and\nhouses, and melts the mud-built walls like sugar. During the first year\nor two of Omdurman's existence, and before the people had much\nexperience, several of the huts collapsed during a storm, burying the\ninhabitants in their ruins. The intense obscurity which always\naccompanies these deluges adds still more to the general alarm. However,\nafter about two days the whole town becomes dry again; the hot sun and\nthirsty earth soon absorb all the moisture, and one would scarcely know\nthat rain had fallen.\n\nGenerally about a month before the rains begin, and when the Khalifa\npermits it, the people leave the town in crowds and repair to the\nfields, which they set to work to clear. After the famine year of 1889\nthe Khalifa did everything in his power to induce the people to turn\ntheir attention to agriculture. Plentiful rain and hard work produced\nexcellent crops in 1890. Dhurra, dukhn, cotton, sesame, onions, and\nvarious sorts of beans are grown.\n\nThe operation of sowing requires little time or trouble; the fields are\ncleared of all the stumps, roots, &c., of the preceding harvest, which\nare burnt, then every one raises a small bank of earth around his\nground, so as to retain the water and enable the earth to become\nthoroughly saturated. This measure is specially necessary in the\nGezireh, where the clay soil does not absorb quickly, whilst in the\nsandy plains of Kordofan it is exactly the reverse.\n\nAs soon as the parched ground has absorbed the first rains, sowing is\nbegun without delay; the soil is turned over with iron or wooden hoes,\nand the seed thrown down. Weeds spring up in great profusion, and it\nrequires endless trouble to prevent their choking the young growth.\nDhurra ripens in about two months, dukhn in three. The fine quality,\nsuch as Shilluk dhurra, takes six months to come to maturity. The\ngathered corn is threshed, and then stored in holes in the ground, where\nit can be kept without deteriorating for upwards of ten years.\n\nAlong the Nile, sowing and reaping goes on the whole year through. Water\nis drawn up by the sakiehs, or water-wheels, and distributed over the\nfields. After the wars, numbers of these water-wheels which had been\ndestroyed, were reconstructed. Now there are a great number in working\norder, and the banks are covered with green. All work is done with the\niron or wooden hoe, and the plough is not used at all. The only plough I\never saw in the Sudan was one worked by an Egyptian in Khartum, and it\ncaused no small astonishment amongst the natives. Wheat and maize--or,\nas it is called in the Sudan, \"Aish er rif\" (Egyptian bread)--ripens in\nforty days.\n\nIn Kordofan quantities of broad beans are grown, as well as sesame,\nsugar-cane, cotton, onions, garlic, bamiahs, radishes, tomatoes,\ncucumbers, and water-melons; while Indian figs, pomegranates, lemons,\noranges, citrons, bananas, and grapes are grown in profusion in the\nKhartum gardens. Date-palms are plentiful on the Blue Nile and further\nsouth; but it is not possible to dry them, for they at once become full\nof insects. Rain often spoils the date harvest.\n\nBesides agriculture and cattle-breeding, the Sudanese may be called a\nthoroughly pastoral nation. During the long wars against the Government,\nas well as in the internal disturbances, the camels and oxen were almost\nexterminated; and in 1889 a cattle plague still further reduced the\nnumbers.\n\nWhen Fashoda was occupied, quantities of cows were taken from the\nShilluks and sent either to Gezireh or on to the Berber market, in order\nto try and stimulate breeding. There are quantities of goats and sheep,\nas only a comparatively small number of these have been killed; but the\ngreatest loss has been in camels, and it is not so easy to replenish the\ncountry in this respect. There are still a considerable number of\ndonkeys, which are used both for riding and as pack-animals. A good\ndonkey will fetch from forty to two hundred dollars.\n\nThe Sudanese are born traders and dealers; it is almost a passion with\nthem, and they like the travelling which trade involves. Of course the\nflourishing commerce of the old days has been quite destroyed. The\nimport of goods to the Sudan from the north and east was formerly in the\nhands of one merchant. The Berber-Sawakin and Berber-Korosko roads were\nopened through Wad Adlan, and the re-occupation of Tokar by Egypt has\ndone a great deal to help commerce. Wad Adlan's successor, Nur\nGereifawi, established the ushr (or one-tenth tax) on all important\ngoods, in addition to the \"zeka,\" or two and a-half per cent., which was\nformerly the only tax levied.\n\nThis increase in taxation has rather impaired than improved trade, but\nit is still fairly brisk. However, the \"ushr\" was levied twice, in both\nOmdurman and Berber, so that the beit el mal obtained twenty-two and\na-half per cent. profit on all imported goods. This exorbitant taxation\nled to goods being smuggled into the town by night. In spite of every\nprecaution being taken, smuggling still continued; and at last it was\ndecided that all merchants should have their goods stamped at the beit\nel mal.\n\nThis stamp bears the words, \"Ushr beit el mal el umum\" (\"The\ntenth--general beit el mal\"), and no goods are allowed to be sold unless\nthey are thus marked. The head of the beit el mal himself also went to\nthe market and personally stamped all the private goods of merchants;\nand in this way the fraud was stopped. A merchant selling unstamped\ngoods would have all his property confiscated.\n\nAll went well for a time; but soon it was discovered that false stamps\nwere in use. This led to another inspection of all goods in the market,\nand the confiscation of a considerable quantity of property, an\noperation which caused business to be suspended for about eight days.\n\nLarge quantities of printed cotton stuffs are imported; also perfumes,\nmedicines, cloves, rice, sugar, and dried fruits. The home-trade is, of\ncourse, much brisker than imported trade, and consists for the most part\nof provision dealing. Dongola and Dar Shaggieh supply Omdurman with\ndates; Berber sends salt, mats and baskets made of palm leaves; from\nKordofan comes gum, sesame, and dukhn; the Gezireh exports dhurra,\ndammur, and cotton; Karkoj supplies sesame and a small quantity of gold.\nOmdurman is thus the great wholesale and retail mart, which in turn\nsupplies the provinces. Here the whole population--men, women, and\nchildren from eight years of age--are all dealers.\n\nThe older women have their own quarter of the market, in which they sell\noil, grease, pearls, vegetables, drugs, dhurra, and dates. Young women\nare not allowed to go to the market; but they send their slaves, who\ntake charge of the goods. The latter are obliged to render full accounts\nwhen they return in the evening; and woe to the unfortunate slave who\nmakes a mistake in his calculations! Quantities of vegetables are grown\nin the gardens in Khartum, Buri, and Gereif, and are brought to Omdurman\nfor sale. The Baggara women are naturally good dealers, and have now\nsecured almost the entire custom.\n\nIn the early days of Mahdiism everyone lived in the most simple way, and\ndressed even more simply. The staple article of food is dhurra, which is\nmerely boiled, made into a cake and eaten. Bread, which is generally\nknown as \"kesra,\" is eaten with a sauce which is usually made of pounded\nbamiehs boiled with red pepper and salt. Sometimes beans are used\ninstead of bamiehs. Meat is scarce, but a meat sauce boiled in milk and\nmixed with pounded dried fish is a favourite dish. Quantities of fish\nare obtained from the Nile, and tortoises, which sometimes take the\nplace of meat, are not uncommon. But whilst the rich live in comparative\nluxury, the poor people exist in the greatest want and misery.\n\nGood clothing is seldom considered; the richer a man is, the dirtier\nwill his dress be. This is, of course, meant to blind the eyes of\ninquisitive slanderers. The Baggara chiefs have no reason to conceal\nanything; but it must be quite apparent to all that a form of government\nwhich preaches a continual despising of the good things of this life is\nnot likely to promote any of the higher comforts of civilization.\n\nIn matters, however, regarding war and the preparations required for a\njehad, it is entirely different. Blacksmiths are always busy forging\nspears and knives; and in this description of work the results are\nremarkable. Saddlers make every description of leather ornament for\nhorse and camel decoration; tanners prepare the leather, and dye it red\nor black; tailors now make much better jibbehs than before; the patches\nare generally made of good cloth, and the best garments are now valued\nat about sixteen dollars each. The women spin the cotton, and the men\nweave the dammur from it. The best dammur comes from Berber and\nMetemmeh. The Darfur women are also famed for their good and even\nspinning; but Abyssinian dammur is generally considered better than any\nof Sudan manufacture.\n\nTin-smiths make drinking cups and tin receptacles of various sorts for\nhousehold use. Cooking-pots are made of copper. Jewellers make gold and\nsilver filigree work for the ladies; but this work is not nearly as good\nas it used to be in the days of the Egyptian Government. All these\nvarious trades are carried on in the market.\n\n[Illustration: A SLAVE-GIRL FROM EQUATORIA.]\n\nMahdiism has re-established the slave trade, which is now in full\nvigour, and almost all those slaves who were liberated in the\nGovernment days have been sold again as slaves. Wherever there is a beit\nel mal there is also a slave-market. The largest is, of course, in\nOmdurman, to which all captured slaves are sent. The beit el mal sells\nthe slaves by auction. Well-grown male slaves are generally taken into\nthe army.\n\nClose to the beit el mal is the female slave-market, where generally\nfifty or sixty women of various ages are to be found. The slave-dealers\nare for the most part Egyptians. The slaves are arranged in lines under\nthe open sky; their bodies are generally well bathed in oil to preserve\nthe gloss of their skin. Intending purchasers make the most careful and\nminute examination, and the price varies from twenty to a hundred\ndollars.\n\nYoung females are kept apart from the rest, as they are generally\nselected as concubines, and as such they are subjected to a most\ncritical scrutiny; the shape of their hands and feet, and the form of\ntheir mouth, nose, ears and teeth are all carefully noted. Black are\npreferable to copper-coloured slaves, and the latter colour necessitates\na considerable reduction in price.\n\nYoung male slaves are sold at from thirty to sixty dollars each, and\nthese have generally to learn a trade. Purchasers ask all sorts of\nsearching questions as to whether they have good moral qualities, are\nlikely to run away, &c., &c. The salesman must produce a certificate\nshowing the tribe, a full descriptive return, and the legal authority\nentitling to ownership.\n\nDuring the early days of Mahdiism the slave trade received an enormous\nimpetus, more especially subsequent to the capture of Bahr el Ghazal and\nthe occupation of Darfur. After Gessi Pasha's victory over Zubeir\nPasha's son and the dispersion of the slave-dealers, several of the\nlatter fled into the interior, where pursuit was impossible; then\nfollowed the era of liberty under the Mahdi's banner, the slave-dealers\nemerged from their hiding-places, and, with quantities of slaves,\nproceeded to Omdurman.\n\nWhen at El Obeid I often saw as many as 500 of them marching along to\nthe sound of music. Slaves were dragged from Darfur, bound together\nwith leather thongs round their necks in batches of thirty. Abu Anga\nbrought thousands of them from the Nuba hills. The only districts\nuntouched hitherto were those in the vicinity of the White Nile, but\nquite recently the garrisons of Fashoda, Regaf, and Lado have been\nbusily engaged in this human traffic; these blacks, however, who during\nthe intervals of peace had been gradually recovering their strength, now\ndetermined to resist the Dervish authority, which was not very strong in\nthose far-distant districts. It would have been a great thing if the\nDervishes could have been turned out of Lado and Regaf. The Abyssinian\ncampaigns also brought quantities of slaves to Omdurman, but these are\nlittle fitted for hard work, and are employed for the most part in\ngrinding corn, carrying water, and as concubines.\n\nSlave-hunting, too, is not carried on in the same way as it used to be.\nThe Khalifa is too knowing to send large raiding expeditions for slaves\ninto the distant provinces, as he fears they might possibly become\nindependent and turn upon him; besides, private individuals are no\nlonger permitted to be in possession of firearms.\n\nBlacks captured in the Khalifa's various wars are sold as slaves, and,\nwhile the free Mussulman tribes have been greatly weakened and reduced\nin numbers by war and famine, the blacks have, on the other hand, been\ngrowing both in numbers and in strength. There is abundant proof of this\nin the great difficulties which the Dervish force at Fashoda is now\nexperiencing, being scarcely strong enough to quit their steamers and\nsailing boats. The inhabitants of Jebel Nuba are once more almost\nindependent, and now the Dervishes do not dare even to go to the foot of\nthe hills. The withdrawal also of the various Baggara tribes from the\nneighbourhood of Shakka, &c., to Omdurman has rid the local blacks of\ntheir hated presence in their country.\n\nThe once notorious Jaalin and Danagla slave-hunters are now beginning to\nexperience in a degree what a slave's life is, and, indeed, it almost\nseems as if the Khalifa Abdullah was an instrument of Heaven's\nvengeance on those bloodthirsty and ruthless slave-hunters.\n\nThe lot of a slave is indeed a miserable one. He is looked upon as an\nanimal created, as the Sudanese say, to make the life of Moslems easy;\nhe must do all the hard work, both in the household and in the field. It\nis the idea of the Sudanese, that if a slave gets sufficient food he\nalways becomes proud and unmanageable. His dress consists merely of a\nrag tied round his loins: whatever money he may make by his work is the\nproperty of his master.\n\nThe female slaves carry water and grind corn, in return they are\ncontinually blamed and cursed; any disobedience or dishonesty is\npunished by flogging, or their bodies are gashed with razors, salt being\nrubbed into the wounds, and, lest they should have any cause to forget,\ntheir half-healed cuts are often ripped open again and salt rubbed in\nafresh.\n\nIn the treatment of their slaves women are more cruel than men, more\nespecially if jealousy is the cause of their anger. Woe to the\nunfortunate female slave who shows any love for her master! She suffers\na species of torture which it would be impossible for me to describe\nhere, and what wonder is it that in despair they often fly from their\nmasters and mistresses?\n\nYet it is only by this harsh treatment that slaves can be made obedient;\nit is a very true saying that a person who is forcibly deprived of\nliberty can only be brought into subjection by force. Slaves under\nMahdiist _r\u00e9gime_ have so many different ways of revenging themselves on\ntheir masters that they never fail to seize an opportunity when it is\noffered.\n\nThe immorality of slaves is quite beyond description; but it cannot be\nthe fault of the unfortunate creatures themselves, for in their own\nsavage homes it is not so. They learn all the vices of their masters,\nand, indeed, are forced to participate in them or submit to a flogging;\nconsequently, disease of the most loathsome kind is everywhere\nprevalent, and to be free from it is thought to be the mark of a poor\ncreature. In many cases which have come within my own knowledge, the\noffspring of such people die young, putrid by disease; of fifteen\nchildren of one father, thirteen died in five years. At first the\nBaggara were not infected to any large extent, but contact with the\ninhabitants of the Nile valley has communicated the pest, which is now\neating into the constitutions of this, the most powerful and warlike\ntribe in the Sudan.[R]\n\nExport of slaves to Egypt and the Red Sea is forbidden, because the\nKhalifa fears that the English may intercept them and make soldiers of\nthem; but a certain number of female slaves are still smuggled through.\nBy the re-occupation of Tokar the Red Sea route, which had been\nextensively used, was closed to the Dervishes. It is permissible to give\nmale and female slaves papers of freedom, but the custom is never\npractised. If a female slave bear a child to her master she cannot be\nsold, and after her master's death she becomes a free woman; if she bear\na child to a freed man, who is not a black, her position remains\nunaltered, and the child grows up a slave, because it is considered to\nbe illegitimate.\n\nOmdurman is full of slaves; even in the poorest houses one female slave\nat least will be found. Hard work and ill-treatment ages them very\nrapidly. Many of them long for their native homes and detest slavery,\nbut the great majority of them submit without a murmur to their wretched\nfate.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[R] The disease lies dormant in the summer, but acquires\nvirulence with cold weather. The medicines used are iodide of potassium\nand sarsaparilla.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nTHE BAGGARA MASTERS OF THE SUDAN.\n\n     Relations between Abdullah and the rival Khalifas--Mahdiism\n     practically dead--The Khalifa's son, Osman--His marriage to Yakub's\n     daughter--His intentions regarding the succession--The Baggara and\n     the Aulad-Belad--The Baggara masters of the Sudan--Examples of\n     their tyranny--Emigration of the Rizighat tribe--Hostility between\n     the Khalifa's and the late Mahdi's households--The Ashraf\n     conspiracy--Witchcraft--The dispute between the Khalifas--Riots in\n     Omdurman--The Mahdi's widows.\n\n\nI propose to devote this chapter to a brief outline of the relations\nwhich exist between the ruling powers in Omdurman, and a description of\nthe present situation in the Sudan. The overthrow of Nejumi at Toski,\nthe destruction of Abu Anga's immense army during his constant campaigns\nin Abyssinia, the year of famine in 1889, and finally the capture of\nTokar and total defeat of Osman Digna in February 1891, have all tended\nlargely towards the diminution of Khalifa Abdullah's power.\n\nWhilst the operations against Abyssinia and Egypt were being carried on,\nthe provinces in the interior of the Sudan were slowly recovering from\nthe terrible strain through which they had passed. Dongola, Kassala, and\nDarfur suffered most. The depredations of Nejumi's wild Dervishes had\nentirely desolated the once fertile province of Dongola, and is it any\nwonder that its wretched inhabitants should cast longing eyes towards\nwealthy and prosperous Egypt?\n\nBut the cunning Khalifa was quite capable of coping with this revulsion\nof feeling on the part of the inhabitants, who were now thoroughly tired\nof Mahdiism, and who were undoubtedly desirous that the rule of the\nGovernment should again be extended to them. He decided to change the\npolicy of oppression, and to establish a milder rule. For this purpose\nhe had a convenient vision, in which he affirmed that he had been\ninstructed to appoint Zogal as emir of the province.\n\nThis man, it will be remembered, was a native of Dongola, an uncle of\nthe late Mahdi; had been a Government official in Darfur, and had more\nliberal and enlightened views than most of the Dervish leaders. The\nKhalifa thought--and thought rightly--that he alone would be able to\nre-establish contentment in Dongola. Thither Zogal proceeded,\naccompanied by an enormous family, and under his mild and just rule the\nprovince rapidly recovered.\n\nThe Sudan, as a whole, has considerable recuperative power, and, in\nspite of the Khalifa's senseless rule, would soon recover if placed\nunder good subordinate governors. The desolation in Darfur, however, had\nbeen more widespread; there was not enough cultivation even to supply\nthe wants of the garrison required for its occupation; it was therefore\nabandoned, but the Khalifa is still very anxious to re-occupy it when he\ncan.\n\nAbdullah employed himself, during the period of rest and cessation from\nwar, in consolidating his power, and from the various means which he\nemploys it is quite evident that his intentions are to establish an\nempire for himself, his family, and his Baggaras; he proceeded, however,\nin this task with prudence and caution.\n\nIt is natural that the struggle for mastery between the spiritual\nauthority represented by the religious side of Mahdiism, and the\ntemporal authority of the Khalifa, should constantly clash and lead to a\nstate of insecurity and uncertainty throughout the Sudan. What the\ninhabitants desire is that the Khalifa should tell them the truth\nplainly; let him abolish Mahdiism, which exists merely in name, and let\nhim proclaim himself Sultan of the Sudan. He has the power and authority\nsufficient to do this, but he fears that it might give his enemies\nanother arm which might be turned against him; he therefore advances\nvery slowly with the project on which his mind is bent.\n\nFrom the way in which his eldest son Osman is being brought up, it is\nevident that Abdullah seeks to establish an hereditary succession. This\nyouth was, until recently, of a most overbearing disposition. Whenever\nhe saw anything he wanted, he insisted on its being given to him. If he\nsaw someone riding a good donkey, he would order the rider to dismount,\nand would deliberately cut the poor animal's throat; but in spite of\nthese foolish and cruel acts, his favour was much sought after, and many\na present did he receive from people who looked for a favourable means\nof bringing their demands before the Khalifa; but the latter eventually\nbecame exasperated by his son's conduct. He rebuked him openly in the\nmosque, forbade everyone, under pain of severe punishment, to give him a\npresent of any sort, and he made him over to a tutor with a few Taisha\nmulazimin.\n\nThis strict _r\u00e9gime_ has already done the boy good. He is now about\neighteen years of age. It was said that the Khalifa's brother Yakub was\nvery jealous of his nephew, for he had looked on himself as Abdullah's\nsuccessor; but, to flatter Yakub and curb his jealousy, the Khalifa\nexpressed a wish that Osman should be betrothed to his daughter. This\nproposition was most acceptable to Yakub; and further, the Khalifa\narranged that his daughter should be married to the Mahdi's son.\n\nGreat were the preparations for these princely weddings, which were\ncarried out with a splendour entirely at variance with the late Mahdi's\nlaws. The betrothal ceremony was accompanied by dancing and merry-making\nin both the Mahdi's and the Khalifa's households, and the air reeked\nwith perfumes. All the principal merchants and emirs gave rich presents\nin the shape of brides' dresses and varieties of costly perfumes; nor\nwere gold and silver ornaments and velvet missing. The goldsmiths have\ninvented a new form of jewellery, which has been named \"the Khalifa's\nstirrups.\" These ornaments, although absolutely opposed to Mahdi laws,\nare extensively worn in both households. Hundredweights of sugar were\nbrought to Yakub's house, besides dhurra, wheat, butter, oxen, and\nfat-tailed sheep, which latter are valued at from twenty to thirty\ndollars a head.\n\nIt is usual for the bridegroom, or the bridegroom's father, to offer\npresents of provisions to the bride, as well as clothes and ornaments,\nwhich are all handed over to her with great ceremony on an appointed\nday. Then there is the festival of \"tefail,\" to which women only are\nadmitted, after which comes \"henna day,\" when the hands and feet of the\nbride are dyed red with henna. All these ceremonies are accompanied by\nbanquets, dancing, and singing. Every evening Yakub entertained hundreds\nof the Ansar with rich food, and distributed several ardebs of dates.\n\nOn the occasion of the \"dakhul\" the bride is taken to the bridegroom's\nhouse late in the evening; for seven days afterwards they receive the\ncongratulations of their friends, and then the ceremony and festival are\nended.\n\nFrom the pomp and ceremony with which the Khalifa surrounded his son's\nwedding, it is evident to all who thought about the matter that he had\nsecret intentions. After the wedding he had a princely house built for\nhis son, in the place known as Abu Anga's yard, near the mosque; this he\nquite disfigured by building houses all around it, which are considered\nthe best in the town. When the palace was completed, the \"heir\napparent,\" who had hitherto been living with his father, moved into it\nwith great ceremony. The Khalifa gave alms in a most liberal manner, so\nthat his son's residence might be blessed.\n\nSayid Osman already takes part in the conduct of affairs, and opens and\nreads the letters to the clerks. Almost every morning he rides round\nwith the Governor on his inspections, but he does not live much amongst\nthe people. The Khalifa has changed his name into Sheikh Ed Din Sayid\nOsman, and now he is generally known as Sheikh Ed Din only; he quite\nunderstands the _r\u00f4le_ he has to play. He is a lover of good food, and\nrejoices in the little specialities which the merchants bring from\nSawakin and Egypt, such as kamar ed din, dried figs, raisins, and all\nsorts of cakes and biscuits, which are brought in abundance to Yakub's\nhouse. The Khalifa treats him with marked respect, occasionally hands\nover the command of the parade to him, and the soldiers always present\narms to him.\n\nFrom the above it is quite evident that Abdullah wishes to secure the\nsuccession to his son. This is perfectly understood by the people, who\nmake no secret of it. The Khalifa's plan is to go slowly but surely. He\nwants to secure the ascendency of the Baggara over the Jaalin, Danagla,\nBarabra, and other smaller tribes of the Sudan.\n\nUntil the appearance of the Mahdi, the Baggara were, perhaps, the most\ndespised of all the Arab tribes. The \"Aulad-belad,\" as the Jaalin,\nDanagla, and Barabra are called, had become more civilized in virtue of\ntheir geographical position, and are far more crafty by nature than the\nBaggara; they despised the latter, and under the leadership of Zubeir\nPasha, they defeated the great tribes in the neighbourhood of Shakka,\nand it is these same Baggara who are now their masters.\n\nAll the Mahdi's early victories had been gained by the Aulad-belad, who\nheld the Baggaras in much the same contempt as they did the Fellahin of\nEgypt. They are cunning, corrupt, and utterly untrustworthy, and from\nthe beginning have practised far more cruelty than the others. Even now\nthey are still the Khalifa's spies and advisers--indeed, he was brought\nup entirely in their school, but has now completely turned the tables on\nthem. The intertribal discord and mutual distrust which prevails amongst\nthe Aulad-belad only tend to further the ends the Khalifa has in view.\nWherever craft and subtlety are required, thither he despatches them, in\nthe full assurance that as long as they are engaged in finding out the\nmisdeeds of their own countrymen he will be well and loyally served by\nthem.\n\nWhen the Baggara are sent to search a house in which it is supposed\nmarissa-drinking or smoking is going on, they are almost certain to find\nout nothing; but with the Aulad-belad it is exactly the reverse; they\npoke into the walls and tap the ground to hear if there is any\nhollowness in the sound; they search every corner most thoroughly, and\nseldom leave empty-handed; but the Baggaras have now got the upper hand,\nand the Aulad-belad must bow down before them. In spite of this,\nhowever, they manage to deceive their new masters, and in all matters\nwhere cunning is required they are far superior to them.\n\nIt is only right that the Baggara, who have been brought up in the\nforests and plains, and who are far more simple-minded, honest\nindividuals, should rule the corrupt Aulad-belad; their emigration to\nOmdurman and their submission to the Khalifa's rule has had the\nadvantage of taming them, and their advances in civilization are quite\nastounding. Being now possessed of power and money, they have begun to\nbuild better houses, to wear cleaner clothing, and to occasionally wash\ntheir jibbehs, which were reeking and besmeared with oil and fat; the\nKhalifa has done much to improve their manners and customs in this\nrespect. Their west-country Arabic dialect has greatly improved; now the\ntwo opposition parties can thoroughly understand each other, and the\nAulad-belad no longer make a laughing-stock of their western brethren.\n\nThe Khalifa's policy is to weaken the power of the Aulad-belad and to\nstrengthen the Baggaras. Just as a good father watches his children, so\ndoes Abdullah watch for every opportunity to further these ends by a\nclever combination of leniency and severity. He frequently blames his\nown countrymen for their want of gratitude to their benefactor, who has\nheaped favours upon them at the expense of the Aulad-belad. On one\noccasion he cursed the day on which he had brought them to Omdurman,\ncalling it a \"black day;\" but, in point of fact, he is not really\nserious when he upbraids them, he rather does it to satisfy the\ncomplainers, and he takes every opportunity of sending the Aulad-belad\nas far away from headquarters as possible, so as to strengthen his\ncentral authority by the presence of Baggaras only.\n\nI have already narrated how in the famine year he made the Baggaras pay\nonly six dollars for an ardeb of dhurra, whilst everyone else had to pay\nsixty dollars for the same quantity; thus the Baggara suffered no\nhardships and want during that terrible time. They do not like dhurra as\nwell as dukhn, which is more nourishing, and which they grind in wooden\nmortars. During that period of awful want, when hundreds of natives were\ndying of starvation in the streets, these great strong Baggaras were\neating to their hearts' content, completely regardless of all the\nsuffering creatures around them.\n\nThe revenue of the beit el mal is expended almost entirely on the\nBaggaras; all the fertile islands in the neighbourhood, and the\nbest-cultivated portions of the Nile banks as far as Berber, have been\nmade over to them, whilst the original owners of the soil have been\nturned out without a piastre's compensation; they are, therefore, owners\nof all the best lands, and serve as a foreign garrison in occupation of\na conquered country.\n\nWoe to the native who happens to have a Baggara as his neighbour! His\ncattle are robbed, and he must share the product of the fields with his\noverbearing master; wherever they go the Baggaras take their horses with\nthem, which must be fed and cared for at the expense of the local\ninhabitants; complaints against Baggaras are not taken the slightest\nnotice of, or--as it more often happens--the complainant receives a\nheavy punishment for having ventured to make a statement which is\ninvariably construed as untrue and incorrect. Thus these bold tribesmen\nhave every inducement to become more and more truculent the further\nremoved they are from the Khalifa's supervision. I will cite an example.\n\nA rich native of the Gezireh had a dispute with a Baggara, and struck\nhis oppressor a blow with a stick in self-defence. Fate decreed that the\nBaggara should die twenty-eight days afterwards, but his death was not\ncaused by the blow; the other Baggaras, however, seized the opportunity\nof demanding blood-money, and if refused they threatened to report the\nmatter to the Khalifa. The stupid native was actually intimidated into\ngiving the Baggara 10,000 dollars, and the matter was declared to be\nended; but somehow it came to Yakub's ears, and learning that the\nsupposed murderer was a very rich man, he advised the friends of the\ndeceased Baggara not to accept blood-money, but to insist on the\nnative's death. This was agreed to. The poor man was arrested, dragged\nto Omdurman, and hanged; whilst his property, consisting of a number of\ngoats and 30,000 dollars, was confiscated.\n\nNot content with this, the Khalifa also ordered that the seven villages\nin the neighbourhood should be burnt, on the plea that the inhabitants\nhad made common cause with the murderer in resisting lawfully\nconstituted authority; and it was only when the inhabitants of these\nvillages went _en masse_ to the Khalifa, begging to be spared, that he\nat length acceded to their request.\n\nWhen it was found that the revenue of the beit el mal was insufficient\nto provide for the rapidly-increasing Baggara population, Abdullah\nordered half the produce of the Gezireh lands to be given to the beit el\nmal, the other half being retained by the owners. This was published as\na solemn decree, and all judges enjoined to see that it was properly\ncarried out. Ibrahim Nur, the son of Nur Gereifawi, was sent with a body\nof soldiers and Baggara to assist in carrying out the order in the\nGezireh, and he gained an unenviable notoriety for the ruthless severity\nwith which he enforced his authority.\n\nIn accordance with the Khalifa's instructions, out of every hundred\nardebs he seized a half, and on the remaining half he levied the \"ushr\"\nand \"zeka\" taxes, so that eventually the unfortunate cultivator retained\nonly thirty-seven and a half per cent. of his original quantity;\nbesides, he was made responsible for the transport to the river of the\nsixty-two and a-half per cent. Frequently the fields were far distant\nfrom the river, which involved hiring camels to carry the grain, so that\nfinally the owner was probably left with absolutely nothing. In this way\nIbrahim gathered upwards of 60,000 ardebs from the Blue and White Niles.\n\nIbrahim gained the title of the \"Gordon of the Gezireh\" from the\nextraordinarily rapid way in which he moved from one village to the\nother and gave his instructions.\n\nHere is another proof of the Khalifa's injustice when dealing in matters\nconcerning his own countrymen. About two days' journey from Omdurman up\nthe White Nile are certain very highly-cultivated districts, and it\noccurred to the Khalifa to send there the Taisha who were not then\nemployed, so that they might cultivate and at the same time remain in\ntouch with him. He therefore sent a certain Sheikh Wad el Bedri to\nselect the most favoured spots in which the Taisha were to settle.\n\nWhen the inhabitants of these districts learnt what was intended, they\nbegged and prayed Wad el Bedri to avert this terrible calamity which\nthreatened them, assuring him that if he would assist them they would do\nanything he wanted, short of having the Baggara as settlers in their\ncountry; this request they accompanied with a good round sum of money.\n\nBedri then returned to Omdurman, waited on the Khalifa with a most\nbeaming countenance, and reported that the inhabitants of the White Nile\nwere very pleased that the Khalifa of the Mahdi[S] had been graciously\npleased to think of sending the Taisha to their country; but at the same\ntime they most humbly begged to submit to him that possibly the Taisha\nmight find it a trouble to move so far with their families and\nfollowers. If, therefore, the Khalifat el Mahdi should, in his great\nwisdom, deem it advisable, they were quite ready to send to their\nmasters everything they required, and so spare them the toil of making\nthis extended emigration.\n\nAbdullah seemed delighted with this proposal, praised Sheikh Wad el\nBedri for his services, and agreed that his suggestion should be carried\nout. The sheikh appealed to his countrymen, and in one year collected\nover 20,000 ardebs of dhurra, besides a quantity of money, which was\ndistributed amongst the Taisha, who from that day looked on him as one\nof their best friends.\n\nThere is among the Baggara a curious ejaculation of \"Hai! hai!\"\nconstantly interspersed throughout their conversation. The Sudani feels\nfar more terror at this sound than he ever felt at the sight of the\nEgyptian officials' red tarbush.\n\nAll high posts are in the Baggaras' hands, or rather in the hands of the\nKhalifa's nearest relatives. The emirs of Kordofan, Regaf, Fashoda,\nGalabat, Kassala, and Berber, are all Abdullah's relatives. Dongola was\nthe only place of importance not confided to a Baggara, but now Zogal\nhas fallen in favour and has been replaced by the Baggari Yunis. Some of\nthe subordinate posts are, however, still in the hands of the\nAulad-belad, but, gradually, as the Baggaras become capable of carrying\nout the duties, they will replace the natives.\n\nNot content with having brought the Taisha, Homr, and Habbanieh Arabs\nfrom the west to the Nile, he has still further weakened the Aulad-belad\nby obliging the powerful Rizighat tribe to emigrate from their country,\nsouth of Darfur, to Omdurman. Their young Sheikh Musa--son of Madibbo,\nwho had been killed by Abu Anga at El Obeid--was entrusted with this\nmission, and he marched through Kordofan with some 30,000 souls, besides\nquantities of horses and cattle; his vanguard had reached Shatt on the\nWhite Nile just at the time that I effected my escape.\n\nThe Khalifa had appointed a committee under the notorious Hajji Zubeir\nto organize a great reception for the new arrivals, and had made a long\nspeech in the mosque calling on everyone to come forward liberally with\ngifts for their brethren. He urged that alms should not be stinted, but\nthat clothes, corn, and all sorts of provisions would be gratefully\naccepted, even to the \"fartaga\" (or smallest copper which is coined).\n\nEvery emir was instructed to let his followers know of the Khalifa's\nwishes; he was to collect the gifts and hand them over to the committee.\nIf the gifts were considered too small they were returned with a strong\nhint that it would be advisable to increase them. Merchants were\nespecially called upon to give largely, and if they failed to comply\nthey invariably incurred his displeasure.\n\nThe list of gifts was scrutinised by the Khalifa daily, and his favours\napportioned in accordance with what he found there. He was careful not\nto allow the rich to give sparingly; for instance, Kadi Ahmed presented\n200 ardebs of dhurra, 100 complete suits of clothes, consisting of 100\ntakias, 100 turbans, 100 jibbehs, 100 pairs of drawers, 100 leather\ngirths, and 100 pairs of sandals; still Abdullah was not satisfied and\nasked why he had not given any money, and immediately the Kadi,\nterrified at the Khalifa's displeasure, laid a considerable sum at Hajji\nZubeir's feet.\n\nThe merchant Omar Kesha, who had acquired much wealth, had on one\noccasion been deprived of 30,000 dollars by the Khalifa on the plea that\nmuch money was apt to take his mind off heavenly considerations. Two\nyears later a similar sum was again taken from him. On the occasion of\nthe arrival of the Rizighat, however, he presented a camel-load of\nsugar, a camel-load of white muslin, and another of indigo-dyed calico,\nbesides a quantity of kamar ed din, 50 ardebs of dhurra, a camel-load of\ndammur, and a completely-equipped war-horse with its attendant.\n\nWealthy men offer lavish gifts, in the hope of immunity from plunder,\nand Omar Kesha, in addition to his generosity on this occasion, does not\nfail to frequently offer valuable gifts to Yakub. As for the Khalifa, he\nis perfectly aware that with one word he can, with absolute right,\ndemand anything and everything he requires, for had not the Sudanese\nsolemnly pledged their property, their children, and their own lives to\nthe cause of the Mahdi and his successor?\n\n[Illustration: A BAGGARA WOMAN.]\n\nWhile in Kordofan the Mahdi had professed that he was virtually the\nowner of all property, but that he left it in the hands of its original\ntenants that they might administer it until he should require it; and\nnow no stone is left unturned to enforce his theory of the true\nownership. The Khalifa directs his special attention to the merchants,\nwho, he supposes, make large profits out of commerce and trade.\n\nHitherto the Baggaras have had nothing to do with external commerce,\nthey never go to Sawakin or to Egypt. All trade with the outside world\nis conducted by Hadarba, Jaalin, Danagla, and Barabra merchants, also\non the southern frontier of Egypt by Ababdeh and Kenuz people; but in\nOmdurman itself the Baggaras, and especially the women, take a large\nshare in the retail business. Although they have scarcely ever owned a\npiastre in their lives, the shining dollar has excited the most\ninordinate cupidity amongst them. They are very quick to learn, and\nalready surpass the Aulad-belad in many branches of trade; this fact has\ndelighted the Khalifa, and he encourages it to the fullest extent.\n\nThe continuous support which the Khalifa gives to his own compatriots at\nthe expense of the rest of his subjects not unnaturally irritates the\nlatter, and out of their oppression a species of courage has sprung. The\nKhalifa Sherif bitterly resents being debarred from all share in the\ngovernment of the country. He is highly favoured amongst the late\nMahdi's widows, and the Ashraf look to him as their head.\n\nAbdullah, however, employs every means to lower his position and\ndiminish the respect in which he is held by the Ashraf, whose loose mode\nof life he never loses an opportunity of exposing. For instance, Ahmed\nSharfi's second son had a concubine to whom he was much devoted, and who\nused to saddle his horse for him herself; but in secret she was not\nalways faithful to her master, and when one day he returned to find her\nabsent, he revenged himself on her return by hanging her with his own\nhands. When this outrage came to the Khalifa's ears, he ordered the\nperpetrator to be imprisoned and all his property confiscated, whereas,\naccording to Mahdi law, a master has complete power to deal as he likes\nwith his own slaves. Another of Ahmed Sharfi's sons was discovered to be\nleading a very immoral life, and he was exiled up the White Nile.\n\nAnother similar and even worse discovery, of which the principal agent\nwas one of the Mahdi's near relatives, gave Abdullah an opportunity of\nopenly accusing the Ashraf of leading lives which did not entitle them\nto the smallest respect; and having established this fact, he set to\nwork in the most public manner to show them every mark of disrespect.\n\nThe Mahdi's uncle, Sayid Abdel Kader, a very proud man, who prior to,\nthe Mahdi's appearance had gained a livelihood by doctoring donkeys,\nthought, under the altered circumstances, that his profession was not a\nvery honourable one; he therefore took to doctoring human beings with\nthe aid of a few old Arabic books on medicine which he possessed. He\nmade no secret of his dislike of Abdullah, and openly deplored the decay\nof true Mahdiism; he never attended at the mosque, and studiously\navoided the Khalifa on every occasion. Abdullah, however, was fully\nalive to the situation, Sayid's every step was dogged by spies, and at\nlength, when his impudence got beyond all bounds, the Khalifa suddenly\nsummoned him to the mosque, and addressed him publicly as follows--\"Why\nshould you not come to the mosque twice a week and greet me\noccasionally?\" The Sayid replied proudly, \"I worship God and pray to Him\ndaily in my house.\"\n\nThis speech greatly annoyed the Khalifa, who replied, \"Pray in your\nhouse; but I shall cut off the hand and foot of everyone who associates\nwith you, whether in your house or out of it, and I shall send to your\nhouse to have all these Arabic books removed; you can then pray to God\nwithout distraction.\" Suiting the action to the word, he at once had the\nSayid's books seized and burnt. After this Abdel Kader thought it as\nwell to pray five times a-day in the Mahdi's mosque.\n\nThus the breach between the Mahdi's and the Khalifa's households is\nwidening daily; the former are continually holding secret meetings and\nconsultations, of which the latter takes good care to be fully apprized.\n\nAnother individual--a certain Ismail el Kheir--who had been one of the\nMahdi's most fanatical adherents, but who, after the Mahdi's death, had\nshown a tendency to side with the Khalifa Sherif and to be unfriendly to\nKhalifa Abdullah, was one day suddenly ordered to be ready to start for\nRegaf in half an hour. It was rumoured that Abdullah had discovered he\nhad been attending the secret meetings of the Ashraf.\n\nI will cite yet another case. A certain Wad el Banna, a good man and a\nwell-educated Moslem, had the Khalifa's special permission to retain a\nnumber of historical works on Islam, which he frequently read to him and\nthe Ansar after prayers in the mosque. Being in high favour, and a great\npersonal friend, the Khalifa sent him late one night a very beautiful\nfemale slave; but when she arrived at the house, Wad el Banna was\nnowhere to be found, and it was discovered that he was with the Khalifa\nSherif. The next morning Abdullah announced that he deserved to be\nhanged; but as he had been very fond of him, he forgave him for the\nMahdi's sake; but ordered all the books to be burnt, and that he should\nbe transported to Regaf. Just as the steamer was about to sail with Wad\nel Banna on board, the Khalifa recalled and pardoned him.\n\nThere was now little doubt that the Ashraf were forming a conspiracy;\nthe immediate result of this discovery was the sudden arrest and\nimprisonment of Zogal, which caused no small stir. Then followed the\narrest of Fadl Maula (afterwards known as Abdel Maula), which created\nstill more excitement. Fadl Maula was the late Abu Anga's brother, and\ncommanded the black troops in Omdurman. He was a man of great influence,\nnot only on account of his brother's reputation, but he had also\nperformed a number of valuable services for the Khalifa, notably at the\ntime of the dispute regarding the Mahdi's successor. He lived near\nGordon's fort of Omdurman, enjoyed a high position, and acquired a large\nnumber of the most handsome women in the Sudan for his harem.\n\nThese ladies lived in the highest luxury. He built good houses for them,\nand in the evening he had a band of Fertit blacks, who played before\nthem on a variety of instruments. He was perhaps of all the emirs the\nmost favoured. He had no scruples in going round his men's quarters\npicking out the good-looking women and sending them to his harem; but\nthis debauched and extravagant mode of living soon brought its reward,\nand he became affected by a sort of leprosy which seemed to have touched\nhis brain. He became violent, and had to be put in chains. He lay for\nmonths in this condition, and no medicine was given to him to ease his\npain.\n\nAt length a fiki was summoned who declared the disease to be the result\nof witchcraft, and he volunteered to find out by whom this evil had been\npractised on him. One of Abdel Maula's wives was a young girl of great\nbeauty, who was preferred to all the rest, and who lived with her\nmother. Love, however, soon grew cold, and he became enamoured of\nanother of his wives; but the mother of the cast-off girl determined to\nbe revenged, and to aid her in her object, she sought the assistance of\na fiki, who gave her a number of amulets, for which she paid him well.\nThese bits of paper she placed under the iron platter on which Abdel\nMaula's bread was baked, and gradually he grew worse and worse in\nhealth. At length the papers were discovered, and everyone was convinced\nthat his illness had been caused by witchcraft. The woman was tried,\nfound guilty, and had her hand and foot cut off. Abdel Maula did not\nrecover for many months, and the unfortunate woman had been sacrificed\nto the fiki's deception.\n\nThe people are still very credulous, and it is impossible to make them\ngive up their belief in these superstitious fikis. Once, out of pure\ncuriosity, I quite convinced myself that this supposed witchcraft was a\nmere deception on the part of a clever fiki. Abu Anga's death and Abdel\nMaula's illness greatly affected the latter's influence, besides he was\nlooked upon with jealous eyes by the Taisha. His overbearing manner to\nYakub, which made the latter his sworn enemy, also contributed to his\ndownfall. Detractors were not wanting who declared that he appropriated\nthe dhurra issued by the beit el mal for his troops. The Khalifa\ntherefore ordered his property to be confiscated, and reduced the number\nof his wives from thirty-one to three. Irritated beyond measure at this\ntreatment, he openly abused the Khalifa and Yakub; but was thrown into\nchains and delivered over to the tender mercies of the Saier.\n\nThe upshot of a meeting of the three Khalifas and the Kadi in Ahmed\nSharfi's house, still further widened the breach. Sharfi is known as the\n\"Gidd el Ashraf\" (or grandfather of the Ashraf), because his daughter\nwas the Mahdi's mother--Abdullah himself generally addresses him as\n\"Gidd,\" and, by way of a joke, his house is known as the \"Mudirieh,\"\nbecause it is a large square yard with numbers of small rooms ranged\naround the inside walls in which the numerous wives dwell.\n\nSharfi is an astute and crafty old man; he sees perfectly well that,\nunder existing circumstances, it is quite useless to try and overturn\nthe present Baggara authority. He flatters the Khalifa in the most\nobsequious manner, constantly gives him presents, and has even gone as\nfar as to give up associating with the Mahdi's household, lest suspicion\nshould rest upon him.\n\nBut to return. The four met one evening, the great gate was closed, the\nmulazim kept guard outside, while within the discussion waxed hot.\nKhalifa Sherif reproached Abdullah bitterly for non-adherence to the\nMahdi's precepts. He accused him of oppressing the people, and governing\nwithout the co-operation of himself and Ali Wad Helu. He urged that the\nproceeds of the beit el mal were reserved exclusively for him and his\nBaggaras; that he had built good houses for himself and his emirs,\nwhilst the Mahdi's household continued to live in a zariba; that his\nbrother Yakub had considerably more authority than either of the two\nKhalifas; that the Mahdi's wives were living in absolute want whilst the\nBaggaras had every luxury; in short, he accused Abdullah of having made\nMahdiism into an entirely worldly and temporal power, instead of\nupholding the religious precepts on which it had been founded. These\nunreserved expressions led to a fierce dispute, swords were on the point\nof being drawn, when Ahmed Sharfi and the Kadi with tears implored them\nto stop quarrelling.\n\nIt was now past midnight, and Yakub, alarmed at Abdullah's absence,\narrived with a party of soldiers and several Baggaras at the great gate,\nand began rapping violently with their spears; they shouted, \"Let our\nKhalifa out!\" The noise outside had an instantaneous effect on the\ndisputants within. Abdullah solemnly swore on the Kuran that he would\nact entirely on the advice of his colleagues in the matter, and with\nthat assurance the stormy meeting broke up. His appearance at the gate\nwas hailed with delight, and he was conducted home with rejoicing.\n\nBut in spite of these events there was no real reconciliation. Sherif\ncontinued to agitate secretly, whilst the Mahdi's wives, who looked upon\nhim as their protector solemnly appointed by the Mahdi, added fuel to\nthe fire. They had some cause for discontent. After the Mahdi's death\nthey were taken little notice of; Abdullah did not trouble himself about\ntheir wants and had it not been for Ahmed Sharfi, they must have\nstarved. Being the Mahdi's widows, they were not allowed to marry again,\nand were not even permitted to move beyond the palace precincts.\n\nThis enforced confinement so irritated these good women that they\ndecided to go _en masse_ to the Khalifa, and demand either their liberty\nor that they should be well treated. Ahmed Sharfi, learning of their\nresolution, did all in his power to quiet them, and promised that he\nwould intercede with the Khalifa for them. This he did, and Abdullah\nfeigned complete surprise, said he had been under the impression that\nthey had been supplied from the beit el mal with all they required, and\nthat he himself had repeatedly given orders to Nur Gereifawi to that\neffect. This was a fact, but--as it frequently happens--Yakub had taken\nit upon himself to give counter-orders; the blame was, of course, laid\non Gereifawi, who was ordered to at once issue 600 dollars to the\nwidows, half in clothes and half in cash, and so these noble ladies were\nfor the time being satisfied.\n\nAbout a month after the meeting I have just described the smouldering\nfire broke out with renewed vigour. About two days before the actual\nclimax, I was told in the greatest secrecy by a friend, that in a few\ndays a rupture must occur, that Khalifas Sherif and Ali Wad Helu, as\nwell as the principal Aulad-belad emirs, had solemnly sworn on the Kuran\neither to overturn Khalifa Abdullah, or die in the attempt. I could\nscarcely credit this news, for Sherif was a young and inexperienced man,\nand had hitherto given no proof of any special ability which would\ninduce the confidence of others; he appeared to me as a man utterly\nabsorbed in a life of sensual pleasure. But the following day my friend\nagain told me that his first information was quite correct; however, I\npersisted in saying that I would not believe it till I saw it. So well\nhad the secret been kept, that the Aulad-belad merchants were\nunconcernedly taking their goods away from the market as usual, and the\nKhalifa and his household knew nothing of it, for one of my friends, who\nlived close to the palace, declared to me that the whole matter was pure\ninvention.\n\nOn Tuesday, the 24th of November, 1891, a rumour suddenly spread through\nthe town that Sherif had decided to resist. The market was at once\nclosed, and people went to their homes as quickly as possible. The whole\nplace was in a state of alarm and excitement. Baggaras seized the\nopportunity to plunder and rob, and I could not learn the actual\ncircumstances which led to the outbreak, as all that day I remained in\nmy hut, and the following day I made my escape.\n\nSome said that the people had risen because the Khalifa intended to\nexecute Zogal; others, that Abdullah had secretly intended to proclaim\nhis son as his successor, but that Sherif had violently opposed the\nidea. Possibly it may have been that the Khalifa--on the principle of\nweakening the power of the Aulad-belad--had ordered that an expedition\nof 3,000 of them, under the command of Wad el Ireik, should proceed to\nKassala to fight against the Italians; besides, Abdullah had the\nintention of sending Karamallah--the capturer of Lupton Bey--and his\nbrother Kerkesawi, with a force to Bahr el Ghazal, and it was thought\nthat these two most deliberate attempts to get the Aulad-belad out of\nOmdurman had been the real cause of the outbreak.\n\nTuesday passed without disturbance, but every one was prepared for\nWednesday. On that day the Khalifa ordered that everyone should stand to\nhis flag, and that all the Ansar should attend at the mosque. But the\nwhole affair turned out to be a ridiculous farce. Khalifa Sherif with a\nfew Danagla had barricaded himself in the Mahdi's zariba; he had\naltogether about fifty Remington rifles. How could he attempt resistance\nwith a feeble force of this description? He had acted most imprudently;\nstill, in secret, the Aulad-belad would all have liked to support him,\nbut not one of them had the courage to come forward, though there were a\nvery large number of them in Omdurman. The Mahdi's widows, however,\nshowed far more determination. They dressed themselves in jibbehs, armed\nthemselves with swords, and, forming a compact little body, they swore\nrather to die than submit.\n\nIn accordance with the Khalifa's orders, the palace, the mosque, and the\nroad between the Mahdi's dome and the mosque, were all occupied by the\nAnsar on Wednesday, whilst the black troops completely surrounded the\nmosque. Yakub was made responsible for distributing ammunition. Possibly\nSherif may have thought that the Aulad-belad would have joined him, but\nnot one of them dared to leave the ranks. Numerous horsemen wearing\ncoats of mail and helmets were entertaining the crowds by their furious\ngalloping, and in Abdullah's entire force there was general rejoicing.\nAt about 10 A.M. Sherif opened fire, and seventeen Baggaras fell; the\nblacks returned the fire, and killed seven of Sherif's men. Abdullah\nwould not allow the Ansar to fire, and it was with the greatest\ndifficulty that he succeeded in holding back the wild Baggaras.\n\nThe few shots that had been fired startled the whole of Omdurman;\neveryone went to his house and armed himself as best he could. Meanwhile\nthe Baggara horsemen had left the actual scene of action, and were now\nscattered about the town looting, robbing, breaking into houses,\nwounding people, and seizing women, slaves, ornaments, &c. When Abdullah\nheard of this, he lost no time in sending Yakub's horsemen to keep\norder; but many of the robbers made off with their booty. In the evening\nit was rumoured that a reconciliation had been effected. Khalifa Helu,\nAhmed Sharfi, and Sayid el Mek had been the mediators. Sharfi had\nattempted to explain to the Mahdi's widows that all resistance was\nuseless, but they tore his jibbeh, and drove him off.\n\nOn Thursday the Khalifas all met under the Mahdi's dome, and there\nAbdullah, with tears in his eyes, solemnly swore to accede to all his\nopponent's wishes, which were that he should receive one-third of the\narmy, one-third of the arms, and of the beit el mal revenue, and that,\nmoreover, he should take part in all meetings and deliberations. It was\nquite apparent that Abdullah never seriously intended to fulfil these\nconditions. He could have instantly suppressed the outbreak had he\nwished to do so, but he wanted to show that he still greatly honoured\nand respected the Mahdi's family.\n\nAt noon the mulazimin marched through the town, heralds announced that\ntranquillity had been restored, and that people should return to their\ndaily avocations. On Friday the usual review took place, but none of the\nnotables were present, and most of the troops continued in occupation of\nthe mosque and palace. On Saturday there was another alarm, for Sherif\nhad declined to hand over his arms, but that evening his submission was\npublicly announced. I did not hear the details, for on Sunday, the 29th\nof November, 1891, I quitted Omdurman in the dead of night.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[S] Abdullah does not like being addressed as Khalifa only, but\nif he be approached as Khalifat el Mahdi, and if the words \"aleh es\nsalam\" (\"on whom be peace\") be added--a term which is only used when\nspeaking of the Prophet--he is even more gratified.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nPREPARATIONS FOR THE FLIGHT.\n\n     Ohrwalder forms plans for escape--The fate of other Europeans\n     attempting to fly--Stricter surveillance--Ohrwalder's means of\n     livelihood--Letters from Cairo--The faithful Ahmed Hassan discloses\n     his plan--Archbishop Sogaro--Miseries of captivity in\n     Omdurman--Death of Sister Concetta Corsi--Preparations for flight.\n\n\nThe reader will readily understand that all this time I had not lost\nsight of the object which had been next my heart, which was to regain my\nliberty and escape from my miserable surroundings.\n\nWhen I quitted El Obeid, I then thought that, once in Omdurman, escape\nwould not be so difficult, and during my long journey to the Mahdi's\ncapital this thought had buoyed me up. At any rate I was one step nearer\nattaining my wish, for at that time the restrictions on Europeans were\nnot so severe, and they were permitted to trade and travel as far as Ed\nDamer, to which place Egyptian merchants freely came and went.\n\nOn my arrival in Omdurman, a Greek offered me hospitality, which I\ngratefully accepted. I had resolved to search about in the town for a\ntrusty friend, who would help me towards the attainment of my object. It\nhad occurred to me that I might accompany a Greek or Syrian merchant to\nDamer, and from thence make my escape, but unfortunately at that time I\nhad no money and little experience. I did not actually give way to\ndespair, but I could find no one ready to give me the assistance I\nrequired; they all feared the Khalifa's vengeance in case of discovery.\n\n[Illustration: THE ARAB GUIDES WHO EFFECT THE ESCAPE OF FATHER OHRWALDER\nAND THE SISTERS.]\n\nI made inquiries of boatmen, with a view to going to Berber on a\nsupposed trading journey, but none of them trusted me; and, indeed, I\nwas afterwards thankful that they had not spoken of my design. However,\nin spite of failure, I did not give up hope; and during the long days,\nand often sleepless nights, I turned various plans over and over in my\nmind. On one occasion Gustav Klootz and I decided to make an attempt to\nreach Galabat, and escape thence into Abyssinia, but at the last moment\nthe plan seemed impracticable. Klootz, however, set off, and without any\nmoney he begged his way from place to place; at length, utterly\nexhausted, he reached Galabat, only to die a few days afterwards.\n\nI spent about eight months with the Greek, and then thought it was not\nfair to trespass further on his hospitality. Besides, it had occurred to\nme that in case a favourable opportunity for escape arrived, he would\nmost certainly have been accused of complicity, and might have suffered\non my account; I therefore built a small straw hut for myself, and lived\nwith a Mission brother who had a small shop in the market. For almost\nfive months an Arab held out hopes of assisting me to escape, but I\neventually ascertained that he never really meant to help me. For nearly\ntwo years I had suffered from incessant diarrhoea, which had greatly\nwasted my strength.\n\nMeanwhile I had managed to send one of the Mission brothers to Berber,\nnominally to gain a living by repairing watches, but actually to find\nout whether flight from there was possible. It took him twenty-six days\nin a boat to reach Berber, and after staying there for a time he\nsucceeded in escaping to Sawakin, whence he despatched a man with money\nand goods who was to aid in my escape; but the man never came, and must\nhave stolen all that had been given to him.\n\nThe Mission brother's escape reached the Khalifa's ears, and at the same\ntime certain Greeks petitioned him that their bakery might not be pulled\ndown when the market was being repaired. The Khalifa sent for the\nmukuddum to inquire about the matter, and casually asked about the other\nGreeks, and where they were? The mukuddum replied that some were ill,\nothers were travelling. This greatly annoyed the Khalifa, who ordered\nall who were in Omdurman to be brought before him the following day.\nFinding several absentees, his eyes seemed to be opened to the danger;\nhe severely blamed the mukuddum for allowing the lay-brother to escape;\nsaid that he should have given immediate information, and then turning\non us he threatened to cast us into the river, or cut off our hands. His\nactual words were, \"What prevents me now from throwing you into the\nriver, and making you food for fishes?\" He spoke against us in a most\nvehement manner for about half an hour, and ended by saying that we\nshould not in future be permitted to move one step south of Omdurman\nfort, or north of Khor Shambat. Any Europeans known to be beyond the\nlimits of his capital, he ordered to be forcibly brought back, alive or\ndead. This sudden change of front obliged us to put aside for the time\nall idea of escape.\n\nA Sherif of Mecca, who had come to greet the Mahdi and who had become\nthoroughly convinced of the falseness of his claims, expressed a desire\nto be allowed to return; his request was not granted, so he decided to\nmake his escape; he bought a donkey and gaily set out on his journey. On\nreaching Kererri, some four hours' distance, he was stopped and asked\nwhere he was going; he replied that he was come to pay a visit to Sheikh\nel Tayeb's tomb at Kererri; but his story was not credited. He was\nbrought back to the Khalifa, who handed him over to the Saier, where he\ndied a few days afterwards.\n\nThis event made Abdullah exert a still stricter surveillance over the\n\"whites,\" and now escape became more difficult than ever. Moreover, Wad\nen Nejumi's expedition to Egypt closed the road to pilgrims, and during\nthat period flight would have been a pure impossibility. In the meantime\nI had to do something to gain a livelihood. Lupton advised me to try\nsoap-boiling; so I went into partnership with him, changed my house,\nand now took up my abode just beyond the Greek and Syrian quarter.\n\nI was always thinking of escape, and in consequence kept a great deal to\nmyself, seldom paid visits, and was seldom called upon. Two of the\nMission sisters were living near me; they earned a precarious living by\nneedlework; but this hardly brought in enough money to purchase the bare\nnecessities of life, for several of the women who had survived the\nKhartum massacre were employed at similar work, and the competition was\nconsiderable.\n\nPoor Lupton died very suddenly, so our soap-boiling plan had to be\nabandoned, and I had to turn my thoughts to something else. It occurred\nto me to make hooks out of telegraph wire, which the sisters sewed on to\npurses, takias, &c., and this being a novelty was for a time a fairly\nlucrative business: but it was long and tedious work. Gradually the\nnovelty wore off, and the demand grew less; provisions were expensive,\nand a famine close at hand. All idea of mutual support had come to an\nend, for the Greeks, Syrians, and Jews had been prohibited from leaving\nthe town, and nothing was to be made out of trade in Omdurman itself.\nThus my condition went from bad to worse, the famine was now raging, and\nin desperation I had to do something to gain enough to keep body and\nsoul together.\n\nIt was the fashion for the women in Omdurman to wear long garments\ntrimmed with various sorts of ribbons, and it occurred to me to learn\nhow to make these ribbons; for this purpose I acquired a small and\nsimple loom. The few men in the market, who had the monopoly of this\ntrade, regarded my acquisition with great jealousy, and would not teach\nit to any one under a less payment than forty or fifty dollars, and this\nsum I was quite unable to raise; however, necessity knows no law, and\nhunger sharpens the inventive faculties. I carefully unravelled a piece\nof ribbon and studied the way it was made with the greatest attention. I\nhad a dim and hazy recollection of European looms, and, after many vain\nattempts, I at length succeeded in making one. The work is very trying,\nand at first I thought my back would break from the exertion; it was\nonly with the greatest difficulty that I managed, after working all day,\nto turn out four yards, which I sold for four piastres, out of which I\nhad to purchase the thread. However, after continuous practice, I\nsucceeded, at the end of a month, in turning out sixteen yards a day.\nBut loom work should be learnt when one is young, and to begin it at my\nage was a terrible strain on my back; still, it brought in sufficient\nmoney to keep us alive.\n\nFor seven months we lived on dhurra bread and a few boiled vegetables,\nwithout oil, butter, or meat. Hard work and insufficient food were\ntelling on our strength: however, we were far better off than hundreds\nof others, who were willing to work, but, finding nothing to do, were\nobliged to starve. During all this time I never once abandoned hope of\nescape, and again succeeded in getting some one to take a message from\nme to Cairo seeking advice; but the undertaking was so beset with\ndifficulties that it seemed next to impossible.\n\nMy companions in adversity watched me closely--they often volunteered to\nattempt an escape with the sisters; but as I was responsible for them to\nthe Khalifa, this could not be done, and the idea of myself and the two\nsisters ever escaping alone seemed too absurd to be thought of. It\nseemed most improbable that the Government would again take possession\nof the Sudan; though I confess that a ray of hope was kindled when Saleh\nBey of Korosko suddenly arrived at Abu Hamed with his Ababdehs and\nkilled the notorious Suleiman Wad Naaman, the murderer of Colonel\nStewart and his companions. The news of this affair caused the greatest\nexcitement in Omdurman, and we really believed that the time for our\nrelease was approaching; but Saleh Bey disappeared as quickly as he\ncame.\n\nThe capture of Tokar, in February 1891, also raised our hopes; but we\nwere again doomed to disappointment. In 1890 a young Ababdeh Arab had\ncome to Omdurman and had asked me to give him a letter to my friends in\nCairo. I did not trust him, for I had written several letters which were\nentirely without result. I had learnt by experience that the Arabs were\nuntrustworthy, and that the letters never reached those for whom they\nwere intended. It also occurred to me that the man might be a spy, so I\nsent him away with the answer \"Neshauer\" (_i.e._ \"I shall think about\nit\"), a word very often used by the Sudanese when they wish to gain time\nto consider a matter.\n\nMeanwhile I made full inquiries about the man, and heard nothing but\ngood of him. Soon afterwards he returned and asked me to give him a few\nlines of greeting to my friends. I was told that the man expected to get\nsome reward if he succeeded in bringing letters to the Government from\nthe prisoners, which might give them some information on the situation\nin the Sudan. When I was thoroughly convinced as to his trustworthiness,\nwe then had a consultation, of which the upshot was that I would, with\nhis assistance, attempt to escape, provided he could obtain the\nnecessary support from Cairo; I therefore gave him a letter to our\nReverend Vicar Apostolic, Franz Sogaro, and commissioned him to\nnegotiate verbally with him.\n\nThe man's plan was to return when the Nile was high--that is to say,\nalmost a year later--escape in a boat or on a raft, which the swift\ncurrent would carry to Berber in about three days, where camels would be\nin readiness to take us across the desert to Korosko. I urged him to\nkeep these plans absolutely secret, for their disclosure would bring\nmost certain punishment on our heads, and I further urged him to provide\narms for the journey.\n\nAhmed Hassan--for that was the man's name--went off, and, to tell the\ntruth, I had little hope that he would do anything more than others had\ndone before him. Besides, who could say what changes might not take\nplace in a year in Omdurman, which might entirely frustrate our plans?\nThe sword of Damocles was for ever hanging over our heads. Then might\nnot death intervene any day? Both the sisters and myself were\nthoroughly debilitated by constant work and hardship, and it was always\npossible that a slight fever might extinguish the spark of life which\nwas then burning but dimly.\n\nA few days after Ahmed's departure the whole matter went quite out of\nour heads, and before long I was again negotiating with another Arab to\nassist us to escape, for I did not wish to leave a stone unturned. If it\nhad been a question of my flight alone, there would not have been so\nmuch difficulty. As a man I could have stained my naturally brown\ncomplexion, dressed in rags, and begged my way along the banks of the\nBlue Nile to Abyssinia; but I could not leave the poor sisters behind,\nand therefore resolved to wait patiently until a deliverer should come.\n\nSeveral of the merchants who had been to Egypt told me that Archbishop\nSogaro had often sent us money _vi\u00e2_ Korosko, Halfa, and Sawakin; but\nthe dishonest Arabs had always appropriated it for themselves. In fact,\never since 1884 our good Archbishop had never ceased in his efforts to\nassist us and to make our captivity more bearable. He left no stone\nunturned, and moved Moslems, Christians, the Government, and indeed His\nHoliness the Pope, on our behalf, and one of the missionaries was\nmaintained on the Egyptian frontier with the special object of\nendeavouring to procure our release; they took it in turns to relieve\neach other, and were Fathers Dominicus Vicentini, Yohann Dichtl, Xavier\nGeyer, Alois Bonomi, Leon Henriot, and Alois Specke, the last of whom\ndied at Assuan. We had many great difficulties, but perhaps the greatest\nwas the continual bad faith of the Arabs.\n\nThe transport of letters endangered the lives not only of the bearers,\nbut of the receivers as well, and any letter addressed to a European\nwould, if discovered, undoubtedly end either in the intended recipient's\ndeath or imprisonment for life. But Archbishop Sogaro worked on with\nindefatigable earnestness. Early in 1890 he sent one of our Coptic\nMission teachers, named Hanna Arraga, with money and goods to the\nfrontier, whence, if possible, he was to proceed to Omdurman and assist\nus. It was thought the plan might succeed, for at that time Zogal was\nEmir of Dongola, and he was desirous of opening trade with Halfa. Hanna\ntherefore sent an Arab on to find out how matters stood, while he\nhimself remained on the frontier; but the Arab never returned.\n\nIt so happened that just at this time Zogal and the two Baggara emirs\nsent to watch him had a violent dispute, which resulted in all of them\nbeing recalled to Omdurman. The Khalifa decided in favour of the\nBaggaras, Zogal was thrown into chains, and Abdullah's nephew, Yunis,\nwas appointed Emir of Dongola; the latter held very different views with\nregard to intercourse with Egypt, and that is why the Arab never\nreturned to Halfa. About fifteen days, however, before I effected my\nescape, the Arab came to Omdurman and told me about the matter. His own\nmaster and son had been implicated in the Dongola dispute and had been\nthrown into chains; that was his reason for not returning, and after\nthat I never saw him again.[T]\n\nMeanwhile, Ahmed Hassan, whom I had sent to Cairo with the letter, duly\ndelivered it to Archbishop Sogaro, who made a written agreement with him\nfor our release; he also instructed Hanna to proceed from Halfa to\nKorosko, and there hand over to Ahmed Hassan the goods valued at \u00a3100.\nThrough Archbishop Sogaro's intermediary, Ahmed Hassan was given every\nsupport by the Egyptian military authorities, who presented him with \u00a320\nand gave him a free passage to Korosko. On the 15th of September, 1891,\nhe left that place for Omdurman with the goods.\n\nAt Omdurman the winter had come and gone, the Nile had risen to its full\nheight and had subsided, but there was no sign of Ahmed. I was not\nsurprised, for I had long been accustomed to disappointments of this\nsort. I merely remarked to myself that the number of persons who had\ndeceived us had been increased by one, and that if a deliverer did not\nsoon come from Egypt, there was another deliverer--death--whose approach\nwas certain. The heavy work was sapping our waning strength, I began to\nspit blood, felt severe pains in my chest, and was little else than skin\nand bone.\n\nThe poor sisters were still nearer the grave. Our moral and physical\nsufferings during these ten long years of captivity had told on us\nterribly; death was what we most longed for and for which we patiently\nwaited. The sad prospect of never regaining our liberty, of living a\nlife of slavery, debarred from all the advantages and progress of the\nworld, never again to worship in our grand churches and enjoy the\ncomforts of our holy religion; but to live and die amongst the fiery\nrocks and sand of Omdurman, where the burning sun turned dead bodies\ninto mummies--to die and be buried in slavery--the prospect of living\nwas indeed unattractive, and what wonder we should long for death to\nfree us from such misery!\n\nAfter all these sufferings it was indeed hard to see our\nwill-o'-the-wisp-like hope, which we had pursued so often, dissolve into\nnothing, and to find ourselves once more the victims of a fraud and\ndeception. How fortunate we thought those who had been killed in battle,\nor had died of starvation or disease! We even envied the lot of those\nwho had been massacred in Khartum. After all, the anguish of death had\nbeen but momentary, and now all suffering and pain was over, while we\nseemed to have passed through a hundred deaths, we had been in his\nclutches over and over again; hunger, thirst, and disease had all, at\none time or another, almost claimed us as their victims. We had\nwitnessed the destruction of cities, the annihilation of armies, the\nslaughter of thousands, and the ruthless massacre and bloodshed of\ninnocent people; man's dignity trodden under foot, and human life valued\nfar below that of a sheep or a goat. And after all this we must live\nand die forgotten and unknown, our lasting resting-place a strange land,\nand our bodies in all likelihood food for hyenas. Thus we longed for\ndeath to remove us from these scenes of perpetual cruelty and\noppression. Our nerves had become so strained that the slightest knock\nat the door would make us start; the sound of the great onbe\u00efa made us\npositively tremble. Almost half the total number of Europeans, Greeks,\nSyrians, and Jews were dead, and all we hoped for was that we should\nsoon follow them.\n\nThe death of one of our sisters only increased in me the desire to die\nas well. On the 4th of October, 1891, Sister Concetta Corsi, who was in\na very weak state of health, was suddenly carried off by typhus.\nAccording to the Sudan custom, we wound her body in a cloth, tied it up\nin a mat (for there were no coffins to be had), and carried her, almost\nimmediately after death, to a spot some six miles north of the town--the\ndirection in which her eyes in lifetime had been so often turned. All\nthe Greeks and Syrians followed, and there in the stillness of the\ndesert we laid her in the warm sand, protecting her body from the\nravenous hyenas by a few thorns. A short prayer was offered up for her\nand for the souls of those who had gone before; then we turned sadly\nback, hoping that before long we too might be lying beside her.\n\nBut I felt that my life was in God's hands, and comforted myself with\nthe belief that God was dealing with me as He thought best, and that I\nmust submit to His Divine will. My hut was gloomy in the extreme; for\nseveral days I did not speak to any one, and when night came I threw\nmyself down on my angarib, but sleep would not come to me; then I would\ngaze up into the great vault of heaven and think that this same sky was\nover my fatherland, from which I was an exile, surrounded by suffering\nand sickness.\n\nOn the night of the 28th of October, 1891, Ahmed Hassan quite\nunexpectedly made his appearance. I took him to my hut, and after the\nusual Arabic greetings, he said to me, \"Here I am, are you coming?\" For\na moment I was speechless, I quite understood what he meant; but a\nthousand thoughts flashed through my mind, my heart was beating\nviolently, the dangers to which my frail companions in adversity would\nbe subjected loomed before me, and for a few moments I could make no\nreply; then I collected my wandering thoughts and said: \"If I did not\nintend to go with you I would not have sent you.\"\n\nThen I began asking him all sorts of questions about Cairo, and he\ninformed me briefly that he had seen Archbishop Sogaro and had made an\narrangement with him regarding our release; that he had given up the\nplan of descending to Berber by boat, and that he had received \u00a3100 to\npurchase camels. He further told me that he had not brought any letter\nwith him. He asked about the sisters, and when I told him that one had\ndied almost a month ago, he almost wept, and striking his forehead with\nhis hand, said, \"Oh, that I had come a month earlier!\" But I told him\nthat I would take another sister in her place.\n\nWe then set to talking earnestly about our plans; I told him to purchase\nat least five good camels and to see that he had sufficient arms. In\nanticipation of flight, I had a long time ago secured and carefully\nconcealed a hundred Remington cartridges. When Ahmed left the hut I\nbegan to doubt if he was really sincere; it seemed almost incredible\nthat they should have sent him from Cairo without a line or even a\nsignature on such an important undertaking.\n\nThe next day Ahmed reappeared, bringing with him two Arabs whom he had\nengaged in the cause, one at Korosko and the other at Berber. Ahmed\nseemed a little afraid that we would not dare to undertake the flight;\nhe told me that he had brought a letter from Archbishop Sogaro, but had\nleft it at Berber. The main difficulty for the Arabs would be leaving\nthe house without being observed, but I reassured them on that point. It\nwas almost full moon at that time, so it was decided to delay our\ndeparture until it should be on the decline, and we should thus be able\nto make our way out under cover of obscurity. I begged Ahmed not to come\nto us any more, to avoid exciting suspicion.\n\nI now began to make preparations. My first object was to get one of the\nsisters, who was at that time living in a Greek's house, to come to my\nhouse. This was not an easy matter, for I dared not mention one word\nabout our intentions to a soul, or our plans would undoubtedly have been\nfrustrated. I therefore feigned illness, and said I could no longer\ncarry on this hard work alone, so the sister was allowed to come, and,\nquite unwittingly, the Greek gladly lent me her services. She had now\nbeen with me some twenty days, so I felt that the Greek could not be\nheld responsible for her disappearance, which occurred a few days later.\n\nAhmed gave me Archbishop Sogaro's letter, which he had procured from\nBerber, and with intense excitement I read the few lines, in which he\nwished me all success in the undertaking. This letter encouraged me\ngreatly, and I had now no doubt of Ahmed's sincerity. We counted the\ndays and hours preceding our departure, and I could not bear to think of\nthe trials the sisters would have to undergo during the journey. I had\nalso a little black girl, whom it would have been impossible for me to\nhave left behind, as our departure would undoubtedly have been betrayed.\nShe was named Adila, and had been born in the Khartum Mission house.\nAfter the fall of Khartum, she and her mother had been sold as slaves\nand sent to Gedaref.\n\nAmongst Abu Anga's troops was a certain Panerazio Yusef, a very bright\nand intelligent young soldier, who subsequently rose to the rank of an\nemir; he had been told about Adila, bought her for five dollars, and\ntook her with him when he accompanied the emir Zaki to Omdurman. On his\narrival he presented her to me as a remembrance of former kindness; he\nalso gave me a quantity of coffee, for which I was truly grateful.\n\nThe day of our intended departure was approaching, and we looked forward\nto it with almost breathless impatience. We had lost all appetite for\nfood; fear, mental anguish, and the idea that we should be free, kept us\nin a perfect fever of excitement. I could not help thinking of my\ncompanions in adversity whom I should be obliged to leave behind, and\nwho might, I thought, perhaps suffer after our departure. These had been\nconstantly with us for the last ten years, sharing our life of pain and\nwretchedness, and now I could not but feel pained at the thought of\nseparation. But all these feelings had to be put aside, and we had to\nconcentrate all our thoughts on the present. I longed to be off, if only\nto be free from this feverish anxiety which was rending our very souls.\nThen Ahmed came just the day before we were to have started, and said\nthat the Arabs with whom he had come from Korosko had not yet returned,\nand that we must await their departure before setting out.\n\nI now began to think that our plans had been frustrated. Several\nEgyptians, including some women, had attempted to fly to Berber, whence\nthey intended making their way back to Egypt, but had been intercepted,\nbrought back and thrown into chains. It also happened that some Greeks\nwho had been living at Gedaref, and had had their goods stolen, were\nalso brought to Omdurman and put in prison, because it was thought that\nthey had intended to escape to the Italians.\n\nAll this alarmed me, and I thought it probable the Khalifa would issue\nmore stringent orders against Europeans. Ahmed told me that he had had\nconsiderable difficulty in purchasing the camels; he did not dare buy\nthem in the market, as that would have aroused suspicion; he had also\ngreat difficulty in feeding them, for it would have certainly excited\ncomment if he had collected them all in one place. He had, however,\nmanaged very well. When he saw a good-looking camel, towards evening he\nwould follow it until he reached the owner's house, then early the next\nmorning he would return and bargain for it; in this way he had acquired\nthree good camels at from 120 to 150 dollars a piece, which he\ndistributed amongst his various friends, and fed them up well. Meanwhile\nhe used occasionally to come and see us, and bid us keep up a good hope\nin spite of our enforced delay.\n\nOn the 24th of November occurred the disturbance between the Khalifas\nwhich I have already narrated, and this seemed a most favourable moment\nto escape; but Ahmed did not come, and I was wildly impatient, for I\ncould not even find out where he lived without exciting suspicion. In\nall this confusion we were lost sight of, and I avoided going to see\nanyone lest I should become involved in anything that was going on. I\nhad no further preparations to make, for Ahmed had promised to provide\neverything.\n\nAt last, on Friday the 27th, he came to my hut, and it was decided we\nshould leave on Monday evening. When I reproached him for not coming\nduring the first day or two of the disturbances, he said that he too had\nthought of it, but that one of his friends had been locked up for being\nengaged in a quarrel, and he was obliged to wait until he was released.\n\nAhmed also told me a most important piece of news. There were no riding\ncamels in the beit el mal. All had been despatched to the provinces on\nbusiness connected with quelling the disturbances. It would not,\ntherefore, be possible to pursue us at once. These disturbances had made\nall the other captives think that it was a favourable opportunity to\nfly, but, with one exception, none of them knew that my preparations\nwere all made and that the next day I should be gone.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[T] The Arab undoubtedly meant well. For he was at the same\ntime entrusted by me with a letter to give to another European prisoner,\nand, as I write, a reply to this letter, which was delivered to him only\ntwo months ago in Omdurman, has just reached Cairo.--F. R. W.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nON CAMELS ACROSS THE GREAT NUBIAN DESERT.\n\n     Father Ohrwalder and Sisters Venturini and Chincarini escape--The\n     ride for life--The rencontre with the Dervish guard near Abu\n     Hamed--Alarm of the party--The journey across the great Nubian\n     desert--Five hundred miles on camel-back in seven days--Arrival at\n     the Egyptian outpost at Murat--Safe at last--Arrival in Cairo.\n\n\nOn Sunday evening I went to see a friend and returned at nine o'clock;\nthis happened to be the last visit I was to make in Omdurman. Just as I\nstepped into my yard, there I saw Ahmed standing before me. In a few\nhasty words he told me to get ready as soon as possible; his friends had\nmade a mistake and had come a day earlier with the camels. The sisters\nand Adila were all ready; I gave Ahmed the few small things I had as\nwell as my arms, and told him to take the sisters to the appointed\nplace, which was only about thirty yards from the hut, whilst I went off\nand informed the only person who was in the secret, of our sudden\ndecision to leave a day earlier.\n\nAll fear had now gone, and, almost beside myself with excitement, I\nhastened to my friend's house and knocked at the door. \"Who's there?\" he\nasked. And when he knew who it was he was greatly surprised, and asked\nwhy I came so late. As some one else was standing near, I said that I\nhad been seized with a violent pain, and had come to beg a few drops of\nlaudanum, and then I approached him, pressed his hand, and whispered in\nhis ear that we were on the point of starting.\n\nThe poor man received such a start, that had he not caught hold of\nsomething, he would have fallen; but I roused him by asking him loudly\nto get me the laudanum at once; so he went off to his room, and there,\nwith a trembling hand, he put a few drops on a piece of sugar. I took it\nback to the house, which I found the sister had just left. Then wrapping\nmyself in a black mantle, I locked the door, and took the key with me. I\nsaw something dark in the distance, which I knew must be the camels, and\nthither I picked my way. In a few moments I had reached the spot, and a\nman whom I did not know helped me on to my camel; but there was no time\nto ask questions. Ahmed put the sisters on the camels, on which the two\nother Arabs rode, whilst I took Adila behind me on my camel.\n\nNot thirty yards from where we were was a well, around which a number of\nfemale slaves were gathered; but the little noise we made was drowned by\ntheir laughter. The moment of mounting was perhaps the most dangerous\ntime, for the camels were restive, and longing to be off. It was with\nthe greatest difficulty the Arabs managed to keep their mouths closed,\nand no sooner were we on their backs than we glided swiftly away into\nthe darkness. Now and then we saw fires, at which the people were\ncooking their food, or sitting around gossiping; fortunately it was a\ncold night, so most of the people were in their huts. We passed the spot\nwhere we had laid the poor sister who had recently died; it was sad to\nthink that she was not with us now. We kept steadily moving forward, not\na word had passed our lips; the camels had been well fed up on dhurra,\nand went so quickly that we could scarcely hold them in. I tried to peer\nthrough the darkness, while my ear was ready to catch the slightest\nsound of possible pursuers.\n\nSoon we had left Omdurman far behind, and in the soft sand-bed of Khor\nShambat we dismounted to have our saddles re-arranged; then we mounted\nagain, and pursued our journey at a rapid pace northwards along the\nriver bank. We were in all seven persons and four camels: the guide\nAhmed Hassan, his two friends Hamed and Awad; Sister Catterina\nChincarini and Sister Elizabetta Venturini; myself and Adila.\n\nA cold north wind was blowing, which our rapid advance made quite\ncutting. I followed the Arab custom, and bound a large turban round my\nhead, leaving only the eyes exposed. We passed several villages, but the\nbarking of the dogs always gave us warning, and so we avoided them. I\nhad not heard a dog bark for years, and the sound was quite pleasing to\nme. We met some Gellabas riding on donkeys, on their way to Omdurman,\nbut in the darkness they could not see who we were, and we passed them\nrapidly; only Ahmed remained behind, to greet them and exchange news.\n\nNow the narrow track led through thick bushes, which we could not\nrightly see; our clothes, hands, and feet got torn and scratched by the\nthorns; but we never checked the pace, and continued our course steadily\nnorthwards. \"Time is money,\" they say, but in our case time was life; we\ncrossed dry beds of streams, over which the animals would sometimes\nstumble and fall, the riders with them; but there was no time to think\nof pains and bruises; to pick oneself up, catch and mount the camel,\nwhich might easily have been lost in the desert, was all one had time to\nthink about. None of us had watches, but during the many sleepless\nnights I had passed, I had become used to observing the stars, and could\ntell the time almost to within five minutes.\n\nJust at dawn we neared the village of Wad Bishara, and pushed on quicker\nso as to pass it before daybreak. This village is generally considered\ntwo days north of Omdurman. We then left the ordinary track, and turned\ntowards the desert, as we dared not go along the river bank during the\ndaytime. At sunrise we could just see the thin strip of green which\nmarked the course of the stream; still we did not alight, but pushed on\nand on, up and down hills, across long stretches of sandy plain. Our\neyes became so red and swollen we could scarcely see, and they pained us\nconsiderably.\n\nAt length, after some hours, we drew up, dismounted ate a little\nbiscuit, and drank some water, readjusted our saddles, then up and away\nagain. My mind travelled back to Omdurman. Had our flight been\ndiscovered at once? What would happen to those left behind? How\nastonished they would be to find we had gone! But this train of thought\nwas suddenly interrupted; one of the sisters had fallen off her camel,\nand was lying insensible on the ground; we picked her up, splashed her\nwith water, and after a time brought her to; we then put her on to the\ncamel again, and tied her firmly to the saddle; there was nothing else\nto be done--it was a question of life and death. So we rode continuously\nforward, in the desert by day and along the river bank by night.\n\nI had asked Ahmed about the stranger who had helped me to mount my camel\nin Omdurman, and he told me that the animals had become so restive by\ngood feeding that it was impossible for one man to hold them whilst the\nother two came to the hut to fetch us; he had therefore taken two\nfriends into his confidence, and made them swear on the Kuran that they\nwould not betray us. Just after sunset they had ridden the camels quite\nopenly through the market-place, with their arms slung across the\nsaddles, so that people should think they were post-camels, and no\nsuspicion would be created.\n\nAhmed told me more too about the difficulties he had had in stabling the\ncamels prior to our flight; two of them had been tethered in a poor\nwoman's yard, and the two others he had placed in charge of one of his\nfriends; but these caretakers had guessed that something was about to\nhappen, and had urged Ahmed to depart as soon as possible, for they\nbegan to think they might become involved in the matter. Ahmed had paid\nthem most liberally for their services; he had also had recourse to\nmagic, summoned the spirits, and consulted a fiki, who prophesied the\njourney would be \"as white as milk,\" that is to say, that no mishap\nwould occur, for which statement Ahmed had given him a considerable\nbakshish.\n\nWe continued our journey always along the left bank of the Nile, there\nwas no time to stop for sleep. Occasionally we came across Arab\nshepherds in the desert tending their herds of goats. They gazed\nwonderingly at us, and asked questions of Ahmed, who purposely always\nremained a short way behind. Ahmed drew a gloomy picture of the recent\nrising in Omdurman, describing how the two Khalifas had openly fought\nwith each other, how nothing was heard night and day but the roar of\ncannon and the rattle of musketry, while the slaughter had been terrible\nbeyond words. He represented that we were fugitives who had left the\nordinary roads, fearing that the disturbed state of the country might\nmake them unsafe, for bands of brigands were known to be roaming about.\n\nThese simple people, thoroughly detesting Mahdiism, believed every word\nAhmed told them, thought we were wise to fly, and gave him as much milk\nas he wanted, a fact which he also regarded as a good omen.\n\nAlthough Ahmed and his friends knew the usual roads well, they had never\nbeen on exactly the track we had been forced to take to avoid the\ninhabited places. Thus it happened that we approached the river sooner\nthan we expected; in fact, almost before we knew it, we found ourselves\namongst houses in the village of Makani, which was so concealed by trees\nthat we had not seen it. We then met a party of Gellabas, and at Ahmed's\nadvice at once slowed our pace so as not to provoke mistrust. These\nGellabas looked at us somewhat suspiciously, and tried in vain to find\nout the object of our journey. Probably they remembered us afterwards\nwhen our flight became known.\n\nAt length, after some difficulty, we emerged from the village and again\nturned into the desert; but when I blamed Ahmed for misguiding us, he\nmerely answered cheerfully, \"Allah marakna!\" (\"God has delivered us!\")\n\nWhen we had got some distance from the river, we dismounted and had a\nslight meal of dates and water. Our limbs were so stiff we could not\nstand up straight, and our clothes were sticking to the wounds we had\nreceived when riding through the bush. How delightful it was to be on\nthe ground again and stretch our cramped legs, and how pleasant would a\nshort sleep have been! But no sooner had the camels swallowed a little\ndhurra than we were up and off again. We still went in a northerly\ndirection, and as our scratches warmed again they pained us\nconsiderably; but the feeling that we were not pursued, and the growing\nhope that we should really escape, encouraged us to overcome every\ndifficulty. We watered at Gubat on the Nile, where the English had\nencamped in 1885, and then we rode cautiously, well outside the great\nvillage of Metemmeh. The barking and howling of the dogs made the camels\nquicken their pace, and soon we were out of sight of the Jaalin capital.\n\nWe then began to discuss how we were to cross the Nile. Ahmed had a\nfriend living in a village just south of Berber, and it occurred to him\nthat we might cross there. We trotted quietly on towards this village,\nwhen a man suddenly sprang out in front of us and cried, \"Enta min?\"\n(\"Who are you?\") But we soon found out that the man was afraid, and had\ntaken us for robbers. His sudden appearance had given us a great start,\nand we at once thought that our pursuers had caught us up, and that we\nwere about to be recaptured. Ahmed, however, approached the man, and as\nwe rode on, he turned, spoke to him, and allayed his fears.\n\nWhen we approached the village, we dismounted and hid behind some thick\nbushes, whilst Ahmed went in search of his friend who was to ferry us\nacross. In about half an hour he returned, saying that it was\nimpossible, as the boat was on the other side. Besides, he had heard\nthat two boats had just passed down on their way to Berber, and that all\ndisturbances in Omdurman were at an end. However, they had heard nothing\nabout our flight. We therefore mounted again, and continued marching\nnorth the whole of that night and the following day.\n\nOn this, the third day of our journey, we came in sight of Berber, and\ntowards evening descended to the river almost exactly opposite the town,\nfilled our waterskins, and then made for the desert again. We did not\ndare keep near the river here, as numbers of Baggara were living in the\nneighbourhood. At about midnight we alighted, as Ahmed did not know the\nroad. We fed the camels, and indulged in our usual meal of biscuits,\ndates, and water. Ahmed had also succeeded in procuring from his friend\nsome tobacco and small earthenware pipes; so we smoked with impunity,\nand began to feel that our escape was now almost assured.\n\nBut we had still before us the crossing of the river, which our Arab\nfriends in Omdurman had warned us would be one of the most critical and\ndangerous parts of our plan. We were in the saddle again at dawn, and\ncontinued our journey over a stony plateau which our guides did not\nrecognize. Then all day we marched through narrow valleys, full of large\nstones washed down by the torrents. At length towards evening we sighted\nthe river again, and descended towards it through a narrow gorge, where\nwe had to dismount, as the camels could scarcely make their way across\nthe great boulders which blocked the path. Once on the plain, our guides\nrecognised the road, and we found ourselves near the village of Benga,\nwhere we hoped to be able to secure boats to take us across.\n\nWe advanced now very cautiously, looking round in every direction; and I\nespied three camelmen setting off evidently in the direction of Abu\nHamed. I at once called Ahmed's attention to this; and although they\nwere some way off, they could have seen us, so Ahmed advised us to\nalight at once, which we did, and concealed ourselves in a khor amongst\nsome bushes.\n\nAhmed and his companions were, I could see, not a little alarmed by the\nappearance of the camelmen, and began to speak to each other in their\nown dialect; but I guessed by the expressions on their faces what they\nthought--viz. that our flight had been discovered, news had been sent to\nBerber, and now the camelmen were on their way to warn the emir of Abu\nHamed to intercept us. I endeavoured to prove to them that it was quite\nimpossible for the news to have reached Berber yet, even if our flight\nhad been reported to the Khalifa the morning after we had left. It was\nmost unlikely that the pursuit would have been begun before the evening,\nand we had thus got a good twenty-four hours' start. We were then just\nfour hours north of Berber, and had been three and a half days out from\nOmdurman. Our pursuers therefore, even if they had ridden as rapidly and\nas persistently as we had, could not possibly have reached Berber yet.\nBut my calculations by no means convinced our guides; and after a long\nconsultation, Ahmed and Awad went towards the river about four miles\ndistant, while Hamed stayed behind to look after the camels.\n\nNow was the time to take a few hours' sleep before night came on. During\nthe three and a half days we had been on the journey we had had only\nfour hours' sleep. We were quite worn out; our simple meals of biscuit\nand water did not give us much nourishment, our limbs were so stiff that\nwe could scarcely move, and our wounds proved most irritating. Under\nsuch circumstances it can well be understood how welcome sleep would\nhave been; but the appearance of these three camels, the alarm of the\nguides, and our anxiety about crossing the river, drove away all idea of\nrest, and all we could do was to await with what patience we knew the\nreturn of the two Arabs.\n\nAt length, just as the sun was setting, Ahmed and Awad returned, much\nrejoiced. They had made inquiries about the three camelmen, and had\nfound out that they had nothing to do with us, and that nothing was\nknown yet of our flight. They had arranged with a boatman to ferry us\nacross, under the pretext that they were conducting a small party of\nslaves whom they were going to hand over to the emir of Abu Hamed. This\nmost satisfactory news quite dissipated our fatigue, and we ate our\nwretched biscuit and dates with an excellent appetite. As soon as it was\ndark we moved towards the river, and dismounted close to the water's\nedge. As yet there was no sign of the boatman, but we saw two boys\nrowing towards us.\n\nMeanwhile Ahmed had gone to a house close by to get some dhurra. Then\nthe boatman came and announced that he could not take us across that\nnight, but we must wait till the morning. This would never have done;\nnot only should we have lost a whole night, but we should undoubtedly\nhave been recognised in daylight. However, it was no use talking, and\nthe man went off to his hut; but we did not get discouraged, for if the\nworst came to the worst, we could row ourselves across.\n\nBy this time the two boys had reached the bank, and they now came\nforward and offered to take us across; of course we accepted, and in an\nincredibly short space of time our guides had got the camels on board.\nIt was a large boat, so we all crossed together, and on reaching the\nopposite bank Ahmed gave the boys two dollars, with which they seemed\nhighly pleased, kissed our hands, wished us a pleasant journey, and then\nreturned to the west bank. We watered the animals, filled our skins,\nmounted, and again set our faces northwards.\n\nIt was now past midnight. The camels, refreshed by their rest and good\nfeed, pushed on quickly, and during that night and the whole of the next\nday we rode on without any interruption or mishap. Not a soul was to be\nseen in this lonely desert, but we often came across herds of antelopes,\nrabbits, and a few hyenas; the antelopes would stand about twenty paces\noff, prick up their ears, and look inquisitively at the strange caravan.\n\nIt was quite cool when we left Omdurman, but now the weather had quite\nchanged, and we felt it oppressively hot; we saw mirages constantly, and\nwere often deceived by them. Our camels and ourselves now began to\nsuffer. I was much struck by the change in the appearance of these\nanimals; the high, fat hump and thick neck they had in Omdurman had both\ngrown to half the size. At first we had the greatest difficulty in\nholding them in; now they were so tired that we had to keep flogging\nthem all the time; their feet had got so worn that treading on a stone\nmade them jump sideways, and to ease them we four men alternately\ndismounted and led them for some distance.\n\nOur track lay across a broad plain, dotted about with small shrubs, and\nas we passed one of these, Ahmed noticed a snake, scared by our\napproach, trying to escape; he at once killed the reptile with a blow of\nhis sword, then stretched out its body and jumped over it three times in\na most excited way. Thereupon the guides congratulated each other,\nsaying there was now nothing more to fear, and that we had conquered our\nenemies. This exhibition of courage on the part of the guides pleased me\ngreatly. Once more we mounted and made our way towards Abu Hamed, where\nwe intended to take water for the last time before entering the great\nNubian desert.\n\nThe next night another snake episode occurred, but it ended rather\ndifferently. We were going across a stony place, when the leading camel\nsuddenly swerved to one side, and we heard a hissing sound, which we\nknew must be a snake, but it was too dark to attempt to catch it. This\ngreatly alarmed the Arabs, who looked upon it as an evil omen, and\ncuriously enough, when close to Abu Hamed, an event did occur which\nquite confirmed their superstitions.\n\nThe next day, at about nine o'clock in the morning, we sighted the\nmountain which was our landmark indicating the place at which we\nintended to water. We anticipated reaching it in three hours, and there\nwe intended to rest whilst the Arabs took the camels down to water; but\nsomehow we went too far to the east, did not discover our mistake for\nsome time, and it was midnight instead of midday when we reached the\nhill. This hill is shaped rather like two skittles, between which the\nroad runs, and the wind, blowing through this narrow funnel, almost\ncarried us off our camels.\n\nAhmed warned us to keep perfect silence as we scrambled down the rocky\nslope, and reached the river at last; here the mighty stream flows\nrapidly and silently at the foot of a great rock cliff, the stillness\nbeing occasionally broken by the splash of the many fish which delight\nto disport themselves in these cool depths. This watering-place is known\nas Meshra Dehesh, and is about six miles south of Abu Hamed. A few d\u00f4m\npalms and shrubs have gained a slender footing on the steep bank, and\nthe reflection of the bright stars in the silent river could not but\nmake one feel impressed with the grand solitude of the place. I bent\ndown, scooped up the water in my hands, and refreshed my parched throat;\nthen we took the saddles off the camels, filled our water-skins, and ate\nsome biscuits; I wanted to bathe my face and eyes, which ached with the\nburning of the sun and sand, but Ahmed gave the word to mount.\n\nWe were too stiff and weak to be able to stand upright, and as for the\npoor sisters, Ahmed had to lift them bodily off the ground and put them\non their camels; they were far too exhausted to speak; we led the camels\nout of the stony gorge, intending to mount when we reached the level. It\nwas long past midnight, and we were congratulating ourselves on having\npassed the last critical point, hoping that by dawn we should have left\nthe river, which here bends to the west, far behind us.\n\n[Illustration: \"WE HAD SCARCELY GONE TWENTY PACES FROM THE RIVER, WHEN\nSUDDENLY WE HEARD THE SOUND OF A CAMEL.\"]\n\nWe had scarcely gone twenty paces from the river, when suddenly we heard\nthe sound of a camel. We were almost ready to drop with fright, but\nAhmed and the guides went towards the spot from whence the sound had\ncome, and there they saw a camelman mounted, armed with a Remington, and\npeering at us from behind a d\u00f4m palm, but it was too dark for him to\nhave recognized our white faces. Ahmed at once approached him, seized\nhis rifle with his left hand, and extended his right to greet him,\nasking him at the same time to alight.\n\nThe man, alarmed probably at Ahmed's energetic bearing, at once\ndismounted and joined the guides. At first we thought orders must have\ncome from Omdurman to intercept us, but fortunately it was not so; the\nguard (for such he proved to be) said he had been sent from Berber to\nsee that Egyptian merchants did not export slaves from the Sudan to\nEgypt. He related how, the day previous, a merchant with five slaves had\nbeen captured, but had been set free again on depositing the value of\nthe slaves. The guard then asked Ahmed if he had brought any slaves, to\nwhich he replied in the affirmative.\n\nThe guard now insisted that Ahmed should go to Abu Hamed to see the emir\nthere, and no amount of argument would convince him that it was\nunnecessary to do so. Hamed now came and told me about the occurrence,\nbut, being somewhat confused, he happened to say we were lost. These\nwords reached the ears of one of the sisters, and so startled her that\nshe fell off her camel, and might have been very seriously injured had\nwe not caught her.\n\nI gave Hamed my long knife, and told him to do what he could to win the\nman over with money, but that if he found this was useless, \"Well! we\nwere four men to one.\" Hamed quite understood what I meant, and then\nreturned to the others. The conversation still continued for a long\ntime. At length our Arabs returned; we put the sisters on the camels at\nonce, and then mounted ourselves. Our fatigue had fled; even the camels\nseemed to scent danger, for we set off at a quick pace and were soon out\nof sight.\n\nThis episode served to remind us very forcibly that we were still in the\nKhalifa's territory. Strange thoughts passed through my mind in quick\nsuccession: Omdurman, the Khalifa, the Saier, unbearable insults, then\ndeath. All these awaited us if we failed in our attempt; but then I\ncomforted myself with the thought we should never be taken alive; we had\nsolemnly agreed never to submit. It was in this frame of mind that we\nquitted Meshra Dehesh and rode for our lives night and day; the poor\ncamels were reduced to skeletons, and we ourselves were nothing but skin\nand bone.\n\nAhmed told me that when the guard recognized him he showed himself\nkindly disposed, and promised not to betray us; but Ahmed did not trust\nhim, and would not, therefore, let him go until he had accepted some\nmoney; he had pressed twenty dollars into his hand. The guard accepted\nthe money after extracting a solemn promise from Ahmed and his\ncompanions that they would not attempt to revenge themselves on him or\nhis tribe--the Monasir--on their return to Korosko. The guard also swore\nsolemnly that he would not betray or pursue us, and moreover agreed to\nprevent the patrols going into the desert for three days, so as to keep\nus out of danger's way; they had then embraced and kissed each other as\na sign of sincerity.\n\nIn spite, however, of all these solemn oaths, I did not trust the man;\nthe fate of poor Colonel Stewart and his companions came into my mind,\nand I remembered that they had been cruelly done to death by the\ncowardly and treacherous Monasir; we therefore hurried forward our\ncamels with all possible speed, leaving Abu Hamed far away on our left.\n\nThe day broke as usual, and soon the sun was risen and burning more\nfiercely than ever, but that did not trouble us. We were far too much\nabsorbed in the momentous event which had just occurred. Our track ran\nthrough a perfectly flat plain, in which not a shrub or blade of grass\nwas to be seen. We passed the tracks of the captured slave-dealer and\nthe patrols, and that evening entered on the caravan road leading from\nAbu Hamed to Korosko. The track ran through great bare hills and\nsolitary valleys; the wind had driven the sand almost to the tops of the\nhills, and had filled up all the crevices with sand-drifts.\n\nOnce within the hills, our courage returned, for we knew we would be\nable to defend ourselves; so we dismounted and ate our last mouthful of\nbiscuit, and now all we had was our water, which, by the way, we\njokingly remarked was somewhat dear, as it had cost us twenty dollars.\n\nAfter a short rest we set off again, but both we and our camels were\nutterly exhausted; my right arm ached from continually whipping up the\npoor beast. Our Arab companions lightened the way with hundreds of\ninteresting anecdotes of their own deserts. They related how, when\nBerber fell, an Arab and six Egyptian women had fled; but the man had\nbrought only a camel or two and very little water, so four of them had\ndied of thirst. They pointed out the spot which Rundle Bey had reached\nwhen he reconnoitred Abu Hamed in 1885. The road was plainly marked out\nby the bones of camels and donkeys, and, prior to the appearance of the\nMahdi, had been a much-used trade route.\n\nMohammed Ali Pasha had ridden along this road under the guidance of\nHussein Pasha Khalifa. Mohammed Ali had constantly expressed a desire to\nhalt, but his guide would not allow him to dismount, except at certain\nplaces, saying, \"I am commander here;\" and to this Mohammed Ali had\nwillingly consented, for he well knew that a refusal to do as he was\ntold by the sheikh of the desert, in that awful wilderness, might have\nbeen followed by very serious results.\n\nOur approach to a haven of safety gave us courage to undergo most\nterrible fatigue. By far our worst enemy was sleep; it is quite\nimpossible for me to describe the fearful attacks this tyrannical foe\nmade upon us. We tried every means in our power to keep awake; we\nshouted and talked loudly to each other; we tried to startle ourselves\nby giving a sudden jerk; we pinched ourselves till the blood ran down,\nbut our eyelids weighed down like balls of lead, and it required a\nfearful effort to keep them open. \"Ma tenamu\" (\"Don't sleep\"), Ahmed\nkept repeating, \"or you will fall off and break your leg.\"\n\nBut it was all no good; the conversation would flag, and silence follow.\nThe camels seemed to know their riders were asleep, and instinctively\nfell into slower pace; the head kept nodding, until it sunk upon the\nchest; with a sudden start, the equilibrium which had been almost lost\nwould be recovered, and then sleep vanished.\n\nAt times we would shout out to one another words of encouragement, then\nwe would whip up our camels and on again, up and down, through sandy\nplains and rocky gorges, where the echoes seemed to repeat themselves a\nhundred times. Our destination was Murat, where we remembered Gordon had\ngiven orders for a well to be dug, but it had never been done.\n\nAhmed said that we should be at Murat on the morning of the 7th of\nDecember. He told us how the Dervishes had sometimes pursued fugitives\nas far as this, and not long ago had killed one near here. Our poor\ncamels were now dragging their weary limbs very slowly; the whip was now\nquite useless, as it had not the smallest effect in increasing their\npace. Besides, it was pain to me to beat the good creatures that had\nhelped us to escape. We were so utterly fatigued that it was with the\ngreatest difficulty we succeeded in keeping on our camels at all;\nhunger, sleeplessness, and absolute lassitude had completely conquered\nus, and our wounds pained and irritated us; but the feeling that we were\nalmost safe was as balm to both mind and body.\n\nJust before sunset we turned down the khor which leads to Murat; the\nfort covering the wells was visible on the hills, surmounted by the red\nflag with the white crescent and star in the centre. \"Ahmed,\" I cried,\n\"greet the flag of freedom!\" and our courageous deliverer seized his gun\nand fired shot after shot into the air, to announce our arrival to the\nEgyptian garrison. The echo of these shots resounded again and again in\nthe deep valleys, as if joining with us in our joy at deliverance from\nthe hands of the cruel Khalifa Abdullah. They seemed to announce the\n\"release of our spirits from beneath his sheepskin.\" This was an\nexpression which the Khalifa delighted to use when talking of his\ncaptured enemies, whose souls, he said, lay beneath his \"furwa,\" meaning\nthat their lives were entirely in his hands.\n\nNow we were actually in safety. A prayer of the deepest gratitude went\nup from the very depths of our thankful hearts; it is quite impossible\nto find words to express what we then felt. Our camels seemed to pull\nthemselves together for a final effort, so as to present us honourably\nto the Ababdehs, who were now coming out to meet us.\n\nThe reports of our rifles had at first caused some stir in the little\ngarrison, who feared a sudden attack, and had come out fully armed; but\nthey soon recognized us, and answered our salute by discharging their\nguns in the air. These good people received us most kindly, asked us a\nthousand questions, and, surrounding us, brought us to the commandant's\nhut. Here, on the 8th of December, the Feast of the Immaculate\nConception, we alighted from our camels, and the hopes which had kept us\nalive for years, were at last realized. This supreme moment, about which\nwe had so often talked with our companions in adversity, which we had\nthought about, dreamed about, and pictured to ourselves, this delicious\nmoment had come at last, and we were free!\n\nBut the effects of hunger, fatigue, and the sights and scenes we had\ngone through during the last month, did not disappear so easily; our\nsenses seemed dulled, and our first thought on entering the commandant's\nhut was to lie down on the floor and go to sleep, but, strange to say,\nthat wonderful restorer would not come; we sat gossiping with the\nAbabdehs, who could scarcely credit that we, especially the sisters,\ncould have survived such a ride. We had covered the entire distance of\n500 miles between Omdurman and Murat in seven days, including the day we\nhad spent wandering about in the hills before crossing the river.\n\nThe staying power of our camels had astonished me; how easily one of\nthem might have stumbled and broken its leg as we trotted hard through\nthe dark nights, unable to see where we were going! But Ahmed and his\ncompanions had used all their knowledge in securing thoroughly good\nanimals; our excellent guides had been ever ready to help and assist us;\nfull of energy and pluck, they had carried out their enterprise with the\nutmost sagacity and integrity.\n\nPoor Ahmed had dwindled down almost to a skeleton, and when he\ndismounted at Murat was overcome by a fit of dizziness, from which he\ndid not recover for an hour.\n\nMeanwhile we had refreshed ourselves with a cup of coffee and some bread\nand milk which the commandant, Mohammed Saleh, had offered us, and\nwhich had revived us considerably. Murat is situated in the desert,\nabout midway between Korosko and Abu Hamed; here three valleys unite in\na sort of crater, and the hill-tops are crowned with small forts built\nby the Ababdehs, from whence they can keep guard over the main wells,\nand, besides, see for an immense distance all around.\n\nThis, the most advanced Egyptian outpost, is garrisoned by the Ababdeh\nArabs of Saleh Bey, the son of Hussein Pasha Khalifa; these people live\nvery simply in the midst of this great desert, drawing their provisions\nmonthly from Korosko. There are a number of wells, but the water is\nbrackish and in summer almost undrinkable, though it is not so bad in\nthe winter; but we had still some of our Nile water, which had cost us\nso dearly at Meshra Dehesh. Close to the wells is a little hut, built by\nGordon's orders.\n\nMurat is a most desolate and lonely spot, unbearably hot in the summer,\nwhen the fierce rays of the sun are reflected from all sides of the deep\ncrater-like valley in which it lies. The same day that we arrived one of\nAhmed Hassan's nephews had reached Murat from Korosko, and gave us some\nof the dates and flour he was taking into the Sudan; he left for Abu\nHamed the next day, and no doubt the news of our safe arrival was soon\nannounced in Omdurman.\n\nDuring the 8th and 9th of December we rested. Mohammed Saleh supplied us\nwith some biscuit, and on the 9th we again set off from Murat towards\nKorosko. Our rest had greatly refreshed us, and now we could ride\nquietly without any fear of pursuit. One of our guides was mounted on a\nshe-camel, which the commander had supplied, and she gave us plenty of\nmilk. A few days before starting her little baby-camel had died, the\nowner had skinned it, and now whenever we required milk, we had only to\nstretch out the skin in front of her and let her smell it.\n\nWe now rode only by day, and rested at night. Heavy rain had fallen\nabout a month before, and we found a reservoir of good water about a day\nout of Murat. Some of the Murat garrison had, previous to our arrival,\ngone into Korosko to get their monthly pay and were now returning; they\nhappened to encamp near this natural reservoir, and seeing us took us\nfor Dervishes, rushed to their arms, took up a position behind a rock\nand levelled their rifles at us, but Ahmed, who knew them at once,\ncalled out and they hurried up to us, begging pardon for the mistake\nthey had made. They gave us some of their flour, dates, and tobacco, and\nwe chatted with them till nightfall.\n\nWe made no further extended halt, and on the early morning of the 13th\nof December reached Korosko. In the deep valley which debouches suddenly\non to the Nile at this place we alighted, cleaned ourselves as best we\ncould, and then mounted our camels for the last time, and soon came in\nsight first of the palm-trees and then of the Nile, which we had last\nseen at Abu Hamed. We were at once surrounded by numbers of people, who\nbore us off to the fort, and here the commandant, Lieutenant-Colonel Ali\nBey Haider, greeted us most cordially, and for the first time for many\nyears we found ourselves in comfortable rooms again, and listening to\nthe regimental band, which we greatly enjoyed.\n\nOn the evening of the 15th of December we got on board a steamer which\ntook us down most comfortably to Assiut. Here we were greeted by Mr.\nSantoni and Brother Sayer, who had been directed by the Cairo Mission to\ncome on board and welcome us. From Assiut we took the train to Cairo,\nwhere we arrived safely on the 21st of December, 1891.\n\nThe rapid transition from barbarism to civilization, our pleasant\njourney from Korosko to Cairo, intercourse with educated people, the\nincessant change of scene, all affected us greatly; but our joy and\ndelight at being free was somewhat saddened by the thought of the\nsufferings of our poor companions in our adversity, whom we had left\nbehind in slavery and captivity. Our guides accompanied us to Cairo,\nwhere they received the money agreed upon, and we felt full of\nthankfulness to the energetic Ahmed Hassan and his two companions; but\nto our good Archbishop Sogaro we owe a deep debt of gratitude, for it\nwas through his intermediary all arrangements for our happy release had\nbeen effected.\n\nIt may be as well to insert here the terms of agreement made in Arabic\nbetween Monsignor Sogaro and Ahmed Hassan regarding our release. The\nwording is as follows:--\n\n     \"I, the undersigned, Ahmed Hassan el Abbadi, of Bashri Mohammed\n     Ali's Arabs, agree to proceed at once to Omdurman to bring Father\n     Ohrwalder and the two nuns from Omdurman to Cairo. I agree to take\n     care of them on the journey, and to do all in my power to bring\n     them here and to give them every satisfaction. As a reward and to\n     recompense me for the expenses which I shall incur between Omdurman\n     and Cairo, Monsignor Sogaro has agreed to give me:--\n\n     \"1. All the goods to the value of \u00a3100 now in possession of Sheikh\n     Abdel Hadi at Korosko.\n\n     \"2. \u00a320 in advance before leaving Cairo.\n\n     \"3. On my return from Omdurman with Father Ohrwalder and the two\n     nuns, a sum of \u00a3300, _i.e._ \u00a3100 for each person.\n\n     \"This is the agreement between me and Monsignor Sogaro, and I have\n     made it of my own free will and accord, and have been in no way\n     forced to do so by any one. Monsignor Sogaro and myself signed this\n     agreement, and Wingate Bey, Assistant Adjutant-General,\n     Intelligence, stands as a witness. This agreement will be kept in\n     the War Office until I return from Omdurman with the three persons\n     above-named, and I shall be dealt with in accordance with its\n     contents.[U]\n\n         \"Signed,  AHMED HASSAN EL ABBADI,\n                   \"of Sayala, Frontier Mudirieh.\n                   \"L\u00c9ON HENRIOT (for Monsignor Sogaro).\n         \"Cairo, 9th July, 1891.\"\n\nBelow is written in English:--\n\n     \"This is a private agreement between Monsignor Sogaro and Ahmed\n     Hassan el Abbadi, who leaves Cairo for Omdurman on Friday, the 20th\n     July, 1891, and will attempt to bring Father Ohrwalder to Egypt.\n\n         \"Witnessed by me,  F. R. WINGATE,\n                            \"Kaimakam,\n                            \"A. A.-G., Intelligence, Egyptian Army.\n         \"War Office,\n         \"9th July, 1891.\"\n\nI was, of course, intensely anxious to hear what had occurred in\nOmdurman after our departure. I thought that our flight would have\nremained undiscovered that night, the following day, and possibly the\nfollowing night; but it was not so. Early in the morning on the 30th of\nNovember our absence was discovered by some women who had been standing\nbefore the door of my house. They had seen us and were surprised,\nbecause we did not usually leave the house after sunset.\n\nThe idea of flight did not probably at once occur to them, but their\nsuspicions were aroused. Early in the morning they had knocked at my\ndoor, and receiving no answer, related what they had seen to my\nneighbour's slave, who in turn informed her master. He, in great terror,\ncarried the information to the mukuddum of the Europeans. This man,\naccompanied by many of my friends, hastened to my house, and, breaking\nopen the door, was assured of my flight by finding a letter which I had\nleft.\n\nThe poor man had, to save his life, to at once inform the Khalifa, who\nordered the sheikh of the market to find us even should we be buried in\nthe earth. Wad er Rais therefore closed all the houses and arrested\nevery one who could possibly have known of my flight, and threw them\ninto chains, with threats of the gallows and the knife. My neighbours\nwere also arrested. When he could get no information whatever from these\npeople, the Khalifa sent to Metemmeh a certain Ibrahim Wad el Ahmer,\nwho had three camels, and was ordered to bring us back at all hazards.\nBut the beit el mal had first to buy the camels at very high\nprices--120, 110, and 87 dollars respectively--and before they could\nstart some busybody told the Khalifa that Khalifa Sherif had concealed\nme in a boat belonging to a certain Osman Fauzi, and had aided my flight\nin order that I should move the Egyptian Government to the support of\nhis oppressed party. Another declared that he had seen white faces in\nthe boat.\n\nThese statements impressed the Khalifa, who sent men at once to\nrecapture the boat and examine the passengers. The boat was captured\nnear Omdurman and examined, of course, with no result, on which the\nKhalifa was pacified, and sent off the camels. Ibrahim inquired minutely\nalong the route to Metemmeh, but could get no information. In the\nmeantime those well disposed towards us lived in the keenest\napprehension lest we should be recaptured. Only on Ibrahim's return\nwithout any news could our friends breathe freely and feel sure that we\nmust have got away safely. Then those who had been imprisoned were\nreleased.\n\nLater on I received a letter from Omdurman telling me that our flight\nhad raised a commotion throughout the whole city, and that the prisoners\nhad to suffer very much. It may be learned from this what grave\nconsequences had to be considered before I took the important step of\nflight. Should anyone else attempt it, those who remain must suffer. May\nGod protect our poor companions!\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[U] This contract and all correspondence connected with it was\nkept sealed in the Intelligence Office, and was opened by General Sir F.\nGrenfell, Sirdar, on the 14th day of December, 1891, when the news of\nthe arrival of the party at Korosko reached Cairo.--F. R. W.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nTHE PRESENT KHALIFA'S DESPOTISM IN THE SUDAN.\n\n     [The reader is reminded that all opinions expressed are those of\n     Father Ohrwalder.--F. R. W.]\n\n     Reflections on the situation in the Sudan--The horrors of the\n     present Khalifa's rule--How long shall it continue?\n\n\nIn the foregoing pages we have glanced at a bloody period in the history\nof the Sudan--the rise of the Mahdi, his victorious career through\nKordofan, and his conquest of Khartum. We have sketched the development\nof his mighty empire, founded in bloodshed and revolution, and we have\nseen him honoured as a messenger of God by the millions of the Sudan;\nglorified--nay, almost worshipped--by his own people, and watched by the\nMuslim neighbours of his empire with an admiration mingled with the\nkeenest anxiety. Then, in the full enjoyment of his victories, at the\nsupreme moment of his power, while seated in his capital of Omdurman, he\nrevolved schemes of conquest of the whole world he knew; then dead--dead\nof debauchery and disease, dead at an age when most lives' promises are\nbrightest. Then we have seen the empire tottering, Abdullah rising to\nits support, slowly but firmly strengthening the trembling power, and,\nwith the strength of bigotry and ignorance, replacing a shattered\nsuperstition by the iron rule of might.\n\nHere I may properly submit some reflections on the general situation.\n\nMohammed Ali conquered the Sudan, and in the train of his conquest\nfollowed all the triumphs of progress and civilization. Wide new\nterritories were discovered, fertile and thickly populated; explorers\nand missionaries advanced to the very heart of negro-land; Nile's\nsolitudes were rippled by the advancing steamer. Far beyond the Equator\nreached the telegraph, and the metropolis of the Sudan formed part of\nthe international postal system. Trade blossomed in security, and the\nwhite man could march to the countries of the Niam Niam, and there join\nhands with his brother from the Congo. European culture spread\nthroughout, and the religion of Christ planted the world-saving banner\nin remotest frontiers.\n\nThe progress of fifty years was ruined by the Mahdi's revolt. The Sudan\nfell back into the darkness from which philanthropy had rescued it.\nCivilization was swamped in the flood of fanaticism. The sign of\nsalvation was blotted out, the bearers of it chained as slaves, and the\nflag of tyranny waved over smoking ruins from Darfur to the Red Sea, and\nfrom Regaf northwards to the second cataract. Bands of fanatics have\nswept over the face of the land, destroying every Christian sign. The\nSudan lies open in its desolation and nakedness. Everything but a little\ncloth and a little corn is superfluous,--nay wicked,--for those who\naccept the Mahdi's promise of eternal life. The minds of men are savage\nthrough years of warfare. The ignorant Baggara rule and the gentler\nJaalin and Danagla are oppressed; the land is fallen back to wilderness.\n\nThe present ruler, Abdullah, is marching steadily in the path of\ndesolation. He roots out eagerly every vestige of Egyptian rule; all\nforeign influence he keeps at a distance, for he will rule over an\nignorant people. He wants nothing from beyond his own boundaries. If he\nhas no money, cloth becomes the medium of exchange; ammunition he makes\nhimself. With his Baggaras he rules with an iron hand. Those who resist\nare pitilessly robbed, imprisoned, or exiled.\n\nAbdullah rules in the name of the Mahdi, whose religious prestige is the\nreadiest weapon for swaying the multitude. He keeps unaltered the\ndecisions, the visions, the wild dreams which so powerfully established\nthe imposture. The pilgrimage to Mecca he regards as dangerous. Even\nfrom such enlightenment as they might find at the shrine of their\nfaith, his people are heedfully kept away.\n\nA Spartan habit of life was enjoined by the Mahdi. This Abdullah still\nattempts to maintain, for he wishes the people to be ready to follow\nhim, and is careful that they shall have no inducement to stay at home.\nLike the Mahdi, the Khalifa puts his orders in the form of visions,\nwhich have the weight of divine manifestations. Often he locks himself\nin darkness in the Mahdi's tomb, and spends nights in pretended commune\nwith his master.\n\nThe policy of Abdullah is directed to strengthening his power and\nconcentrating it in the hands of his Baggaras. Once he is sure of what\nhe has got, he will try to enlarge his dominion. Barbarism and\ndesolation will be extended to provinces which internal difficulties\nhave so far prevented him from absorbing. He thinks of nothing but war.\nOmdurman is one vast camp. All men bear arms or are flogged; whoso rides\nmust carry a spear and five javelins. Speeches and harangues all raise\nthe spirit of war.\n\nThe weakness of the monarchy lies in the dissensions between the Baggara\nand the Aulad-belad--that is, the Jaalin, Danagla, and others. The\nDanagla are objects of the Khalifa's special aversion, and he would\ngladly exterminate them. But with his Baggaras he can at present\nmaintain himself with ease.\n\nMahdiism is founded on plunder and violence, and by plunder and violence\nit is carried on. In some districts half the people are dead, in others\nthe loss of life is even greater. Whole tribes have been completely\nblotted out, and in their places roam the wild beasts, spreading and\nincreasing in fierceness and in numbers, until they bid fair to finish\nthe destruction of the human race; for they enter huts, and women and\nchildren are no longer safe.\n\nHow long shall this condition of affairs continue? Negotiation with\nAbdullah is hopeless; that has been proved by many well-intentioned\nefforts, but shall savagery and desolation continue for ever? Shall the\nroads remain always closed that lead from Halfa and Sawakin to the\nrichest provinces of Africa? The Sudan has lost faith in the humanity of\nEurope, nor does it cease from wonder why Europe has not yet stepped in.\nConsuls of the greatest nations have been murdered, their flags torn\ndown, their agents kept in slavery.\n\nInterference while the revolt was at its height could not perhaps be\nefficient--that is understood. But now the face of things is changed.\nThe Sudanese have been heavily punished for their mistaken trust; they\nhave suffered to the bitter end. Where may they look for a deliverer?\n\nFor the sake of three people did not England undertake a costly and\ndifficult war? Is not even a more worthy object the punishment of\nAbdullah and the delivery of the enslaved and decimated peoples? I have\npined ten years in bondage, and now, by the help of God, I have escaped.\nIn the names of the companions with whom I suffered, in the name of the\nSudan people, whose misery I have seen, and in the name of all civilized\nnations, I ask this question:\n\nHow long shall Europe--and above all that nation which has first part in\nEgypt and the Sudan--which stands deservedly first in civilizing savage\nraces, how long shall Europe and Great Britain watch unmoved the\noutrages of the Khalifa and the destruction of the Sudan people?\n\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n\n  Ababdeh tribe, 124-5, 213, 351, 353, 360, 399, 440-2.\n\n  Abba Island, 6-7, 98.\n\n  _Abbas_, steamer, 127-8.\n\n  Abdel Baki, emir, 315-9.\n\n  Abdel Gayum, eunuch, 294.\n\n  Abdel Hadi (Arab), 263.\n\n  Abdel Halim, Emir, 76, 78, 86, 88, 102, 260.\n\n  Abdel Kader Pasha, 50, 164.\n\n  Abdel Kader (Mahdi's uncle), 59, 155, 164, 214, 350, 400.\n\n  Abdel Kader Guru, death of, 262.\n\n  Abdel Karim (Mahdi's uncle), 160, 164-5.\n\n  Abdel Majid, 256, 326, 343.\n\n  Abdel Maula, 228.\n\n  Abdel Nur, 320-322.\n\n  Abdel Samad, 93.\n\n  Abderrahman Wad Abu Degel, 253.\n\n  Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi, 16, 60, 96, 98, 125-6, 130, 141, 145, 149,\n    165, 171, 206, 233, 255-61, 350, 387, 412;\n    vanquished at Argin, 262-5;\n    death of, 263.\n\n  Abdullah et Taishi, Khalifa, 10-1, 14, 43-6, 64, 66, 69-71, 87, 96,\n    120, 131, 146, 149, 151;\n    and King Adam, 95;\n    and the sisters, 100;\n    and Father Ohrwalder, 116-7;\n    succeeds the Mahdi, 162-3, 185, 188;\n    and revolt of black soldiers of old Sudan army, 193-200;\n    at Omdurman, 202-3, 206;\n    and Wad Suleiman, 206-7;\n    Ibrahim Wad Adlan, 207-8, 323-7;\n    and coinage at Omdurman, 210-3;\n    system of justice, 214-5, 328-335;\n    and Fiki Medawi, 218;\n    and Yunis emir, 219-20;\n    and King John, 221;\n    and Abu Anga, 224;\n    grand review at Omdurman, 225-6;\n    war with Abyssinia, 228-31, 242-52;\n    and Saleh Bey, 232-4;\n    and Darfur, 235-41;\n    and Egypt, 254-6, 258-69;\n    letters from, 257;\n    sends expedition up the White Nile, 269-72;\n    and the Mahdi's decrees, 273;\n    followers of, 274;\n    and the Mahdi's tomb, 275-9;\n    palace and houses of, 280-1;\n    and war requisites, 281, 366-75;\n    and the famine in Omdurman, 287-92;\n    description of, 293;\n    dress and food of, 293-4;\n    harem of, 294;\n    illnesses of, 294-5;\n    character, 295-6;\n    spies of, 295;\n    and political conversations, 296, 320;\n    mosque at Omdurman, 297-8;\n    and visions, 298-9;\n    a man of great activity, 300;\n    fondness for music, 301;\n    his barber, 301;\n    life-guards and household cavalry of, 301-2;\n    and business affairs of the State, 302;\n    displays of magnificence, 302-4;\n    cleanliness of, 304;\n    grand reviews at Omdurman, 307-8;\n    and the Taisha Arabs, 308-11;\n    and firearms, 311-2;\n    his brother, _see_ \"Yakub\";\n    and the Batahin tribe, 315-20;\n    and Abdel Nur, 321-2;\n    and the Saier at Omdurman, 347-52;\n    and Charles Neufeld, 355-60;\n    and Sheikh Khalil, 361-4;\n    and the slave trade, 384-5;\n    and the Baggaras, 387-405;\n    his son Osman, 390-1;\n    strict surveillance over the whites, 412-3;\n    horrors of his rule, 447-50.\n\n  Abdullah Wad en Nur, 60, 98, 100, 115, 125, 143.\n\n  Abdullah Wad Ibrahim, 38, 223, 225, 227, 229;\n    and Abyssinia, 247, 252-3.\n\n  Abu Anga (commander-in-chief of Mahdi's forces), 60, 85-9, 98, 111-2,\n    125, 131, 164, 171, 175, 202, 402;\n    description and history of, 221-31;\n    and Abyssinia, 242-4;\n    death of, 245-6;\n    and slave trade, 384.\n\n  Abu Gemaizeh, religious reformer, 237-40.\n\n  Abu Girgeh, emir, 76, 81, 94, 125, 167-8, 218, 267, 360.\n\n  Abu Habl, the Khor, 3, 78-9.\n\n  Abu Hamed, 364, 433;\n    rebels at, 120, 128.\n\n  Abu Haraz, 219, 229.\n\n  Abu Klea, battle of, 134, 147-8, 177.\n\n  Abu Kru, battle of, 16, 134.\n\n  Abu Kuka, 56.\n\n  Abu Saud, 7.\n\n  Abyssinia, and Kassala garrisons, 166-7;\n    and Galabat, 217-20;\n    Abu Anga and, 229-31, 241-4;\n    defeat of King John's army, 245-53.\n\n  Adam, King, of Tagalla, 95, 102, 223.\n\n  Adansonia trees, 34, 40, 76, 88, 170, 198.\n\n  Adila, girl at the Khartum Mission, 421, 424, 426.\n\n  Adultery, the Mahdi's punishment for, 62.\n\n  Agriculture in the Mahdiist kingdom, 376-85.\n\n  Ahmed Bey Daffallah, 10, 21, 35, 38, 59, 252.\n\n  Ahmed Bey Defterdar, 234.\n\n  Ahmed Hassan and escape of Father Ohrwalder, 415-45.\n\n  Ahmed Sharfi, 7, 140, 403-7.\n\n  Ahmed Wad Suleiman, 63, 82-4, 96-7, 111, 139, 143-5, 161, 206-7, 350.\n\n  Aigella, 77, 174.\n\n  Aisha, the Mahdi's principal wife, 157, 159.\n\n  Ala ed Din Pasha, 1, 77, 88.\n\n  Alchemy, Sudanese and, 369.\n\n  Alcoholic drinks, the Sudanese and, 17;\n    _see also_ Marissa.\n\n  Ali Bakhit, 172, 174, 199.\n\n  Ali Bey Haider, Lieut-Col., 443.\n\n  Ali Esh Sherif, Khalifa, 14-5, 37, 41, 59, 66, 69, 88, 93, 100, 146,\n    163;\n    at Omdurman, 202-3, 254, 306, 349, 399-407, 446.\n\n  Ali Pasha, 127.\n\n  Ali Wad Helu, Khalifa, 14, 146, 163, 282, 306, 403-7.\n\n  Allegiance, sheikhs' oath of, 70.\n\n  Aluba, Hicks at, 85.\n\n  Amarar Arabs, 266-7.\n\n  Andreis, Sister A., 48.\n\n  Amhara, the chief of, 217.\n\n  Amina (a black girl), 73.\n\n  Ammunition, the Khalifa's, 366-75.\n\n  Amulets, the fikis and, 274-5, 402.\n\n  Ansar, the, 306-8, 353.\n\n  Arabi, Baggara called, 265.\n\n  Arabi Pasha, 77.\n\n  Arabs; in Omdurman, 283;\n    _see_ \"Baggaras,\" \"Bederieh,\" \"Beni Jerrar,\" \"Dar Hamed,\" \"Ghodiat,\"\n    \"Gowameh,\" \"Hawazma,\" \"Kababish,\" &c.\n\n  Argin, battle of, 115, 262.\n\n  Aser, American Consul, 141.\n\n  Ashaf Station, 11.\n\n  Ashraf, the, 149, 214.\n\n  Assiut, 443.\n\n  Assuan, 174, 256.\n\n  Atbara River, 249.\n\n  Aulad-belad, the, 391-2, 405-6, 449.\n\n  Austrian Mission, at Delen, 4-5, 24-30;\n    church at Khartum, 137-8;\n    at El Obeid, 200;\n    _see also_ \"Sisters.\"\n\n  Awad el Kerim Abu Sin, 350.\n\n\n  Baggara tribe, 3, 14-5, 20, 25-6, 32, 49, 78, 106, 162-3, 178, 221,\n    255, 258, 266, 287, 293, 314, 325, 341;\n    horsemanship of, 308;\n    emirs, 312;\n    women, 381;\n    masters of the Sudan, 387-407, 449;\n    _see also_ \"Taisha Arabs.\"\n\n  Bahr el Arab, 3.\n\n  Bahr el Ghazal, slave trade in, 8-9, 12, 176, 383;\n    revolt in, 241.\n\n  Bahr el Karrar, 257-8.\n\n  Baker Pasha, General Valentine, defeat of, 119;\n    at El Teb, 266.\n\n  Banners of the Mahdi's Khalifas, _see_ \"Flags.\"\n\n  Bara town, 11, 55, 77, 200-2, 235;\n    fall of, 56.\n\n  Barabra tribe, 125, 255, 391, 399;\n    language of, 283.\n\n  Bashra, the Mahdi's son, 159.\n\n  Batahin tribe, 205, 260, 315-20.\n\n  Bayuda Desert, 16.\n\n  Bederieh Arabs, the, 3, 11, 20, 106, 167.\n\n  Beit el mal at Omdurman, 208-14, 312, 323, 380, 393-5.\n\n  Ben en Naga Bey, 21, 88-9;\n    son of, 333;\n    daughter of, 343.\n\n  Benga village, 430.\n\n  Beni Helba tribe, 240.\n\n  Beni Jerrar Arabs, 35, 238.\n\n  Berber, 1, 14;\n    fall of, 121, 124-5;\n    Gordon at, 123, 208, 256, 312, 380, 396, 430, 439;\n    Osman Digna at, 266, 268;\n    old, 275;\n    famine in, 290.\n\n  Berghof, a German, 9.\n\n  Birket, 3, 11, 20-1, 28, 34, 86, 91.\n\n  Bishir, 197, 224, 227.\n\n  Bishir Bey, 259.\n\n  Blue Nile, 126, 133-4, 150, 204, 227, 379;\n    towns on the, 284.\n\n  Bonomi, Father, 1, 5, 27, 31-2, 43, 50, 56, 68-71, 73, 97, 100, 118,\n    170, 172-3;\n    escape of, 178-84, 186, 352.\n\n  Books, the Mahdi and, 63;\n    Khalifa Abdullah and, 299, 400-1.\n\n  Borgo, Sultan of, 12, 237.\n\n  Brick-making at Delen, 5.\n\n  Bringi, executioner at Omdurman, 318, 325, 356.\n\n  British East Africa, Imperial, Co., 271.\n\n  'Bruce's Travels' and the Batahin tribe, 315.\n\n  Buri village, 125, 132.\n\n  Busata village, 174.\n\n\n  Cairo, 1, 254;\n    merchants of, and El Obeid, 35;\n    Ohrwalder's arrival at, 443.\n\n  Camels, in Kordofan, 35-6, 379;\n    of the Gehena tribe, 226, 228;\n    of the Kababish tribe, 232, 234;\n    for Ohrwalder's escape, 422, 427, 442.\n\n  Cattle in Dar Nuba, 4;\n    in Kordofan, 35;\n    of the Arabs, 126;\n    of the Gehena tribe, 226;\n    breeding in the Sudan, 376-9;\n    cows of the Shilluks, 379.\n\n  Cemetery, European, at Khartum, 150.\n\n  Chad Lake, 241.\n\n  Chincarini, Sister C., 413-45.\n\n  Clementino, George, 126, 142.\n\n  Clothing in the Mahdi's kingdom, 381.\n\n  Coins in Omdurman, 210-13.\n\n  Comboni, Bishop, 1, 2, 24;\n    grave of, at Khartum, 150.\n\n  Combotti, Marietta, 118.\n\n  Comet, a wonderful, 44.\n\n  Commerce in the Mahdiist kingdom, 376-85.\n\n  Corsi, Sister Concetta, 57, 419.\n\n  Cripples in Omdurman, 337.\n\n  Curios, museum of, at Omdurman, 213.\n\n  Cuzzi, Joseph, 120, 125-6.\n\n\n  Dabarosa bazaar, the, 258.\n\n  Dabra Sin, battle of, 229.\n\n  Dair, Jebel, 3.\n\n  Damur, pieces of cloth, 381-2;\n    used as coins, 210.\n\n  Danagla, _see_ \"Dongola.\"\n\n  Dara, 93.\n\n  Dar Fertit, singers from, 301.\n\n  Darfur, 12, 35;\n    Slatin Bey, Governor of, 2;\n    the Mahdi conquers, 93-4, 98;\n    historical sketch of, 234-41;\n    Zogal and, 201-3;\n    revolt in, 260, 387;\n    horses in, 308;\n    women and spinning, 381;\n    slaves from, 384.\n\n  Dar Homr (Arabs), 11, 20, 35, 106, 301, 309, 396.\n\n  Dar Nauli tribe of Arabs, 106.\n\n  Dar Nuba, _see_ \"Nuba.\"\n\n  Dar Shaggieh, 380.\n\n  Dead, the Mahdi's law about the, 19.\n\n  Debaineh tribe, 290.\n\n  Degheim tribe, 14.\n\n  Delen, arrival at, 3;\n    Mission at, 4, 5;\n    news of the Mahdi at, 7, 8;\n    description of, 23-31;\n    quicksilver at, 35, 178, 187, 197.\n\n  Dervishes, the Mahdi's, 45;\n    at El Obeid, 57-9;\n    and Hicks Pasha's army, 88;\n    in Khartum, 140;\n    and Olivier Pain, 173;\n    revolt against, 189-200;\n    at Galabat, 217-9;\n    review of, at Omdurman, 225-6;\n    and tobacco chewing, 276;\n    and the famine in Omdurman, 289;\n    at Fashoda, 384.\n\n  Dhurra in Omdurman, 285, 378, 381.\n\n  Dichtl, Johann, 1.\n\n  Dinka tribe, 176.\n\n  Disease in the Sudan, 386.\n\n  Dispensary at Omdurman, 213.\n\n  Dobab mountain, 3, 102.\n\n  Dogman mountain, 24, 28.\n\n  Dogs, Mahdi's doctrine about, 143, 335.\n\n  Doka, Sheikh Egeil and, 219.\n\n  Dome to Mahdi's tomb at Omdurman, 275, 277.\n\n  Dongola, 12, 14, 35, 94, 127, 163, 172, 178, 190, 255, 256, 257-65,\n    268, 312, 380, 384, 387, 391, 396, 399, 449;\n    famine in, 290;\n    language, 283.\n\n  Doorway of the Mahdi's tomb, 277.\n\n  Dreams, the Mahdi and, 110-1, 353, 449.\n\n  Drums of the Mahdi's Khalifas, 15, 44, 47, 281, 304-6.\n\n  Dud Benga, Sultan, 184.\n\n  Duem, 126;\n    General Hicks at, 76.\n\n  Dwarf, a, at Rahad, 110.\n\n\n  Ed Din, Sheikh, _see_ \"Osman, Khalifa.\"\n\n  Egeil, sheikh, 218-9, 221.\n\n  Egypt, and Delen, 4;\n    and the Sudan, 34;\n    Abdullah and, 254-6, 257-69;\n    and the Sudan, 123, 323;\n    Wad Adlan and, 326;\n    the Mahdi and, 110.\n\n  Egyptian troops, Hicks Pasha's, 77-90, 92-3.\n\n  El Eilafun, 127.\n\n  _El Fasher_, steamer, 128.\n\n  El Merhdi Abu Rof, 164, 226-7.\n\n  El Obeid, 2, 6;\n    garrison of, 10, 21;\n    the Mahdi and, 11, 20, 29, 36-41;\n    description of, 34-6;\n    siege of, 52-7, 232;\n    Zogal at, 75;\n    the Mahdi leaves, 85, 99-100;\n    triumphal return to, 91-3, 170-2;\n    King Adam at, 95;\n    Lupton Bey at, 176;\n    small-pox in, 183;\n    revolt of black soldiers at, 189-200, 223;\n    slaves at, 383-4.\n\n  El Obeid, Sheikh, 124, 127, 130, 315.\n\n  El Teb, battle of, 266.\n\n  Elephants, 3; in Darfur, 241.\n\n  Elias el Kurdi, 210.\n\n  Elias Pasha, 10, 12, 21, 35, 40, 76, 88, 93;\n    son of, 86.\n\n  Elias Wad Kanuna, emir, 271.\n\n  Emin Pasha, 11;\n    Gordon and, 133;\n    and Lupton Bey, 176;\n    Khalifa Abdullah and, 269-72.\n\n  Emirs, the, of the Sudan provinces, 46, 312.\n\n  England and Egypt, 262;\n    and the Sudan, 450.\n\n  English mail, capture of an, 120.\n\n  English Relief Expedition to Khartum, 147-9, 176-8;\n    and Kababish tribe, 232;\n    at Dongola, June 1885, 256.\n\n  Equatoria, Abdullah's expedition to, 269-72.\n\n  Exports from Kordofan, 35.\n\n\n  Fadl Maula Bey, 163, 271, 401.\n\n  Fallata tribe, 278, 283.\n\n  Famines; in El Obeid, 183-4;\n    in the Sudan, 252-3;\n    in Dongola, 261;\n    in Omdurman, 284-9;\n    in Berber, 290;\n    in the Provinces, 290-1.\n\n  Farag Pasha, 135, 143.\n\n  Faragallah Pasha, 131-2, 247.\n\n  Farquhar, Colonel Arthur, 79, 80.\n\n  Fasher, El, 94;\n    besieged, 239-41.\n\n  Fashoda, 9, 11, 29, 269, 272, 379, 384, 396;\n    corn from, 285.\n\n  Fedasi, 125.\n\n  Festivals, Khalifa Abdullah and, 362.\n\n  Fiki, Abdullah and the name, 274, 402.\n\n  Flags of the Khalifas, 15, 16, 281, 306.\n\n  Furs, annihilation of the, 236.\n\n\n  Galabat, province and town, 167, 217-9, 230, 242, 244;\n    attack on, 247-8, 396;\n    famine at, 290.\n\n  Gallows at Omdurman, 283, 317-8.\n\n  Gedaref, garrison of, 216-7, 290.\n\n  Gedir, Jebel, 3, 7, 10, 20, 223.\n\n  Gehena tribe, 226-7, 260-1.\n\n  Gellabas (traders), 14-5, 112, 189, 426, 428.\n\n  Georges Bey, Dr., 86;\n    son-in-law of, 141.\n\n  Gessi Pasha, 2;\n    and the slave trade, 8-9, 241, 383.\n\n  Gezireh, the Mahdi and, 14, 64, 93-4, 229, 284, 315, 380, 390.\n\n  Ghazali, Sheikh, 310-1, 350.\n\n  Ghittas, festival known as, 218.\n\n  Ghodiat Arabs, the, 3, 11, 20, 106.\n\n  Gianzara Hill, 40, 46.\n\n  Giegler Pasha, 2, 7.\n\n  Giniss, battle of, 256.\n\n  Girls in Khartum, Mahdi and, 144.\n\n  Goats in Dar Nuba, 4;\n    in the Sudan provinces, 379.\n\n  Gold in Dar Nuba, 3.\n\n  Golfan-Na\u00efma, 22-3, 49, 197, 223-4.\n\n  Gondar, 230-1, 248-9.\n\n  Gordon, General, 57, 96;\n    arrives at Khartum, 97, 121-2;\n    letter to the Mahdi, 98;\n    the Mahdi and, 111, 119, 126, 130;\n    English letters to, 120;\n    at Berber, 123-4;\n    defeat of Gordon's troops, 124-5;\n    successful attack by, 127;\n    besieged, and death of, at Khartum, 131-54, 177, 207-8;\n    Sheikh Khalil and, 361;\n    at Murat, 440.\n\n  Gordon Relief Expedition, 147-9, 176-8;\n    vi\u00e2 Berber, 266.\n\n  Gowameh tribe, 11, 344.\n\n  Graham, General, 120-1, 266.\n\n  Greeks, the, at Khartum, 133, 142-3.\n\n  Greger Hamed (Emir), 233.\n\n  Grenfell, General Sir F., 256, 262, 444;\n    battle at Toski, 263, 265.\n\n  Gubat, 148, 154, 429.\n\n  Guineas coined at Omdurman, 210.\n\n  Gum, in Kordofan, 35;\n    used as food at El Obeid, 53;\n    at Omdurman, 323.\n\n\n  Habbanieh tribe of Arabs, 73, 258.\n\n  Hadarba merchants, 399.\n\n  Hadendoa Arabs, 266, 283.\n\n  Haimar Wells, 257.\n\n  Haj Ali Wad Saad, 123-4.\n\n  Hajji Abdullah Granteli, 210.\n\n  Hajji Khaled (Emir), 21, 35, 46, 71;\n    son of, 86.\n\n  Hajji Mohammed Ben en Naga, 35.\n\n  Hajji Selim (soldier), 49, 190-1.\n\n  Hajji Zubeir, 240, 349-50, 396-7.\n\n  Halfaya, 127.\n\n  Hamran Arabs, 218.\n\n  Handub, battle of, 267.\n\n  Hansal (Austrian consul), 1, 67-9, 73, 118-9;\n    death of, 139-40.\n\n  Hashish, use of, 17.\n\n  Hasib, emir, 271.\n\n  Hassan Khalifa, 257, 364-5.\n\n  Hassan en Nejumi (emir), 264.\n\n  Hassan Husni (interpreter), 128, 130.\n\n  Hassan Sadik, 164.\n\n  Hassan Zeki, 366.\n\n  Hebbeh village, 128.\n\n  Heddai, sheikh, 129.\n\n  Herlth, Major, extracts from diary of, 77-9, 86.\n\n  Hicks Pasha, General, 1;\n    and Wad Makashef, 73;\n    expedition of, 75;\n    at Duem, 76;\n    at Rahad, 77-85;\n    defeat and death of, 86-92, 121, 169, 176;\n    white horse of, 91;\n    Bible of, 100;\n    stable, 157.\n\n  Hilmi Gorab, 128.\n\n  Horses, the Sudanese and, 308.\n\n  Housebreakers in Omdurman, 334-5.\n\n  Howazma Arabs, 20, 106, 222.\n\n  Hussein Pasha, 120, 123, 125, 439;\n    son of, 442.\n\n  Hussein Wad ed Dayim, 339-40.\n\n  Hyenas, 88, 289-90.\n\n\n  Ibrahim Nur, 394-5.\n\n  Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi, 143.\n\n  Ibrahim Ramadan, 203.\n\n  Ibrahim Wad Adlan, 35, 207-10, 214, 322-4, 350, 368;\n    death of, 325-7.\n\n  Ibrahim Wad Abu Tagalla, 225.\n\n  Ibrahim Wad el Ahmer, 445-6.\n\n  Idris (sheikh), 101, 111, 114-7, 260, 350;\n    death of, 262.\n\n  Imbrien, Bishop, of the Tyrol, 118.\n\n  Immorality, Mahdi's law regarding, 62;\n    in the Sudan, 341-3;\n    of slaves, 385-6.\n\n  Imports of the Mahdi's kingdom, 380.\n\n  Insects, at Delen, 4, 5;\n    Neufeld and, 357;\n    white ants as food, 53;\n    lizards, 150;\n    flies, 114.\n\n  Iron in Kordofan, 35.\n\n  Isa, sheikh, 28.\n\n  Isa, fiki, of the Shanabla, 194.\n\n  Ismail el Kheir, 400.\n\n  Ismail Wad el Andok, 22, 49, 59, 227, 229, 247.\n\n  Ismail Pasha, 234-5.\n\n  Italy and Kassala, 168.\n\n  Ivory, expedition to Equatoria to collect, 271;\n    at Omdurman, 323.\n\n\n  Jaalin tribe, 123, 125, 255, 368, 384, 391, 399, 449.\n\n  Jabrallah, Sultan, 236, 350.\n\n  Jebel Dair, the Mahdi and, 111-2, 114, 199.\n\n  Jebel Na\u00efma, 197.\n\n  Jerusalem, the Mahdi and, 110.\n\n  Jew merchants at Omdurman, 312;\n    at Kassala, 360.\n\n  Jibbehs, the Mahdi and the manufacture of, 19.\n\n  Jinns, the, 307.\n\n  John, King of Abyssinia, throne of, 213;\n    and Galabat, 217, 247-9;\n    Abdullah and, 221, 242;\n    and Abu Anga, 243;\n    death of, 250-2.\n\n  Justice, system of, at Omdurman, 214-5, 329-34.\n\n\n  Kaba, 34, 36-7, 39.\n\n  Kababish tribe (Arabs), 35, 55, 64, 78, 178;\n    destruction of the, 232-4.\n\n  Kadi Ahmed, 214-5, 246-7, 329, 350.\n\n  Kakum of Delen, 4, 24, 26-8, 31-2, 178;\n    death of, 186-7.\n\n  Kalabsheh, village of, 257.\n\n  Kalakala, 130-2.\n\n  Kamal ed Din, and manufacture of powder, 367-8.\n\n  Karamallah (slave-dealer), 176, 269, 406;\n    in Darfur, 235-6.\n\n  Karkoj, 226, 290, 380.\n\n  Kashgeil, Hicks at, 85, 87.\n\n  Kashm el Mus, Pasha, 148.\n\n  Kassala, 154, 162, 164-5, 168, 387, 396;\n    siege of, 166-7;\n    Osman Digna at, 266;\n    famine at, 290.\n\n  Kavalli, Stanley's camp at, 271.\n\n  Kawakla, natives called, 7.\n\n  Kebkebieh, 94.\n\n  Kedaro hill, 3.\n\n  Kenana tribe, 14.\n\n  Kererri, 12, 307, 311, 361, 412.\n\n  Khabir, Pasha, of Darfur, 36.\n\n  Khalifas in the Sudan, _see_ \"Abdullah,\" \"Ali Wad Helu,\" \"Ali Esh\n    Sherif,\" Hassan, \"Osman,\" &c.\n\n  Khalil, sheikh, 360-4.\n\n  Khartum, 1, 6, 7, 72, 93-4, 96-7, 106;\n    the Mahdi's advance on, 99, 121, 126-7, 130;\n    Gordon arrives at, 121-3;\n    siege and fall of, 131-54, 177, 348;\n    in ruins, 204, 216;\n    materials for Mahdi's tomb from, 276;\n    the Batahin tribe and, 315, 320;\n    Neufeld at, 357, 359;\n    survivors of, 372.\n\n  Khatafin (snatchers) in Omdurman, 286-8.\n\n  Khojali, 130, 219, 317.\n\n  Khojur, the, in Dar Nuba, 4, 24, 26, 28.\n\n  Khor Musa, fort at, 259.\n\n  Kirkesawi (slave-dealer), 176, 236, 406.\n\n  Kitchener Pasha, 359;\n    wounded at Handub, 267.\n\n  Klein, tailor, of Khartum, 140-1.\n\n  Klootz, Gustav, 80-5, 88, 91, 93, 96, 109, 120, 174-5, 206, 348, 411;\n    death of, 219.\n\n  Korbatsh, Mount, 34, 179, 200.\n\n  Kordofan, 199, 234, 380, 398;\n    deserts of, 2-3;\n    military stations in, 11-2;\n    the Mahdi and, 20, 28;\n    mountains, 34;\n    exports from, 35-6;\n    camels in, 35-6, 72;\n    agriculture in, 378-9.\n\n  Korosko, 257, 442-3.\n\n  Korsi, 68.\n\n  Kudru hill, 32.\n\n  Kumbo, King, 98-9, 117-8.\n\n  Kuran, the, concerning ministers of Christianity, 104-6;\n    first chapter in, 296.\n\n  Kurun hill, 3.\n\n\n  Lado Station, 272, 384.\n\n  Languages in the Sudan provinces, 283.\n\n  Laws made by the Mahdi, 17-20, 61-3.\n\n  Lead, manufacture of, at Omdurman, 368-70.\n\n  Legnani (Italian consul), 1.\n\n  Leontides, Consul N., 126, 134, 140.\n\n  Lime, near Delen, 5;\n    pits in Omdurman, 205, 276.\n\n  Limona, Bianca, 57.\n\n  Locatelli (missionary), 54, 56-7.\n\n  Locusts, plague of, in the Sudan, 291.\n\n  Losi, Father Johann, 54, 58.\n\n  Lugard, Captain, 271.\n\n  Lupton Bey, 153, 175-7, 191, 202, 348, 412-3;\n    death of, 366.\n\n\n  Madibbo, sheikh, 235;\n    son of, 396.\n\n  Mahbas, wells of, 233.\n\n  Mahdi, the, _see_ \"Mohammed Ahmed.\"\n\n  Mahdiism, belief in, 185;\n    and Egypt, 265;\n    in the Sudan, 255, 273, 326, 328, 403, 449;\n    and the slave trade, 382-6.\n\n  Mahdiist kingdom, agriculture and commerce in, 376-86.\n\n  Mahmud Wad Ahmed, 240-1, 247-9.\n\n  Mail, capture of an English, 120.\n\n  Makada tribe, 241.\n\n  Makani village, 428.\n\n  Makbul dollar, the, in Omdurman, 210-4.\n\n  Makias (chains), 345-6.\n\n  Makin Wad en Nur, 260, 350.\n\n  Manoli, a Greek, 142.\n\n  _Mansureh_, steamer, 127.\n\n  Marcopoli Bey, 2, 73.\n\n  Mariani, Gabriel, 5, 41, 48.\n\n  Marissa (a kind of beer), 4;\n    the Mahdi and drinking of, 61, 330, 340.\n\n  Market at Omdurman, 282, 339.\n\n  Marquet, 2.\n\n  Marriage ceremonies in the Sudan, 17-8, 341-3, 389-90.\n\n  Masalit, Sultan of, 213; people, 237.\n\n  Mecca, pilgrimage to, 278-9, 448;\n    the Mahdi and, 110;\n    a Sherif of, 412.\n\n  Medawi, fiki, 124, 218, 221.\n\n  Mek Omar, 28-32, 49-50, 178;\n    son of, _see_ \"Naser.\"\n\n  Melbeis, 95, 196.\n\n  Meshra Dehesh, 434, 437.\n\n  Messalamieh gate at Khartum, 150.\n\n  Metemmeh, 123, 268, 429.\n\n  Miracles, the Mahdi and, 7-8;\n    performed by Sid el Hassan, 166.\n\n  Miserieh tribe of Arabs, 106, 222.\n\n  Mice, plague of, at Omdurman, 291-2.\n\n  Minneh, fiki, 11, 20, 37, 39-40, 46, 56, 59-60.\n\n  Mint, the, at Omdurman, 209-13.\n\n  Missionaries, at El Obeid, 40-51;\n    _see also_ \"Bonomi,\" \"Losi,\" \"Ohrwalder,\" \"Rossignoli.\"\n\n  Mission Stations; _see_ \"Austrian Mission.\"\n\n  Mohammed Ahmed, sheikh, 396.\n\n  Mohammed Ahmed (the Mahdi), rise of, 7-9;\n    and Kordofan, 10-12;\n    antecedents of, 12;\n    outward appearance of, 13;\n    Khalifas of, 14-5;\n    military organization of, 15-6;\n    new laws made by, 17-20, 60-3, 273;\n    summons El Obeid to surrender, 20-1;\n    defeat of, before El Obeid, 34, 36-41;\n    and the missionaries, 42-51;\n    siege of El Obeid, 53-9;\n    finances, 62-3;\n    art of winning over people, 66-7;\n    and Consul Hansal's letter, 68-71, 73;\n    victory over Hicks Pasha, 75-90;\n\n    triumphal entry into El Obeid, 91-2;\n    and province of Darfur, 93-4;\n    General Gordon and, 98, 130;\n    and the sisters, 103-6;\n    and Father Ohrwalder, on religion, 109-11;\n    and Slatin Bey, 118;\n    and violation of moral laws, 121;\n    religious movement of, 122-3;\n    and Cuzzi, 125-6;\n    siege of Khartum, 126, 131-54;\n    his life of ease and luxury, 60-4, 155-9, 449;\n    principal wife of, 157;\n    dwelling of, 157;\n    harem, 158;\n    death of, 160-62, 185;\n    and Olivier Pain, 174-5;\n    and Egypt, 254-6;\n    tomb of, 275-80;\n    and immorality, 341, 343;\n    and property, 398;\n    wives of, 404, 406;\n    capital of the Mahdi's kingdom, _see_ \"Omdurman.\"\n\n  Mohammed Ali, 234, 315, 439, 447.\n\n  Mohammed el Kheir, 125, 130, 256.\n\n  Mohammed Pasha Khabir, 21.\n\n  Mohammed Suleiman, 186.\n\n  Monasir tribe, 128, 438.\n\n  Monogamy in Dar Nuba, 4.\n\n  Moral laws, the Mahdi and violation of, 121.\n\n  Moslem law, 322;\n    the killing of priests, 46;\n    and justice, 61-2;\n    Sudanese and, 279.\n\n  Mosque at Omdurman, 279, 297.\n\n  Mukran Fort, 126, 147.\n\n  Munzinger Pasha, 189, 191.\n\n  Murat, Saleh Bey and, 265;\n    wells of, 364;\n    Ohrwalder at, 440, 442.\n\n  Murders in the Sudan provinces, 333.\n\n  Musa, sheikh, 396.\n\n  Musallem, Sultan, 234.\n\n  Museum of curios at Omdurman, 213.\n\n  Mussaid, Emir, 258.\n\n  Mustafa Hadal, 166.\n\n  Mustafa Yawer, 64-6, 358, 363.\n\n\n  Nahut, in Kordofan, 240-1.\n\n  Na\u00efma Jebel, 3, 223.\n\n  Naser (son of Mek Omar), 32-3, 40-1.\n\n  Nasri, sheikh, 167-8.\n\n  Nejumi, _see_ \"Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi.\"\n\n  Nesim, Major, 11.\n\n  Neufeld, Charles, 233, 263, 345, 348, 353-60, 363.\n\n  News, the Sudanese and, 72-3;\n    in Omdurman, 282.\n\n  Niam Niam, singers from, 301.\n\n  Nile, _see_ \"White Nile,\" \"Blue Nile.\"\n\n  Noa\u00efa, sheikh, 222-3.\n\n  Nuba, country and people of, 3-5, 22-32, 35, 48-9, 50, 95, 102,\n    112-4, 117-8, 121, 171-2, 177, 186, 197-200, 223, 384.\n\n  Nubian desert, crossing the, 433-42.\n\n  Nur Angar, 16, 56, 112, 225, 247.\n\n  Nur Bey, 164-5.\n\n  Nur Gereifawi, 327, 379, 404;\n    son of, 394.\n\n  Nuri, sheikh, 247.\n\n\n  Oath of allegiance, sheikhs taking the, 70;\n    evidence on, at Omdurman, 329.\n\n  Obeid, _see_ \"El Obeid.\"\n\n  O'Donovan, Mr. (_Daily News_ correspondent), 80, 96, 101.\n\n  Ohrwalder, Father, visit to Mek Omar, 50;\n    illtreated by a sheikh, 69-70;\n    taken before Abdullah, 100;\n    journey to Rahad, 101-3;\n    interview with the Mahdi on religion, 109-11;\n    treatment of, by various masters, 114-7;\n    in Khartum, 149-50;\n    farewell to Father Bonomi, 178-84;\n    down with fever, 190;\n    sent to Omdurman, 199;\n    and famine in Omdurman, 288;\n    made a prisoner, 351-2;\n    departure from Omdurman, 407;\n    plans of escape, 408-23;\n    and Lupton, 412-3;\n    escape of, to Cairo, 424-46;\n    present situation in the Sudan, 447-450.\n\n  Omala (tax-gatherers) in the Sudan, 313.\n\n  Omar Kisha (merchant), 267, 397.\n\n  Omar Saleh, 269-71.\n\n  Omar Wad Elias, Pasha, 247.\n\n  Omberer, a merchant, 35.\n\n  Omdurman, the Dervish capital, 146, 151, 275, 281, 304, 328, 380;\n    the Mahdi at, 35, 126, 127;\n    surrender of fort at, 131, 142, 177, 222;\n    small-pox in, 154-5;\n    and the Mahdi's death, 162-3;\n    events in, 202-3;\n    hill of, 204;\n    scarcity of small coins in, 210-3;\n    museum at, 213;\n    the beit el mal at, 208-9;\n    Abyssinians in, 220-1;\n    Abu Anga and, 224, 230-1;\n    grand review at, 225-6;\n    panic in, 248;\n    Osman Digna at, 267-8;\n    Mahdi's tomb at, 275-9;\n    Khalifa's palace, 280;\n    roads in, 280-1;\n    market-place, 282;\n    gallows at, 283, 317-8;\n    inhabitants of, 283;\n    population, 283-4;\n    famine in, 284-9;\n    plagues of locusts and mice in, 291-2;\n    thieves in, 328-9, 334-5, 340;\n    system of justice at, 329-33;\n    cripples in, 337;\n\n    immorality in, 341;\n    marriages in, 341-3;\n    Saier, or prison at, 344-65;\n    Neufeld in, 355-60;\n    scarcity of powder at, 367-75;\n    sand-storms at, 376-7;\n    slaves in, 383-6;\n    the Greeks in, 412;\n    dress of women in, 413;\n    Ohrwalder's last day at, 424;\n    flight from, 445, 449.\n\n  Om Herezeh mountain, 34, 46.\n\n  Om Sadik, 224.\n\n  Omshanga, 94.\n\n  Onbe\u00efa (wind instrument), 15, 44, 306.\n\n  Ongat wells, 259.\n\n  Ornaments, the Mahdi and Sudanese, 18.\n\n  Ornithology: Birds in Dar Nuba, 3-4;\n    kites at El Obeid, 53;\n    vultures, 77, 88, 290.\n\n  Oshra Well, 40, 47.\n\n  Osman, Khalifa, 308, 353-4, 389.\n\n  Osman Azrak, 260.\n\n  Osman Digna, 11, 64, 166-7;\n    defeat of, 266-8.\n\n  Osman Wad Adam, 199, 234, 236;\n    and Abu Gemaizeh, 238-41;\n    death of, 240.\n\n  Osman Wad Dekeim, 167.\n\n  Ostrich farms in Kordofan, 35.\n\n\n  Pain, Olivier, at El Obeid, 172-75.\n\n  Palace, the Khalifa's, at Omdurman, 280.\n\n  Passioni, Jew named, 360.\n\n  Pesavento, Sister E., 48.\n\n  Pilgrims at Omdurman, 206.\n\n  Pimezzoni, Franz, 1.\n\n  Plagues in the Sudan: of locusts, 291;\n    of mice, 291-2.\n\n  Plough, a, in the Sudan, 378.\n\n  Poetry, the Arabs and, 67.\n\n  Polinari, Domenico, 138-40, 349-50.\n\n  Postal service in the Mahdi's kingdom, 300-1.\n\n  Powder, scarcity of, at Omdurman, 359, 367-75.\n\n  Power, Consul, 99, 129-30.\n\n  Prayers, the Mahdi and, 19;\n    book of, 213;\n    form of, 296.\n\n  Printing press at Omdurman, 213.\n\n  Prison at Omdurman, 344-65.\n\n  Proclamation by the Mahdi, 76.\n\n\n  Quicksilver found at Delen, 35.\n\n\n  Rabeh Zubeir, 240, 241.\n\n  Rahad, General Hicks at, 77-85;\n    the road to, 101-3;\n    the Mahdi at, 106-21, 125-6, 169.\n\n  Rahma, fiki, 11.\n\n  Rain in Dar Nuba, 3;\n    in the Sudan, 376.\n\n  Ramadan, fast of, 64, 158.\n\n  Ras Adal, 247; and Galabat, 217-20.\n\n  Ras Alula, 167, 247.\n\n  Rashid Bey, 9.\n\n  Ratibs (Mahdi's book of prayers), 213.\n\n  Rauf Pasha, 1-2, 6-7.\n\n  Regaf Station, 269, 271-2, 340, 384, 396.\n\n  Religion, interview with the Mahdi on, 109-11.\n\n  Reptiles, 150;\n    snakes, 3-4, 433;\n    scorpions, 114, 347.\n\n  Review of Dervishes at Omdurman, 225-6, 307-8.\n\n  Rizighat tribe of Arabs, 73, 221, 396-7.\n\n  Roads in Omdurman, 280;\n    in the Sudan, 341.\n\n  Rognotto, Joseph, 100.\n\n  Rossignoli, Father, 54, 57.\n\n  Roversi (inspector of slaves), 22-3, 27-30, 48;\n    death of, 49.\n\n  Rundle Bey, 439.\n\n\n  Saburi Mountain, 5.\n\n  Saddlers at Omdurman, 381.\n\n  _Safia_ steamer, 127.\n\n  Said Bey Guma, 94, 202-3, 223, 236.\n\n  Said Mohammed, 39.\n\n  Said Pasha, 7, 10-1, 20-1, 29, 119;\n    defence of El Obeid, 36-40, 49, 56, 58-9, 66.\n\n  Said el Mek, 6.\n\n  Saier at Omdurman, see \"Prison.\"\n\n  Saleh, sheikh, 55.\n\n  Saleh Pasha Wad el Mek, 125, 153, 350.\n\n  Saleh Bey, 217-8, 221, 352-3, 364, 414.\n\n  Saleh Bey Fadlallah, 232-4, 265.\n\n  Salem, sheikh, 55.\n\n  Salisbury, Lord, letter to King John, 250-1.\n\n  Sandalia, perfume called, 157.\n\n  Sandstorm, a fearful, 203;\n    in the Sudan, 376-7.\n\n  Santoni, A., 443;\n    and Father Bonomi, 178-9, 183.\n\n  Sarras, Dervishes at, 257-8, 262.\n\n  Sawakin, 1, 121, 166-7;\n    Osman Digna besieges, 266-7.\n\n  Sayer, Brother, 443.\n\n  Sayid el Mek, 407.\n\n  Sayid Hamed, 167-8.\n\n  Sayid Osman, _see_ \"Osman, Khalifa.\"\n\n  \"Sayidna Isa,\" 244-5.\n\n  Schuver, Jean M., 2.\n\n  Seckendorf, Baron, death of, 88;\n    servant of, 80.\n\n  Selima wells, 233.\n\n  Selim Bey in Equatoria, 271.\n\n  Sennar, 154, 160, 162, 164-5, 226, 256, 290.\n\n  Senussi, sheikh, 4, 14, 173, 237.\n\n  Shaggieh troops, 239.\n\n  Shaggieh tribe, 143.\n\n  Shakka, 35, 59, 235, 384, 391.\n\n  Shar\u00e9 River, 241.\n\n  Shatt Station, 11, 35, 77, 126, 175.\n\n  Shebba, a (forked wood), 97.\n\n  Sheep of the Kababish tribe, 232, 234;\n    in the Sudan provinces, 379.\n\n  Shekan forest, battle near, 87, 92, 94, 171.\n\n  Shendi, 290.\n\n  Sherif, Khalifa, _see_ \"Ali Esh Sherif.\"\n\n  Sherif Mahmud, 20, 60, 86, 106, 169-72, 174, 176-8, 183, 186-9, 197;\n    death of, 198-9, 206, 223.\n\n  Shilluk tribe, 272, 379.\n\n  Shirkeleh, 77, 80, 126.\n\n  Shirra, Baggara chief, 187.\n\n  Shukrieh tribe, 166, 216, 290, 350.\n\n  Sideham, a Copt, 178.\n\n  Sid el Hassan, the celebrated Moslem, 165-6.\n\n  Sidi Hamdan, _see_ \"Abu Anga.\"\n\n  Sieges, _see_ \"Bara,\" \"El Fasher,\" \"El Obeid,\" \"Galabat,\" \"Kassala,\"\n    \"Khartum,\" \"Sennar,\" \"Sawakin,\" \"Tokar,\" &c.\n\n  Singiokai, 25, 32, 49, 59.\n\n  Sisters of the Austrian Mission, before Abdullah, 100;\n    at Rahad, 103-6;\n    escape of, from Omdurman, 413-5, 418-45;\n    _see also_ \"Andreis,\" \"Corsi,\" \"Chincarini,\" \"Pesavento,\"\n    \"Venturini.\"\n\n  Siwar ed Dahab, 21, 264.\n\n  Skander Bey, 21.\n\n  Skander, fate of Mulatte, 140.\n\n  Slatin Bey, 2, 73-5, 93, 118, 153, 174-5, 177, 189, 206, 348;\n    and Darfur, 235;\n    and waterskins, 237.\n\n  Slave trade, in Dar Nuba, 4;\n    in the Bahr el Ghazal, 8-9, 12, 22;\n    in the Sudan, 382-6.\n\n  Slaves, the Mahdi's law regarding, 62;\n    of Khartum, 143;\n    at Omdurman, 208-9, 333, 339.\n\n  Small-pox, in Omdurman, 154-5;\n    in El Obeid, 183-4.\n\n  Soap-boiling at Omdurman, 213-4, 303, 413.\n\n  Sobei, the Khojur of, 187.\n\n  Sogaro, Archbishop Franz, 415-7, 420, 444-5.\n\n  Soil, of Dar Nuba, 3;\n    of Bara, 200;\n    in the Gezireh, 378.\n\n  Stambuli, George, 42-8, 54, 58, 68-71, 84, 96-7, 269.\n\n  Stanley, H. M., and Emin Pasha, 269, 271.\n\n  Starvation in the Mahdi's camp, 154.\n\n  Stewart, Col., murder of, 128-30, 177, 414, 438.\n\n  Sudan, Egypt and the, 34, 123;\n    the Mahdi master of the, 94;\n    English troops in the, 120;\n    custom to drink melted butter, 175;\n    revolt of black soldiers of army of, 189-200;\n    witchcraft in, 44, 274-5;\n    famine in the, 290-2;\n    horsemanship in the, 308;\n    immorality in the, 341-3;\n    cattle breeding in the, 376-9;\n    disease in the, 386;\n    present situation in the, 387-407, 447-50.\n\n  Sudanese, the, marriage ceremony of, 17-8;\n    and small-pox, 154-5;\n    and alchemy, 369.\n\n  Suez, 1.\n\n  Suk Abu Sin, _see_ \"Gedaref.\"\n\n  Suleiman Bey, Gessi and, 9-10.\n\n  Suleiman, Capt. M., 22, 27.\n\n  Suleiman el Hejazi, 240.\n\n  Suleiman Wad Naaman, sheikh, 129-30, 414.\n\n  Superstition, in the Sudan, 44, 274-5;\n    the Nubas and, 186;\n    _see also_ \"Witchcraft.\"\n\n  Surur Effendi, 56.\n\n  Swindlers in Omdurman, 334, 337-9.\n\n  Syria, Sherif of, 111.\n\n\n  Tagalla, Jebel, 3, 7, 77, 222-3, 225, 247;\n    _see also_ \"Adam, King.\"\n\n  Taha, Sayid Mohammed, 91.\n\n  Taher, sheikh, 316-7.\n\n  Taisha Arabs, 14, 221, 301;\n    Abdullah and, 308-11, 350, 395-6.\n\n  Takruri tribe, 171-2, 217, 244, 248, 283.\n\n  Tamai, battle of, 266.\n\n  Tamarinds in Kordofan, 35.\n\n  Taxation in the Mahdi's kingdom, 379-80.\n\n  Tax-gatherers of the Sudan provinces, 313.\n\n  Tax levied at Omdurman, 205.\n\n  Tayara Station, 11, 35, 60.\n\n  Testament, King John's copy of New, 250.\n\n  Thieves in Omdurman, 328-9, 334-7, 339-40.\n\n  \"Three Holy Kings,\" festival of the, 218.\n\n  Tira hill, 3.\n\n  Tobacco, the Sudanese and, 17;\n    chewing, 276;\n    punishment of smokers of, 330.\n\n  Tobji, Osman, 65-6.\n\n  Todros Kasa, son of King Theodore, 242-5.\n\n  Tokar, 267-8;\n    capture of, 367, 386, 414.\n\n  Tolodi, Jebel, 223.\n\n  Tomb of the Mahdi at Omdurman, 275-80.\n\n  Tome, sheikh, 55, 64;\n    brother of, 232.\n\n  Toski, battle at, 263, 320, 350, 361.\n\n  Trades in Omdurman, 381-2.\n\n  Treasure in Khartum, 145.\n\n  Trees in Dar Nuba, 3.\n\n  Tur el Hadra, 2.\n\n  Tuti Island, 147, 375.\n\n  \"Turk,\" Arabs and the term, 263.\n\n  Turkey, Sultan of, letter to, from Khalifa, 257.\n\n\n  Uganda, events in, 271.\n\n  Unyoro, events in, 271.\n\n\n  Venturini, Sister E., 413-45.\n\n  Victoria, Queen, and King John of Abyssinia, 250-1;\n    letter to, from Abdullah, 257.\n\n\n  Wad Ali, 246, 249.\n\n  Wad Arbab, Emir, 217-8.\n\n  Wad Bishara, village of, 426.\n\n  Wad el Bedri, 10, 319, 395.\n\n  Wad el Besir, 94, 124, 258, 306.\n\n  Wadelai, 271.\n\n  Wad el Areik (merchant), 21, 35, 131, 405.\n\n  Wad el Banna, 401.\n\n  Wad el Hashmi, Emir, 76, 190, 193-4, 199.\n\n  Wad el Makashef, 11, 72, 164.\n\n  Wad er Reis, 445;\n    _see_ \"Hussein Wad Dayim.\"\n\n  Wad Gubara (Emir), 38-9, 85, 125, 130, 133, 260.\n\n  Wad Gesuli, 96.\n\n  Wad Guzuli, 345.\n\n  Wad Hamdu Allah, 313.\n\n  Wadi Gamr cataracts, 128.\n\n  Wadi Halfa, 257, 260.\n\n  Wad Nubawi (Emir), 233.\n\n  Wad Zaid, 350.\n\n  War materials at Omdurman, 349, 381.\n\n  Waterskins, the Masalit people and, 237.\n\n  Water-wheels along the Nile, 378.\n\n  White Nile, 3, 6, 12, 93, 126, 133-5, 150, 204;\n    expedition up the, 269-272.\n\n  Witchcraft, the Mahdi's success attributed to, 94;\n    the bark of Adansonia tree, 170;\n    in the Sudan, 274-5, 402.\n\n  Wodehouse, Colonel, 115, 259, 265;\n    battle at Argin, 262.\n\n  Wolseley (Lord), 'Soldier's Pocket-Book,' 101.\n\n\n  Yakub (Khalifa Abdullah's brother), 243, 277, 304, 313-4, 324-6,\n    361, 366, 368, 371-3, 389-90, 394, 402-7.\n\n  Yesin, Major, 59.\n\n  Yunis Ed Dekeim, 260, 265.\n\n  Yusef Angeli (Greek), 373-4.\n\n  Yusef Pertekachi, and manufacture of powder, 371-4.\n\n  Yunis, Emir, 206, 219-20, 223, 396, 417;\n    and Abu Anga, 244-5.\n\n  Yusef, Sultan of Darfur, 213, 236, 308.\n\n  Yusef Kurdi (merchant), 333-4.\n\n  Yusef Pasha, 10-1, 42, 90.\n\n\n  Zeki Tummal and Abyssinia, 225, 247, 249, 251-2, 272, 285, 290.\n\n  Zeregga, 77.\n\n  Zogal (the Mahdi's uncle), 75, 93-4, 164, 184, 223, 235, 265-7, 360,\n    388, 396, 401, 417;\n    and Darfur, 201-3.\n\n  Zogheir (a celebrated thief), 335-7, 353.\n\n  Zubeir, feast known as, 4.\n\n  Zubeir Pasha, 172, 391;\n    Abu Anga and, 221;\n    and Kingdom of Shakka, 235.\n\n  Zurbuchen, Dr., 2.\n\n\n\n\nLONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,\nSTAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: A PLAN OF OMDURMAN\n\nDrawn in the Intelligence Department, Egyptian Army from descriptions\ngiven by natives and revised by Father Ohrwalder\n\nScale 1/14400 or 1 to 400 yards]\n\n\n[Illustration: THE NILE BASIN\n\nshewing the course of Hicks Pasha's Expedition and the Flight of Father\nOhrwalder\n\nLondon: Sampson Low & Co.]\n\n\n[Illustration: Sketch Map showing correct Position of I.B.E.A. Co's\nForts & Boundary of Uganda\n\nLondon: Sampson Low & Co. Limited\n\nG. Philip & Son, London & Liverpool\n\nNOTE--At the last moment when this book was passed for press, the\nreturn to England of Captain Lugard enables me, through his courtesy, to\ngive the names and positions of the forts in Uganda and Unyoro now\noccupied by the troops in the service of the Imperial British East\nAfrica Company.--F. R. W.]\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\nIn this etext a u with circumflex is represented as [^u] and a\nu with a macron [=u]\n\nIllustrations have been moved near the relevant section of the text.\n\nThe question mark after \"thousand men\" on Page 115 has been retained.\nInconsistent use of quotes following \"known as\" have been left as-is.\nInconsistent capitalization has been retained for \"sub-Mudir\"\nand \"Sub-Mudir\". The lack of an apostrophe after \"days\" in the\nexpression \"days later\" has been left unchanged. Inconsistent\nhyphenation and use of separate words have been retained for\n\"anyone\" / \"any one\", \"bodyguard\" / \"body-guard\", \"camelmen\" /\n\"camel-men\", \"contradistinction\" / \"contra-distinction\",\n\"headquarters\" / \"head-quarters\", \"hundredweight\" / \"hundred-weight\",\n\"nicknamed\" / \"nick-named\", \"reaction\" / \"re-action\", \"recaptured\" /\n\"re-capture\", \"reoccupy\" / \"re-occupy\", and \"waterskins\" /\n\"water-skins\".\n\nHere is a list of the minor typographical corrections made:\n\n  - Period added after \"GOVERNMENT\" on Page xi\n  - Hyphen removed following \"Emir\" on Page 16\n  - \"forbad\" changed to \"forbade\" on Page 18\n  - \"befel\" changed to \"befell\" on Page 22\n  - \"Goverment\" changed to \"Government\" on Page 22\n  - Comma added after \"age\" on Page 24\n  - \"succeded\" change to \"succeeded\" on Page 29\n  - Comma changed to period after \"merchants\" on Page 36\n  - \"Madhi\" changed to \"Mahdi\" on Page 42\n  - \"garrrison\" changed to \"garrison\" on Page 54\n  - Quote added after \"Mahdi\" on Page 66\n  - \"Madhi\" changed to \"Mahdi\" on Page 95\n  - Comma removed following \"viz.\" on Page 98\n  - Extra dash removed after \"Khartum\" on Page 131\n  - \"mattrass\" changed to \"mattress\" on Page 138\n  - Period added after \"it\" on Page 171\n  - \"the the\" replaced by \"the\" on Page\n  - \"I.e\" italicized on Page 189\n  - Period added after \"off\" on Page 241\n  - Period added after \"defeated\" on Page 263\n  - \"out-of-the way\" changed to \"out-of-the-way\" on Page 351\n  - Comma added after \"army\" on Page 451\n  - \"lifeguards\" changed to \"life-guards\" on Page 451\n  - Italics added to \"also\" and removed from \"Marissa\" on Page 452\n  - Italics added to \"also\" on Page 452\n  - Semicolon replaced by comma after \"35\" on Page 453\n  - Corrected alphabetical order of \"Emin Pasha\" in index on Page 454\n  - \"and\" removed before \"Sheikh\" on Page 454\n  - Semicolon changed to comma after \"4\" on Page 454\n  - Period inserted after \"401\" on Page 454\n  - \"skeikh\" changed to \"sheikh\" on Page 455\n  - Alphabetical order of \"Nesim\" corrected in index on Page 457\n  - \"sandstorms\" changed to \"sand-storms\" on Page 458\n  - \"smallpox\" changed to \"small-pox\" on Page 459\n  - \"power\" changed to \"powder\" on Page 460\n  - Space inserted before \"2\" on Page 460","title":"Ten Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp 1882-1892","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":155995}