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Ten Years' Captivity 
 
 IN THE 
 
 Mahdi's Camp 
 
 1882-1892 
 
 FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS OF 
 
 FATHER JOSEPH v/ OHRWALDER 
 
 LATE PRIEST OF THE AUSTRIAN" MISSION STATION AT 
 DELEN, IN KORDOFAN 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR F. R. WINGATE, R.A. 
 
 DIRECTOR OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE, EGYPTIAN ARMY; AUTHOR OF ' MAHDIISM AND THE 
 
 EGYPTIAN SL'DAN ' 
 
 WI TH MA PS A ND IL L US TR A TIONS 
 BY WALTER C. HORSLEY 
 
 SEVENTH EDITION 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY 
 
 LIMITED 
 
 St. Dunstan's l^ousc 
 Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C. 
 
 1892 
 
 (All rights reserved.) 
 
LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, Limited 
 
 STAMrOUD STIIEET AND CHARIXG CROSS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 After the fall of Khartum 
 in January 1885, various 
 attempts were from time 
 to time made to effect the 
 release of some of the 
 European prisoners who 
 had fallen into the Mahdi's 
 hands during the early 
 stages of the Sudan revolt. 
 
 These attempts were for 
 the most part attended with 
 little result. The causes of 
 their failure, and eventual 
 success in one instance, are 
 fully described in the fol- 
 lowing personal narrative 
 of Father Ohrwalder. 
 
 As Father Ohrwalder is 
 the first European who has 
 escaped from the Sudan 
 since 1885, I was fully oc- 
 cupied with him during 
 the few days immediately 
 following his arrival in 
 ascertaining, for official pur- 
 poses, the actual situation 
 in the Sudan, and that completed, we had many in- 
 teresting conversations on the historical events which 
 had occurred in these revolted districts during the last 
 ten years. 
 
 FATHER OHRWALDER. 
 
IV 
 
 PBEFACE. 
 
 Baying but recently completed a resume of these 
 events,* which had been largely compiled from the 
 statements of natives who had escaped, I was not un- 
 naturally desirous to verify, by the independent witness 
 of Father Ohrwalder, the accounts which they had given, 
 and I further begged Father Ohrwalder to carefully 
 read over the book and point out the errors. It was 
 with considerable satisfaction that I learnt from him 
 that the facts had been faithfully recorded ; but the 
 iiood of light which he was enabled to throw on many 
 obscure passages, and the great interest attaching to 
 the narrative of an active participator in so many of 
 these now historic occurrences, induced me to suggest 
 that he should set to work, while the memory of these 
 events was fresh in his mind, to write a personal nar- 
 rative of his varied and terrible experiences, of which 
 the general public have hitherto learnt but the bare 
 outline. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that the circumstances 
 under which Father Ohrwalder lived in the Sudan 
 precluded him from keeping any written record of his 
 life ; it was therefore agreed that I should supervise his 
 work which, I need scarcely add, it has given me great 
 pleasure to do. Father Ohrwalder' s manuscript, which 
 was in the first instance written in German, was roughly 
 translated into English by Yusef Effendi Cudzi, a Syrian ; 
 this I entirely rewrote in narrative form. The work 
 does not therefore profess to be a literal translation 
 of the original manuscript, but rather an English ver- 
 sion, in which I have sought to reproduce accurately 
 Father Ohrwalder's meaning in the language of simple 
 narration. 
 
 England and the British public in general have 
 shown so much interest in the stirring events which 
 
 o 
 
 have occurred in the Sudan, and in which many gallant 
 British officers and men have lost their lives, that it is 
 Father Ohrwalder's desire that the narrative of his ex- 
 periences should be published in the first instance in 
 
 * Published under the title of ' Mahdiism and the Egyptian 
 Sudan.' Loudon : Macmillan & Co. 1891. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 v 
 
 England, as his modest tribute to the nation which 
 struggled so gallantly, and so nearly successfully, to 
 effect the relief of Khartum and the rescue of those 
 unfortunate Europeans who, like himself, had fallen 
 into the hands of a cruel and merciless enemy. 
 
 It seems almost incredible that such sufferings as the 
 European captives endured did not long ago bring to 
 them the happy release of death they so ardently 
 longed for ; but it was not to be. The door of escape, 
 which they had thought closed to them for ever, sud- 
 denly opened, and they did not fear to risk the dangers 
 and perils of that terrible desert journey, with scanty 
 food and water, and the sure knowledge that they must 
 ride for bare life ; re-capture would have ended in 
 certain death, or, at best, perpetual incarceration in a 
 prison, the horrors of which beggar description. In 
 spite, however, of all he has endured, Father Ohrwalder 
 longs for the time when it may be possible for him to 
 return to the Sudan and continue the Mission work so 
 suddenly and hopelessly interrupted since 1882. 
 
 I am greatly indebted to Mr. Walter C. Horsley for 
 the admirable manner in which he has executed his por- 
 tion of the illustrations. The remainder are chiefly from 
 photographs, taken by Mr. Lekegian in his photographic 
 studio in Cairo, of Dervish prisoners captured at the 
 action of Toski, and of refugees who have recently 
 reached Cairo from Equatoria, through the territory 
 administered by the Imperial British East Africa 
 Company. 
 
 F. E. WlNGATE. 
 
 Cairo, 30/^ July t .1892. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 FATHER OHRWALDER'S JOURNEY TO THE SUDAN. 
 
 pagS 
 
 Description of Kordofan and Dar Nuba — The Mission Station 
 
 at Delen ........ 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE MAHDI AND HIS RISE TO POWER. 
 
 The rise of the Mahdi — Early successes — Personal appearance 
 — His Khalifas described — Military organization — Makes 
 new laws — He summons El Obeid to surrender . . 6 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FATHER OHRWALDER AND HIS COMPANIONS TAKEN CAPTIVE. 
 
 The storm rises in Dar Nuba — The Baggara begin to raid — 
 Khojur Kakum of Delen — Mek Omar besieges Delen — 
 The slave guard deserts the Mission — The priests and 
 nuns surrender — They are sent to the Mahdi . . 22 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE MISSIONARIES AND THE MAHDI. 
 
 Description of El Obeid — Said Pasha's system of defence — 
 The Mahdi's followers encircle the town — Townspeople 
 desert to the Mahdi — Unsuccessful attack on Government 
 buildings — Dervishes driven off with loss of 10,000 men 
 — The missionaries brought before the Mahdi — Threat- 
 ened with death — Preparations for the execution — Re- 
 prieved at the last moment — The Mahdi's camp described 
 — Death of some of the missionaries — Illness of remainder 34 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SIEGE OF EL OBEID. 
 
 PAQB 
 
 Terrible sufferings of the besieged — The Kababish — Fall of 
 Bara — Fall "of El Obeid — The Mahdi enters the town — 
 Fate of the El Obeid Mission — Cold-blooded murder of 
 the brave defenders — The Dervishes live a life of ease in 
 El Obeid — The Mahdi makes laws — He sends out pro- 
 clamations — Prestige increased by capture of town — Xews 
 from Khartum — Bonomi and Ohrwalder summoned before 
 the Mahdi — The interview . . . . .52 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MAHDI'S VICTOKY OVER HICKS PASHA. 
 
 The European captives learn that General Hicks is advancing 
 — Slatin Bey's defence of Darfur — His heroism — The 
 Mahdi prepares to resist Hicks — The march of the Hicks 
 Expedition — Extracts from the diary of Major Herlth — 
 Colonel Farquhar's gallantry at Rahad — G-ustav Klootz 
 deserts to the Mahdi — Klootz's interview with the Mahdi in 
 which Ohrw r alder and Bonomi act as interpreters — The 
 expedition advances towards Shekan — Is surrounded and 
 annihilated — Description of the battle — The Mahdi victor 
 of Kordofan 72 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MAHDi'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO EL OBEID. 
 
 Fall of Darfur — Slatin surrenders — The Mahdi's divinity cre- 
 dited after the annihilation of Hicks — King Adam of 
 Tagalla — Stambuli's kindness to the European captives — 
 — Gordon writes to the Mahdi — Power's letter — The 
 sisters seized and distributed amongst the emirs — They 
 are tortured — The missionaries turned into slaves — The 
 terrible journey to Rahad — The Greeks come to the help 
 of the sisters — The proclamation concerning the treat- 
 ment of priests and hermits by Mohammedans — The 
 Mahdi at Rahad — Ohrwalder's interviews with the Mahdi 
 concerning religion — The Dervishes attack the Nubas . 91 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FATHER OHRWALDER'S VIEWS OF GORDON'S MISSION. 
 
 Ohrwalder describes his treatment at the hands of various 
 masters — The Xubas surrender and afterwards desert — 
 News from Khartum — The capture of the English mail — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ix 
 
 Its arrival at the Mahdi's camp — The Mahdi decides to 
 advance on Khartum — Brief review of events in Khartum 
 and Berber — Ohrwalder's views on Gordon's mission — 
 The Mahdi sets out for Khartum — Mohammed Ali Pasha's 
 defeat and death — Colonel Stewart, Mr. Power, and others 
 leave Khartum in ss. "Abbas" — Description of their 
 wreck and treacherous murder . . . . .114 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SIEGE AND FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 The surrender of Omdurman fort — Gordon's dispositions for de- 
 fence — His great personal influence — The night before the 
 assault — The attack and entry of the Dervishes — Gordon's 
 death — The adventures of Domenico Polinari — The mas- 
 sacre in Khartum — How most of the Europeans died — 
 Ruthless cruelty and bloodshed — The fate of the wives 
 and daughters of Khartum — Ohrwalder's views on the 
 situation in Khartum and the chances of relief by the 
 British Expeditionary Force — His description of the town 
 three months after the fall . . . . .131 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE MAHDl'g LAST DAYS. 
 
 Ohrwalder's criticisms on certain events connected with the 
 defence of Khartum — The Sudan devastated by small-pox 
 — The Mahdi gives way to a life of pleasure — Description 
 of his harem life — The Mahdi sickens and dies — The effect 
 on his followers — The Khalifa Abdullah succeeds — Party 
 strife and discord — Abdullah prevails — Events in Sennar 
 and Kassala . . . . . . . .152 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE- ESCAPE OF FATHER BONOMI. 
 
 Ohrwalder continues to describe his personal experiences — 
 Mahmud the emir of El Obeid — His unsuccessful attempts 
 to entrap the Xubas— The arrival of Olivier Pain in El 
 Obeid — His motives in joining the Mahdi — His journey 
 towards Omdurman — His sad fate — Lnpton Bey arrives 
 at El Obeid from the Bahr el Ghazal— He is sent to 
 Omdurman and thrown into chains — Life in El Obeid — 
 The escape of Father Bonomi— Ohrwalder's solitude— 
 The death of the Khojur Kakuui . . . . 169 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 REVOLT AGAINST THE DERVISHES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The black soldiers of the old Sudan army — They revolt against 
 the Dervishes in El Obeid — And march off to Dar Xuba 
 — The emir Mahmud pursues and is slain — Ohrwalder 
 < I nits El Obeid for Omdurman — Zogal and Abu Anga at 
 Bara ......... 189 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OHRW ALDER'S IMPRESSIONS OF OMDURMAN. 
 
 Ohrwalder's arrival in Omdurman — His first impressions of the 
 Dervish capital — Khalifa Abdullah's intentions to conquer 
 Egypt — Wad Suleiman of the beit el mal — "Wad Adlan 
 succeeds — Gordon's clothes, medals, &c. — Adlan reor- 
 ganizes the beit el mal — The slave market, museum, mint, 
 and system of coinage — Counterfeit coining — The litho- 
 graph press — The Khalifa's system of justice . . 204 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE KHALIFA DECIDES TO CONQUER ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Events subsequent to the fall of Khartum — Capture of 
 Gedaref and Galabat — Dervishes defeated by Abyssinians 
 at Galabat — Abu Anga's victorious expedition to Tagalla 
 — His triumphal return to Omdurman — The Khalifa's 
 grand review — Destruction of the G-ehena tribe — The 
 Khalifa decides to send Abu Anga's army to conquer 
 Abyssinia — The battle of Dabra Sin — Abu Anga sacks 
 Gondar — The victorious Dervishes return to Galabat — 
 Rejoicings at Omdurman . . . . . .216 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 KING JOHN OF ABYSSINIA KILLED IN BATTLE. 
 
 Destruction of the Kababish tribe and death of Saleh Bey — 
 Events in Darfur — Revolt of Abu Gemaizeh — His death 
 and destruction of his army — Rabeh Zubeir — King 
 Theodore's son visits Omdurman — The conspiracy of 
 " Sayidna Isa " — Death of Abu Anga — King John of 
 Abyssinia attacks Galabat — Success of Abyssinians, but 
 the king killed — Yictory turned to defeat — The king's 
 head sent to Omdurman ...... 232 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xi 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DEFEAT OF XEJU3JI AT TOSKI, AND OF OSMAN DIGXA AT TOKAR. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Khalifa's intentions regarding Egypt — Wad en Nejumi 
 despatched north — Various operations on the Egyptian 
 frontier — Battle of Toski — Defeat and death of Xejunii 
 — Subsequent events in Dongola — Osman Digna's opera- 
 tions against Sawakin — Is defeated at Tokar — Ernin 
 Pasha and events in Equatoria — Recent events in Uganda 
 and Unyoro . . . . . . . .254 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FAMINE AT OMDURMAX — 1888-1889. 
 
 Okrwalder describes. Omdurman — The Mahdi's tomb, and how 
 it was built — Pilgrimage to Mecca forbidden — A descrip- 
 tion of the great mosque — The Khalifa's palace — The 
 markets — The population — The Khalifa's tyrannical rule 
 —The terrible famine of 1888-1889— Awful scenes and 
 sufferings — The plague of locusts . . . .273 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE KHALIFA AXD HIS GOVERXMEXT 
 
 The Khalifa's system of government — His household — An 
 outline of his character — His system of prayers in the 
 mosque — His visions and dreams — His espionage system 
 — His household troops — His great activity and circum- 
 spection — The great Friday review described — The emigra- 
 tion of the Baggara and western tribes to Omdurman — 
 The flight of Sheikh Ghazali — Management of the beit 
 el mal — System of taxation . . . . .293 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A CHAPTER OF HORRORS. 
 
 The revolt of the Batahin tribe — Revolt suppressed with 
 appalling cruelty — Wholesale executions — Method of 
 hanging — Punishment by mutilation — The execution of 
 Abdel Xur — Trade with Egypt — Wad Adlan the emin 
 beit el mal — His imprisonment and death . . .315 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SOCIAL LIFE AT OMDURMAX. 
 
 System of public security and justice in Omdurman — The 
 court of small causes — Bribery and corruption — The 
 story of the slave and her mistress — How the Khalifa 
 
xii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 deals with quarrelsome persons — Thieves and pick- 
 pockets — The story of Zogheir — Usurers and their trade 
 — The chief of police — Brigandage — Disproportion of 
 males to females in Omdurman — How the Khalifa over- 
 came the difficulty — Immorality — The marriage ceremony 828 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE KHALIFA'S TREATMENT OF THE WHITE CAPTIVES. 
 
 Description of the prison, or " Saier" — The " Abu Haggar " 
 — The imprisonment of Charles Xeufeld — Terrible suffer- 
 ings of the prisoners — Domenico Polinari — The danger 
 of corresponding with the Europeau prisoners — Xeufeld 
 threatened with death — He is given charge of the salt- 
 petre pits — The fate of Sheikh Khalil, the Egyptian 
 envoy — The Khalifa's treatment of the " Whites " — Exile 
 to the White Xile SU 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 LUPTON BEY AND THE AMMUNITION. 
 
 The Khalifa's powder and ammunition begin to fail — Lupton 
 Bey makes fulminate — Unsuccessful attempts to make 
 powder — Yusef Pertekachi at last succeeds — The explosion 
 in th{i powder factory . . . . . 3G6 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE IN THE MAHDl'S KINGDOM. 
 
 Remarks on the agriculture and commerce of the Mahdiist 
 kingdom — A sandstorm in Omdurman — The paucity of 
 cattle — System of taxation on imports — Provincial beit 
 el mals — Local manufactures — Slavery and the slave- 
 markets — Torture of slaves . . . . . <37G 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE BAG GAR A MASTERS OF THE SUDAN. 
 
 Relations between Abdullah and the rival Khalifas — Mahdiism 
 practically dead — The Khalifa's son Osman — His marriage 
 to Yakub's daughter — His intentions regarding the 
 succession — The Baggara and the Aulad-Belad — The 
 Baggara masters of the Sudan — Examples of their 
 tyranny — Emigration of the Rizighat tribe — Hostility 
 between the Khalifa's and the late Mahdi's households — 
 The Ashraf conspiracy — Witchcraft — The dispute between 
 the Khalifas — Riots in Omdurman — The Mahdi's widows 387 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR THE FLIGHT. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Ohrwalder forms plans for escape —The fate of other Europeans 
 attempting to fly — Stricter surveillance — ■ Ohrwalder's 
 means of livelihood — Letters from Cairo — The faithful 
 Ahmed Hassan discloses his plan — Archbishop Sogaro — 
 .Miseries of captivity in Omdurman — Death of Sister 
 Concetta Corsi — Preparations for flight . . . 408 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ON CAMELS ACROSS THE GREAT NUBIAN DESERT. 
 
 Father Ohrwalder and Sisters Yenturini and Chincarini escape 
 — The ride for life — The rencontre with the Dervish 
 guard near Abu Hamed — Alarm of the party — The 
 journey across the great Nubian desert — Five hundred 
 miles on camel-back in seven days — Arrival at the 
 Egyptian outpost at Murat — Safe at last — Arrival in 
 Cairo 424 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE PRESENT KHALIFA'S DESPOTISM IN THE SUDAN. 
 
 Reflections on the situation in the Sudan — The horrors of the 
 
 present Khalifa's rule — How long shall it continue ? . 447 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, MAP AND PLAN. 
 
 Father Okrwalder, Sisters Venturini and Chincarini, and their 
 
 servant Adila (Frontispiece). 
 
 Zubeir Pasha 8 
 
 A native woman of Dongola . . . . . .65 
 
 Hicks Pasha ......... 74 
 
 Colonel Arthur Farquhar (Chief of Staff) .... 80 
 
 A Baggara emir, present at the annihilation of the Hicks 
 
 Expedition, and afterwards captured at Toski . . 89 
 
 Father Ohrwalder's interview with the Mahdi at Kahad, con- 
 cerning religion ....... 107 
 
 The gold medal struck by Gordon to commemorate the siege 
 
 of Khartum 122 
 
 A Dervish emir present in the attack on Khartum, and after- 
 
 wards captured at Toski . . . . . .186 
 
 An Egyptian Harem woman . . . . . .156 
 
 " Many a time did I turn round to look back, until Bonomi 
 
 disappeared from view in the wood " . . . .181 
 
 A slave woman from Equatoria ...... 200 
 
 Abyssinian dancing girls 243 
 
 An Arab sheikh of Upper Egypt 255 
 
 I>ishir Bey, sheikh of the Ababdeh Arabs .... 259 
 
 Wad en Nejumi (from a photograph of a drawing made by an 
 Egyptian officer of the <rreat Emir, as he lay dead on the 
 field of Toski) . . . . . . . .264 
 
 A native woman of Makaraka, the wife of one of Emin Pasha's 
 
 officers, who reached Egypt from Uganda in June 1892. 270 
 A trophy of arms, banners, and drums, captured from the 
 
 Dervishes ........ 305 
 
 Charles Xeufeld 354 
 
 A slave girl from Equatoria ...... 382 
 
 A Baggara woman . ' . . . . . .398 
 
 The Arab guides who effected the escape of Father Ohrwalder 
 
 and the Sisters ....... 409 
 
 " We had scarcely gone twenty paces from the river, when 
 
 suddenly we heard the sound of a camel " . . 435 
 
 Plan of Omdurman. 
 
 .Map of the Nile Basin, showing route taken by Father Ohrwalder. 
 
TEN YEARS' 
 C APTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 1882-1892. 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 FATHER OHRWALDER'S JOURNEY TO THE SUDAN. 
 
 Description of Kordofan and Dar Nuba — The Mission Station at 
 Delen. 
 
 I left Cairo on the 28th of December, 1880, as full of 
 bright hopes for a happy future as any young man could 
 wish to be. I had no thought of the miserable fate 
 which was so soon to overtake me. 
 
 Our party consisted of Bishop Comboni, two 
 missionaries, Johann Dichtl and Franz Pimezzoni (these 
 three have long since passed into eternity), and several 
 sisters. We embarked at Suez, and spent the first day 
 of 1881 on the Red Sea. On the 4th of January we 
 landed at Sawakin. At that time the governor of the 
 town was Ala ed Din Pasha, who subsequently accom- 
 panied General Hicks as Governor-General of the Sudan, 
 and was eventually killed with him. After a journey of 
 twenty-eight days and travelling via Berber, we reached 
 Khartum ; here the pleasant gardens and shady groves 
 of date-palms impressed us most favourably. Standing 
 on the high river bank, just in front of the Mission 
 gardens, were the various members of the Mission, headed 
 by Father Alois Bonomi, also the Austrian Consul 
 Hansal and the Italian Consul Legnani, who gave us a 
 hearty welcome. The whole city was en fete, to celebrate 
 the return of the Governor-General Rauf Pasha from 
 
 B 
 
2 TEN YEARS 1 CAPTIVITY IN THE MABDPS CAMP. 
 
 Gedaref. After landing, we walked through the lovely 
 garden towards the Mission buildings, and here, in the 
 principal parlour, were collected Rauf Pasha, Giegler 
 Pasha, Gessi Pasha, who had just returned quite worn 
 out from his campaigns in the Bahr el Ghazal ; the 
 courageous Slatin, fresh from Darfur ; Marcopoli Bey, 
 Doctor Zurbuchen, Marquet, the African traveller Jean 
 Maria Schuver, and many others who had come to wel- 
 come Bishop Comboni on his arrival. 
 
 On the 15th of March w T e celebrated the fiftieth birth- 
 day of Bishop Comboni w T ith general rejoicings : in the 
 evening the European colony dined at the Mission, and 
 then followed a soiree. Little did w r e think of the 
 terrible fate that w T as in store for the majority of those 
 gathered together on that happy evening ! 
 
 In the meantime Slatin Bey had been appointed 
 Governor-General of Darfur, and he considered it his 
 duty to proceed as soon as possible to take up his new 
 post. Our bishop accepted Slatin s proffered invitation 
 to travel together as far as El Obeid, and on the 29 th of 
 March we embarked on a steamer placed at our disposal 
 by Rauf Pasha and proceeded to Tur el Hadra. We were 
 accompanied thus far by Marcopoli Bey, Dr. Zurbuchen 
 and Marquet, and here, mounting on camels, w T e made a 
 rapid inarch across the Kordofan deserts, arriving at El 
 Obeid on the 5 th of April. No sooner had w T e dis- 
 mounted, than two telegrams were handed to us : one 
 announced the sudden death, on his return to Khartum, 
 of Dr. Zurbuchen, and the other described the death of 
 the Czar Alexander of Russia at the hands of the 
 Nihilists. 
 
 AYe remained at El Obeid while Slatin was making 
 arrangements for his journey to Darfur. Bishop 
 Comboni then made a tour through Jebel Nuba, 
 returned to El Obeid and subsequently to Khartum, 
 where he died on the 10th of October. Gocl, in His 
 mercy, took him away so that he should not behold the 
 terrible events in the Sudan which followed soon after 
 his death. 
 
 1 left El Obeid on the 28th of November, 1881, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3 
 
 reached Delen in Dar Nuba on the 5th of December. I 
 was most favourably impressed with the Nuba country. 
 Whilst Kordofan is merely an extensive plain with little 
 change of scenery, Dar Nuba presents an entirely dif- 
 ferent aspect. Here chains of picturesque hills, running 
 in various directions, rise out of the plain, interspersed 
 with numerous watercourses. Jebel Delen, on which 
 our Mission station was situated, is one of the smallest 
 of the hills. The other principal groups are Naima, 
 Kurun, Dobab, Dair, Kedaro, Tagalla, Gedir, and Tira, 
 in which gold is found, besides a number of smaller 
 hills. It is estimated that in all there are upwards of 
 one hundred inhabited mountains. 
 
 The intervening plains and valleys are rich in vegeta- 
 tion of every description ; trees of colossal dimensions 
 are found, more especially in the khors (the beds of 
 perennial streams), and the thick luxuriant growth is so 
 dense that the rays of the sun cannot penetrate. The 
 soil is exceptionally fertile and rain abundant, conse- 
 quently for six months in the year the density of the 
 undergrowth makes it almost impossible to traverse 
 these rich valleys ; but when the rains are over and the 
 grass becomes dry, it is generally fired, and thus the 
 plains and valleys become passable again. A quantity 
 of the rain from these hills flows into Lake Birket, 
 some passes also into the Khor Abu Habl, which becomes 
 lost in the sand before it reaches the White Nile. The 
 rain from the southern Nuba hills finds its way into the 
 Bahr el x4.rab. The plains abound with quantities of 
 deer, giraffe, antelope, and wild boar, whilst the woods 
 contain myriads of birds of lovely plumage, and apes 
 and monkeys of eyery description. During the winter 
 season, elephants were frequently to be seen in the 
 neighbourhood of Delen, which also abounds with snakes, 
 anion gst which the boa-constrictor is not uncommon. 
 
 The population of Dar Nuba, which at one time was 
 considerable, does not now exceed 50,000 ; the scattered 
 sub-tribes of Baggara, who roam the plains with the 
 Bederieh and Ghodiat Arabs, have decimated the Nubas, 
 and forced those that are left to fly to their moun- 
 
 B 2 
 
4 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI'S CAMP. 
 
 tain recesses, where they eke out a wretched existence, 
 their protection being the inaccessible nature of their 
 retreats. 
 
 I found the Nubas a pleasant and well-disposed 
 people ; indeed, they have the reputation in the Sudan 
 of being the best of all the negroid races ; they culti- 
 vate only sufficient quantities of corn, sesame, and 
 beans to serve for their livelihood ; whilst the wild 
 fruits and vegetables of their country are so plentiful as 
 to furnish almost sufficient food for their maintenance 
 should they be unable to cultivate. They possess 
 numbers of goats and cattle which supply them with 
 milk and butter ; they are much addicted to drinking 
 marissa (a kind of beer made from dhurra), and great 
 quantities of this beverage are consumed at their feasts, 
 principally at the feast known as Zubeir. On this 
 occasion men and women drink and dance together ; 
 but notwithstanding this unusual familiarity, I never 
 saw anything which might be considered an outrage to 
 society. With the exception of the Khojur, of whom I 
 shall presently speak, and the head sheikh, monogamy is 
 practised. 
 
 The Nubas are governed entirely by their own tra- 
 ditional laws and customs, the Khojur only intervening 
 in case of necessity. The Khojur is in reality a sort of 
 religious chief, whose power over the people depends 
 entirely on bis skilfulness and sagacity. During the 
 time I was in this neighbourhood the Khojur was a 
 certain Kakum, known as " Kakum of Delen." 
 
 Only a short time had elapsed since the Egyptian 
 Government had made a settlement at Delen. A com- 
 pany of Sudanese soldiers, under the command of a 
 captain who was appointed for the suppression of the 
 slave-trade, had been recently quartered there, and they 
 were also charged with the protection of our Mission 
 station. 
 
 I was very happy in Delen, where I found a variety 
 of pursuits to occupy my time. I amused myself in 
 collecting insects, of which I soon had a large selec- 
 tion. I also skinned birds and snakes. The various 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 modes of Nuba life and cultivation were, moreover, an 
 immense interest to me, and the presentation of a few 
 glass beads enabled me to secure many strange objects 
 in return. The natives used to roar with laughter when 
 they saw me examining with interest the curious insects 
 they brought me. 
 
 We had quite a colony of blacks in the Mission, and 
 as the number increased, it became necessary to enlarge 
 the accommodation, so we began to make and burn 
 bricks ; we obtained lime from the Saburi mountain (I 
 may here say the Xubas gave us this information) and the 
 doleb-palm supplied us with plenty of wood. Assisted 
 by Father Bonomi, our carpenter Gabriel Mariani built 
 a four-wheeled cart, which we drove with two strong 
 mules. We worked along cheerfully and full of hope. 
 We turned out some 2,000 good bricks. Our blacks 
 were quite contented ; far removed from the corruption 
 and temptation of the towns, they kept steadily to their 
 work, and tilled their own little patches of ground ; 
 everything was going well, and we anticipated great 
 results. But suddenly our tranquillity was disturbed. 
 Early in April 1882, there were perceptible at Delen 
 the first murmurings of the terrible storm which was to 
 deluge the entire Sudan with blood, and to bring mis- 
 fortune and calamity on the land and on our happy 
 Mission ; but these events I will describe in the follow- 
 ing pages. 
 
6 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 THE MAHDI AND HIS RISE TO POWER. 
 
 The rise of the Mahdi — Early successes — Personal appearance — His 
 Khalifas described — Military organization — Makes new laws — 
 He summons El Obeid to surrender. 
 
 A few years previous to the time of which I speak, an 
 individual who called himself a Dervish had attracted 
 people's attention. He wandered through the Sudan in 
 the garb of a Dervish, and strove to rouse the Moslems 
 to religious fanaticism. He urged that reality no longer 
 existed in the religion ; faith was becoming of no ac- 
 count, and this religious decadence was due to a 
 luxurious mode of life and contact with Christians. A 
 number of influential sheikhs and merchants took up his 
 cause, and these he made to swear to remain faithful 
 and true to him. At this time at El Obeid there was a 
 certain Said el Mek, who had the reputation of being a 
 holy man, and the Dervish did all in his power to 
 induce him to espouse his cause. Said el Mek urged 
 that religion had not fallen into such disrepute, and 
 that all would be well if more mosques were built ; but 
 the Dervish, with threats that if he refused to join him 
 he would compass his destruction, extracted from h'm a 
 promise to keep his plans secret. He then prepared the 
 way by continuing his wanderings, preaching every- 
 where against the oppression of the Turk and the deca- 
 dence of the true Moslem faith. Under the very nose 
 of the Government he collected a small body of faithful 
 adherents, set off with them for the island of Abba on 
 the White Nile, and there openly declared himself. 
 Rumours that he intended to raise the people to revolt 
 reached Khartum. At this time Rauf Pasha was 
 
THE MAIIDI AT ABBA ISLAND. 
 
 7 
 
 Governor-General ; he sent a noted Khartum townsman 
 named Abu Saud to Abba, with instructions to invite 
 the Dervish to come and see the Governor-General. Abu 
 Saud nearly succeeded in his mission, and had it not been 
 for the advice of one of his adherents, Ahmed Sharfi, it 
 is probable that the Dervish would have accepted the 
 invitation. Kauf Pasha, on learning of his refusal to 
 obey the summons, despatched two companies of troops 
 to Abba Island at the end of July 1881, with instruc- 
 tions to bring the Dervish forcibly to Khartum. The 
 two captains of the companies had a difference of 
 opinion, and, landing the troops in a most careless 
 manner, they were drawn on by the adherents of the 
 Dervish into a marshy swamp, where they were fallen 
 upon and a number of them killed with simple sticks. 
 Ahmed Sharfi himself told me this. Only a very few 
 succeeded in escaping and returning to the steamer, in 
 which they made their way back to Khartum. 
 
 This episode caused great excitement. I was at El 
 Obeid when it happened, and Giegler Pasha, who was also 
 there at the time, told me about it. Giegler despatched 
 Mohammed Said Pasha to the White Nile with orders 
 to prevent the Dervish from escaping south ; but Said 
 Pasha soon afterwards returned, having done nothing ; 
 probably he did not dare to attack the rebels. In the 
 meantime the Dervish quitted Abba, and succeeded in 
 reaching Tagalla in safety ; thence he proceeded to Jebel 
 Gedir, and located himself at the foot of that moun- 
 tain. The natives of this district are called Kawakla, 
 and dwell on the top of the mountain ; they are pos- 
 sessors of a very celebrated and holy stone, on which 
 there is a tradition the prophet Mohammed sat and 
 prayed. Here the Dervish Mohammed Ahmed now 
 took up his abode, and waited to see what action the 
 Government intended to take. 
 
 At Delen the news of this Dervish was very meagre, 
 though there was much talk of his wonderful miracles, 
 the most important of which was said to be his power to 
 change the bullets of the Government troops into water. 
 His repute as a worker of miracles grew rapidly, and was 
 
8 TEN YEARS? CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 the cause of largely increasing the number of his ad- 
 herents. The malcontents, runaway slaves, criminals 
 evading justice, and religious fanatics, hurried to Gedir ; 
 hut perhaps the bulk of his adherents were men who 
 lived by theft and robbery, and who were the main 
 supporters of the movement. To all, the Dervish gave 
 promises of enormous shares of loot and everlasting 
 
 ZUBELR PASHA. 
 
 happiness in the world to come. But it was to the 
 slave-dealers that Mohammed appeared in the light of a 
 saviour, and it was to them that he owed his subsequent 
 
 success. 
 
 From the time that Gessi Pasha put an end to the 
 slave-trade in the Bahr el Ghazal by conquering 
 
THE MAIIDI AND THE SLAVE-DEALERS. 
 
 9 
 
 Suleiman, the son of Zubeir Pasha, and dispersing his 
 forces — as Gessi had often related to me — numbers of 
 these runaway slave-dealers (as they afterwards assured 
 me) owed their ruin to him. These men were all 
 warriors, accustomed to every description of hardship, 
 well trained in the use of firearms, and from their 
 constant slave-fights well accustomed to war ; they 
 Hocked in numbers to the Dervish, and he gave them 
 elaborate promises of quantities of booty and a com- 
 plete resumption of the slave-trade. Mohammed 
 Ahmed had the power of inspiring these men with an 
 extraordinary amount of fanatical ardour, so much so, 
 indeed, as we shall presently see, that they would not 
 hesitate to rush into certain death at one word from 
 him. He would compare these men with the Govern- 
 ment troops, and prove how far inferior were these 
 latter ; and, on the other hand, the Government troops 
 made the fatal mistake of underrating their enemies, 
 and conducting their operations with a complete dis- 
 regard for the wary foes with whom they had to deal. 
 What more obvious example of this blind self-confidence 
 can there be than in the miserable defeat of Eashid Bey, 
 Mudir of Fashoda, who, without any instructions, ad- 
 vanced against the Dervishes, and was cut to pieces on 
 the 9th of December, 1881 ? 
 
 Eashid Bey — so an eye-witness told me — was drawn 
 into the middle of a forest, and there he and his men 
 were massacred, before they could even alight from 
 their camels, so completely taken by surprise were they. 
 Thus the Dervishes gained an important and decisive 
 victory, with, comparatively speaking, no loss at all. 
 The German Berghof, inspector for the suppression of 
 slavery at Fashoda, also fell in this fight. What wonder 
 is it that such successes as these strengthened the belief 
 of the people that the Mahdi could turn Egyptian 
 bullets into water! This victory gave enormous 
 impetus to the cause ; not only was a quantity of 
 arms, ammunition, and stores captured, but Mohammed 
 Ahmed's moral influence was greatly increased. He was 
 now believed in as the true Mahdi ; men Hocked to his 
 
10 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI'S CAMP. 
 
 standard from all parts, and were ready and willing to 
 lay down their lives in his cause. 
 
 Mohammed Ahmed Wad el Bedri, one of the Mahdi's 
 favourite and early adherents, told me that it was the 
 latter's intention to proceed to Dar Fertit, and there 
 organise an extensive revolt against the Government ; 
 but Elias Pasha, a Jaali, and former Mudir of El Obeid, 
 urged him against this. Elias Pasha was a bitter enemy 
 of Mohammed Said Pasha, and of Ahmed Bey Dafallah, 
 one of the principal merchants of El Obeid, and he 
 took this opportunity to wreak his vengeance on them. 
 He fully convinced the Mahdi of the inability of the 
 garrison of El Obeid to offer any prolonged resistance, 
 as the troops were few in number, and he could 
 count on all the inhabitants joining him. It was this 
 advice that caused the Mahdi to turn his attention to 
 Kordofan. 
 
 During all this time the number of the Mahdi's fol- 
 lowers was continually increasing, and the Government 
 at length decided to send an expedition against him. 
 On the 15th of March, 1882, Yussef Pasha Esh Shellali, 
 formerly Gessi's second in command in his campaign 
 against Suleiman Zubeir, left Khartum for the south, in 
 command of some 4,000 men, a large number of whom 
 deserted on the march. About the middle of May, 
 however, he left Fashoda, and advanced towards Gedir. 
 At the same time another expedition under Abdullah, 
 brother of Ahmed Bey Dafallah and Osman, started 
 from El Obeid. This force was composed entirely of 
 volunteers, whom it had taken almost a month to 
 collect, the noggara beating night and day as a sum- 
 mons to arms. They were badly armed, and in spite 
 of Abdullah's well-known bravery, the expedition left 
 with little hope of success. Besides, an event happened 
 which filled the men with gloomy forebodings. Just as 
 the troops were starting, Abdullah fell from his horse, 
 and, according to Sudan superstition, such an untoward 
 event is always a sign that the expedition will meet 
 with misfortunes. Abdullah effected a junction with 
 Yussef Pasha, and the combined force reached Gedir, 
 
THE MAHDI DECIDES TO BESIEGE EL OBEID. 11 
 
 where they entrenched themselves in a zariba near the 
 base of the mountain. A body of rebels, noiselessly 
 approaching by night, succeeded unobserved in dragging 
 away some of the thorns forming the zariba, and in the 
 early morning the Dervishes, with fearful yells, broke in 
 and threw themselves on the troops, who, scared by the 
 suddenness of the attack, offered little resistance ; they 
 were soon overcome, and fell a prey to the deadly 
 dervish spears. Abdullah alone made a gallant stand, 
 and fought with desperate bravery, but he too fell at 
 last. A few only succeeded in escaping to Fashoda, 
 and Emin Bey, who was there at the time, on his way 
 to the Equatorial Province, was the first to receive the 
 sad news. The account of this massacre, which took 
 place on the 7th of June, 1882, was described to us by 
 an eye-witness. 
 
 And now the Mahdi determined to lay siege to El 
 Obeid, a step which was hailed with satisfaction by all 
 his followers. Large numbers of Dar Hamd, Ghodiat, 
 and Bederieh Arabs collected at Birket, which in winter- 
 time becomes a large lake, round which are clustered 
 numerous villages. 
 
 In July 1882, Mohammed Said Pasha sent Major 
 Nesim and Osman, the brother of Abdullah who was 
 killed at Gedir, with a force of 1,500 men, with orders 
 to disperse the Arabs. After a stubborn resistance the 
 Arabs were defeated by Nesim, but the latter suffered 
 heavily, and Osman was amongst the killed. Xesim 
 afterwards returned to El Obeid. 
 
 Meanwhile the various military stations in Kordofan 
 w T ere falling one by one into the Mahdi's hands. In 
 July Fiki Pahma, at the head of the Gowameh Arabs, 
 assaulted and took Ashaf and razed it to the ground. 
 Here terrible atrocities were committed ; not a woman 
 was spared ; even those with child were ripped open 
 and the unborn infant impaled on a lance. On the 8th 
 of August Shat was captured and destroyed by Wad 
 Makashif. Fiki Minneh stormed and took Tayara, 
 putting all the inhabitants to the sword. Bara and El 
 Obeid were now the only towns left in the whole pro- 
 
12 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 vince of Kordofan over which the Egyptian flag was 
 still flying ; and these two places were gradually being 
 invested, while within lurked the spirit of treachery, and 
 the Mahdi propaganda was being secretly instilled into 
 not unwilling minds. At El Obeid, Elias Pasha was the 
 most active agent, and it was to him that the Mahdi 
 had consigned the medals, watches, and other valuables 
 captured at Gedir, with orders to sell them in El Obeid. 
 
 The Mahdi now became a man whose very name was 
 a terror to the Egyptians. The way to El Obeid lay 
 open before him, and when he saw how rapidly he had 
 risen to power, there is no doubt he really believed him- 
 self to be the true Mahdi, divinely sent by God to carry 
 out this great revolution, and the fulsome flattery of his 
 numerous adherents must have confirmed him in this 
 idea. Here a few remarks on the Mahdi's antecedents 
 may not be out of place. 
 
 Mohammed Ahmed belonged to the race of people 
 known as the Danao;la — i.e. inhabitants of Dono-ola — 
 who are notorious in the Sudan as being the cleverest 
 and most determined of the slave-dealers. On the 
 AVhite Nile and in the Bahr el Ghazal they had built 
 numerous zaribas, and it was through their means that 
 this country became first known. In Darfur they 
 always occupied the position of chief ministers or vazirs 
 to the Sultans ; even to the present day the prime 
 minister of the Sultan of Borgo is a Dongolawi. In 
 spite, however, of their capacity, the Danagla were 
 rather despised throughout the Sudan, and it was only 
 subsequently that they were created Ashraf (or noble) 
 by the Mahdi. Mohammed Ahmed's age was estimated 
 at his death to have been about forty-five, he must there- 
 fore have been born about the year 1840. It appears 
 that his father came into the Sudan when quite a young 
 man, and sent his son to the Mesit or Kuran school at 
 Kererri, and, from what I have heard, there is no doubt 
 that the young Mohammed Ahmed showed signs of a 
 violently fanatical nature at quite an early age. After 
 the fall of El Obeid, his former teacher came to see him, 
 and was received with great solemnity by his early pupil, 
 
THE MAUD I DESCRIBED. 
 
 13 
 
 who at once arranged that he should receive a monthly 
 salary. 
 
 Mohammed Ahmed's early youth was spent in 
 learning the Kuran ; later on he led the life of a 
 Dervish, moving about from place to place, distributing 
 amulets, and writing on little slips of paper mysterious 
 words, which were supposed to protect the wearer 
 against all the ills and diseases to which human beings 
 are liable. Through constant study, and by leading the 
 life of an ascetic, he acquired a facility of speech which 
 obtained for him a great reputation amongst the 
 uneducated and superstitious classes in which he moved. 
 Before he openly declared himself, he retired for some 
 time to a cave, where he gave himself up entirely to 
 prayer. His repute for sanctity was so great that 
 sailing vessels and even Government steamers stopped 
 to ask his blessing on their journey ; in return for 
 which he received many valuable gifts. As I have 
 already said, it was not till after he had prepared the 
 ground by his itinerant preaching that he openly 
 declared himself. 
 
 His outward appearance was strangely fascinating ; 
 he was a man of strong constitution, very dark com- 
 plexion, and his face always wore a pleasant smile, 
 to which he had by long practice accustomed himself. 
 Under this smile gleamed a set of singularly white 
 teeth, and between the two upper middle ones was a V- 
 shaped space, which in the Sudan is considered a sign 
 that the owner will be lucky. His mode of conversation 
 too had by training become exceptionally pleasant and 
 sweet. As a messenger of God, he pretended to be in 
 direct communication with the Deity. All orders which he 
 gave were supposed to have come to him by inspiration, 
 and it became therefore a sin to refuse to obey them ; 
 disobedience to the Mahdi's orders was tantamount to 
 resistance to the will of God, and was therefore punish- 
 able by death. 
 
 He called himself Mahdi Khalifat er Kasul (i.e. the 
 successor of the Prophet), while his adherents called him 
 " Sayid " (i.e. Master) ; Sayidna el Mahdi (i.e. our 
 
14 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 Master the Mahdi), or Sayidna el Imam (i.e. our Master 
 the head, or one who goes in front). The Mahdi in his 
 every action endeavoured to imitate and follow in the 
 exact footsteps of the Prophet. 
 
 Thus he made his hejira or flight to Gedir, and there 
 appointed his four Khalifas. The first of these was the 
 Khalifa Abdullah, who assumed the title of Khalifa Abu 
 Bakr, or Khalifa Es Sadik ; he belonged to the Taisha 
 section of the Baggara tribe, and it was through his 
 influence that the Taisha, Rizighat and Homr Baggaras 
 were won over to the Mahdi's cause. It was agreed 
 that Khalifa Abdullah should, in the event of the 
 Mahdi's death, succeed. 
 
 The second Khalifa was Ali Wad Helu, the chief of 
 the powerful Degheim and Kenana tribes, who also 
 largely contributed to the Mahdi's success. The third 
 was Ali Esh Sherif, a Dongolawi, and son-in-law of the 
 Mahdi ; the title of Sherif, or noble, was given to him 
 as being a member of the Mahdi's family ; he was the 
 representative of the Gellabas (or traders), and of the 
 inhabitants of Gezireh,* Berber, and Dongola. Ali 
 Sherif was in reality the last Khalifa, for a fourth was 
 never appointed. The Mahdi asked the son of Sheikh 
 Senussi, as by his influence he thought to win over 
 Egypt, but he refused the honour, and in consequence 
 no one else was nominated to fill the place, though 
 strenuous efforts were made by the more ambitious 
 adherents to secure this much-coveted position ; and it 
 is needless to add that several who sought the honour 
 were relegated to prison as possible rivals. The Khalifa 
 Abdullah is now about forty-three years of age, has a 
 dark copper-coloured complexion, much marked by 
 small-pox, an intelligent face, and is a man of great 
 energy. He is gifted by nature with common sense, 
 but he has had no education, and can neither read nor 
 write. The Khalifa Ali is rather short, and if he 
 were only a little taller would pass for a good-looking 
 man ; he has a ruddy complexion, and wears a large 
 
 * The Gezireh or Geziret Meroe is generally applied to the 
 country lying between the Blue and White Niles. 
 
THE MAUD PS MILITARY ORGANIZATION. 
 
 15 
 
 beard; he was educated at the El Azhar university in 
 Cairo, and has a considerable knowledge of Islam 
 theology. He is at present under forty years of age, 
 and should succeed Abdullah. The Khalifa Sherif is not 
 at present more than twenty-one years of age. 
 
 These three Khalifas were the commanders-in-chief 
 of the army, of which each section had its own special 
 distinctions, whilst the Mahdi himself had no distinctive 
 military insignia — neither flag nor drum. Each Khalifa 
 had his own Jehadieh, or regular troops, his cavalry and 
 lance-bearers, all from the tribe to which he himself 
 belongs ; each had also his own distinctive flag ; 
 Abdullah's the Kay a Zerga, or black flag ; Ali's the 
 Eaya el Hamra, or red flag ; and Sherif s the Eaya el 
 Hadra, or green flag ; each Khalifa had in addition 
 his own war-drums made of brass, and which were 
 therefore called " nahas," in contradistinction to the 
 ordinary drums known as " noggara," which are made 
 of wood, over which a piece of skin is tightly stretched ; 
 the Khalifa Abdullah had also the onba'ia, a very 
 powerful wind instrument made of an elephant's tusk, 
 hollowed out, and which when blown has a very loud 
 and impressive sound. 
 
 The whole of the Mahdi's troops were thus divided 
 into three sections under their respective flags, and 
 each Khalifa was in actual command of his section. 
 The Mahdi and Sherif represented the Gellabas, who 
 are known, in contradistinction to the Baggara, as 
 Aulad-Belad (country people), and Aulad-Bahr (river 
 people), because they dwell on the banks of the 
 Nile ; whilst Khalifa Abdullah and Ali Wad Helu re- 
 presented the Baggara, i.e. the Arabs. The former of 
 these two parties was the most capable as well as the 
 most numerous, but, as we shall presently see, Khalifa 
 Abdullah's party, through their leader's immense energy, 
 gained the ascendency. Each Khalifa has numbers of 
 emirs under him, all of whom have their different flags. 
 These banners are quite simple and require no great 
 labour ; they are made of varied colours, and on each 
 the Moslem creed is written, with the addition of the 
 
16 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 words : " Mohammed Ahmed el Mahdi Khalifat er 
 Kasul " (i.e. " the successor of the Prophet "). This is 
 specially directed against the Sultan of Turkey, who 
 claims this title. Latterly flags were made to represent 
 certain stated numbers of men ; for instance, in the 
 early days of the revolt, Abderrahman en Nejumi was 
 designated Emir el Umara (or Emir-of Emirs), because 
 in the first instance he commanded from 2,000 to 4,000 
 men, and secondly, these men received a regular rate of 
 pay, which in reality found its way into the emirs' 
 pockets ; but latterly many of the emirs command 
 only fifty men, Each emir is assisted by several 
 mukuddums, or under officers, and each mukuddum also 
 has his assistant. 
 
 Thus did the Mahdi organise the force which was 
 to conquer the Sudan. He had absolutely no know- 
 ledge or system of drill, but he had men in abundance ; 
 and taking the proverb, " Nekhrib ed Dunia wa 
 nammir el Akher " (i.e. "We shall destroy this and 
 create the next world") as his motto, he thought not 
 of sparing the lives of his men, but rather urged that 
 by dying they should go direct to paradise. His plan, 
 therefore, was to attack in overwhelming numbers 
 with wild shouts, and to be regardless of all loss. Later 
 on, at Abu Kru in the Bayuda desert, they yelled so 
 furiously in the hope that they would alarm the English, 
 that their commander, Nur Angara, tried to make 
 them desist, by telling them that if they continued 
 shouting much longer, the English would laugh at them. 
 In spite, however, of his bold tactics, the Mahdi did not 
 hesitate to practise every possible deception and false- 
 hood — indeed, most of his early successes were secured 
 by these means. At the commencement of the revolt 
 the use of firearms was forbidden ; sticks and lances 
 formed the only arms, as it was the Mahdi's intention in 
 this instance also to follow directly in the footsteps of 
 the Prophet who had gained all his victories without 
 firearms. 
 
 The Mahdi, however, whilst thus preparing for war, 
 did not relax in any degree his religious fervour. His 
 
THE MAUD I MAKES NEW LAWS. 
 
 17 
 
 primary object was to be a religious reformer, and to 
 preach that to him was confided the task of bringing 
 back the religion now polluted by the Turks, to its 
 original parity. He therefore formulated many severe 
 orders. The use of alcoholic drinks, to which the 
 Sudanese are much addicted, was entirely forbidden, and 
 any infringement of this order was punished by sixty 
 blows with the kurbash. Smoking and chewing tobacco, 
 a custom much in vogue amongst the Sudanese, was 
 also strictly forbidden ; and the use of hashish, to which 
 the Turks and Egyptians were addicted, was entirely 
 prohibited ; disobedience to this order was punishable 
 by eighty lashes. Death often ensued before the 
 punishment could be completed, but the full number of 
 lashes was always given. If any one lived through his 
 punishment he was considered purified both externally 
 and internally. Any harmless word of abuse, such as 
 " kelb " (dog), was punishable with twenty-seven lashes. 
 This punishment went by the name of " Hakk-Allah " * 
 (the right of God), and was also inflicted in the time of 
 the Prophet, who, to make it a really mild punishment, 
 ordained that the upper part of the arms and shoulders 
 should be covered with camel's hide, and the punish- 
 ment inflicted on the lower arm only, the indication that 
 it had been correctly administered being shown by the 
 fact that the camel's hide had not moved from its place. 
 The Mahdiists, however, took quite another view of the 
 matter, and thought that the only correct way of ad- 
 ministering " God's right " was to draw blood copiously. 
 
 The Mahdi also issued many new orders regarding 
 marriages. Hitherto in the Sudan and in the East 
 generally,- the marriage ceremony is accompanied by 
 large feasts. It was the custom of the father on the 
 betrothal of his daughter to obtain in exchange as large 
 a sum of money as possible ; that is the reason why 
 fathers greatly preferred their children to be girls, for 
 they made quite a small fortune on their marriages, 
 
 * In law, the retributive chastisement which it is the duty of a 
 magistrate to inflict for crime and offences against morality and 
 religion. 
 
18 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAIIDFS CAMP. 
 
 But the Mahdi changed all this, and ordered that the 
 bridegroom should expend a sum of ten dollars only, 
 besides providing a korbab (girth) coverlet, perfumes 
 and ointment for the bride's hair, also another sort of 
 ointment which the Sudanese greatly appreciate, and 
 which is generally used for anointing the bridegroom's 
 body; also he must supply a pair of shoes. The cere- 
 monies of betrothal and marriage are very simple. 
 When the contract is completed and the above articles 
 delivered by the bridegroom, his friends and relations 
 assemble, generally on a Friday or Monday (these days 
 being considered lucky) ; after a good meal the flki 
 asks the bride or some one appointed to represent her, 
 whether she consents to the marriage, after which the 
 bridegroom repeats the usual saying, in which he men- 
 tions the Mahdi's name, the ceremony is thus concluded, 
 and is announced to the neighbours by the women of 
 the party uttering at intervals the shrill cries of joy 
 called " Zagharit." Young women are forbidden by the 
 Mahdi to walk about with uncovered faces ; an unveiled 
 woman is considered to be naked ; but if she wear a veil 
 and the rest of her body be unclothed, it is not an 
 offence. The wearing of gold and silver ornaments, and 
 of goat's hair curled and plastered with gum (a custom 
 which some of the Sudanese women affect), was strictly 
 forbidden, and woe to the woman who thus adorned 
 herself ; not only was her false hair forcibly torn from 
 her, but her real hair as well. 
 
 All these innovations the Mahdi justified by the 
 divinity of his mission. He announced that he was the 
 last of the prophets, and that the end of the world was 
 near ; further, he said that during his lifetime the 
 prophet Jesus would appear, and that the whole w T orld 
 would become Moslem ; he therefore urged the people 
 to repentance and prayer, and do all in their power to 
 further the Jehad (or holy war). Why should they 
 seek after riches when in a very short time the world 
 would cease to exist ? It is easy to see how such 
 teaching as this must eventually result in famine and 
 destruction. The Mahdi forbad all weeping and wailing 
 
OBSERVANCES DURING A J Ell AD. 
 
 V) 
 
 for the dead, on the grounds that to die in such times as 
 the present for the Mahdi's cause was an honour and 
 reward which would without fail secure paradise to 
 them. As for those who did not have the good fortune 
 to die, the Mahdi urged them to show their contempt 
 for the pleasures of this life by continual fasting, prayer, 
 and repentance. If a man were suffering from hunger, 
 he recommended him to tighten his belt, whilst his 
 more fanatical adherents advised placing a heavy stone 
 on the stomach. He further ordained that the poorest 
 of clothes should be w T orn, the feet bared or in sandals, 
 and, in imitation of the Prophet's example, the hard 
 floor should be chosen as the place on which to sleep. 
 He made curious regulations regarding the manufacture 
 of jibbehs (i.e. the Mahdi uniform coat) ; they should 
 be made of damur, a rough cotton fabric of the Sudan, 
 and if torn, they should be mended with new patches or 
 old rags, but that on no account should a new jibbeh 
 ever be worn. 
 
 All these innovations, which were based on religious 
 motives, were intended by him to enforce unity and 
 cohesion amongst his followers, and at the same time 
 they had the effect of hardening them to undergo 
 the perils of war without complaint ; for the Mahdi 
 thoroughly understood as long as men were rich they 
 would fear death, and that a luxurious and comfort- 
 able mode of life was the worst possible training for 
 war. The Mahdi always conducted prayers in public, 
 and his followers considered it a very great privilege to 
 be permitted to take part in worship with him ; con- 
 sequently, when he prayed, his followers came in their 
 thousands, and ranged themselves in long regular lines 
 behind him. When prayers were concluded, it was his 
 custom to make religious discourses, in which he ex- 
 plained various passages in the sacred books, arguing 
 that they referred to the divine message concerning his 
 mission, and the destruction of the Turks and un- 
 believers. The people whom he addressed were so 
 ignorant and uneducated that they believed implicitly 
 every word he uttered ; these were the guileless, simple 
 
 c 2 
 
20 TEN YEARS CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 folk, and they were entirely deceived by the Mahdi ; 
 but there were others who well knew that every word 
 he uttered was a falsehood ; nevertheless they listened, 
 and, to flatter him, showed an apparent interest in his 
 new doctrine. 
 
 Thus the Mahdi, having prepared himself, as we have 
 seen, and having already been three times victorious 
 over the Egyptian troops, now quitted his place of 
 refuge, Gedir, and set off for Kordofan, which he in- 
 tended to reduce to entire submission. In order to 
 cover his retreat in case of failure, he left his uncle, 
 Sherif Mahmud, with some troops at Gedir, where he 
 also left the guns, as transport at that time of the year 
 was very difficult, owing to the rain having flooded the 
 khors and valleys ; he also left behind the arms cap- 
 tured from the Turks. Hitherto he had not collected 
 any large amount of treasure, and had suffered consider- 
 able privations at Gedir. 
 
 When the Mahdi announced his departure from 
 Gedir, he wrote letters to the tribes, and soon they 
 flocked to his standards in great numbers and from all 
 directions ; Baggara from the plains of Dar Nuba, 
 Miserieh, Dar Abu Dali, and Hawazma Arabs. These 
 hordes assembled, according to the Mahdi's orders, at 
 Birket, and to this place also came the Bederieh, 
 Ghodiat, and Dar Homr Arabs, whilst on the further 
 side of El Obeid, cruel flki Minneh was gathering the 
 Gowameh, Asaker Abu Kalam and Dar Giumeh Arabs, 
 with whom he intended to assault El Obeid from the 
 north,- simultaneously with the Mahdi's attack from the 
 south. The rumours of the enormous quantities of 
 treasure stored in El Obeid misled the Arab hordes, and 
 there is no doubt that the town would not have fallen 
 had the inhabitants remained loyal to the Government. 
 Mohammed Said Pasha had dug a ditch and raised a 
 high parapet round the whole city ; but this line of 
 defence was so extensive, that it would have required at 
 least 20,000 men to hold it ; besides, the ditch was 
 neither sufficiently deep nor broad, and did not present 
 a very serious obstacle to cross. 
 
SAID PASHA'S OBSTINACY. 
 
 21 
 
 From Birket the Mahdi despatched three messengers 
 to Said Pasha, calling on him to surrender, and to 
 acknowledge him as Mahdi ; in case he refused he was 
 threatened with instant destruction. The three messen- 
 gers, clothed in their soiled and tattered jibbehs, were 
 brought before a meeting of all the principal people in 
 El Obeid ; but in spite of their dirty appearance, they 
 behaved in such an overbearing and insolent way, that 
 Said Pasha, regardless of the advice and counsel of a 
 number of those present who were in reality in league 
 with the Mahdi, at once ordered Skander Bey to hang 
 them. The order was carried out, and in a few 
 moments their lifeless bodies were dano-linsf on the 
 gallows. 
 
 If Said Pasha had taken strong measures in dealing: 
 with some of the principal townsmen, he might have 
 saved El Obeid. A certain Ahmed Dafallah, a loyal 
 supporter of the Government, urged him to put all the 
 suspected people including himself in chains in the 
 Mudirieh ; this would have disposed of Elias Pasha, 
 Mohammed Wad el Areik, Hajji Khaled, Ben en Naga, 
 and Siwar ed Dahab ; and their chiefs once away, it is 
 probable their followers would have returned to their 
 former loyalty ; but Said Pasha refused to accept the 
 proposal, and instead of trying to win over his sworn 
 enemy, Elias Pasha, he alienated him still further by 
 taking possession of his newly-built house near the 
 Mudirieh and handing it over to Elias's bitterest enemy, 
 Ahmed Dafallah, to live in, thus entirely disregarding 
 Elias Pasha. Now was Elias Pasha's opportunity to 
 revenge himself on his two adversaries, the garrison of 
 El Obeid was unusually weak, insignificant reinforce- 
 ments had been sent from Khartum under Mohammed 
 Pasha Khabir, but he also, being an enemy of the Mudir, 
 joined the Mahdi, as I shall narrate in the following 
 chapter. 
 
22 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FATHER OHRWALDER AND HIS COMPANIONS TAKEN 
 CAPTIVE. 
 
 The storm rises in Dar Nuba — The Baggara begin to raid — Khojur 
 Kakum of Delen — Mek Omar besieges Delen — The slave guard 
 deserts the Mission — The priests and nuns surrender — They are 
 sent to the Mahdi. 
 
 Leaving the Mahdi at Birket, I shall now return to the 
 narration of the events which befel us in Jebel Nuba. 
 
 As I have already said, the first indication of a revolt 
 occurred in our part of the country in April 1882. 
 When the Mahdi had established himself at Gedir, the 
 slave-hunters, whose occupation had been destroyed by 
 the action of the Goverment, and who were therefore 
 greatly incensed, were among the first to join his 
 banners. At that time the most notorious slave-dealer 
 was a certain Ismail Wad el Andok of Haboba, who took 
 the opportunity, when the Government was collecting 
 troops to attack the Mahdi, to assemble about 1,600 men 
 and make a slave raid on Golfan-Naima. He had already 
 burnt over a hundred houses and captured the inhabitants, 
 when' some of the poor Nubas who had escaped, arrived 
 by night at Delen and urgently begged the inspector 
 of slaves, Roversi, for help. This, Eoversi gladly pro- 
 mised he would give them, but it required all his 
 powers of persuasion to induce Captain Mohammed 
 Suleiman to consent ; and, indeed, there was no small 
 risk in advancing with only eighty men — which was all 
 Roversi could raise — to attack this powerful band of 
 robbers. However, we put our trust in God, and asked 
 His blessing 0 n our humane undertaking. Roversi left 
 that evening, guided by the terror-stricken Nubas. 
 
THE RAID ON GOLFAN-NAIMA. 
 
 23 
 
 Golfan-Namia is about ten hours' journey from Delen, 
 and Eoversi, by making a forced march during the 
 night, arrived there at daybreak, and was taken by the 
 Nubas to a high hill, from which he could see the 
 enemy's entire camp without being seen, and, indeed, 
 so close was he that he could hear the horses neighing 
 and the sheep bleating. After the men had taken a 
 short rest, they prepared for the assault. Soon after 
 daybreak, Koversi gave the signal for attack by a 
 trumpet call ; the enemy, taken completely by surprise, 
 thought only of flight, but the bullets coming from 
 every direction, gave them no time to think or look 
 from whence they came or how many were opposed to 
 them ; they fled as rapidly as they could, leaving 
 behind them all the people and cattle they had captured, 
 as well as a number of their own women. Koversi's 
 men were soon masters of the situation, and were 
 welcomed by the relieved Nubas with every expression 
 of joy and delight ; the other Nubas, who had tied to 
 the hills, now came down and cut off the retreat of the 
 Arabs. Eoversi captured a large quantity of loot, 
 received the warmest thanks from the captives he had 
 rescued, and soon after he released a number of the 
 women whom he had taken prisoners. The large 
 number of cattle and sheep captured from the Arabs in 
 this expedition proved invaluable during the investment 
 of Delen, which followed shortly afterwards. The little 
 force now returned laden with booty of every descrip- 
 tion, and was received by the inhabitants with every 
 manifestation of joy. This, however, was our last 
 victory. 
 
 I must now give a short description of Delen 
 before I proceed to narrate the events which occurred 
 there later on. Delen, situated five days' journey to 
 the south of El Obeid, is on one of the smallest of 
 the mountain ranges. Jebel Delen itself consists of 
 five hill summits, decreasing in height from south to 
 north, the highest point being scarcely 1,500 feet above 
 the plain. These five hills form a most picturesque 
 group ; enormous granite blocks lie piled one over the 
 
24 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 other, and the spacious cavities thus formed serve 
 as haunts for panthers and other beasts of prey. The 
 rain, which comes down in torrents, has washed all the 
 soil away, leaving only the barren rocks standing in 
 these huge piles ; far in the clefts, a sort of wild fig has 
 l iken slender root, and, gradually shooting up, gives a 
 pleasant shade, and takes off from the barren aspect 
 which these hills would otherwise present. Of the five 
 hills only two are inhabited, and in all there cannot be 
 more than 2,000 inhabitants, who are remarkable for 
 their tall and graceful figures and unusual bravery. At 
 the foot of the northernmost hill lay our little Mission 
 station, while at the foot of the south-east hill was 
 situated the palisaded zariba of the soldiers ; to the 
 west and north, and close to the Mission buildings, 
 stretched the Nuba villages, extending from the base to 
 the summit of the hills. 
 
 The second hill from the north, which is about 600 
 yards from the first hill, w r as inhabited by the Nubas 
 and their Khojur Kakum. Kakum was at that time a 
 man of about fifty years of age of commanding appear- 
 ance, and greatly respected by the blacks. He used to 
 wear wide white trousers and a gallabieh, and on his 
 head a nicely embroidered cap with a large tassel which 
 our sisters had made for him. He had passed his youth 
 in Alexandria as a soldier, and acquitted himself ad- 
 mirably as the Khojur, not of Delen only, but also of 
 the neighbouring hills. Numbers of people used to 
 come and seek his blessing and advice, and when our 
 Bishop Comboni arrived at El Obeid, he w T as there to 
 beg him to send missionaries to teach his people and 
 make men of them. He always remained faithful and 
 loyal to the Government, and when our time of diffi- 
 culty and hardship came, his continual motto w T as, " Eed 
 Effendina tawileh" (i.e. " Our Khedive's hand is long") 
 • — that is to say, his power is great. 
 
 The third mountain was occupied by a certain 
 Dogman, with a small following who were for the 
 most part inclined to Mahdiism. For the moment 
 this man was not dangerous, and the people on the two 
 
THE STORM BEGINS TO RISE AT DEL EN. 25 
 
 other hills remained loyal to us. When the whole 
 country was up in arms against the Government, this 
 honesty and devotion on the part of these poor Nubas 
 was a bright exception ; they would even have fought 
 for us had it been of any use and we had deemed it 
 necessary. 
 
 The enemies we most feared were the Baggara of the 
 Nuba plains, who had their headquarters at Singiokai, 
 about six hours north of Delen. These tribesmen had 
 joined in the revolt from the beginning, and had cut off 
 our communication with El Obeid ; they had organised 
 themselves into a corps of from 150 to 200 strong, 
 mounted on horses, and they frequently made incursions 
 on the people in the neighbourhood of Delen ; they 
 would suddenly appear galloping at full speed, and as 
 suddenly disappear, destroying or seizing everything 
 on their path. Their raids were principally directed 
 against the Nubas who were working in the fields, and 
 on their women who were carrying water from the 
 wells. These robber-dervishes appeared for the first 
 time on the 8th of April, 1882, and a cry of alarm was 
 raised from the mountains, which echoed and re-echoed 
 it back a hundred times. 
 
 Every one fled to the mountains, even the cattle 
 instinctively made for their shelters. Some Nubas 
 were attacked and killed in the woods, and twelve of 
 the soldiers, who were out looking after the camels 
 grazing, were all killed, with the exception of one who 
 fell severely wounded in the back ; all the camels were 
 captured. When the Baggara had disappeared, the 
 Nubas descended from the hills and came to the scene 
 of the raid. On finding the dead bodies, with weeping 
 and wailing they carried them back to the villages ; the 
 women tore their hair, rolled on the ground, and put 
 dust on their heads. The large broad lances had made 
 deep gaping wounds in the unfortunate soldiers who 
 had fallen. 
 
 That night, when all was still, the widows of these 
 poor men went to the top of a high rock and there 
 sang a solemn dirge for the dead, which made a 
 
26 TEN YEARS'' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 melancholy echo in the deep recesses of the hills. I 
 never heard a more touching lamentation for the dead. 
 It was as if all nature joined in sympathy with these 
 poor people, whose happy homes had been destroyed. I 
 was deeply affected, and the more so as I thought over 
 the cruel fate which now seemed to be hanging over our 
 heads. 
 
 Soon afterwards the Baggara appeared again, but this 
 time they were seen from a distance, and by a precon- 
 certed signal all fled to places of security, and the robbers 
 returned empty-handed. The Nubas now wanted to lie 
 in wait for the Baggara, and asked the captain com- 
 manding the company to assist them with twenty men. 
 This, however, he refused to do, so we gave them twenty 
 rifles from the Mission, and they then prepared an 
 ambush for the unsuspecting Arabs, who a few days 
 afterwards came riding along on their tired horses. 
 The Nubas waited till they came quite close, and then 
 suddenly opened fire ; fifteen of the enemy fell, and the 
 remainder galloped off at full speed ; eight horses and 
 some booty fell into the hands of the Nubas, who 
 returned in triumph to the village, and were welcomed 
 with great rejoicings. It was interesting to see them 
 as they marched slowly along, leading their captured 
 horses, while the maidens of the village danced in front 
 of them and sang songs in honour of the braves. 
 
 We had now a short period of tranquillity, but soon 
 afterwards the Baggara renewed their attacks, and we 
 were in a state of constant alarm. Our information 
 about the Mahdi was distorted and unreliable ; we had 
 practically no news from El Obeid, and we could only 
 arrive at the conclusion that the Government was 
 powerless, otherwise why should the Baggara attack us ? 
 
 One evening the captain told us that he had certain 
 information that we were to be massacred that night ; 
 he had heard that the Baggaras had made a compact 
 with the Khojur Kakum and the Nubas, and that our 
 destruction had been agreed upon. The alarm which 
 fell upon our little colony at this news can be readily 
 understood. 
 
FATHER BONOMI VISITS THE KIIOJUB BY NIGHT. 27 
 
 It was a very dark night, and in the distance we saw 
 a line of fires which we took to be the Baggara camp- 
 fires. As we all quite believed in the captain's informa- 
 tion, we prepared ourselves for defence ; but as we 
 thought over the situation we began to wonder how it 
 was that Kakum, who had hitherto been our sworn 
 friend, and united to us by the tie of blood-brother- 
 hood, should suddenly join with his bitterest enemies, 
 the Baggara, to compass our destruction ; then, if the 
 news were false, why should we spend a night of 
 anguish ? 
 
 After some deliberation, Father Bonomi decided to 
 ascertain the true state of affairs, and taking with him 
 two boys and a lantern, he set off to see the Khojur 
 himself. Full of anxious thoughts, we watched the 
 light as it moved on towards the gap in the hills ; at 
 length it reached the base, and then began slowly 
 ascending. An ominous silence pervaded the whole 
 place, which was unusual, for the Nubas love gossiping 
 till a late hour at night. Still we kept our eyes fixed 
 on the light, which eventually disappeared. How 
 anxiously we awaited its reappearance ! Should the 
 Khojur intend treachery, we knew we should not see 
 Bonomi again. How slowly the time passed ! But at 
 length the light reappeared, and began to descend the 
 hill. We breathed again; after all we should not lose 
 our Father Bonomi. 
 
 In a few minutes he was with us again, and with a 
 cheery laugh told us how the captain's information was 
 all wrong, and how angry the Khojur was that we should 
 ever have doubted him. I thereupon hastened to the 
 soldiers' quarters, to reassure the poor captain. Mo- 
 hammed Suleiman was really a good man, but he was 
 too old and unfitted for his position. Although it was 
 midnight, he and Roversi returned with me to the 
 Mission, and there he related how one of his female 
 slaves, who had a slight knowledge of the Nuba 
 language, had gone to the Khojur to grind some dhurra, 
 and had overheard him talking secretly with some of the 
 Nubas ; then some of them had got angry, and, standing 
 
28 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 up, beat the ground with their spears. This, the woman 
 concluded, must mean an oath that we should be des- 
 troyed. As for the rest of the story, it was entirely the 
 woman's invention. Everything was now explained, 
 and our fear gave way to cheerful conversation, which 
 we continued till dawn, when the ringing of the " ave " 
 bell awakened the echoes of the black mountains of 
 Delen. 
 
 At sunrise the Khojur arrived, accompanied by a 
 number of followers and many influential Nubas. Not 
 content with his declaration of fidelity made the 
 previous night, the good man had come down to give us 
 his solemn oath that, far from fighting against us, he 
 and his men were ready to fight and die for us. In a 
 grave speech, full of earnest fervour, he assured us of his 
 and of the Nubas' friendship. We, on the other hand, 
 felt certain of his loyalty, and we pledged the success 
 of our compact in a bottle of wine, which our good 
 friend the Khojur greatly enjoyed. 
 
 We lived in this state of uncertainty and fear for 
 upwards of five months, not knowing what the next 
 day would bring forth ; we were entirely cut off from 
 the rest of the world, and our peaceful work and occu- 
 pations were all disturbed. We now no longer dared to 
 expose ourselves on the plains, but confined ourselves to 
 the hills, where we sometimes hunted the koodoo. On 
 one occasion, when we went to the Dogman mountain, 
 our suspicions were aroused by the way in which the 
 people gathered round us, and showed a curious desire 
 to examine our arms. As we were returning, the 
 former sheikh of this district — a man named Isa — 
 warned us not to come to the mountain again, as some 
 of the men intended to kill us, and would have done so 
 had they not been afraid of our arms. Koversi's rifle 
 had a magazine for sixteen cartridges. 
 
 Early in September our position became very critical. 
 The Mahdi, having quitted Gedir, had advanced into 
 Kordofan ; his adherents gathered round him at Birket 
 from all directions, and from here he despatched a certain 
 Mek Omar with letters and a small band of followers to 
 
THE INTENDED FLTGIIT TO FA SHOD A. 
 
 29 
 
 take possession of Delen. Mek Omar arrived, and en- 
 camped on the hill with his friend Dogman, and planting 
 his standard, he beat his war-drum incessantly, day and 
 night. He then sent us a letter saying that the Mahdi 
 had captured El Obeid, and that all the inhabitants had 
 joined him, with the exception of Mohammed Said Pasha 
 and a few soldiers who still held out in the Mudirieh 
 buildings ; at the same time Omar urged us to submit, 
 as resistance was useless. The fact that Omar, with only 
 fifty men, possibly less, had the audacity to pitch his 
 camp under our very eyes, rather induced us to believe 
 in the truth of his assertions. Roversi, however, deter- 
 mined to attack him, but was dissuaded from doing so 
 by the captain. 
 
 We then held a council to consider what would be 
 the best course to follow. After much deliberation 
 (which is always the case in dealing with Arabs) it 
 was unanimously decided to attempt a flight to Fashoda. 
 The Nubas also, who offered us their services as guides, 
 advised us to take this course. It is very probable 
 we should have succeded in this attempt, as almost 
 all the Arabs who wanted to fight had followed the 
 Mahdi to El Obeid, in anticipation of the booty which 
 they thought would so soon be theirs. 
 
 The route to Fashoda lay far to the south of the 
 scene of present operations, and with the eighty 
 Remingtons of the soldiers, and our thirty good 
 rifles, we felt confident that we should be able to make 
 our way thither. It was therefore decided that we 
 should start off very quietly in the dead of night. 
 Every one made up a small bundle of the few things he 
 wished to take, which would be required on the journey, 
 either as presents or to buy or offer in exchange for 
 food. We also had a sufficient number of camels, 
 mules, and donkeys for the sisters and sick, and we 
 had made up into bundles all that we required ; we 
 gave the rest of our things to the Nubas, so that 
 nothing should fall into Mek Omar's hands. The 
 Nubas gave us every possible assistance, and through 
 the darkness we could see them moving about like 
 
30 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 ghosts amongst the black rocks, laden with every 
 imaginable thing. 
 
 At midnight we quitted the Mission and made our way 
 to the soldiers' zariba, hoping that we should find them 
 all ready to start ; but instead we found them all in 
 bed, the captain had given no orders to prepare, and 
 Roversi's influence was gone. We tried in various ways 
 to induce the captain to give orders, but he merely 
 answered that he was waiting till he received a reply 
 from Mek Omar, to whom he had written. Getting 
 impatient, he sent a trustworthy man to Omar, who 
 never returned. It was now nearly sunrise, and all our 
 efforts to move the captain were unavailing. Then the 
 Khedivial National Anthem, which was always blown 
 at reveille, was sounded, but was smothered by the 
 deafening rattle of the noggaras ; it was, as it were, a 
 mockery, showing that the light of civilisation was 
 about to be extinguished by the barbaric hordes of 
 Jebel Nuba. In the meantime the soldiers had got 
 ready of their own accord, and declared themselves 
 willing to undergo any fatigue, and, if needs be, die 
 for us ; but the fear and irresolution shown by their 
 captain unnerved them, and as the sun rose they 
 one by one left the camp and submitted to Mek Omar. 
 A very few only stayed w T ith Roversi ; and when the 
 captain quitted the zariba, these too went over to the 
 enemy. 
 
 Thus were we left quite alone — a party of some 200 
 persons, of w^hom the greater number were women and 
 children. Flight was now out of the question ; there was 
 nothing left for us but to return to our homes. We did 
 so ; but what a sight met our eyes ! The Nubas had 
 carried off everything. With heavy hearts we returned 
 to the rooms of the Mission ; here everything was 
 wrecked and ruined ; what the Nubas had thought of 
 no use to themselves they had smashed to pieces. 
 Roversi, who had always been most loyal and true to 
 us, now went to Mek Omar to arrange for his own 
 safety. When the first bitterness of feeling had passed 
 off, we discussed the next step to be taken ; there was 
 
THE MISSIONARIES SURRENDER. 
 
 31 
 
 absolutely nothing left in the station, and we had not a 
 mouthful of food left. 
 
 I then went, in company with Bonomi, to Mek 
 Omar. This former slave-dealer — a short, crippled, and 
 dirty old Takruri, who had been well known to us 
 a long time ago — received us in a friendly manner. He 
 had coffee brought to us, and related the great bravery 
 of the Mahdi, and then concluded with the following 
 words : " I know that you will not turn Mohammedans, 
 you must therefore understand that your property and 
 slaves are no longer your own ; at the same time I will 
 uive you a letter to the Mahdi regarding your 
 situation." Hard as these conditions were, we had no 
 alternative but to accept ; and when our conference was 
 over, our arms were taken from us, and all our blacks, 
 for whose welfare so many lives had been sacrificed and 
 such trouble expended, were suddenly lost to us at one 
 fell stroke. We then returned to the Mission, where we 
 spent the night alone and on our knees. 
 
 These events took place on the 14th of September, 
 1882. On the morning of the 15th of September we 
 rang for the last time the ave-bell for Heaven knows 
 how many years. At noon Mek Omar arrived with his 
 followers, and, chanting the Mohammedan creed, he 
 first entered the church, and there we had the agony 
 of beholding with our own eyes its destruction. Our 
 blacks were taken over by Omars troops, and attached 
 to the Government soldiers. Omar thought that he 
 would find some treasure, but here he was mistaken, for 
 we had hidden the little money we had to meet our 
 future wants ; and as we had been cut off from El 
 Obeid for seven months, we had consumed all our 
 reserve stores ; for the fourteen days previous to this 
 we had not even any salt to mix with our food. 
 
 We had to stay on at Delen for three long days, 
 awaiting Omar's pleasure to allow us to proceed. It was 
 pitiable to see the cruel and brutal w T ay in which our 
 poor blacks were treated by Omar's followers. Before 
 leaving we paid Khojur Kakum a visit ; the poor man 
 was rilled with pity for us, and more especially for the 
 
32 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MABDPS CAMP. 
 
 sisters ; he longed to stay with us, and, bitterly weep- 
 ing, bade us farewell. He also fully expected to meet a 
 tragic fate. We finally left our beloved Nuba hins on 
 the 18th of September, and after endless trouble suc- 
 ceeded in procuring from Mek Omar four animals on 
 which the sisters could ride. Father Bonomi, myself, 
 and two lay brothers took it in turns to walk and ride. 
 Our mounts consisted of a camel, a mule, and two 
 donkeys. Mek Omar placed us in charge of his son 
 Naser and a party of Arabs ; several of the Nubas ac- 
 companied us for some distance, and as we passed 
 Kakum's hill, we could see the poor man standing up 
 and stretching out his hands towards us as a last fare- 
 well. Many of our young blacks also followed us, but 
 were forced by their new masters to turn back. Our 
 departure caused us pangs of grief which pierced us to 
 the very core. 
 
 In the evening we reached a small hill called Kudru, at 
 the base of which there was a well, and here we encamped 
 for the night. Here also the Nubas came down from 
 the rocks to greet us. We left the next morning, and 
 our road now lay through the great grass plains. At 
 this season of the year, besides the rain, there is always 
 a very heavy dew which wetted us to the skin, besides 
 we often had to ford streams up to our necks, and 
 emerging with dripping clothes, to continue our march. 
 We knew that this was sure to bring on fever and 
 diarrhoea, and so, indeed, it proved, shortly after our 
 arrival at El Obeid. 
 
 At length we reached Singiokai, the head-quarters 
 of the Baggara, and we found numbers of nomad 
 Arabs living in tents. On our arrival, every one, old 
 and young, hastened to look at us, and gaze on the 
 hated captured Christians. This inquisitive and motley 
 crowd derided us and heaped insults upon us ; the ugly 
 old women, whom one could only compare with hyenas, 
 were perhaps the most bitter in their disgraceful taunts. 
 We stayed here one day, and then continued our 
 journey. Whenever we came to a village we were sub- 
 jected to the rudest treatment, and had we not been 
 
EN ROUTE TO THE MAUD I. 
 
 33 
 
 guarded by our escort, we must have inevitably been 
 kill^. We were constantly searched, in the hope that 
 money would be found on us. When we got near El 
 Obeid, Naser put us into a hut, where we were told to 
 remain until he should see the Mahdi, and ascertain 
 from him his instructions regarding us. We gathered 
 from what he said that he was going to find out 
 whether we should be killed where we were, or brought 
 first before the Mahdi. Thus Naser left us under strict 
 guard. 
 
 D 
 
34 TEN YEARS CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE MISSIONARIES AND THE MAHDI. 
 
 Description of El Obeid — Said Pasha's system of defence — The 
 Mahdi's followers encircle the town — Townspeople desert to the 
 Mahdi — Unsuccessful attack on Government buildings — Der- 
 vishes driven off with loss of 10,000 men — The missionaries 
 brought before the Mahdi — Threatened with death — Prepara- 
 tions for the execution — Pteprieved at the last moment — The 
 Mahdi's camp described — Death of some of the missionaries — 
 Illness of remainder. 
 
 During our stay in the hut we were told how the in- 
 habitants of El Obeid had joined the Mahdi, and that 
 only the garrison held out ; but I will here narrate what 
 had actually occurred. 
 
 We left the Mahdi last at Birket, while his three mes- 
 sengers had been hanged in El Obeid. He left Birket 
 on the 4th of September, and encamped at Kaba, a 
 place a few hours' journey from El Obeid. El Obeid is 
 situated in the midst of a vast plain, which in the hot 
 weather is just like a desert. Here and there a few 
 Adansonia trees, transported from Khartum, break the 
 monotony of this dreary scene which is bounded on the 
 south-east by the Kordofan mountains ; at a distance of 
 about five kilometres to the north rises the cone-shaped 
 hill known as Korbatsh, while to the north-west appears 
 the small Om Herezeh mountain. El Obeid lies in a 
 sort of hollow in the plain ; consequently during the 
 winter-time the wells become full of water, and serve as 
 a sufficient supply for the whole year. 
 
 Since the Egyptian occupation of the Sudan, El Obeid 
 had become a town of some importance, but the houses 
 were for the most part built of mud, with the exception 
 of the Government buildings, which were constructed 
 
DESCRIPTION OF EL OBEID. 
 
 35 
 
 of sun-dried bricks. The entrance to these build- 
 ings was through a lofty archway, over which a 
 second story had been raised, thus making it a most 
 conspicuous object, and one which could be seen 
 from a considerable distance. El Obeid, at the time 
 of which I speak, was an important and flourishing 
 city, with a population of about 100,000 souls. It was 
 noted principally for its gum, the best quality of which 
 was known by the name of Kordofan gum. The largest 
 quantities came from Tayara and Dar Homr, where the 
 gum trees were planted in large gardens regularly laid 
 out. Thousands of camels were engaged in the trans- 
 port of this valuable commodity to Shatt on the White 
 Nile, to Omdurman, and to Dongola. Ostrich feathers 
 also formed another important article of commerce. At 
 Dar Homr there are numbers of ostrich farms, the 
 animals being kept in large zaribas ; but as an article 
 of trade, the feathers of the wild ostriches are more 
 valuable than those of the domestic animal. Ostrich 
 feathers are always sold by weight. Other exports from 
 Kordofan are tamarinds, senna, and the skins of animals. 
 Iron is also found in Kordofan ; and one day, when we 
 were digging out a well at Delen, we came across quick- 
 silver. 
 
 El Obeid was also the supply depot for Darfur, 
 Shakka, and Dar Nuba, and thus became an important 
 trade centre. Numbers of rich merchants lived here, 
 such as Elias Pasha, Omberer, Hajji Mohammed Ben en 
 Naga, Ahmed Bey Dafallah (who owned thousands of 
 slaves), Mohammed Wad el Areik, Hajji Khaled, Ibrahim 
 wad Adlan, besides numbers of Copts and Egyptians. 
 Several of the principal mercantile houses in Cairo also 
 had their agents — Syrians, Greeks, and Jews — in El 
 Obeid. Kordofan was also rich in cattle. The Kaba- 
 bish, Dar Homr, Beni Jerrar, and Dar Hamed Arabs 
 possessed large numbers of she-camels. These animals 
 are always kept in the deserts, and are retained exclu- 
 sively for breeding purposes. Quantities of the young- 
 camels are killed, and their flesh, which is preferred to 
 any other kind of meat in the Sudan, is considered a 
 
 D 2 
 
36 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 great luxury, and is generally eaten uncooked. Corn is 
 largely grown in Kordofan, also sesame, which is pre- 
 ferred to that grown on the White Nile ; large white 
 water-melons are also grown in abundance. It may 
 therefore be understood why Kordofan was the richest 
 province in the Sudan and brought in the largest 
 revenue to Government. 
 
 The whole of this rich country was now in the hands 
 of the Mahdi, with the exception of El Obeid, which was 
 destined soon to be the scene of bloodshed and fanatical 
 warfare between people of the same race and religion. 
 The Arabs of various tribes, who in peace time had 
 brought their goods to El Obeid to barter and exchange, 
 were now clamouring for the destruction of the town 
 and the slaughter of its inmates. As I have already 
 related, Said Pasha had completely surrounded the 
 town by a ditch and parapet ; but as this would require 
 such an enormous number of men to defend it, and 
 knowing that he could place little reliance on the in- 
 habitants, he had strongly entrenched the Mudirieh and 
 Government buildings, and at the same time put into 
 a state of defence the barracks, officers and officials' 
 houses, and those of the Greek and Syrian merchants, 
 The members of our Mission station left their house and 
 pretty church, and hired rooms within the fortifications ; 
 the loyal citizens and merchants followed their example, 
 while the remainder of the inhabitants continued to live 
 in the town, and conspired with the Mahdi. On the 7th 
 of December, that is to say, the day on which the Mahdi 
 arrived at Kaba, the whole of these inhabitants quitted 
 the town and joined him in his camp. The wealthy 
 merchants had for long been in communication with the 
 Mahdi, others joined him because they were worked up 
 to a pitch of wild fanaticism ; some feared to disobey 
 the summons, for they could see how weak were the 
 Government troops and how successful the Mahdi had 
 been. Amongst the deserters to the Mahdi's side were 
 Mohammed Khabir Pasha of Darfur, and a number of 
 irregular troops who had been despatched from Khartum 
 as reinforcements for El Obeid. 
 
THE MAHDI ATTACKS EL QBE ID. 
 
 37 
 
 Thus by various means the Mahdi's force now num- 
 bered upwards of 30,000 fighting men, and with such 
 an army as that it seemed to him a very easy matter 
 to subdue Said Pasha and his meagre garrison. The 
 Mahdi further incited his people to fight by assuring 
 them that the gates of paradise were open to all those 
 martyrs who should fall, and that each of them should 
 be attended by forty lovely houris when they entered 
 its portals. He also roused their feelings of cupidity by 
 representing, in the most exaggerated terms, the value 
 of the treasure locked up within the Mudirieh, and told 
 them that victory was assured, for God and his Prophet 
 had decreed that they should annihilate their enemies 
 with simple sticks ; this he said because he knew that 
 only a few of his followers had firearms. Having thus 
 raised them to a pitch of the wildest excitement, he 
 advanced from Kaba. 
 
 In the meantime the Mudir, seeing that he could not 
 rely on the inhabitants, did all in his power to improve 
 the fortifications, and awaited the assault of the enemy. 
 At daybreak the hordes appeared on the rising ground 
 near El Obeid ; the defenders heard only the dull roar 
 caused by the mass of voices in the distance, but the 
 clouds of dust prevented them seeing anything ; it was 
 only when the fitful gusts of wind blew away the dust 
 that the thousands of horsemen could be seen galloping 
 wildly about and then disappearing again behind the 
 dust. But the noise like approaching thunder became 
 every instant more audible, and soon above the clouds 
 of sand the myriads of flags and banners became visible. 
 Fiki Minnek, with about 10,000 men, approached from 
 the east, whilst the Mahdi's attack was directed on the 
 south-west end of the town. The first ditch was soon 
 crossed, and then the Mahdii-sts spread out and com- 
 pletely encircled the town ; masses of wild fanatics 
 rolled like waves through the deserted streets ; they did 
 not advance through these alone, but hurrying on from 
 house to house, wall to wall, and yard to yard, they 
 reached the ditch of the Mudirieh, and like a torrent 
 suddenly let loose, regardless of every obstacle, with 
 
38 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY JN TEE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 wild shouts they dashed across it and up the ramparts, 
 from which the din of a thousand rifles and the booming 
 of the guns suddenly burst forth ; but these wild hordes, 
 utterly fearless of death, cared neither for the deadly 
 Remington nor the thunder of the guns, and still sw T ept 
 forward in ever-increasing numbers. 
 
 The poor garrison, utterly powerless to resist such an 
 assault, ran to the tops of the houses and kept up an in- 
 cessant fire on the masses, which now formed such a crowd 
 that they could scarcely move — indeed the barrels of 
 the rifles from the rapidity of the fire became almost-red- 
 hot ; and soon the streets and open Spaces became literally 
 choked with the bodies of those who had fallen. There was 
 a momentarypause, and Ali Bey Sherif, seizing this oppor- 
 tunity, collected a party of men and dashed towards 
 the magazine, where a fierce conflict was going on between 
 the guard and the Dervishes. The latter had already 
 become masters of the situation when Ali Bey suddenly 
 appeared on the scene, and firing on the mass, whether 
 friend or foe, he drove the Mahdiists back over the 
 ditch, and then formed up in the breach ready to repel 
 any further attempt to break in. 
 
 Meanwhile Said Pasha was heavily engaged in front 
 of the Mudirieh. Here an emir named Wad Gubara 
 broke in, and shouting, " Death to the Turks, those 
 dogs and swine ! " he dashed forward at the head of 
 his men, but the determined resistance of the Mudir 
 forced them to retire back across the ditch. Ahmed 
 Dufallah defended that part of the line wdiich was 
 assaulted by Ibrahim Wad Abdullah, an emir who had 
 gained great celebrity amongst the Dervishes. This 
 brave Arab attacked again and again, hoping that the 
 bodies of those who fell would soon fill up the ditch and 
 make a passage which he could cross, but his attempt 
 failed, and he too was forced to retire. 
 
 The Mahdi all this time was watching at a safe distance, 
 and kept on ordering the assault to continue ; but it was 
 impossible to stand up against the well-directed fire from 
 the defences, and consequently towards the afternoon he 
 was forced to retire. The gallant little garrison seeing 
 
THE MAHDI LOSES 10,000 MEN. 
 
 39 
 
 this, could not be restrained, and dashing out over the 
 heaps of slain they made a fierce onslaught on the houses 
 in the town, which were filled with Dervishes in search of 
 loot. In their fury they killed all who came in their 
 way, and perhaps they may be excused, for they were 
 in a state of the wildest excitement, occasioned by this 
 fearful scene of bloodshed. 
 
 It was impossible not to admire the reckless bravery 
 of these fanatics who, dancing and shouting, rushed up 
 to the very muzzles of the rifles with nothing but 
 a knotty stick in their hands, only to fall dead one 
 over the other. Numbers of them carried large 
 bundles of dhurra stalk, which they threw into the 
 ditch, hoping to fill it up and then cross over. When 
 the town was cleared, the victorious troops had a 
 great feast and general rejoicing. Amongst the dead 
 bodies of the Dervishes were found a near relative of 
 the Mahdi's named Said Mohammed, also Wad Gubara ; 
 the latter was a Turk who, with his two brothers, had 
 joined the Mahdi at Gedir ; he was one of the fiercest 
 of the emirs. He had fought with the greatest per- 
 tinacity in front of the Mudirieh, and, mounted on a 
 horse, he was urging on his followers ; but the soldiers, 
 noticing his fair face, persistently aimed at him, and at 
 length he and his horse fell on the top of a heap of dead 
 bodies. When the soldiers subsequently found his 
 body, they were so annoyed that a Turk should have 
 joined the Mahdi that they cut off his head and hacked 
 his body to pieces. 
 
 Whilst the soldiers were clearing out the enemy 
 from the houses, the Mahdi was retiring on Kaba with 
 a loss of 10,000 men. Said Pasha then held a 
 council to consider whether they should pursue ; but 
 he himself was against pursuit, for he thought that 
 possibly Fiki Minneh might then fall on the defenceless 
 town ; besides, in all he had not more than 3,000 men. 
 As for the Mahdi, he and his principal emirs were greatly 
 alarmed, and it is very probable that if they had been 
 pursued, the result would have been a complete victory 
 for Said Pasha. As it was, the Mahdi was on the point 
 
40 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP, 
 
 of retreat in*; to the mountains, and would have done 
 so had not the inhabitants of El Obeid, who still 
 thought of their houses and property, dissuaded him. 
 The latter still urged him to continue the siege, 
 consequently on the following day he took up a 
 position on a hill called Gianzara, about two kilometres 
 distant to the north-west of the town, and only one 
 kilometre distant from the Oshra Well (so called from 
 the oshra or euphorbia which grows in quantities in 
 the vicinity). Fiki Minneh established himself to the 
 north-west of the town, and soon it was more closely 
 invested than ever ; from that date nothing came in 
 and nothing went out of the doomed city. 
 
 We had spent one day in the hut, and had learnt all 
 the details about the Mahdi's attack on the town, wdien 
 a messenger sent by Naser arrived, and ordered us to 
 move on to the Mahdi's camp, as it was his gracious 
 intention to permit us to look upon his face. Shortly 
 after we had set out, we met Naser returning, accom- 
 panied by a party of Dervishes. 
 
 As we approached El Obeid, the rattle of the rifles, 
 broken every now and then by the boom of a gun, became 
 more and more audible. We were halted under a lar^e 
 Adansonia tree and ordered to rest, but we had scarcely 
 laid down when we were suddenly attacked by Naser and 
 his party, who seized our watches and other valuables, 
 and then stripped off our clothes ; they even attempted 
 to remove the veils and outer garments of the sisters, but 
 to this we forcibly objected, and seizing sticks tried to 
 drrve them off. At length these wretched thieves, 
 ashamed of the unequal contest, drew off, and Naser 
 ordered our clothes to be returned ; but my suit, in 
 which I had stitched thirty dollars, was not given back 
 to me, and I was reduced to appearing before the Mahdi 
 in a shirt and drawers ! Our escort having satisfied 
 their cupidity, now mounted our donkeys, and we were 
 obliged to walk ; the burning sun beat down on our 
 heads, and the heated ground and heavy sand made our 
 progress intensely laborious. 
 
 As we approached the camp, at every step the crowd 
 
THE MAIWFS CAMP AT KABA. 
 
 41 
 
 grew denser. El Obeid was now visible a short way off, 
 and the sight of the houses and trees was a pleasant 
 break in the monotony of this desolate wilderness. The 
 continuous rattle of the bullets, interrupted by the 
 thunder of the cannon, was an indication that a brisk 
 engagement was going on. As we entered the camp, the 
 crowd was so enormous that we were almost choked with 
 the dust that was raised, and soon became thoroughly 
 exhausted. Our brother Mariani, who was sick at the 
 time we left Delen, could keep up no longer, and we 
 were obliged to almost carry him along. 
 
 The fanatics now completely surrounded us, and kept 
 on threatening us with their lances, clubs, and sticks. 
 Naser himself, seeing some of the very excited Dervishes 
 pointing their lances at our breasts, greatly feared for our 
 safety, and it seemed to us that there was now not the 
 slightest doubt that they intended to kill us. He there- 
 fore ordered our escort to draw their swords and form a 
 square, in the centre of which we walked. The exertions 
 of the last few days, the heat, the yelling of the crowd, 
 the monotonous chants of the Dervishes, and finally 
 the din of this enormous camp of over 100,000 men, 
 exclusive of women and children, reacted on us to such 
 an extent that we were well-nigh speechless. Slowly 
 we made our way towards the centre of the camp where 
 the great Dervish, Mohammed Ahmed, had pitched 
 his tent. 
 
 We were taken, in the first instance, to the hut of the 
 Khalifa Sherif. Here we found a lad of twelve or 
 thirteen years of age, lying half-naked on a bedstead, 
 who invited us to come into the shade and rest our- 
 selves, at the same time he drove off with his whip the 
 inquisitive crowd that kept pressing in to look at us. 
 He gave us some water to drink, but we were so utterly 
 weary and exhausted that we could not swallow it for 
 some time, and the heat and dust had literally glued 
 our tongues, so that we were unable to articulate. We 
 were allowed to rest for a short time, as the Mahdi had 
 not risen from his noonday sleep, and this brief 
 respite enabled us to collect our thoughts, which the 
 
42 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 events of the last few days and the uproar of the camp 
 had caused to wander sadly. 
 
 At length an order came that the Madhi was up and 
 wished to see us. AVe were then taken to a small hut, 
 which had two sides open, through which a cool breeze 
 blew in ; close to the hut one of the tents captured from 
 Yusef Pasha Shellali had been pitched, and as we arrived 
 the Mahdi came out of the tent and seated himself, in 
 Arabic fashion, on a straw mat spread on the floor of the 
 hut. He greeted us kindly, and asked us about our 
 nationality and our object in coming to the Sudan, 
 also whether we had ever heard anything about the 
 Mahdi, he then briefly explained to us the nature of his 
 divine message, and recounted his great victories over 
 " the enemies of God and His Prophet," by which name 
 he designated the Turks. 
 
 Seeing that we were utterly exhausted, he offered 
 us some kamar-ed-din (dried apricots) mixed with 
 water, but almost before we could put it to our 
 mouths it was full of flies. In the meantime a certain 
 George Stambuli, who had joined the rebels with the 
 other inhabitants of El Obeid, came in, and through him 
 the Mahdi endeavoured to place before us the great 
 advantage of the Islam religion. The Mahdi himself 
 never asked us to adopt the Moslem faith, because he 
 feared that we should answer in the negative. He then 
 stretched himself out on the mat as if he were pre- 
 paring to behold a vision. 
 
 Mohammed Ahmed was a powerfully built man, of 
 dark-brown complexion and carefully kept skin ; he 
 had a pleasant smile, which showed to advantage 
 the curious slit between his front teeth. By constant 
 training he had acquired a gentle manner in speaking, 
 and with these exceptions there was nothing unusual in 
 his appearance. He wore a dirty jibbeh, on which parti- 
 coloured strips of cotton had been sewn ; on his head 
 the white skull cap or " takia," round which a broad 
 white turban was bound ; he also wore a pair of loose 
 drawers and sandals. 
 
 After he had lain for some time with closed eyes, he 
 
THE MISSIONARIES INTERVIEWED BY THE MAUD I. 43 
 
 rose and offered us some more kamar-ed-din, from which 
 he himself began to take out the flies ; but finding it 
 absolutely useless to do so, he gave it up, and then went 
 back to his tent, probably to hold a council. After a 
 short time he again returned, wearing a clean jibbeh 
 patched with pieces of the vestments belonging to our 
 Mission church at El Obeid. He then began to recount 
 to us the history of the numerous conversions which had 
 taken place in the early days of the Prophet. Seeing 
 that we took little interest in what he said, he got up 
 and ordered us to be taken before the Khalifa Abdullah 
 (the present ruler of the Sudan), while he himself retired 
 to his own tent. 
 
 On our arrival at Abdullah's hut, we found our- 
 selves in company with twenty robbers who were 
 chained hand and foot. An enormous crowd stood 
 round, and amongst the faces I noticed some of our 
 Delen friends, who had evidently followed us to see 
 what the end would be. Our guard, armed with 
 Remington rifles, stood around us, and close to us was 
 the Khalifa Abdullah's horse, which always remained 
 saddled — a witness to his unbounded energy. A short 
 distance off, about eighty flags were planted in the 
 ground, and beside them were the war-drums. Hardly 
 had we seated ourselves when the Khalifa Abdullah 
 entered. He was at that time a man of about thirty- 
 three years of age, of middle height, very thin — in fact, 
 little else but skin and bone ; he greeted us kindly, and 
 invited us to become Moslems. From his bombastic 
 conversation, we soon saw that he was a man of no 
 education whatever, and he ended up by saying that if 
 we refused to obey we had only death to expect. We 
 were then marched off. 
 
 On the evening of the 27th of September, when George 
 Stambuli came to tell us that if we did not embrace 
 Islam, we should most certainly die, we gave him no 
 hope that we should change our minds. The Mahdi 
 frequently sent people to teach us the truths of religion, 
 hi it we soon tired of their nonsensical chattering, and 
 Father Bonomi used to send them away with strong 
 
44 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP, 
 
 words. Shortly afterwards Abdullah came again, 
 bringing a water-melon with him, and in default of 
 a knife he broke it on the ground ; but we refused to 
 take any. Greatly annoyed at this, he went off in a 
 rage, saying that we should be beheaded the following 
 morning. 
 
 At midnight Stambuli came to us again, to say that 
 lie had offered a considerable sum for our ransom, 
 but that the Mahdi had refused to accept it. We 
 therefore gave him the few dollars we had left, and 
 asked him to come and see us the following morning, 
 which he promised to do. We employed our few 
 remaining hours in preparation for death. The terrors 
 and alarms which we had undergone for the last five 
 months were over at last ; in the midst of our sufferings 
 the thought of death, which should soon take us out of 
 the hands of these barbarians, was a comfort to us. A 
 deep quiet had now settled down over the camp, which 
 was only occasionally broken by the clank of the 
 prisoners' chains. 
 
 Just before dawn a wonderful comet appeared in the 
 east ; its golden tail seemed to project about ten feet 
 into the blue firmament, and was a most striking sight. 
 It brought back to our minds the star in the east which 
 stood over the manger at Bethlehem. The Arabs called 
 it " Nigmet el Mahdi " (the Mahdi's star). 
 
 According to Sudan superstition, the appearance of a 
 comet is supposed to forebode evil, and, indeed, what 
 catastrophe could have been greater than that which was 
 now impending over the Sudan ? The sudden clang of 
 the war-drum startled me from the meditations which the 
 appearance of that strange comet had produced. The 
 beating of the drums and the blast of the great ivory 
 horn (onbeia) was the signal for the " Ardeh-Kebir," or 
 grand review, and I now had to bethink me of my own 
 affairs and let the star pursue its way in the heavens. 
 
 The emirs' war-drums now took up the signal, and 
 soon people were rushing from all directions towards their 
 particular flags, which were planted to the east of El 
 Obeid. Stambuli again appeared and announced to us 
 
THE MISSIONARIES BROUGHT OUT FOR EXECUTION. 45 
 
 that our sufferings were nearly over. We gave him a 
 small piece of paper on which we had written our last 
 farewells to our own loved ones at home, and had signed 
 our names. This we begged him to send on when an 
 opportunity occurred. Weeping bitterly, he took the 
 paper and went to his hut, saying he could not bear to 
 look on at our execution. 
 
 We were now all ready, and at about nine o'clock a 
 party of thirty men armed with lances arrived and 
 ordered us to follow them. We were still suffering from 
 fatigue, but we got up and followed. After about half 
 an hour's walk we arrived before the Dervish hosts, and 
 thanked God that victory was now so near. About 
 40,000 men were standing on parade, and thousands of 
 others were moving about the camp like ants. We were 
 taken to a central position and ordered to bend our 
 necks to receive the death-blow, and without the smallest 
 hesitation we did so. But our hour had not yet come. 
 We were summoned before the Mahdi, who was riding on 
 a magnificent white camel ; behind him rode a slave 
 carrying an umbrella to shade him from the sun's 
 rays. As we approached, he turned round to us and 
 said," May God lead you into the way of truth," and 
 then rode on. 
 
 The troops were now dismissed, and we were im- 
 mediately surrounded by a turbulent crowd, who 
 threatened to crush us to death ; but the Mahdi, seeing 
 us in danger, turned back, and ordered us to walk in 
 front of his camel for protection. We did so, but were 
 too weary to keep up, and then the Mahdi gave orders, 
 which we could not understand, to a number of dif- 
 ferent emirs ; the latter ordered us to halt until the 
 great rush of people had passed, then they formed a 
 square and asked each one of us separately whether we 
 agreed to become Moslems or would prefer to suffer 
 death. Each one of us answered resolutely — death ! 
 Then, full of anger, we were forced on — exhausted and 
 covered from head to foot with dust — till we reached 
 the Mahdi's hut. Having arrived there he said, " Have 
 you not seen my army ? " and then he began to boast of 
 
46 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TUE MABBVB CAMP. 
 
 the number of his followers and their great bravery. 
 We said nothing. He then went off, and we were taken 
 back to Khalifa Abdullah's hut, 
 
 A council was now held to consider our fate ; the 
 majority were for killing us, but a certain Hajji Khaled 
 — now an emir in Omdurman — pointed out that, 
 according to the Moslem law, it was not lawful to kill 
 priests who had not offered any armed resistance, 
 and who were, moreover, captives. His view of 
 the case was accepted, and we were handed over to 
 George Stambuli, who was made responsible for us. 
 We then left Abdullah's hut, and proceeded to Stam- 
 buli's, which was barely large enough for himself and 
 his family, so we were obliged to take up our quarters 
 outside in the open, where we remained for fifteen days, 
 exposed to the continual insults of the Arabs, until we 
 were able to build a hut for ourselves. We were now 
 able to take a survey of this gigantic camp. From the 
 sandhill Gianzara almost up to the base of the Om 
 Herezeh mountain, was one mass of small huts, these 
 were merely enclosures made of branches of euphorbia 
 and (sorghum) dhurra stalks, just sufficient to keep 
 off the burning rays of the sun. Here and there a 
 white tent indicated the headquarters of some impor- 
 tant emir. Fiki Minneh's camp adjoined that of 
 Gianzara, and extended from Fulla (a small pond which 
 runs dry in the summer months), up to the base of Om 
 Herezeh. The huts were built so close to each other 
 that constant fires took place, which spread rapidly, and 
 caused great destruction. 
 
 This enormous camp presented a wonderful spectacle, 
 more especially at night, when almost every one had his 
 own cooking fire, and the whole plain resembled a sea of 
 fires which were lost in the distant horizon. The din 
 and noise created by hundreds of thousands of men, 
 women, and children, can be better imagined than 
 described. Every emir's* dwelling was known by two 
 
 * The title " Emir " really means " Prince," and is far too high 
 a title to give to these wretched chiefs ; but as it is the Sudan custom, 
 I must retain it. — J. 0. 
 
LIFE IN THE DERVISH CAMP. 
 
 47 
 
 flags which were always planted near the entrance, and 
 beside them lay the war-drums, which were beaten day 
 and night, almost without intermission. Besides all 
 this, the neighing of thousands of horses rendered the 
 din still more unbearable. The whole air was infected 
 with the most sickening stench ; but to these wretched 
 people, pure or impure air makes no difference ; they do 
 not mind. All the filth was piled behind the huts, 
 dead donkeys lay about unburied ; no attempt was 
 made to keep the place clean, and all this huge mass of 
 people lived in the midst of an ever -increasing heap of 
 rotting impurities. A daily market was held, and the 
 people laid their goods on the ground, sheltering them- 
 selves under a strip of cloth, known as " Farda," 
 stretched on the points of lances, the bases of which were 
 stuck in the ground. El Obeid was close by, the great 
 arched gate of the Mudirieh towered above the other 
 houses of the town, and over it floated the red Egyptian 
 flag, which was hoisted every Friday. Some of the Der- 
 vishes used to conceal themselves in the deserted houses 
 of the town and fire at the fort, while others pulled down 
 the roofs and walls and dragged away the beams to the 
 camp, and there cut them up for firewood. Our church, 
 which was covered with galvanised iron plates, was 
 completely destroyed ; even the mosque was not 
 spared. There was a busy scene day and night at 
 the Oshra well ; here thousands of male and female 
 slaves drew water, and frequent quarrels and fights 
 took place. 
 
 All this change of scene made a deep impression on 
 me ; the strain of the last few days, the tiring journey 
 from Delen to El Obeid, the continual uncertainty as to 
 our fate, anguish, fear, din, tumult, bad food, had already 
 considerably affected our health, and now that we were 
 at rest, and that the Arabs had ceased to molest us, the 
 re-action came, and we fell a prey to disease. The 
 ir-fected atmosphere of El Buka — as the Mahdi's camp 
 is always called — brought on a burning fever and 
 constant diarrhoea. Besides all this, when confined with 
 the robbers in Abdullah's house, we had become covered 
 
48 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 with horrible vermin ; it was impossible to get rid of them 
 — they seemed to increase daily. We had no clothes to 
 change, and as we had scarcely enough water to drink, 
 washing was out of the question. With a feeling of 
 utter despair we lay helpless and comfortless on the 
 floor of that miserable black hut. Our maladies became 
 worse, and ere a month had passed, three of our number 
 were dead. Sister Eulalia Pesavento, of Verona, died of 
 fever on the 28th of October ; carpenter Gabriel Mariani 
 died of dysentery on the 31st of the same month, and 
 sister Amelia Andreis died on the 7th of November, 
 while we four who still remained, hovering between life 
 and death, lay helplessly side by side with our dead 
 brothers and sisters. It was a terrible exertion to us 
 to sew the corpses in mats and drag them to the door 
 of the hut. At length some slaves — much against their 
 will, and on the promise of good pay — removed the 
 already decaying bodies, and buried them in shallow 
 pits, which they covered up with sand. No one lent 
 a hand to bury these " Christian dogs," as we were 
 called. It was a terrible grief to us not to accom- 
 pany our poor companions in adversity to the grave, 
 but we were all too ill to move, and so they were 
 carried away to their last resting-place without prayer 
 or chant ; and even to this day I cannot tell if the 
 slaves really buried them, or merely dragged the 
 bodies beyond the huts, and left them lying there on 
 the ground. 
 
 The condition of us miserable wretches who were still 
 alive is beyond description ; we envied our companions, 
 who were now beyond the reach of human suffering ; 
 but our hour had not yet come. Towards the end of 
 November we were somewhat recovered, but our lives 
 seemed to have been spared only to behold more 
 terrible sights and sufferings than we had previously 
 undergone. 
 
 Meanwhile, more of our companions in adversity had 
 arrived from Dar Nuba. Shortly after we had been 
 made over to Stambuli, Koversi came, and was inter- 
 viewed by the Mahdi, who received him well, and 
 
THE SAD FATE OF ROVER SI. 
 
 49 
 
 presented him with a horse. Roversi recounted to us 
 the story of his misfortunes ; during his journey from 
 Delen to El Obeid he was frequently in danger of 
 losing his life ; the Baggaras, mindful of their defeat at 
 his hands, thirsted for vengeance. Roversi owed his 
 life to his magazine rifle. He used to visit us daily and 
 tell us of the various plots of which we were the in- 
 tended victims. He told us how the Arabs had deter- 
 mined to take the sisters, and that they intended to 
 distribute us amongst the various emirs. This news 
 terrified the sisters, and there is little doubt that the 
 bare thought of it hastened the deaths of the two 
 who were so ill. Roversi further informed us that a 
 quarrel had occurred between Mek Omar and the 
 Nubas regarding the distribution of the loot taken 
 from our Delen Mission ; a conflict had taken place, 
 in which Mek Omar had lost a number of his men, 
 and had been obliged to retreat from Delen to 
 Singiokai. 
 
 After Roversi 's arrival the Mahdi wrote to Said 
 Pasha again, summoning him to surrender ; Roversi 
 also, by the Mahdi's order, was forced to write to the 
 Mudir, telling him that resistance was useless, as it was 
 out of the question to hope for reinforcements from 
 Khartum. Towards the end of October Roversi fell ill 
 with dysentery, caused by the infected and foul atmo- 
 sphere of the camp ; the last time he came to see us he 
 was very weak ; then we heard that the Mahdi had 
 suddenly ordered him to Kashgil for change of air, and 
 a few days later we heard that he was dead. Some 
 said he had been killed, others said that he had been 
 poisoned by Ismail Wad el Andok, in revenge for his 
 defeat at Golfan-Naima. Roversi's maid-servant, Aisha 
 — a black girl brought up in Constantinople — and 
 his man-servant, Hajji Selim, reported that they had 
 found his shoes in the forest, and his dead body in a 
 hut. The unfortunate young Roversi was barely thirty 
 years of age, a Protestant by religion, and a man for 
 whom we all cherished a great affection. The date of 
 his death was probably the 3rd of November, 1882. A 
 
 E 
 
50 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 few days after this date Mek Omar and his men arrived 
 in the camp, bringing our Delen blacks with them. The 
 latter at once came to see us, and soon afterwards all of 
 them — both boys and girls — were sold as slaves, whilst 
 the more grown-up youths were drafted into the 
 Mahdi's army. Two of the girls, one an Abyssinian 
 and the other a black, became concubines of the Mahdi. 
 A cruel fate soon overtook Mek Omar : it was reported 
 that he had concealed some of the captured booty, and 
 he was at once put in chains by the Mahdi's order. 
 Shortly afterwards he sent for us, and Bonomi and I 
 paid him a visit. We found him shackled with two 
 chains on his feet, and a chain about fifteen feet long 
 round his neck ; the poor man was completely bowed 
 down with the weight of these chains, and begged us 
 most humbly to intercede for him, as he told us it was 
 the Mahdi's intention to have him beheaded. The 
 condition of this unfortunate individual so touched us, 
 that Bonomi went to the Mahdi and represented that it 
 was really the Nubas who had stolen the booty, and so 
 Mek Omar was released. 
 
 As we slowly began to recover from our illness, the 
 thought of release w r as constantly in our minds. We 
 applied to the powerful Elias Pasha, whom w^e had 
 known very well in El Obeid. This blind old pasha 
 received us kindly, but said that Abdel Kader Pasha in 
 Khartum, w T as furious with him for having joined the 
 rebels ; he therefore said that our best course was to 
 apply daily to the Mahdi, who in time might perhaps 
 be moved to grant our release. We followed his advice, 
 but it was no easy matter to make our way through the 
 crowd of fanatics who surrounded his hut day and 
 night, all struggling to get a sight of his face which, it 
 was said, shed rays of light. Pushed about, shoved in 
 every direction, and insulted, we might perhaps succeed 
 in reaching the doorway ; but here we were stopped 
 by the guards, and it was almost impossible to pass 
 them. How T ever, after superhuman efforts, we succeeded 
 twice in interviewing the Mahdi. He listened kindly 
 to our entreaty, and then said, " At present the roads 
 
M AUDI'S PROMISE TO RELEASE THE MISSIONARIES 51 
 
 are dangerous, and I wish no harm to come upon 
 you ; when El Obeid has surrendered, we will permit 
 you to go to your own country." He advised us to 
 wear kuftans (the Arab outer garment), for hitherto 
 we wore merely a shirt and drawers, as he said that, 
 dressed in this way, we should escape the inquisitive 
 glances of the multitude and we took his good 
 advice. 
 
 K 2 
 
52 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SIEGE OF EL OBEID. 
 
 Terrible sufferings of the besieged — The Kababish — Fall of Bara — 
 Fall of El Obeid — The Mahdi enters the town — Fate of the 
 El Obeid Mission — Cold-blooded murder of the brave defenders 
 — The Dervishes live a life of ease in El Obeid — The Mahdi 
 makes laws — He sends out proclamations — Prestige increased 
 by capture of town — News from Khartum — Bonomi and 
 Ohrwalder summoned before the Mahdi — The interview. 
 
 The garrison in El Obeid now bep;an to suffer from the 
 effects of this close siege and blockade. The necessaries 
 of life were failing rapidly ; the price of provisions had 
 gone up enormously. The commonest food, known as 
 " dokhn " (a kind of millet) rose to 150 dollars, and 
 eventually to 500 dollars the ardeb. Meat had almost 
 entirely given out. Our Mission brethren in the fort 
 possessed one camel, which was nothing but skin and 
 Done, and which was sold for 1,000 dollars, and two days 
 afterwards the purchaser offered it for sale for 1,500 
 dollars. Eventually the butcher bought it for 2,000 
 dollars. A chicken went for thirty dollars ; eggs a 
 dollar apiece ; a loaf of sugar fifty dollars, and twenty 
 dollars for a pound of coffee. A thimbleful of salt 
 cost a dollar. The above were the prices a month 
 after the close investment had begun. Butter and 
 oil could not be had for any money. The poor began 
 to starve quite at the beginning of the siege, and soon 
 w^ere dying in considerable numbers. A little later, 
 matters came to a terrible pass. All the camels and 
 cattle being finished, donkeys, dogs, mice, and even 
 crickets were consumed, as well as cockroaches, which 
 
BO HE OR S OF THE SIEGE. 
 
 53 
 
 were considered quite tit-bits ; white ants, too, were 
 eaten. 
 
 And now the deaths by starvation had reached an 
 appalling figure. The dead and dying filled the 
 streets ; the space within the fortifications being so 
 limited, there was not room for all the people, and 
 in consequence many lay about in the streets and 
 open spaces. The air was poisoned by the numbers of 
 dead bodies lying unburied, while the ditch was half 
 full of mortifying corpses. Scurvy and dysentery were 
 rife ; the air was black with the scores of carrion- 
 kites, which feasted on the dead bodies ; these ugly 
 birds became so distended by constant gorging that 
 they could not even fly away, and were killed in 
 numbers by the soldiers, who devoured them with 
 avidity. 
 
 Later on gum became the only food ; there was a 
 quantity of this, but it brought on diarrhoea, and 
 caused the bodies to distend — indeed, numbers died 
 from eating it. The ground was dug up in all directions 
 in search of the white ants' nests ; and the food which 
 they had collected for the winter was greedily consumed. 
 Some poor sufferers eked out a miserable existence by 
 living on the undigested food found in the excrement of 
 animals ; all sorts of leather, shoes and sandals, were 
 boiled and eaten. It was a terrible sight to see these 
 human skeletons — their eyes sunk into the backs of 
 their heads, wandering about in search of food. The 
 Mudir extorted all the corn and money he could from 
 the rich merchants, but of what good was a mere hand- 
 ful of corn to the. soldiers ? They became desperate, 
 all discipline was at an end and they often broke into 
 the houses by night in search of food. 
 
 During all this time the Dervishes outside kept on 
 shouting out curses and insults, deriding those within for 
 eating dog's-meat, for, during all this terrible famine 
 in the city, there was abundance of food in the 
 Dervish camp, and this made the besiegers bolder and 
 more insulting than ever, for they knew that the town 
 was practically in their hands. We often tried to 
 
51 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 establish some sort of communication with our Mission 
 brethren in the city, but we never succeeded in getting 
 any reliable information about them. At length, 
 towards the end of December, we managed, through the 
 kind offices of George Stambuli, to send in a letter 
 and received a reply from the Father Superior, Johann 
 Losi, which was brought to us by one of our female 
 slaves. The news it contained was heart-rending ; all 
 our brethren were down with scurvy — that is to say, 
 Father Rossignoli, brother Loeatelli, and four sisters, 
 whilst Father Losi himself was on the point of death. 
 For a month they had lived on nothing but dokhn and 
 rice ; everything else was gone. Father Losi sent us 
 some clothes, which were a godsend to us, and also 200 
 dollars, while we in return could do nothing for our poor 
 besieged brethren. A few days later we heard that 
 Father Losi died on the 27th of December of scurvy. 
 
 The garrrison frequently attempted small sorties, in 
 the hope that they might be able to secure a sheep or 
 bullock, or some wood, and these always caused some 
 excitement in the camp. When anything of this sort 
 took place, the usual cry was " Et Turki Marak" (" The 
 Turks are coming out"), then the camp suddenly 
 woke up, and, like a swarm of ants, moved towards the 
 town to drive the garrison in again. On these occasions 
 quantities of ammunition were expended without much 
 result. In the meantime the Mahdi continued his daily 
 preaching against the vanities of this life, of his 
 divine message, and of the approaching end of the 
 world. During these sermons the people stood wrappc d 
 in wonder and astonishment at the Mahdi's great 
 wisdom. 
 
 The Egyptian guns frequently fired into the camp, 
 and on two occasions shells burst close to our hut, 
 but did no harm. The Dervishes also returned the fire, 
 but their shots always fell far beyond ; had they only 
 been skilled in the working of the guns they had. the 
 fortifications would have become untenable in a day, 
 but the Mahdi seemed purposely to wish to prolong the 
 siege, and to thus compass the death of its defenders 
 
SHEIKH SALEH OF THE KABABISH. 
 
 55 
 
 through famine. The wells were only about one kilo- 
 metre distant from the forts, and in consequence within 
 easy range of the fire of the besieged ; but the Mahdi 
 was quite regardless of this, and often formed up his 
 troops there — a proceeding which generally resulted in 
 his losing some men. 
 
 It was about this time that the principal sheikhs of the 
 powerful Kababish tribe, viz. Saleh and Tome, the sons of 
 Sheikh Salem, came to pay their allegiance to the Mahdi. 
 As a gift they brought him two hundred camels, and he 
 in return ordered a great military display and a special 
 bombardment of El Obeid in their honour. The two 
 sheikhs did not, however, take a great interest in these 
 proceedings ; and one day Saleh suddenly took himself 
 off, and from that date became the Mahdi's sworn 
 enemy, until the day of his death, when, as we shall 
 presently see, he was one of the last of the great sheikhs 
 who was overthrown by the Mahdi. His brother Tome 
 was suddenly thrown into chains without any warning, 
 the Mahdi giving as his reason that the Prophet had 
 appeared to him in a vision and told him to do sc. 
 
 Towards the end of November, news arrived that a 
 further reinforcement of troops had left Khartum for 
 El Obeid. This information occasioned a great stir in 
 the camp, because there was some idea that English 
 troops had been sent. These must have been the arrival 
 of the first batch of troops destined eventually to form 
 part of the Hicks Expedition ; but even then it was too 
 late to send any help to El Obeid. 
 
 One day it came to the Mahdi's ears that provisions 
 were being smuggled into El Obeid, where they were 
 sold at enormous prices, and to stop this he made 
 the investment still closer. Some of the smugglers 
 were caught, and as a punishment their right hands 
 were cut off, and their handless arms tied to their necks ; 
 they were then led round the camp as a warning to 
 others. 
 
 Meanwhile, as the siege of El Obeid was drawing to 
 a close, other places in Kordofan were falling into 
 the Mahdi's hands. The town of Bara had been re- 
 
56 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MATIDFS CAMP. 
 
 duced to great straits. A force marching to its relief 
 under Abu Kuka, was attacked by Fiki Minneh : the 
 majority were killed, and it was only through the 
 bravery of Surur Effendi that a few hundred of them suc- 
 ceeded in reaching the town. The notorious Nur An gar, 
 who was on the walls of the town, rendered no assistance 
 during the siege, and went over to the enemy. At 
 length, on the 5th of January, Bara was forced to capi- 
 tulate through famine, and the garrison was sent to the 
 Mahdi's camp. 
 
 The victory was celebrated by a salute of guns, and 
 the unfortunate garrison in El Obeid took this to be the 
 approach of relieving troops ; but the Mahdi made it 
 known to Said Pasha that, on the contrary, it was in 
 celebration of the fall of Bara — an incident which 
 caused the gloom to deepen over the doomed city ; 
 and all hope of delivery was abandoned. Yet the 
 Mudir still continued to hope against hope that he 
 should be relieved from Khartum, and his sanguine 
 spirit kept up the courage of the garrison. But it could 
 not last much longer ; the soldiers were too weak even 
 to hold their rifles in their hands, and Said Pasha 
 realized that further resistance was useless. In desper- 
 ation, therefore, he proposed to blow himself up in the 
 powder magazine, and this he certainly would have 
 done had not the senior officers urged that in doing so 
 numbers of other lives would have been sacrificed as 
 well. There was now nothing left to be done but to 
 surrender, and this event took place on the 19th of 
 January, 1883. 
 
 The Mahdi and his hordes now entered El Obeid, and 
 he made the Mudirieh his residence. Guards under the 
 command of mukuddums were posted outside every 
 large house, to prevent the notables escaping, to further 
 extort money and to search for treasure. Children, 
 servants, and slaves were kept aside, and by continual 
 fio£onn£ were obliged to divulge the secret hiding- 
 
 oO © m > © © O 
 
 places. The Mission buildings were of course entered 
 by thousands of Mahdiists. Father Bonomi and 
 brother Locatelli lay sick, and the sisters were com- 
 
HIDEOUS ILL-TREATMENT OF THE SISTERS. 
 
 67 
 
 pletely exhausted. Hundreds of Dervishes struggled to 
 break into the narrow enclosure where the unfortunate 
 brethren lay ill. The crosses which the sisters wore 
 round their necks were wrenched off and broken to 
 pieces with axes. Sister Concetta Corsi, who was then 
 one of the strongest, flew at these cruel intruders and 
 made them wonder at the boldness of a poor weak 
 woman. Some of them then entered with drawn 
 swords, and, pointing their lances within an inch of her 
 bosom, they threatened her with instant death if she 
 made the slightest resistance ; but she answered, "You 
 are dogs, and not men ! " whereupon one of those 
 standing near her gave her a blow on the face, which 
 broke several of her teeth and made her mouth pour 
 with blood. 
 
 Three days after the Mahdi's entry into El Obeid, our 
 missionaries were taken before him, and in a solemn 
 assembly he tried in vain to force them to become Mos- 
 lems. They were then sent forth with nothing but the 
 clothes they wore, in company with the other survivors 
 of the siege, to the Dervish camp. 
 
 Our little party was now increased by the arrival of 
 Father Kossignoli, brother Locatelli, who was then more 
 dead than alive being carried on an angarib (native 
 bedstead), and four sisters, who were all suffering from 
 scurvy. They w T ere brought to our hut, and our meet- 
 ing could not be otherwise than a sad one. The sisters 
 were accompanied by a girl named Bianca Limona, who, 
 though a Sudanese, had quite a fair face, and resembled 
 an Albino. Gordon, when travelling from Darfur to El 
 Obeid, came across a youth of a similar type, whom he 
 brought to the Mission, and suggested that he should 
 marry the girl ; but he being a fanatical Mussulman, 
 the girl absolutely refused. 
 
 Bianca, being of no trade value, was permitted by the 
 Dervishes to remain with the sisters. All the other 
 Mission blacks remained with the soldiers, but the 
 young ones were sold. From amongst the Christian 
 girls the Mahdi selected two as concubines — an Abys- 
 sinian and a black ; the latter had been well brought 
 
58 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAHDI* S CAMP. 
 
 up, had learnt handiwork of different sorts, and she 
 soon became the head of all the concubines. 
 
 The Dervishes captured quantities of arms and 
 ammunition in the fort, also a considerable amount of 
 rough gold, goods of all sorts, and furniture. This was 
 all carried off to the beit el mal ; the floors were all dug 
 up in search of hidden treasure, and even dead bodies 
 w r ere disentombed and examined. The body of Father 
 Losi, who had died a month before, was pulled up and 
 searched, as it was believed he had a quantity of 
 money. I must here recount an episode which will 
 give an idea of the wonderful fidelity of our poor 
 blacks, and their affection for us. Father Losi had 
 purchased a little black boy in El Obeid, and for the 
 ten long years during which this brave missionary had 
 worked continuously for the welfare and happiness of 
 the blacks, his boy Said served him most faithfully, and 
 during all the horrors of that dreadful siege this boy 
 never left the side of his " Father," as he used to call 
 Father Losi. When Losi died, the boy used to spend 
 most of the day weeping over his grave, and one day he 
 was found lying stretched on the grave quite dead — he 
 had died of grief. 
 
 The Mudir, Said Pasha, and the senior officers w r ere, 
 for a time, placed under guard, and refused, even on 
 pain of death, to say where the treasure was ; but when 
 Said Pasha heard that his concubine and servants had 
 been cruelly flogged and beaten to make them divulge, 
 he at length handed over all his property to the Mahdi, 
 and £6,000. 
 
 A few days after the fall of El Obeid a fire broke out 
 on the north side of the camp ; the strong wind drove 
 the flames to the adjoining huts, and soon half the camp 
 was ablaze. We had to run from our hut, which was 
 soon afterwards enveloped in flames, and w r e were again 
 obliged to encamp in the open. However, our good 
 friend Stambuli succeeded in procuring a small tent for 
 us. The Mahdi now ordered the whole towm of El 
 Obeid to be occupied by the Arabs, but it was not 
 nearly large enough to hold all the people, consequently 
 
THE MURDER OF THE DEFENDERS OF EL OB FID. 59 
 
 an enormous circle of huts soon surrounded the town, 
 and we ourselves erected a small one, just beyond the 
 precincts of the Mahdi's camp, having some Greeks and 
 Syrians, who had been turned out of El Obeid, as our 
 neighbours. 
 
 For about fifteen days most of the inhabitants of the 
 town — clerks, Government officials, and Copts, were 
 closely guarded and continually flogged to make them 
 disclose the hiding-places of their treasure. Most of 
 the principal people were handed over to the emirs. 
 Said Pasha was placed in charge of Ismail Wad el 
 Andok, and sent to Aluba ; Ali Bey Sherif was sent to 
 Birket, and several of the Coptic clerks were sent to 
 Singiokai. Ahmed Bey Dafallah and Major Yesin were 
 dragged to Shakka. Evil reports were spread about 
 them, and it was rumoured that both the Mudir and Ali 
 Bey Sherif had written to Khartum, consequently the 
 Mahdi issued orders that the gallant defenders should 
 be killed, justifying his action by saying that the 
 Prophet had, in a vision, ordered him to do so. Ali 
 Bey Sherif was beheaded close to the tent occupied by 
 his wife and two children, who were afterwards taken 
 over by Sayid Abdel Kader, the Mahdi's uncle. Said 
 Pasha was most cruelly slaughtered with axes at Aluba ; 
 he was greatly disliked by the people, who called him 
 "Jurab el Ful" ("Sack of beans") because he was so 
 stout. Ahmed Bey Dafallah and Major Yesin were 
 executed at Shakka. Such was the end of the brave 
 defenders of El Obeid, who, in truth, deserved a better 
 fate. 
 
 The Mahdi, having thus made away with his enemies, 
 was able to breathe more freely, and, as if to excuse 
 himself for his horrible cruelty, he published a vision, 
 in which he said that he had been told that Said Pasha 
 did not go to hell, but as he (the Mahdi) had earnestly 
 begged it, he was permitted to go to paradise. 
 
 During the siege there was much friction between the 
 Mahdi and Fiki Minneh, whose capacity for drinking 
 marissa and stealing booty came to the Mahdi's ears. 
 As long as Minneh was useful to the Mahdi he forbore 
 
60 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 with him ; but when El Obeid fell, he sent for him and 
 forcibly made him divide his booty. Fiki Minneh 
 therefore returned in a sulky mood to Tayara, and from 
 that time became the Mahdi's enemy. He openly 
 collected a quantity of dokhn, and brought together his 
 fighting force. The Mahdi therefore despatched Abu 
 Anga, the Commander-in-chief of his forces, Abder- 
 rahman en Nejumi and Abdullah Wad en Nur, with a 
 large number of men. Making a forced march, they 
 appeared suddenly at Tayara, and the Gowameh followers 
 of Minneh fled on the first volley. Minneh's brother, 
 uncle, and two sons were captured and beheaded on the 
 same spot where Minneh himself had slain the soldiers 
 and their wives and children the previous year ; 
 their heads were hung up in the market-place at El 
 Obeid as a warning to others. 
 
 The Mahdi and his emirs now be<xan to live a life of 
 ease ; the latter occupied the various buildings around 
 the Mudirieh and made themselves comfortable : they 
 placed no restrictions on themselves in the way of food 
 and drink ; there was money in abundance and supplies 
 were plentiful, consequently sensuality and luxurious 
 living were substituted for the abstemious life which the 
 Mahdi doctrine had at first inculcated. The principal 
 emirs delighted in extensive harems and a show of 
 splendour. Jibbehs were still worn, but their ragged 
 condition, which was essential in the early days, gave 
 way to as much embellishment as such a garment would 
 admit of. The emirs vied with one another in their 
 wealth of slaves, cattle, horses and donkeys ; their sword- 
 hilts were now embellished with silver. In place of 
 lying on the dirty ground, their clothes full of vermin, 
 they assumed the luxurious and comfortable mode of 
 life of the Turks and Egyptians. So shocked, indeed, 
 was the Mahdi's uncle, Sherif Mahmud, when he arrived 
 from Gedir to see the drunken and debauched lives led 
 by the emirs, more especially by Wad en Nejumi, that 
 he induced the Mahdi to order the latter to reduce his 
 harem by twenty wives, who were subsequently sold in 
 the beit el mal as slaves. At the same time the Mahdi 
 
THE MAIIDI MAKES SEVERE LAWS. 
 
 61 
 
 issued the strictest orders against luxurious living, 
 and insisted that no gold and silver ornaments should 
 be worn. He further ordained that in future the dress 
 should consist of a takia (or skull cap) made of the 
 leaves of the dwarf-palm, round which a turban should 
 be worn with end hanging down ; the jibbeh (or coat) ; 
 a pair of drawers ; and a girdle made of straw. This 
 made rather a becoming uniform to these swarthy- 
 warriors. 
 
 The rules regarding smoking and drinking were 
 reiterated with greater severity. It was next to impos- 
 sible to induce the Sudanese to give up smoking and 
 chewing tobacco : a man would willingly give all the 
 money he had to secure even a small quantity. Then 
 the blacks, and especially the emirs, are much addicted 
 to marissa drinking, which it was found still more diffi- 
 cult to stop ; if men or women were caught in the act of 
 smoking or drinking, they were obliged to walk through 
 the market with the drinking bowl or tobacco on 
 their heads, followed by an insulting and hooting crowd. 
 It was sometimes the custom to break the bowl on the 
 marissa drinker's head and drench him with its contents ; 
 this was the signal for all the children to throw mud and 
 dust at the culprit until he became almost unrecognis- 
 able ; he was then dragged before the kadi (or judge) in 
 the market-place, where he received eighty unusually 
 heavy blows, the first of which generally drew blood. 
 The place was full of spies, who were always on the look- 
 out to report smokers and drinkers to the Mahdi. 
 Sometimes they forced their way into the houses, and 
 finding nothing, would surreptitiously throw some 
 tobacco on the floor, which they would then suddenly 
 discover, and declare it to be the property of the owner 
 of the house, who would be forthwith dragged off and 
 thrashed unmercifully although perfectly innocent. 
 
 Justice was administered according to the Moslem 
 law. Blasphemers of God or the religion were punished 
 with instant death, as well as all those who disbelieved 
 in the Mahdi. A murderer was at once beheaded, 
 no extenuating circumstances were ever admitted. A 
 
62 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 thief was deprived of a hand and a foot ; adultery 
 between married persons was punished by beheading 
 the man and stoning the woman, but in the latter case 
 a necessary proof was that the woman should be with 
 child. Illicit intercourse between unmarried persons 
 was punished with eighty lashes ; these laws regarding 
 immorality were, however, in the case of slaves, relaxed 
 to some extent, and they were, as a rule, punished by 
 flogging only. Persons found concerned in the making 
 of eunuchs were beheaded, though curiously enough the 
 khalifas and emirs all retained eunuchs for their harems. 
 Slaves freed by the Egyptian Government were not re- 
 cognised as such, and were again forced to become slaves. 
 A slave's witness was not accepted in a trial. All impor- 
 tant cases were judged before the Mahdi, who sentenced 
 persons as he thought fit. The Mosaic law — an eye for 
 an eye and a tooth for a tooth — was generally practised. 
 The relations of murdered persons generally carried 
 out the sentences on the criminal, provided that the 
 judge approved. Punishment could be modified or can- 
 celled altogether by the payment of money. In addition 
 to the Mahdi, his relatives and the khalifas were per- 
 mitted to judge cases — a proceeding which resulted in 
 great confusion and miscarriage of justice. The market- 
 place was the chief centre of activity ; here the judge 
 held his court, and a profitable business he made of it by 
 substituting money for punishments. 
 
 Shortly after the fall of El Obeid the Mahdi set him- 
 self to regulate his finances. The Kordofan Arabs, who 
 had gained many successes over the Government, and 
 who had really taken up the Mahdi's cause in anticipa- 
 tion of the loot they would acquire, were ordered to 
 bring all their booty — down to the smallest article — to 
 the Mahdi at El Obeid, and to enforce this order, parties 
 of Dervishes were sent out in various directions to 
 forcibly drive in the Arabs, who now regretted that they 
 had so precipitately joined the Mahdi in the first 
 instance. Everything was brought to the beit el mal, 
 and there publicly sold ; of the proceeds, one-fifth was 
 given to the Mahdi personally, and the remaining four- 
 
ABOLITION OF EGYPTIAN HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 63 
 
 fifths were set aside as administrative revenue, but in 
 point of fact a considerable portion of this sum also 
 found its way into the Mahdi's private treasury. A 
 native of Dar Mahas, named Ahmed wad Suleiman and 
 a great favourite of the Mahdi, was given unlimited 
 control over the beit el mal treasury. His master had 
 had a divine revelation, pointing out that he was the 
 one man to hold this responsible position, and in conse- 
 quence he was unassailable. Whenever the Mahdi rode 
 out on horseback, Ahmed held the reins and walked 
 barefooted at the horse's side. 
 
 All learned men were despised and disliked by 
 the Mahdi, for he not unnaturally recognised a 
 danger in their combating his claims by reference 
 to divine books. Consequently all such documents 
 were ordered to be burnt, and any one who con- 
 cealed a book did so at the risk of his life. The 
 Mahdi's object was to keep the people in ignorance by 
 proclaiming that he was the centre of all light and 
 knowledge ; there were even flatterers to be found who 
 asserted that they had seen flashes of light darting out 
 of his head ! He frequently indulged in visions, some- 
 times representing that he had been taken up in the 
 spirit to the heavens, where he conversed with God and 
 His Prophet. To doubt the truth of these visions was 
 an unpardonable offence. He entirely abolished all the 
 rules and customs practised by the Government. The 
 wearing of the tarbush (fez) was strictly forbidden ; if 
 any one was seen wearing one, it was instantly pulled 
 off and torn to shreds. All Government registers were 
 burnt, and debts contracted with the Government con- 
 sidered cancelled. He ordered his adherents to call 
 themselves Foggara * or Asyad.f 
 
 His usual custom was to pray on a small straw mat 
 placed in the divan of the Mudirieh and in the presence 
 of all his followers ; a slave generally stood beside him 
 with a pillow on which he either sat or knelt, as the 
 
 * PI. of Fakir, i.e. a poor religious mendicant — one who has re- 
 nounced the world. 
 
 t PL of Sayid, i.e. a master. 
 
64 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE AfAIJDFS CAMP. 
 
 case might be. When the prayers were over he received 
 the visitors, conversed on matters of general interest, 
 read his letters, and discoursed on the manners and 
 customs of the Turks with the object of making his 
 hearers despise and laugh at them. He plunged wildly 
 into the sensual delights of his immense harem. In 
 place of wine he substituted a drink much appreciated 
 in the Sudan, consisting of date syrup mixed with ginger, 
 of which he drank quantities out of the silver cups 
 taken from the Mission Church in El Obeid. 
 
 In spite, however, of all this luxurious living, the 
 Mahdi did not omit to publish his new propaganda far 
 and wide. He wrote several letters to the inhabitants 
 of the Gezireh (the country between the Blue and White 
 Niles), calling on them to rise, and threatening all those 
 who refused to obey the summons. Numbers flocked to 
 his standards, partly through fear and partly because 
 they recognised the inability of the Government to cope 
 with the revolt. It was at this time that he despatched 
 Osman Digna, who afterwards became so notorious, to 
 the Eastern Sudan. This fanatical adherent of the 
 Mahdi copied the example of his master in every respect, 
 wearing neither shoes nor sandals, and only riding 
 during exceptionally long marches, his argument being 
 that as the Mahdi deigned to walk the earth, he thereby 
 made it holy. A force was now despatched to capture 
 Sheikh Tome of the Kababish, who was reported to be 
 in friendly communication with Khartum. The unfor- 
 tunate man was attacked by night, captured and dragged 
 off in- chains with his wife, child, slaves, and camels to 
 El Obeid. The Mahdi was prepared to pardon him, but 
 Khalifa Abdullah insisted on beheading him, which was 
 done ; this cruel act terrified the remainder of the tribe. 
 During the last fifteen days of Ramadan the Mahdi 
 attended to no public business, but gave himself up to 
 fasting and prayer. The holidays following Ramadan 
 were set aside for military parades and manoeuvres, 
 which served to rouse the fanatical ardour of his now 
 numerous followers. 
 
 About this time a letter came from Mustafa Yawer, 
 
THE MUD IB OF DONGOLA SEEKS INFORMATION. 65) 
 
 the Mudir of Dongola, to Osman Tobji ; the latter was a 
 most generous man, who gave much of his money to the 
 poor and to widows and orphans, especially during the 
 siege of El Obeid ; Tobji had thus won the honour and 
 respect of all, and on the fall of the town the Mahdi 
 
 A NATIVE WOMAN OF DONGOLA. 
 
 returned to him the property he had captured ; there- 
 upon he at once set to work to relieve the distressed 
 Egyptian families who had been turned out of house 
 and home, and whose property had been taken. In his 
 letter Mustafa 5Tawer asked his friend Tobji if Mo- 
 
 F 
 
GG TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 hammed Ahmed were the real Mahdi or not ; this letter 
 came into the Mahdi's hands, and Tobji was at once 
 sent for and asked what reply he intended to give. 
 Osman answered, " When the sun has risen over the 
 horizon it is visible to all, and no further proof of its 
 existence is required — thus if the Mahdi be the true 
 Mahdi, his works will bear witness of the truth." This 
 evasive answer did not however satisfy the Mahdi, who 
 obliged Tobji to sign a letter declaring that Mohammed 
 Ahmed was the true Mahdi, and this letter was then 
 despatched to the Mudir of Dongola. 
 
 The Mahdi was well versed in the art of winning 
 over people. His unruffled smile, pleasant manners, 
 generosity and equable temperament, though at times 
 somewhat severe, all tended to enhance the popular 
 idea of him. He attributed the execution of Said 
 Pasha and Ali Bey Sherif to the Khalifa Abdullah, and 
 when the two little sons of the latter were brought to 
 him, the smiling hypocrite wept for their father's fate. 
 The popular belief in him and his cause almost 
 amounted to worship : women especially raved about him 
 and thought him the most handsome of men. They 
 swore by him in the words " Hakk rabb el Mahdi 
 (By the Mahdi's God) or " Hakk Sayidna el Imam " 
 (By our Lord, the Imam); all solemn oaths and state- 
 ments began with the words " Aleik el Mahdi el 
 Muntaser " (By the Victorious Mahdi) ; his virtues were 
 extolled in poems, and constant reference was made to 
 his good looks, wisdom, stature and to his repeated 
 victories over the Turks. The beggars used to learn off 
 by heart special laudatory verses, and by reciting them 
 from house to house they were sure to be given alms ; 
 to such an extent was this laudation carried that if a 
 beggar sang songs in which the Prophet's name occurred, 
 he was at once interrupted and told to substitute the 
 Mahdi's for the Prophet's name ; at every street corner 
 his praises were sung ; soldiers on the march sang of his 
 glorious victories ; female slaves gathering wood, or laden 
 with corn, or grinding it between the stones — all sang 
 the same refrain, which indeed might be called the 
 
THE MAUD I AND THE PROPHET. 
 
 67 
 
 Mahdi's national anthem, and began with the words 
 " Mahdi Nur Ainana " (the Mahdi is the light of our eyes), 
 or " El Mahdi kammal et Turk fi Kana " (the Mahdi 
 conquered — lit. gave their full to — the Turks at Kana). 
 
 The Arabs delight in poetry, and during the night 
 generally collected in parties, and seated on the sand 
 sang the Mahdi's praises, the two principal singers 
 keeping time by beating the ground with their sticks, 
 while the rest joined in the chorus at the end of each 
 verse. Inspired sometimes by their theme, they would 
 stand up and flourish their swords in the air as if com- 
 bating the Turks, shouting " Fi Shan Allah" (for God's 
 cause). Thus the adulation of the Mahdi extended from 
 the highest emir to the lowest slave, and woe to him 
 who was ever heard to utter one word in deprecation or 
 blame of the new Prophet, he would at once be pounced 
 upon and beaten to death with sticks. 
 
 Sometimes the Mahdi was called " Khalifat er Easul " 
 (the successor of the Prophet), and sometimes even they 
 dignified him with the sacred title of Nebbi (Prophet). 
 In truth the Prophet Mohammed occupied in the 
 people's minds quite a secondary position, and the 
 celebration of his birthday was forbidden by the Mahdi. 
 
 On one occasion a dispute occurred between two 
 men ; one argued that the Mahdi would have a higher 
 seat in heaven than the Prophet, while the other 
 maintained that " God Was higher than the Mahdi." 
 The dispute Waxed hot, and the case was referred to 
 the judge, who settled the matter by saying that 
 " the living Was better than the dead," but at the 
 same time the man who advocated the Prophet's claims 
 was relegated to prison, not so much for asserting what 
 was perfectly true, that " God Was higher than the 
 Mahdi," but that the tone in which he had said it was 
 tantamount to an insult to the Mahdi. Naturally 
 those Moslems who still had some sense of the orthodox 
 creed were much annoyed at this decision. 
 
 Early in April a messenger arrived from Khartum with 
 a letter from the Austrian Consul Hansal. Now as we 
 were perfect strangers in El Obeid, people did not dare 
 
 F 2 
 
OS TEN YEABS* CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 to associate with us ; the messenger therefore handed 
 over the letter to George Stambuli, who was then a man 
 well known to every one. Stambuli, who supplied us 
 with all the necessaries of life, now came to us in a state 
 of great excitement, bringing the letter in which he 
 hoped to find some news of the outside world. AVe 
 opened the letter, which was long and well-written, and 
 found that it was directed to the Mahdi. We read it 
 and considered it a well-written letter ; in it Hansal 
 called th§ Mahdi " Sheikh," and begged him to release 
 us, receiving as a ransom such a sum as he should 
 demand, and which he (Hansal) was prepared to give. 
 The bearer of the letter was then ordered to take it 
 direct to the Mahdi, but fearing that its contents might 
 compromise him, he gave it to Stambuli, who gave it as 
 his opinion that the letter was useless, as he himself had 
 been doing all in his power to effect our release, but was 
 unable to do so. Father Bonomi, however, urged that 
 as the letter was useless it was therefore harmless, and 
 that there could be no objection to giving it to the 
 Mahdi ; consequently it was taken to him, and he 
 expressed himself much pleased with it ; although he 
 admitted that the system of ransoming was in vogue 
 during the days of the Prophet, he stated that it had 
 been changed by him, as also was the tax per head 
 formerly paid by Christians. 
 
 He, however, promised to give us protection until 
 the coming of Sayidna Isa (Jesus Christ), when we 
 should either have to turn Moslems or die ; thus the 
 letter was of no good to us, and on the following 
 day a rumour was spread abroad that the Austrian 
 Consul had joined the Mahdi. The messenger asked us 
 to give him a few lines to take back, and thus prove 
 that he had delivered the letter to us ; so we and 
 Stambuli complied, and the messenger left for Khartum ; 
 but he was followed by spies, and when at Korsi — one 
 and a half day's journey distant — he was searched by 
 them, and the letters found in the saddle-bag on the 
 donkey, consequently he was arrested, brought back, 
 and thrown into chains. 
 
THE MISSIONARIES IN DANGER. 
 
 69 
 
 The false news was now rapidly circulated that an 
 English post had arrived. Father Bonomi and I were 
 at once summoned to read the letters. It occurred 
 to us that our letters had probably been seized and that 
 we were in some danger. I was not alarmed about my 
 letter to Hansal, for I had written in German, and there 
 was no one besides myself in El Obeid who understood 
 German ; but Bonomi's letters had been written in 
 Italian, and there were several people who understood 
 that lano;uao;e. As we entered the Mudirieh we saw 
 Stambuli also coming. We were first taken to the 
 Khalifa Sherif, who was lying on a straw mat in his 
 hut ; after greeting us, he lifted up the mat and drew 
 out several letters, which we at once recognised as those 
 we had written. The Khalifa asked us if we had written 
 them, and w T e replied in the affirmative. He thereupon 
 produced a piece of paper on which Bonomi had written 
 that the messenger should receive six pounds. Father 
 Bonomi translated this to the Khalifa ; Stambuli was 
 then called in, as he pretended to know a number 
 of European languages, while in point of fact he 
 knew little or nothing ; when the paper was given to 
 him to read he said that it contained a medical 
 prescription, and this translation did not of course 
 agree with Bonomi's version. Amidst the murmur- 
 ing of the bystanders the Khalifa now rose and bid us 
 follow him into the divan of the Mudirieh, and thence 
 into the room adjoining that in which the Mahdi was 
 sitting with the Khalifa Abdullah. The latter had to 
 keep his bed, for his leg had been broken by a fall from 
 a horse ; he had collided with another horseman, and in 
 falling had been badly kicked. Father Bonomi and 
 Stambuli only were taken before the Mahdi, whilst I 
 was left in the room outside ; there were a Dervish and 
 a Greek also in the room, and as I was sitting on the 
 ground near the door, the Greek came up to me and 
 told me that a sheikh wished to speak to me. I 
 replied, " Let the sheikh come to me if he wants to 
 speak to me ; I have nothing to ask of him." 
 
 A few moments afterwards the sheikh came up to me 
 
70 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 in a furious rage, and without further ado attacked me 
 with his fists, kicked me, and called me a Christian 
 dog ; then seizing me by the leg he dragged me out 
 towards the gate, where he said he intended to cut off 
 my head. 
 
 The sound of this struggle reached the Mahdi's ears, 
 and he sent a eunuch to take me out of the sheikh's 
 hands. Shortly afterwards the Mahdi himself, Bonomi, 
 and Stambuli came out, and were rather pleased than 
 otherwise that my incident with the sheikh had inter- 
 rupted their somewhat painful conversation. The 
 Mahdi did not appear angry, and as usual, smiled 
 pleasantly all round ; then, surrounded by his principal 
 emirs, he performed the noonday prayers in the divan, 
 while the multitude conformed to the prayers in the 
 Mudirieh courtyard. This over, he sat down on his mat 
 and opened his audience, whilst a slave standing behind 
 him fanned him and drove off the Hies. Numbers of 
 people submitted their cases to him in a very low and 
 humble tone of voice, and from the various gestures which 
 took place, I concluded that he had given satisfaction to 
 all. He then read aloud a letter from an influential sheikh 
 in Khartum, whose name I have forgotten ; after which 
 a number of sheikhs came in to take the oath of 
 allegiance. 
 
 During this ceremony the man taking the oath had to 
 place his hand in the Mahdi's right hand ; then the latter 
 repeated the oath in the following words : " Thou 
 consecratest thyself, thy children and thy property to 
 the Mahdi. Thou shalt be guilty of no impurity ; thou 
 shalt not steal, nor drink alcohol ; and thou shalt bind 
 thyself to do thy duty in the Jehad." The person to 
 whom the oath was administered sealed it with a 
 solemn " Amen." If several persons took the oath to- 
 gether, they were obliged to repeat it in chorus, and at 
 the conclusion they shouted " Fi Shan Allah." When 
 the audience was over, we asked the Mahdi's permission 
 to retire, which he allowed us to do. 
 
 Bonomi now gave us an account of his interview with 
 the Mahdi and Khalifa Abdullah. They had thought 
 
PARDONED BY THE MAUD I. 
 
 71 
 
 that we had written letters to the Government at 
 Khartum, bait they could not read the letters which, 
 in point of fact, contained nothing political. Bonomi 
 had given the Mahdi a short resume of their contents 
 with which he seemed pleased, but Abdullah appeareJ 
 dissatisfied. 
 
 For the next eight days we were in considerable 
 danger, and the one topic of conversation was what 
 should be done to us. It was the general idea that we 
 were to be beheaded ; but Stambuli was working his 
 friends, and by dint of bribes the matter was hushed up, 
 although I believe that we owed it principally to the 
 good will and kindly disposition of the Mahdi. After 
 about ten days we were summoned before a certain 
 emir named Hajji Khaled, who made enquiries about the 
 letters, and we told him that we were prepared to translate 
 literally every word. Our fearless persistence impressed 
 him, and he did not trouble us further. 
 
 Some of the European merchants could have trans- 
 lated the letters, but Stambuli bribed them with twenty 
 pounds, and on the 26th of April, thirteen days after the 
 letters had been intercepted, the Mahdi pardoned Stam- 
 buli at a public meeting, and handed them back to 
 him ; then in the presence of two trustworthy friends 
 of the Mahdi, we translated them word for word into 
 Arabic, and gave them back to the Mahdi, who, judging 
 from their general tenour, appeared convinced of their 
 harmlessness. 
 
72 1EN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MAHDl's VICTORY OVER HICKS PASHA. 
 
 The European captives learn that General Hicks is advancing — 
 Slatin Bey's defence of Darfur — His heroism — The Mahdi pre- 
 pares to resist Hicks — The march of the Hicks Expedition — 
 Extracts from the diary of Major Herlth — Colonel Farquhar's 
 gallantry at Rahad — Gustav Klootz deserts to the Mahdi — 
 Klootz's interview with the Mahdi in which Ohrwalder and 
 Bonomi act as interpreters — The expedition advances towards 
 Shekan — Is surrounded and annihilated — Description of the 
 battle — The Mahdi victor of Kordofan. 
 
 In our present miserable plight all our hopes were 
 directed on Khartum, from whence we expected suc- 
 cour. Hitherto we heard only vague rumours, but the 
 news of the defeat and death of Wad Makashef on the 
 White Nile encouraged us to hope on. We had no idea 
 who commanded the Egyptian troops in this action. 
 We were quite uncertain as to what policy the Govern- 
 ment would adopt regarding Kordofan ; and of course, 
 at this time, false reports were flying about everywhere, 
 and it was quite impossible to arrive at the truth. At 
 first we were inclined to believe everything we heard, 
 but gradually we found that we lived in such an atmo- 
 sphere of lying and deceit that we arrived at believing 
 almost nothing we heard. The Sudanese proverb, 
 " Consider all news to be good and true, even if it be 
 false," is universally acted on in the Moslem world ; and 
 those who looked for help from the Government always 
 hoped for good news, and seized on the smallest pretext 
 to give colour to their expectations ; their belief in 
 dreams which never came true accentuated their misery. 
 It was useless to try and enlighten these poor ignorant 
 people, contradiction only made them annoyed. For- 
 
A LETTER FltOM KHARTUM . 
 
 73 
 
 time-tellers were often consulted about the future, and 
 naturally they foretold what they thought their inter- 
 rogators wanted to hear, and thus gave them hope for a 
 short time ; but when it turned out incorrect — as was 
 invariably the case — it only increased their depression. 
 
 God, in His mercy, sent a ray of light into the dark- 
 ness of our captivity, which again kindled the hope of 
 succour which had been well nigh quite extinguished. 
 On the 21st of June, 1883, a man came into our little hut 
 and asked in a scared sort of way if we were the mission- 
 aries. After repeated assurances that we were, the man 
 took courage and withdrew from his trousers a little 
 note, which he had concealed very carefully, and handed 
 it to Father Bonomi, who at once tore it open in nervous 
 haste and eagerly scanned the few lines which were to 
 give us a new life. The note was signed by Marcopoli 
 Bey, by order of General Hicks, and was to the effect 
 that we should not abandon hope, for as soon as the 
 winter season began, a large army would advance into 
 the Sudan to attack the Mahdi. We kissed that dirty 
 little bit of paper, and thanked God most heartily for 
 sending us news so full of comfort. We became reas- 
 sured, and now our dark future gave place to cheerful 
 hopes which brightened the few months of anxious delay 
 which followed the receipt of this note. The letter was 
 dated from the White Nile, wdiere the General had 
 already gained a victory over Wad Makashef, and soon 
 the news of the intended expedition against the Mahdi 
 spread like wildfire through the camp. 
 
 It appears that Consul Hansal also wrote a letter to 
 the Mahdi, but the latter said nothing to us about it. 
 Amina, one of our black girls whom the Mahdi had 
 taken as a concubine, said she saw in the Mahdi s hand 
 a letter with a large seal, on which the " double-headed 
 eagle " was represented ; but the Mahdi does not appear 
 to have taken much notice of it. In Darfur the news 
 of the intended Hicks expedition had considerable effect. 
 Slatin, the Governor-General, had been fighting con- 
 tinuously against the natives of Darfur and against the 
 Rizighat, Habbanieh, and other Aral) tribes ; he was 
 
74 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 now in the north, then in the south, combating with 
 bravery and unusual rapidity the various revolts which 
 sprang up throughout his province. He was a scourge 
 to the Arabs and killed thousands of them ; he even 
 pursued them into the almost inaccessible hills and 
 valleys of Jebel Marra. His powers of endurance were 
 
 HICKS PASHA. 
 
 wonderful, and he would often be twenty-four hours in 
 the saddle, constantly fighting, and with nothing to 
 eat or drink. He slept on the bare floor or ground 
 beside his native soldiers, and lived on dhurra soaked 
 in water ; he was just, never took bribes, generous, ever 
 ready to assist the poor and needy, and never refused 
 admittance to old and young who sought his help. In 
 
THE HEROISM OF SLA TIN BEY. 
 
 75 
 
 spite, however, of his having — as he himself told me — 
 fought in twenty-seven battles against the Arabs, he 
 could not crush them, for they were like fungus growing 
 out of the earth. 
 
 In action Slatin was most heroic. On one occasion 
 he was struck by a bullet which shattered one of his 
 fingers ; but, undismayed, he seized the hanging remnant 
 with his other hand and ordered the man standing next 
 him to cut it off with his knife ; then he joined again 
 in the fight, and cheered his men on to victory. Not 
 only in Kordofan, but throughout the entire Sudan, he 
 w as celebrated for his bravery in the face of the enemy. 
 Still he was powerless to cope with the extensive revolt 
 in his province, and obtained little support from his 
 Egyptian officers, who were jealous and constantly 
 intrigued against him ; yet it was the wonder of all 
 that he succeeded in holding out so long. At length, 
 when his ammunition was almost finished, came the 
 news of Hicks's projected expedition, and to gain time he 
 resorted to the following expedient. His vakil was a 
 man named Mohammed Zogal, uncle to the Mahdi, and 
 a man of sense ; with him Slatin came to a private 
 understanding, and it was agreed that Zogal should pay 
 a visit to the Mahdi, inform him that Slatin w r as pre- 
 pared to submit, provided he was permitted to hold his 
 present position, and then he was to return and bring 
 back full information regarding the Mahdi, his power, 
 &c, and at the same time endeavour to arrange for a 
 suspension of hostilities pending the arrival of Hicks. 
 Should Hicks be victorious then Slatin and Darfur 
 would be saved, otherwise all would be lost ; but this 
 plan, if successful,- would enable Slatin to hold out until 
 Hicks came, which he could not otherwise have done. 
 Zogal set out on his journey and arrived at El Obeid 
 early in September 1883, where he was warmly wel- 
 comed by the Mahdi. The latter was much pleased 
 with Slatin's proposition, and ordered a salute of one 
 hundred guns to be fired to announce his surrender. 
 
 The Mahdi could now turn his entire attention to his 
 preparations to resist the advance of General Hicks. 
 
76 TEN YEAR'S* CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 concerning the number of whose troops the wildest 
 reports were circulated. On learning of his departure 
 from Omdurman on the 9th of September, he issued k 
 proclamation instructing his emirs to read it to their 
 followers. In it he, as usual, styled himself the Mahdi 
 sent by God to defeat the Turks, who were the enemies 
 of God and His Prophet, and that his mission was to 
 conquer the world ; he extolled the virtues of holy war 
 and promised paradise and its joys to all those who fell 
 fighting in the holy cause. He now quitted El Obeid 
 and pitched his tent under a large Adansonia tree outside 
 the walls ; his three Khalifas and their followers copied 
 his example, and this was the signal for the whole town 
 to be evacuated. The life of ease and comfort was 
 abandoned and people collected round their emirs' flags, 
 so that in a short time an enormous camp was formed 
 in anticipation of the great battle. Couriers were sent 
 in all directions to proclaim that anyone who refused 
 to follow the Mahdi would have his hand and foot cut 
 off; all men joined willingly, the Mahdi's camp daily 
 grew larger, and straw huts (or tokuls) soon covered the 
 plain, though the people were allowed in turns to go 
 back to the town at night. Detachments of troops were 
 sent to various parts of Kordofan to collect the Dervishes, 
 and whole tribes streamed from all directions towards 
 El Obeid. Daily manoeuvres and reviews were held, 
 and guns fired repeatedly so that the horses should get 
 accustomed to the noise. Thus the Mahdi instilled great 
 enthusiasm into the masses, and we began to have some 
 fear for Hicks. 
 
 The Mahdi now despatched the three emirs, Abclel 
 Halim Wad el Hashmi, Hajji Mohammed Abu Girgeh, 
 and Omar Elias Pasha, with their followers, to Duem. 
 They were instructed to watch the movements of Hicks's 
 force, and when it left the White Nile, to cut his 
 communication ; they were then to harass his march as 
 much as possible, but not to bring on a general engage- 
 ment. All these orders were admirably carried out. 
 
 General Hicks left Duem on the 24th of September, 
 1883, and marched in a south-westerly direction through 
 
THE MAIICTI OF THE TUCKS EXPEDITION. 77 
 
 Shaft, Zeregga, Aigella, Shirkeleh, and Rahad, which 
 he reached on the 20th of October, leaving Tagalla and 
 Jebel Pair on the left. The inhabitants of the districts 
 through which the troops passed, quitted their villages 
 and carried off all their goods, so that w T hen the troops 
 arrived they found nothing but straw huts, which the 
 soldiers at first set fire to ; but General Hicks soon 
 forbade this practice. The ill-fated army scarcely met 
 a living soul, but flocks of vultures followed them as if 
 waiting for their prey. Shortly after the annihilation 
 of the army, a small and incomplete diary belonging to 
 an Austrian officer, Major Herlth, came into my hands, 
 but it was sufficient to give me an insight into the 
 wretched condition of this force. The facts were briefly 
 as follows : It was expected that on the arrival of the 
 army at Shirkeleh, it would be joined by several 
 thousand Tagalla people, and it was hoped that this 
 reinforcement would inspire the troops with some life 
 and energy, which they entirely lacked ; but these 
 reinforcements never appeared. 
 
 Major Herlth described the troops as anything but 
 good, and frequently refers to the want of agreement 
 between the two commanders — General Hicks with his 
 small body of European officers on the one hand, and 
 Ala ed Din Pasha, Governor-General of the Sudan, a 
 man imbued with the old Turkish system, on the other. 
 The European officers were convinced that the expedi- 
 tion would not be successful ; the camels were badly 
 looked after, hundreds died every day, and their loads 
 were piled on to the others which were still alive ; 
 saddles were for the most part without straw, so that 
 the bare wood rubbing on their backs made terrible 
 wounds. Almost all the horses had died before the 
 force reached Kahad. General Hicks had also great 
 trouble in keeping the men together ; numbers of them 
 had recently been fighting against the English with 
 Arabi Pasha, and had been forcibly sent to the Sudan. 
 It is also strange that the shorter route from Duem to 
 Bara, on which there was plenty of water, was not 
 <-hoscn in preference to the long roundabout road they 
 
78 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 took. While the latter route led through forests and 
 long grass, the former was entirely free from these 
 obstructions, and, moreover, the friendly Kababish tribe 
 would have supported them on their northern flank. 
 There was still another circumstance which contributed 
 to the final disaster — the guides were treacherous, and 
 led the army into the hands of the Dervishes ; indeed, 
 it was an open secret in the camp at El Obeid that 
 the guides had been sent by the Mahdi. 
 
 At Eahad, Hicks expected to have been joined by 
 five hundred Baggara horsemen, and it is true a number 
 of horsemen were seen in the distance, and a white flag 
 was shown ; but the riders did not approach, and it was 
 soon evident that they were enemies. The force was in 
 such a miserable and wretched condition that the emir, 
 Abdel Halim, begged permission of the Mahdi to be 
 allowed to attack it with his own followers ; but this the 
 Mahdi would not permit him to do, as he wanted to 
 have all the honour and glory of victory for himself. 
 Every day information about the movements of the 
 Egyptian troops was sent to the Mahdi ; sometimes 
 reports reached him twice a day, and were always of the 
 same tenour, viz. that the men had no heart to fight. 
 Had an expedition been coming which had the elements 
 of success in it, public opinion would have shown itself 
 by numbers deserting the Mahdi's standards ; but they 
 had heard nothing of Hicks's early successes, and now 
 the only reports that reached them were that the army 
 was in a hopeless condition. All this only made the 
 Mahdi's prestige the greater, and it must be remembered 
 that the latter was an adept at inspiring fanaticism. 
 One of General Hicks's spies was captured, and he was 
 at once impaled on lances. The following extracts, 
 which I give from memory, from Major Herlth's diary 
 will show how demoralised the expedition had become. 
 The camp was pitched at Eahad on a small eminence 
 near the Khor Abu Habl, whilst the enemy, who were 
 concealed on the opposite side in the high grass and 
 under the trees, fired incessantly at the Egyptians and 
 killed a number of them. One bullet entered Hicks's 
 
COLONEL FARQUTTAR'S GALLANTRY. 
 
 79 
 
 tent and struck the seat on which he was sitting ; he 
 then gave orders that the grass and woods should be at 
 once cleared of the enemy. There was still a little 
 water in the Khor, and as it seemed to be deep, a con- 
 sultation was held as to how it should best be crossed. 
 The discussion lasted an hour. At length a few, more 
 courageous than the rest, decided to try and wade across, 
 and to their intense surprise found that it was quite 
 shallow and easily fordable ; they then crossed over and 
 drove back the enemy, killing seven of them. 
 
 While at Kahad, it was discovered that the camp 
 out of which they had marched the previous day had 
 been entered, and everything that they had left behind 
 had been taken. It was now evident that the enemy 
 were in greater force than they had thought, and in 
 consequence General Hicks made an entrenchment and 
 put guns into position, which were fired with some effect, 
 as one shell killed no less than thirteen men. This 
 news was sent to the Mahdi. 
 
 At El Obeid the slow ad \^ance of the troops could not 
 be understood, and this had a still more convincing 
 effect on the Dervishes that the expedition must be in a 
 bad way. It was a matter of no surprise that the 
 troops had not been victorious, as it was known that 
 every element of success was wanting ; as for the poor 
 Egyptians, the capture of a cow was an event of great 
 importance, and General Hicks ordered every officer to 
 be given a piece of it. 
 
 Colonel Farquhar, chief of the staff, did all he could 
 to raise the courage of the soldiers. On one occasion 
 some horsemen were seen a short distance away sitting 
 fearlessly on their horses as if challenging anyone to 
 come out and fight them. When Farquhar saw them 
 he mounted his horse and advanced straight on them. 
 When he approached they began to retire, but he went 
 in pursuit, and coming up with them killed two, the 
 third he pulled off his horse, and capturing the horses 
 brought them back to camp. In spite, however, of 
 such a gallant example, the men were listless and out of 
 heart ; the long marches had thoroughly exhausted them. 
 
80 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 At Rah ad, Gustav Klootz, a native of Berlin, deserted 
 the army. He was Baron Seckendorf s servant ; but at 
 Shirkeleh he quitted his master's service, and became 
 the servant of Mr. O'Donovan, correspondent of the 
 Daily News, Klootz had certain socialistic tendencies, 
 which caused him to change masters, and there is no 
 
 COLOXEL ARTHUR FARQUHAR. 
 
 {Chief of the StaJ.) 
 
 doubt that these ideas had much to do with his desertion. 
 He and a native of Saxony determined to escape 
 secretly, and on the plea of gathering wood outside the 
 camp, these two men succeeded one evening in passing 
 the outposts. No sooner had they gone beyond the line 
 than they heard firing, and the Saxony man, fearing a 
 sudden attack, at once turned back to camp, whilst 
 
KLOOTZ DESERTS TO THE DERVISHES. 
 
 81 
 
 Klootz continued his flight. When he had gone a short 
 distance he fired two shots, one to make the Egyptians 
 believe that the enemy was close to them, and the other 
 to make the enemy think that they were close to the 
 Egyptian outposts. AVhen night came on he lay down 
 under a tree to sleep, regardless of the fact that he was 
 between two enemies ; and the next morning he began 
 to debate with himself whether, after all, it would not 
 be better to return. He would not have hesitated for 
 an instant had he not thought that perhaps the Saxony 
 man had betrayed his desertion. At length he decided 
 there was nothing for it but to go on towards the 
 Dervishes. 
 
 After going some distance he saw three dirty- 
 looking men who pointed their rifles at him ; but he 
 signed to them that he was not coming as an enemy, 
 and to further reassure them, he threw down his rifle 
 and revolver on the ground, and advanced towards 
 them. The Arabs also approached ; but Klootz, who 
 did not understand a word of Arabic, called out, 
 " Dervish — where is the Dervish ? " (by " Dervish " he 
 meant the Mahdi.) The Arabs understood perfectly 
 what he wanted to say, but at that moment they were 
 thinking much more of the loot they saw before them 
 than of the Mahdi ; so they seized the little money 
 Klootz had, and took possession of his watch, rifle, 
 revolver, and even his boots. Klootz soon realised into 
 whose hands he had fallen, for these Arabs, having taken 
 everything from him, then directed him towards the 
 Dervish camp. On he plodded barefooted, through the 
 long grass, and often over thorns, until at last he met 
 an old woman, who made him understand by gestures 
 that he was close on the camp. A few moments later 
 several horsemen appeared, and, surrounding him, took 
 him in triumph to Abu Girgeh ; for they thought at 
 length they had captured a hated Englishman. Klootz, 
 to his astonishment, now found himself in a large 
 entrenched camp, where the Dervishes were living in 
 perfect safety. The horsemen had told Abu Girgeh that 
 they had found him sitting in a tree writing, so he was 
 
 G 
 
82 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 at once put in chains, tied tightly to a bedstead, and 
 then interrogated about Hicks's troops. At the same 
 time a messenger was sent to the Mahdi to inquire what 
 should be done with the Englishman. The Mahdi 
 ordered that he should be at once brought to El Obeid ; 
 the chains were therefore removed, and a rope put round 
 his neck, by which he was drawn by horsemen to the 
 Mahdi's camp. The journey lasted a day and a half, 
 and he was obliged to walk the whole way barefooted 
 in the burning sun, so that when he reached El Obeid 
 his feet were swollen up and in a dreadful condition. 
 
 As swift as lightning the news now spread through 
 the camp that an English officer had been captured. 
 AY ho could t he unfort unate man be ? we wondered. 
 When Klootz was brought before the Mahdi all he 
 could say was that he was Nimsawi (a German). The 
 Mahdi therefore summoned Stambuli, Bonomi, and 
 myself, to act as interpreters. When we entered the 
 crowded enclosure everyone understood the object of our 
 coming ; most of them were busy cleaning their lances, 
 and shouted out after us, " Mind you make careful 
 inquiries of him." There was such a crowd in front 
 of the Mahdi's tent that it was almost impossible to 
 make our way through ; but at last there was a cry of 
 " Ahl Delen " ("Here are the Delen people"), and they 
 made way for us. We took off our shoes, and were 
 shown into the Mahdi's presence. I was intensely 
 anxious to see who this Englishman might be ; we had 
 seen nothing but black faces for so long, that had he 
 been a creature from the other world, we could not have 
 been more interested ; then we were on tenter-hooks to 
 know how the expedition was progressing, whether it 
 was under English command, &c. , &c. Of course General 
 Hicks's name was well known, but we knew nothing 
 about the composition of his force. 
 
 When we entered we saw the Mahdi, the supposed 
 English officer, and Ahmed Wad Suleiman sitting on a 
 straw mat. We saluted the Mahdi, who returned our 
 salute in a most gracious manner. He was smiling, and 
 seemed much pleased. lie introduced the Englishman 
 
THE MATIDI INTERVIEWS KLOOTZ. 83 
 
 to me, and asked me to question him about his coming. 
 My imagination, in which I had pictured an Englishman, 
 received a rude shock, for I beheld before me a young 
 man with blonde hair, blue eyes, a sunburnt face, and a 
 nose from which the skin was peeled off. He wore a 
 dirty tarbush ; his clothes were made of rough canvas, 
 and he looked very much like the fireman of an engine. 
 Before anything else I expressed to him my sincere pity 
 at his having fallen into the hands of savages, for I did 
 not then know that he had come of his own accord. I 
 asked him his name ; he replied, " Gustav Klootz, of 
 Berlin," and said that he was the correspondent of an 
 important newspaper. He afterwards gave me a true 
 account of himself. I translated everything to the 
 Mahdi. I then asked him about the state of the army. 
 He said that it consisted of barely 10,000 men, and he 
 added that it was generally believed by the European 
 officers that they would be defeated. It was with the 
 greatest difficulty that I concealed the blow to my 
 feelings which this news occasioned. I asked him why 
 he deserted, and he excused himself by saying that he 
 did so to save his life. I now knew that he could be 
 no soldier; but, of course, I did not translate to the 
 Mahdi the wretched account he gave of the army. 
 At this moment I received a kick in the ribs from 
 Ahmed Wad Suleiman, who cried out, "Ask him 
 how many guns are in possession of the unbelievers ? " 
 I was then given a small book, which turned out to be 
 Klootz's diary, and was told to translate it. There were 
 only a few leaves, in which the date of departure from 
 Shatt and other places was noted ; the number of 
 camels that died daily ; a few observations on his master, 
 and sundry other things. 
 
 The Mahdi then asked whether, if he wrote to Hicks, 
 he would be likely to surrender, to which Klootz natu- 
 rally replied that he was sure nothing would induce him 
 to do so. 
 
 The Mahdi further asked whether Klootz thought he 
 or General Hicks was the more powerful, to which 
 Klootz answered that he thought the Mahdi would be 
 
 G 2 
 
84 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 successful ; but that he would probably lose a number of 
 his followers, as Hicks's force was well supplied with 
 good firearms, to which Wad Suleiman added, " Death 
 will be our reward." 
 
 The Mahdi seemed delighted with the news he had 
 received, and ordered a plate of fried meat to be brought, 
 which he shared with us, eating with his fingers. It 
 was considered a very high favour when he touched the 
 plate with his hand, and handed a small piece of meat 
 to those who sat with him, and this favour he conferred 
 on us. It was rather striking that he should have done 
 this, for many Moslems consider it wrong even to eat in 
 the presence of Christians. When the meal was over he 
 dismissed us, and Klootz was handed over to Stambuli 
 till further orders. 
 
 Just as we got outside the hut, Klootz and I were 
 called in again. The Mahdi was now quite alone. He 
 ordered us to sit down on the floor, and then whispered 
 in my ear, " Tell this man he may count on the best of 
 treatment if he will turn Moslem ; if not, he must die." 
 I explained this to Klootz in German, and he replied 
 that he was quite prepared to do anything the Mahdi 
 required ; whereupon the latter presented him with his 
 shoes and a jibbeh, and named him " Mustafa," as it 
 struck him that there was a similarity of sound between 
 Mustafa and Gustav. 
 
 When we left the hut we found an enormous crowd of 
 people all clamouring to know what the Englishman had 
 said. Of course everyone wanted to see him, and it 
 was impossible for us to move a step. Stambuli, there- 
 fore, procured a horse, mounted Klootz upon it, and in 
 this manner we proceeded to Stambuli's house. 
 
 We did not at first believe in Klootz's statement, and 
 thought that he must have purposely given the Mahdi 
 false information, so as to gain favour and save his own 
 skin ; but when we were alone together, I bound him 
 by a solemn oath to tell me the absolute truth, and, to 
 my astonishment, he told me he had nothing to add to 
 what he had already said. It is impossible to describe 
 our misery when we heard Klootz's report. We had 
 
IIICKS ADVANCES TOWARDS KASI1GEIL. 85 
 
 counted for months on the success of the expedition to 
 deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and now all 
 our bright hopes were rapidly fading away, and again a 
 gloomy future yawned in front of us. 
 
 General Hicks left Kahad on the 26th of October, 
 and arrived at Aluba on the 29th ; here he received the 
 Mahdi's letter summoning him to submit. Of course 
 this was taken no notice of, and on the 3rd of November 
 the army advanced towards Kashgeil, which is about 
 twelve miles south of El Obeid. 
 
 In the meantime the Mahdi had been collecting his 
 followers, and doing all in his power to inspire them 
 with wild fanaticism ; anyone who saw the enormous 
 hordes of savages which were brought together, must 
 have trembled for the fate of Hicks. It was said that 
 the Mahdi had been promised the assistance of 40,000 
 angels from paradise, and everyone quite believed in the 
 truth of this assertion. Anyone beholding this im- 
 mense multitude of fanatics of every race and age, even 
 though he had formerly been a disbeliever in the Mahdi, 
 must now have been convinced of his divinity. The un- 
 educated masses of the Sudan are entirely governed 
 by the influence of external appearances, they had never 
 heard or seen anything of this description before; now 
 heralds were going from end to end of the camp fore- 
 telling the death of everyone who refused to follow the 
 Mahdi. 
 
 On the 1st of November, Mohammed Ahmed quitted 
 El Obeid, and everyone — man, woman, and child — 
 followed him. Every house was evacuated, and woe 
 to him who attempted to hide himself ! Wad Gubara 
 and his flag alone remained behind as garrison of El 
 Obeid. The throng, noisy bustle and din of the camp 
 suddenly gave way to almost absolute silence — the 
 silence of the grave. The days which followed were for 
 us a period of terrible anxiety. Although we felt almost 
 certain that a terrible catastrophe was about to take 
 place, yet we still had a slight hope that, with the help 
 of European leaders, good rifles, and machine-guns, the 
 result might be different. Abu Anga, who had separated 
 
86 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 from his Jehadieh (black troops) just the day before, 
 now joined the powerful division of Abdel Halim, and 
 on the 3rd of November the Mahdi's followers also joined 
 this division, whilst the Mahdi himself, accompanied 
 by his Khalifas, set out for Birket. 
 
 It was on the 3rd of November that the action 
 actually began, for, in accordance with the Mahdi's 
 orders, his followers had gradually completely encircled 
 the troops, who were now opposed by black soldiers 
 with Remington rifles, Wad en Nejumi's Gellabas, and 
 the flags of Abdel Halim, Sherif Mahmud, and many 
 others. In the attack which occurred on this date, the 
 Dervishes were forced back with the loss of Fauzi, one 
 of the Mahdi's katibs, Elias Pasha's son, and the son 
 of Hajji Khaled ; but General Hicks's losses were con- 
 siderably greater ; he had also run short of water, and 
 was doing his utmost to dig wells, though he did not 
 know that within fifteen minutes' walk of him there 
 was a large reservoir of rain-water. What days of 
 terrible anxiety these must have been for the principal 
 officers, and especially for General Hicks, on whom the 
 entire responsibility rested ! 
 
 Major Herlth's diary stops abruptly on the 4th of 
 November ; he writes on that day that Dr. Georges Bey 
 was wounded the previous day and died shortly after- 
 wards. As far as I can remember, the Major then 
 continues : — " These are bad times ; we are in a forest, 
 and everyone evry depressed. The general orders the 
 band to play, hoping that the music may enliven us a 
 little ; but the bands soon stop, for the bullets are flying 
 from all directions, and camels, mules, and men keep 
 dropping down ; we are all cramped up together, so the 
 bullets cannot fail to strike. We are faint and weary, 
 and have no idea what to do. The general gives the 
 order to halt and make a zariba. It is Sunday, and 
 my dear brother's birthday. Would to God that I 
 could sit down and talk to him for an hour ! The 
 bullets are falling thicker 
 
 Here the writer suddenly breaks off; possibly a 
 bullet had penetrated his weary heart. 
 
THE ANNIHILATION. 
 
 87 
 
 The ring of encircling Dervishes was gradually drawing 
 in and enclosing the ill-fated troops. The greatest 
 destruction was done by Abu Anga's men who may 
 be said to have destroyed the army ; hidden behind 
 shrubs and bushes, they fired incessantly at very close 
 range into the midst of the Egyptians. One of Abu 
 Anga's men told me that he alone had fired one hundred 
 and fifty rounds. On that terrible Sunday General 
 Hicks had to abandon a number of guns, for he had no 
 mules to carry them. Dire confusion prevailed every- 
 where, the troops were suffering terribly from thirst, 
 discipline was gone, and the men could not even lay 
 their guns properly. 
 
 Klootz, whom the Khalifa Abdullah took with him, 
 told me that he was some way from the place where the 
 actual fighting was going on, and that the shells were 
 striking the branches overhead. It would seem that 
 the army made three attempts to break through the 
 Dervish lines, but failed, and Klootz told me that the 
 bodies were scattered in three large heaps extending 
 over a distance of nearly two miles. The largest heap 
 was in the forest of Shekan near Kashgeil, and it was 
 here that the Dervishes fell on the remainder of the 
 force and the European officers, and killed them with 
 their lances on the 5th of November. 
 
 According to the evidence of the Dervishes them- 
 selves, the European officers fought most heroically. 
 General Hicks was one of the last to fall ; he had 
 emptied his revolver, and, holding his sword in his 
 right hand, waited for the rush of the enemy ; he was 
 soon surrounded and his horse wounded in the back ; he 
 then dismounted and fought most gallantly with his 
 sword until he fell, pierced by several spears. The 
 heroism of these brave men was the admiration of all. 
 After the massacre the bodies were stripped and muti- 
 lated. Even long after the battle those who were 
 present used to talk of the terrible spectacle of all these 
 bodies lying with their mouths gaping open and covered 
 with blood. These savages used to plunge their spears 
 into the bodies of the dead so as to dip them in the 
 
88 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 bloody entrails of their enemies, and for long after they 
 talked and revelled over the yellow-looking fat of the 
 "Turks," which protruded through their gaping wounds. 
 Baron Seckendorf, who was remarkable for his enormous 
 size, had been beheaded, and his head was taken to the 
 Mahdi ; it was thought that he must have been General 
 Hicks. A few escaped by hiding themselves under the 
 heaps of dead bodies or behind guns or waggons ; at the 
 end of the action these were all collected, and numbered 
 one hundred persons. During the actual fighting no 
 quarter was given. An Egyptian soldier pursued by 
 some Dervishes fled towards the Khalifa Sherif and 
 begged to be spared ; but the latter laughed at his fear, 
 and he was at once despatched with spears. 
 
 The Dervishes then collected their dead and laid 
 them out in a line. It seems almost incredible to say 
 so, but there w T ere only three hundred and fifty in all 
 killed. The Mahdi offered up a prayer over them, and 
 then they were buried. 
 
 The dead bodies of the Egyptians were left a prey to 
 the vultures and hyenas. Klootz, who said that he 
 understood doctoring, was permitted by the Mahdi to 
 collect all the medicines in the field, and when doing so 
 he was enabled to examine the bodies of the Europeans. 
 He told me that it was with the greatest difficulty he 
 kept himself from breaking down when he saw the 
 mutilated corpses of those with whom he had but a 
 short time ago laughed and spoken. The body of a 
 soldier was seen hanging between earth and sky ; he 
 had evidently climbed up an Adansonia tree in search of 
 water, when a bullet must have killed him, and in falling 
 he was caught by the branches. 
 
 Amongst those who escaped was a man named Abder- 
 rahman Ben en Naga Bey, whose father, then in El Obeid, 
 had entreated the Mahdi to spare him. A few days 
 before the catastrophe he was found writing letters to 
 Omar Wad Elias Pasha, then with Abdel Halim's force ; 
 in consequence he and his men had been put in irons, 
 and it was Ala ed Din Pasha's intention to execute him ; 
 but Hicks would not allow it, saying that he would be 
 
THE MAHDVS SALUTE OF VICTORY. 
 
 89 
 
 fairly tried after El Obeid was captured. Ben en Naga 
 was in the thickest of the fight, and had already lost an 
 eye, when his father's slaves succeeded in reaching him 
 and saving his life. 
 
 The Mahdi and his followers were greatly delighted, 
 
 A 13AGGARA EMIR, PRESENT AT THE ANNIHILATION OF THE HICKS 
 EXPEDITION, AND AFTERWARDS CAPTURED AT TOSKI. 
 
 for they had not calculated on such a complete victory, 
 and a messenger was at once despatched to El Obeid to 
 order a salute of one hundred guns to be fired. 
 
 It was early on Tuesday morning, the Gth of November, 
 
90 TEN YEAHS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAME. 
 
 that the thunder of the guns was heard in the camp, 
 and our alarm at this terrible news can well be under- 
 stood. Our bright hopes, which enabled us to support 
 a wretched existence for more than a year, were rudely 
 dashed to the ground. AVe now gave up all idea of the 
 Government sending a second expedition. It was clear 
 that Khartum must look to its own safety, and as the 
 Mahdi had in the first instance gained possession of 
 Kordofan through his victory over Yusef Pasha Esh 
 Shellali, so now his annihilation of General Hicks's force 
 placed almost the entire Sudan in his hands. 
 
( 01 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MAHDI'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO EL OBELD. 
 
 Fall of Darfur — Slat in surrenders — The Mahdi's divinity credited 
 after the annihilation of Hicks — King Adam of TagaUa — 
 Stambnli's kindness to the European captives — Gordon writes to 
 the Mahdi — Power's letter — The sisters seized and distributed 
 amongst the emirs — They are tortured — The missionaries turned 
 into slaves — The terrible journey to Rahad — The Greeks come 
 to the help of the sisters — The proclamation concerning the 
 treatment of priests and hermits by Mohammedans — The Mahdi 
 at Rahad — Ohrwalder's interviews with the Mahdi concerning 
 religion — The Dervishes attack the Nubas. 
 
 The Mahdi remained seven days with his entire force 
 at Birket, so as to collect families and stragglers and to 
 take possession of the loot which the greedy Arabs 
 had seized and refused to give up. Several of the latter 
 were flogged, and seven slaves belonging to the Mahdi's 
 uncle, Sayid Mohammed Taha. suffered the loss of a 
 hand and a foot because they had kept for themselves 
 some of the Mahdi's booty. 
 
 The loot referred to consisted of war material, such 
 as Ivrupp guns, machine guns, and Remington rifles, 
 besides a number of axes, pickaxes, and shovels, which 
 were required for making zaribas; a quantity of money, 
 watches, and clothing, was also included, and the whole 
 was carried off to the beit el mal. 
 
 Some of the dead bodies were secretly set fire to, so 
 as to make the ignorant people think that these un- 
 believers were being consumed by hell-fire. General 
 Hicks's white horse was handed over to Klootz with 
 orders to cure the wound in its back. 
 
 At length the pestilential smell of thousands of dead 
 bodies of men and animals drove the conquerors forward. 
 
92 TEN YEARS CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 The Mahdi's entry into El Obeid was a scene of wild 
 enthusiasm and excitement. The many-coloured flags 
 came first, then followed thousands upon thousands of 
 Dervishes moving to the ever-swelling murmur of " La 
 llaha iriallah " (''There is no god but God "), whilst others 
 danced out of the ranks and shook their blood-bespotted 
 spears, uttering fearful yells. After them followed the 
 cavalry with the three Khalifas. Every now and then 
 a halt was made, when a number of riders would dash 
 forward at full gallop, poising their lances ready for the 
 thrust, and then would return to the ranks amidst the 
 loud applause of the others. 
 
 After the cavalr} r followed a few T prisoners, the 
 wretched remnant of Hicks's army. Most of them were 
 naked, and were being dragged forward under the con- 
 tinual insults of the Dervishes ; then came the guns 
 drawn by wounded mules, and last of all came the 
 Mahdi himself, riding a magnificent white camel, and 
 surrounded by his most fanatical adherents, whose 
 monotonous "La llaha iiTallah " resembled the sound 
 of a rushing stream. Clouds of dust filled the air, and 
 as the Mahdi passed by, the spectators threw themselves 
 down and kissed the ground, whilst the women shouted 
 " Mahdi Allah " (" The Mahdi of God "). 
 
 Such a scene of wild triumph had never before been 
 witnessed. The Mahdi was now honoured almost as a 
 god. This victory gained for him an enormous increase 
 of powder and respect. The fear of his name sped like 
 wildfire throughout every province and district in the 
 Sudan. He was now regarded as the true Mahdi, 
 every Moslem believed in him, and all doubt was put 
 aside. 
 
 At the battle near Shekan numbers of people said 
 they saw the angels whom the Mahdi had summoned 
 to fight against the Turks. He now became the object 
 of almost superhuman adoration ; even the water with 
 which he washed himself was handed by the eunuchs 
 to the believers, who drank it with avidity as an antidote 
 to all ills and diseases. 
 
 After a time the captured Egyptians were released, 
 
SLA TIN SURRENDERS. 
 
 93 
 
 and many died in a state of beggary in the market- 
 place at El Obeid. The captured blacks were dis- 
 tributed amongst the beit el mal soldiers, and were 
 known by the name of " Hiksani," for example, Morgan 
 Hiksani. It was one of the Standi institutions that 
 slaves should — besides their own names — bear also the 
 names of their masters. Our Delen blacks were also 
 given my name, " Yusef." Of course it would have 
 been more correct if they had called them after our 
 chief, Luigi Bonomi, but the Arabs found this name 
 rather difficult to pronounce. 
 
 The Mahdi now became more imperious, and his 
 success made him bolder and more confident. He des- 
 patched letters to various parts of the world, proving 
 the divinity of his mission by his success in arms, and 
 summoning all to rise against the Turks. He wrote very 
 strongly to the inhabitants of the Gezireh, threatening 
 them with fire and sword if they refused to rise against 
 the Government and join him. 
 
 Having rid himself of his enemies, the Mahdi now 
 turned his attention to Darfur. He appointed his uncle, 
 Zogal Bey, who was known as Sayid Mohammed 
 Khaled, emir of Darfur, and sent him to that province, 
 accompanied by Abdel Samad, the son of Ahmed Sharfi, 
 and Omar Wad Elias. 
 
 Khalifa Sherif, immediately after the victory over 
 Hicks, urged the Mahdi to advance to the White Nile 
 and attack Khartum, which he might easily have done, 
 but the Mahdi was anxious first of all to secure Darfur, 
 and he also wished to rest on his laurels a little longer. 
 He wrote to Slatin Bey informing him of the destruction 
 of Hicks's army,- and he also forced Klootz to write to the 
 same effect. Zogal started on the 1 6th of December, 1883, 
 and proceeded in the first instance to Dara, where Slatin 
 was at that time. He then sent in a messenger with 
 the Mahdi's letter, in which he was called upon to sur- 
 render. Zogal well knew that this was a mere for- 
 mality, for Slatin was quite unable to hold out any 
 longer, and he had only five cartridges per man left ; 
 his men too refused to make any further stand. Slatin, 
 
94 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 therefore, on receipt of the letter, rode out to Zogal and 
 submitted. The Dervishes then entered Dara, and as 
 usual began to plunder. Zogal subsequently proceeded 
 to El Fasher, which was at that time commanded by 
 the Mudir, Said Bey Guma, who had put the town in a 
 state of defence. 
 
 In spite of the wells being beyond the lines, Said Bey 
 offered a resistance which from the outset was hopeless ; 
 seven days later, that is to say on the 15th of January, 
 1884, he surrendered. Kebkebieh also yielded to Zogal, 
 and Omshanga had already submitted. Thus the populous 
 and valuable province of Darfur, which had cost Egypt 
 much blood and money, was entirely lost in the short 
 space of eight days. In the meantime the Mahdi had 
 despatched his son-in-law, Wad el Beshir, to the Gezireh 
 to head the revolt against the Government in that 
 district. 
 
 The Mahdi showed his wisdom in never attempting 
 to invade a district which had not previously declared 
 in his favour. When he heard of the submission of El 
 Fasher and Dara, he despatched Abu Girgeh to under- 
 take the siege of Khartum. The latter left with only 
 a small body of troops, but numbers joined him on the 
 way, especially when he reached the White Nile ; so 
 that he was not afraid of advancing towards the capital. 
 
 Thus through his victory at Shekan, the Mahdi had 
 virtually made himself master of the whole Sudan from 
 the Keel Sea to the boundaries of Waddai, and from the 
 Bahr el Ghazal to Dongola. All eyes were turned to 
 him, and the majority of the people believed him to 
 be the true Mahdi ; some thought he must be a great 
 magician. Even now at the present time, when he has 
 already been six years in his grave, and the fallacy and 
 misery wrought by Mahdiism are thoroughly admitted, 
 still his wonderful success is attributed to witchcraft. 
 His own countrymen — the Danagla — although they 
 now admit he was not the Mahdi, say that he was 
 undoubtedly a very holy man, and was supernaturally 
 endowed by God with extraordinary authority and 
 wisdom. Amongst others who feared the Mahdi's power 
 
KING ADAM OF TAG ALL A. 
 
 95 
 
 was King Adam of Tagalla, who with his wife, child, 
 and slaves, came down from his mountain retreat and 
 surrendered. 
 
 For a long time the King's Kadi had endeavoured to 
 convince his master that Mohammed Ahmed was not the 
 true Mahdi, and did his utmost to dissuade him from 
 joining ; but after the defeat of Hicks, Adam delayed 
 no longer, and moreover took his Kadi with him. When 
 they reached Melbeis, about three hours' journey from 
 El Obeid, the Kadi deserted, but he was recaptured, put 
 in chains, and brought with the king to El Obeid. 
 
 On their arrival near the town, Khalifa Abdullah 
 went out with a large retinue to meet Adam, who had a 
 great reputation throughout Kordofan, and greeted him 
 most cordially. A salute was fired, and every one 
 rejoiced at the Mahdi's bloodless victory. King Adam 
 was warmly welcomed by the Mahdi, given a special 
 place to live in, and treated with the greatest respect. 
 To gain still more favour in the Mahdi's eyes, Adam 
 sent him six of his prettiest young girls as concubines. 
 After a short time, however, the mountain king seemed 
 to tire of residence in El Obeid and began to suffer from 
 melancholia. In his mountains he was absolute master, 
 here in El Obeid he was nothing but a slave. At first 
 he thought he would be permitted to return to his 
 mountains, but soon he had to give up all hope of this ; 
 and before long he realised that one of the first prin- 
 ciples of Mahdiism was that those who were fortunate 
 enough to behold its light would never be permitted to 
 wander back into darkness. Now he bitterly repented 
 that he had not accepted his Kadi's advice, while the spies 
 by whom he was. surrounded soon let the Madhi know 
 what the Kadi's opinions were ; and when Khalifa 
 Abdullah learnt that he meditated flight, he at once 
 had him seized and beheaded. Thus was the unfor- 
 tunate Adam intimidated ; then his horses were taken 
 from him, and last of all, to save his life, he had to sell 
 his wives. 
 
 Almost all the inhabitants of Jebel Nuba sent 
 messengers to say that they were the Mahdi's subjects. 
 
96 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDTS CAMP. 
 
 Even in Khartum already numbers were inclined to 
 him. In proof of this statement, the case of the 
 Sub-Mudir of the town, Wad Gesuli, may be quoted. 
 W hen this individual heard of Gordon's arrival at 
 Berber, he at once fled from Khartum and came to El 
 Obeid, where he threw himself at the Mahdi's feet and 
 assured him that the inhabitants of Khartum to a man 
 were on his side. 
 
 All hope of release now seemed at an end. Our pitiful 
 condition was somewhat lightened through the kind 
 offices of our Syrian friend, George Stambuli, who was 
 both the Mahdi's favourite and our benefactor at the 
 same time, and he supplied us with the necessaries of 
 life. The sisters made jibbehs (Dervish coats), which 
 Stambuli sold and gave us the proceeds. We obtained 
 the material chiefly from the clothes of the soldiers who 
 had been killed, and from the officers' tunics. O'Dono- 
 van's mackintosh and some other articles of clothing 
 which Klootz recognised came into our hands and were 
 soon cut up. Most of the clothing was stained with 
 blood, w T hich we were obliged to wash out ; but what 
 bitter thoughts occupied our minds in this sad task ! 
 
 Towards the end of January 1884 an unfortunate 
 incident occurred which brought us into difficulties. 
 One of Stambuli's female slaves, having come to an 
 understanding with his Dongolawi servant, went to the 
 Khalifa Abdullah and reported that her master was a 
 Christian, and prayed daily. Stambuli's suspicions were 
 aroused, and that evening he hid away everything which 
 could be brought up against him, except a small silver 
 cross which his little daughter w r ore round her neck. 
 Almost before dawn his house was surrounded by a 
 number of Dervishes, and Nejumi with Wad Suleiman, 
 who had been ordered to take possession of his house, 
 broke into it and began a thorough search. 
 
 Stambuli who, since the fall of El Obeid, had never 
 been questioned, had his house full of all sorts of things, 
 and was also in possession of a quantity of gum and 
 ostrich feathers. The house was turned upside down, 
 but nothing of an implicating nature could be found : 
 
GEORGE STAMBULI PUT INTO CIIAINS. 97 
 
 the slave had, however, mentioned the little girl's cross, 
 and the inquisitors demanded to see the children ; when 
 they saw the cross they at once asked what it was. 
 Stambuli replied that it was an ornament which had no 
 special signification, and Wad Suleiman then pulled it 
 off the child's neck and kept it. 
 
 I must here remark that numbers of people were very 
 envious and jealous of Stambuli, and did not at all care 
 to see a white man in possession of all this property ; 
 they therefore took every occasion to rob and steal 
 from him. Stambuli was now put into chains, whilst his 
 property was carried off to the beit el mal. It was 
 decided that he was to be beheaded, but his Syrian 
 countrymen and the Greeks consulted together, then 
 went to the Mahdi and begged for his life. They were 
 kindly received by the latter, who gave them some hope, 
 and fifteen days later Stambuli was pardoned. He was 
 obliged to appear before the Mahdi with a shebba (i.e. a 
 long piece of forked wood in which the neck was placed, 
 and which had the effect of forcing the head back), and 
 in this condition he was obliged to implore the Mahdi's 
 forgiveness. His property was never returned to him, 
 and he could support us no more. 
 
 Father Bonomi seized this opportunity to write to 
 the Mahdi and beg for our release, which he had so 
 frequently promised. The Mahdi wrote several kind 
 words on the reverse of the petition, but they meant 
 nothing ; he said Father Bonomi was aware with what 
 affection he regarded him, and that, therefore, he could 
 not bear the thought of losing him. At the same time 
 he instructed Wad Suleiman to give us whatever was 
 necessary for our sustenance from the beit el mal ; this 
 occurred on the 5th of February, 1884. 
 
 Just at this time, when all hopes of release seemed at 
 an end, God sent us light in the midst of our darkness. 
 Some people arrived from Khartum and reported that 
 Gordon Pasha had reached there and had been received 
 with great enthusiasm. 
 
 The alarm with which this news was received by the 
 Mahdi and his adherents, and the delight which it 
 
 H 
 
98 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 occasioned to those who still hoped for deliverance, can 
 readily be understood. The Mahdi, who thought the 
 Sudan was actually in his grasp, was thoroughly upset, 
 for it was generally believed that Gordon had brought 
 Englishmen with him. A few days later he received 
 a letter from Gordon, and the anxiety to know what it 
 contained was enormous. Nothing else was talked 
 about, and when the Mahdi ordered the letter to be 
 read in public the disappointment was very great. 
 
 In this letter Gordon offered the Mahdi the whole of 
 the Western Sudan, of which he said he should be 
 considered the Sultan. He authorised the continuance 
 of the slave trade, and free transit to all pilgrims going 
 to Mecca ; and, in conclusion, he asked for the release 
 of the prisoners. The Mahdi laughed at Gordon's 
 proposals, and thought him a very cunning unbeliever, 
 who was attempting to delude him with vain promises 
 merely to gain time. He could not understand how it 
 was Gordon came to offer him what he already possessed 
 some time ago ; and he remarked that the very ground 
 on which Gordon was standing was practically in his 
 hands. The fact that Gordon had brought no troops 
 with him served to further increase his pride, and his 
 reply was couched in the following terms : — He said 
 that when he was at Abba Island he had warned the 
 Government officials that if they refused to recognise 
 him as the Mahdi, they would undoubtedly perish. He 
 had repeated the same warning to Yusef Pasha Esh 
 Shellali, and to Hicks Pasha. He informed him of the 
 surrender of Darfur, and concluded by saying that he 
 had no desire for worldly benefits. His object was to 
 reform the people, and he invited Gordon to come and 
 join him. With the letter the Mahdi sent him a complete 
 set of Dervish garments, viz., a jibbeh, takia, turban, 
 girth, and pair of sandals. 
 
 Meanwhile the Mahdi had despatched the emir Abu 
 Anga with some troops, also the emirs Wad Nejumi and 
 Abdullah Wad en Nur to Jebel Dair, where the king 
 (Mek) Kumbo was still offering resistance. It was 
 thought that the number of troops would alarm these 
 
rOWKR WRITES FROM KHARTUM. 
 
 99 
 
 mountaineers ; but they successfully resisted the first 
 attack, and then withdrew to their mountain fastnesses 
 where the troops could not follow^ them. 
 
 On the 23rd of March, 1884, a man arrived from 
 Khartum with a small note from Consul Power. It was 
 written in English on one side, and in French on the 
 other : " Courage pour un peu. Gordon est ici. Courage 
 tout ira bien," was what this good man wrote. He also 
 asked for the names of the survivors of Hicks's ex- 
 pedition, and the names of the European prisoners in 
 Kordofan. We answered all his questions. These few 
 words of the consul gave us no little comfort and 
 encouragement. 
 
 The time of the Mahdi's departure from El Obeid was 
 now drawing near. The crowd of people who had been 
 collected was so enormous that the water in the wells 
 was insufficient, and rose greatly in price, and anyone 
 with slaves had to pay dearly for the luxury. 
 
 Disturbances frequently took place round the wells, 
 and often people fell in. The wells were from 150 to 
 160 feet deep. 
 
 The Mahdi's further stay at El Obeid was now useless, 
 and he decided to advance on Khartum. He issued a 
 proclamation summoning all people to join him, and 
 heralds were despatched in all directions with the 
 Mahdi's orders. At the same time it was announced 
 that all people should follow in the Mahdi's track via 
 Hahad, and Arabs living to the north and east of El 
 Obeid were instructed to fall upon any travellers, put 
 them in chains, and drag them to that town. 
 
 Provisions now became very cheap, such as coffee, 
 wheat, dates, &c. ; but, on the other hand, the rates of 
 hire of camels and donkeys increased enormously. 
 Money was distributed to everyone for the journey. 
 
 With regard to ourselves, however, as we were not 
 permitted to leave, we resolved to try and escape ; but 
 this was most difficult, for we were avoided by everyone 
 and no one dared associate with us. We managed, 
 however, to procure a trustworthy man, who succeeded 
 in getting us camels and guides ; but God had disposed 
 
 h 2 
 
100 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TIJE MAIWFS CAMP. 
 
 otherwise* Khalifa Abdullah, accompanied by a number 
 of followers, suddenly appeared at our huts on the 28th 
 of March, and Father Bonomi, brother Joseph Kognotto 
 and myself were summoned before him. We found him 
 seated on his sheepskin in the midst of a circle of emirs, 
 and when he had beckoned to us to sit down, he then 
 began to address to us a heap of questions, all leading 
 up to the one important point — that we should accept his 
 faith. His arguments were valueless, and had no effect 
 upon us, so we were sent back to our huts. 
 
 That evening, at about sunset, some thirty men, 
 mounted on horses, broke into our humble abode, 
 and said that they had orders to remove the sisters, 
 assuring us with mock modesty that no harm should 
 happen to them. We, however, well knew what would 
 happen, and absolutely refused to be separated, saying 
 that if they wished they could kill us, and cut off our 
 heads ; but that it would be a cruel shame for the 
 Mahdi to ill-treat these poor women after all his solemn 
 promises and assurances. But of what avail could our 
 protests be against brutal violence ! They forced their 
 way in, seized the sisters, and took them before the 
 Khalifa Abdullah. He and Khalifa Sherif used every 
 means of cruel barbarity to shake the faith of these poor 
 sisters, and the latter, seizing a pair of scissors, which 
 one of the sisters was carrying, cut the partition between 
 her nostrils. The Khalifa's wives also howled and 
 insulted them in every base way, and then they were 
 distributed amongst the emirs, and sent to Eahad. 
 
 We spent that night in our own huts, but early the 
 following morning the Dervishes came and took us to 
 the Khalifa, who made us over to various emirs. My 
 master was to be Abdullah Wad en Nur ; but as at that 
 time he happened to be at Jebel Dair, I was made over to 
 his brother Makin, who was then occupying Mohammed 
 Said Pasha's house. Father Bonomi, together with the 
 little property we had left, was put into the beit el mal ; 
 but my diary, which I had now written for the third 
 time, also Herlth's diary, General Hicks's Bible and 
 prayer book, and a sandwich case and small bundle. 
 
OIIRWALDERS JOURNEY TO BAB AD. 101 
 
 belonging to O'Donovan, were all lost. We were now 
 exposed to ill-treatment and insult from all sides. The 
 Mahdi's three sons, ranging from seven to ten years of 
 age, used to come and insult me daily ; but I cannot 
 mention the details, which will for ever remain engraven 
 on my memory. 
 
 At length, on the 7th of April, 1884, the Mahdi set 
 out, and we with him. The huge camp, swarming with 
 thousands and thousands of people, became empty in a 
 few days, and each one, as he left his hut, set fire to it, 
 so that nothing was to be seen but clouds of smoke and 
 flames darting upwards to the sky. 
 
 Just as we were leaving I was made over to another 
 master, Idris Wad el Hashmi. When I arrived at his 
 house, 1 found everything ready for the journey ; num- 
 bers of well-bound books were lying about on the floor. 
 I picked one up, and found it was 1 The Soldier's Pocket 
 Book,' by Lord Wolseley. I would like to have searched 
 amongst these books for a diary, but they turned me 
 out : Idris had taken them out of some good leather 
 trunks, which he had filled with his own effects. Three 
 days after the Mahdi's departure my master and I 
 quitted El Obeid. The road to Kahad was one unin- 
 terrupted stream of human beings — men, women, and 
 children ; camels carrying the household goods, on the 
 top of which were fastened angaribs, on which women 
 were seated ; oxen and donkeys, all heavily laden ; 
 numbers of Arabs were driving along their flocks with 
 them ; here one would see a camel fallen prone under 
 its heavy load, there a child or a slave vainly seeking 
 in the crowd for his lost master. Of course I had to 
 walk, and to act as a camel-driver as well, subject 
 to continual insult and threatening. I moved along as 
 best I could ; the Arabs applauded my master's good 
 sense in making me his camel-driver, and urged that I 
 should carry a load as well. We had to halt frequently, 
 as the camels were so heavily laden. 
 
 The burning sun and fatigue were terribly oppressive, 
 and it is always a wonder to me how I escaped sun- 
 stroke. As to food, I had a share of my master's 
 
102 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN 1IIE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 horses' meal. In the evening I was obliged to clean 
 the dokhn, which was given to the horse, and the 
 pangs of hunger made me covet even this, while I was 
 obliged to ask my master's slave to occasionally give me 
 a gulp of water ; indeed, this slave pitied my wretched 
 state. 
 
 It took us three days to reach Rahad, though, under 
 ordinary circumstances, the journey could easily be 
 performed in one and a half days. The burning sand 
 had blistered my feet, and caused my legs to swell. 
 One day I saw the unfortunate King Adam, of Tagalla, 
 riding by ; he was mounted on a mule, and his feet 
 heavily chained. They thought that the sight of his 
 native mountains might make him wish to desert. 
 Soon after his arrival at Rahad the poor king died, 
 heart-broken, and to him death must have come as a 
 happy deliverance ; while to us, who also longed for it, 
 death would never come. 
 
 Rahad is situated in a depression, which in winter 
 becomes a swamp ; the water remains standing for some 
 time, and there are numerous wells, which are sufficient 
 for a large number of men and animals. During the 
 dry season, Rahad is a centre in which large numbers of 
 Arab tribes collect, and about four hours to the south 
 rises the great Dobab mountain (called by the Arabs 
 Dair, because of its semicircular shape). Dobab is 
 perhaps the best naturally -fortified hill of the entire 
 Nuba group. It is accessible from one side only, and is 
 easily defensible ; there are quantities of water, which 
 wouklenable the inhabitants to stand a prolonged siege. 
 The circumference of the base of the mountain is about 
 eighteen miles, and the inhabitants live on the top. 
 
 Already the Dervishes had constructed their rude 
 barracks under the shady trees of Rahad, and soon an 
 enormous camp sprang up. Shortly after my arrival, 
 I was again obliged to change masters ; the one with 
 whom I had recently been was not really bad, but my 
 new master, Abdel Halim Wad Id, was a very great 
 and fanatical emir. 
 
 Before, however, I proceed to describe the events 
 
CRUEL TREATMENT OF THE SISTERS. 
 
 103 
 
 which occurred at Kahad, I must give a brief outline of 
 what had happened to the sisters since they were so 
 cruelly wrenched away from us. They had set out 
 from Kahad with the various emirs amongst whom they 
 had been distributed ; on the journey they suffered 
 greatly ; they were obliged to walk the whole distance 
 barefooted, over thorns and burning sand ; they under- 
 went the agonies of hunger and thirst, and some of 
 
 DO 7 
 
 them had to carry loads ; one of them, for a whole day, 
 had not a drop of water to drink. These brutal savages 
 were continually beating, insulting, and abusing them, 
 and when, tired and weary, they sat down for a 
 moment, they were driven forward under the lash of 
 the cruel whip. On their arrival at Eahad they scarcely 
 looked like human beings, with their faces all scorched 
 and peeled by the burning sun ; and here new tortures 
 awaited them. One of them was suspended from a 
 tree, and beaten on the soles of the feet until they 
 became swollen and black, and soon afterwards the 
 nails dropped off. In spite of all this suffering, and 
 notwithstanding the continual threats of these bar- 
 barians that they would be violated, these sisters clung 
 firmly to their faith and belief. 
 
 One night, one of the sisters succeeded in escaping to 
 the Mahdi's hut, and, forcing her way into his presence, 
 appealed vehemently to him against the cruel treatment 
 which she and her companions were suffering at the 
 hands of his tyrannical emirs, and that their only fault 
 was that they resolved to adhere to their own faith. 
 Under other circumstances the Mahcli would never have 
 forgiven this bitter reproach, but when he saw this 
 poor sister wounded and bleeding, he pretended that he 
 knew nothing of the matter, and at once ordered all the 
 sisters to be brought to his enclosure, where they were, 
 to some extent, safe from ill-treatment ; yet they were 
 in constant terror of being dishonoured, and there- 
 fore decided to seek the protection of some of the 
 Greeks who were in favour with the Mahdi, and who, 
 at the sisters' request, sought his permission to take 
 charge of them and care for them. The Mahdi, who 
 
104 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 really pitied them from his heart, sanctioned the pro- 
 posal of the Greeks, to whom the sisters were duly 
 handed over ; but it was not, of course, admitted that 
 pity for them had induced this decision. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that in the Kuran the Prophet 
 Mohammed enjoins respect and toleration of the ministers 
 of Christianity, whom he calls " Eahban," or pious 
 persons consecrated to God's service ; and, moreover, 
 he tells his followers that it is their duty to do so. In 
 support of this I may here quote a translation of the 
 celebrated passage which occurs in the manuscripts 
 kept in the Greek convent on Mount Sinai. It is as 
 follows : — 
 
 " In the name of the merciful God, Mohammed Ibn 
 Abdullah issues this proclamation to all. He announces 
 that he is the trusted one of God, by whom he has 
 been placed over his creatures. No one, therefore, can 
 shelter himself under the plea of ignorance. 
 
 " I have written this proclamation in the form of an 
 order to my nation, and to all Christians in the East 
 and West, far and near, young and old, known and 
 unknown. He who fails to follow the instructions laid 
 down in this order is conducting himself contrary to 
 God's will, and renders himself liable to a curse, who- 
 ever he may be, whether Sultan or any other Moslem. 
 
 " If a priest or a monk retire to a mountain, grotto, 
 cave, plain, desert, city, village, or church, I myself am 
 prepared to follow them with my army and my subjects, 
 to protect them against any enemies they may meet, for 
 these .priests are my rayas (subjects), and I myself will 
 prevent any harm coming to them. Taxes shall not be 
 taken from them, except those which they may give of 
 their own free will and accord, not being compelled to 
 do so by any one. It is not permissible to remove a 
 bishop from his bishopric, a priest from his church, or a 
 monk from his retreat. No objects shall be removed 
 from their churches and used in the construction of 
 mosques, nor, indeed, for the construction of the houses 
 of Mussulmans. Whoso doth not act in accordance 
 with this, acteth contrary to the law of God and His 
 
THE PROPHETS PROCLAMATION. 
 
 105 
 
 Prophet. It is forbidden to burden bishops or other 
 holy men with taxes. I shall uphold these their privi- 
 leges everywhere, on land or sea, in the East or West, 
 North or South. They shall enjoy my favour and 
 protection against anything harmful, disagreeable, or 
 unpleasant to them. 
 
 " Those who cultivate on mountains or distant places 
 shall not be burdened with the tithe or tenth-tax, even 
 if they give it of their own free will and accord, pro- 
 vided that what they cultivate is for their own main- 
 tenance. If there is a scarcity of corn, they shall be 
 supported each with one quart of corn for each house. 
 It shall never be necessary for them to go to war or to 
 pay tribute. Those in possession of unmovable goods 
 shall not pay more than twelve drams of silver annually. 
 No one shall be burdened. No discussions will take 
 place with those who follow the teaching of the Gospels, 
 they should rather be in some degree sympathized with 
 so as to put aside all enmity and to cause the wings of 
 mercy to spread out, 
 
 " Should a Christian woman go amongst Moslems, 
 they shall treat her well and permit her to go through 
 her prayers in church, and allow nothing to come 
 between her and her religion. Whoso acteth contrary 
 to these orders acteth in rebellion to God and His 
 Prophet. 
 
 " Christians should be supported in the maintenance 
 of their churches and houses ; their religion should help 
 them to do so. It is not their duty to carry arms, the 
 Moslems shall do that for them, and Moslems should 
 ever hold firmly this order until the world's end. 
 
 " The witnesses who confirm the truth of this pro- 
 clamation, which is hereby issued by Mohammed Ibn 
 Abdallah, the messenger of God to all Christians, which 
 proclamation is to seal their privileges, are, Ali Ibn Abu 
 Taleb, Bakr Ibn Ali Kohaifi, Omar Ibn El Khattab, 
 Othman Ibn Affan, Abu El Darda, Abu Horeireh, 
 Abdullah Abu Masaucl, Abbas Ibn Abdel Muttaleb, 
 Fodeil Ibn Abbas, Zoheir Ibn Awan, Talaat Ibn Obeid- 
 allah, Saad Ibn Maaz, Saad Ibn Obadi, Tabet Ibn Kais, 
 
10(3 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 Abu Khayetma, Hashim Ibn Omaya, Hareth Ibn Tabet, 
 Abdallah Il)n Amr Bin el Aas, Amr Ibn Yasin, Moazzam 
 Ibn Koreishi, Abdel Azim Ibn Hassan. 
 
 " This proclamation is written by the hand of Ali 
 Taleb on the 3rd Moharrem of the second year of the 
 Hejira corresponding with the 1st of August, 622 of the 
 ( 5hristian Era. It is signed by the Prophet himself. 
 
 " Blessed be he who followeth the contents thereof, 
 and cursed be he who acteth contrary to them." 
 
 No doubt the precepts enjoined in the above pro- 
 clamation weighed with the Mahdi in his decision to 
 hand over the sisters to the Greeks, and thus it was 
 that the danger was for the time tided over. Later on, 
 when Khartum fell and hundreds of the young women 
 who had been in the harems of the principal people of 
 the town fell into the hands of the emirs, the per- 
 secution of the sisters was entirely stopped, and in 
 retirement they at length secured some rest and 
 quietude, gaining their daily bread by sewing and 
 other handiwork. 
 
 After this digression, let us return to Rahad, where 
 numbers of straw huts were now erected. A market 
 was opened and provisions were cheap. Various Arab 
 tribes — the Dar Homr, Bederieh, Ghodiat, Baggara 
 Howazma, Miserieh, and Dar Nauli — streamed hither 
 with their flocks and herds, and soon the camp ex- 
 tended greatly. Sherif Mahmud, whom the Mahdi had 
 left behind in El Obeid, was instructed to send all the 
 people on from there. 
 
 The Mahdi set up his abode between two large trees, 
 and the Khalifas lived around him. The combined 
 movements of this enormous crowd were most impres- 
 sive. At prayer-time thousands upon thousands of 
 Dervishes ranged themselves in well-ordered lines 
 behind the Mahdi, and the shout of " Allahu Akbar " 
 resounded through the air. Often the singers of the 
 Mahdi's praises would go on till long after midnight, 
 and thus did he continue to inspire his gigantic 
 audience. 
 
 I was also twice summoned by the Mahdi ; on one 
 
FATHER OHRWALDER'S INTERVIEW WITH THE MAHDI AT RAHAD, 
 CONCERNING REEK; ION. 
 
OHRWALDEIVS INTERVIEW WITH TIIE MAI1DL 109 
 
 occasion two of his body-guard rushed up to me quite 
 out of breath, just to show how expeditiously they carried 
 out the Mahdi's orders, and brandishing their swords 
 over my head shouted, " Get up, the Mahdi wishes to 
 speak to you." As a matter of fact I had no desire to 
 see him, but I had to get up, and this I did as slowly 
 as I possibly could, and then I was pushed forward in 
 the direction I had to go. At length I reached the 
 two large trees, and sitting down beside them I leaned 
 against the roots. The Mahdi had not arrived. Close 
 to me was a hut roughly built of dokhn reeds, w T hich 1 
 was told w r as the fort, around which a small thorn zariba 
 had been constructed to keep off the crowding Dervishes 
 who were collected in their thousands, most of them 
 seated in long lines on the sand and repeating their 
 " subhan allah." The Mahdi's huts and tents were close 
 by. 
 
 It was then the time for noonday prayers, and as the 
 Mahdi approached there was a short buzz and hum 
 followed by a deep silence. 
 
 AVhen the Mahdi came to the place where the sheep- 
 skin was stretched out on the ground, a slave came 
 up and took off his sandals, after which he conducted 
 prayers. These over, he turned round and greeted me. 
 Then some of his favourites came forward and presented 
 petitions to him, some of w T hich he approved at once by 
 writing a few words on the back of the paper, w T hile the 
 remainder were put aside for consideration. 
 
 Since the occasion on which the Mahdi had inter- 
 viewed Klootz, I had not seen him. I now saw a 
 considerable change in him ; he had grown much 
 stouter, but he still wore the same clothes of rough 
 damur, consisting of drawers, jibbeh, girth, and turban. 
 His conversation soon turned on religion, and he asked 
 me if we Christians used the " Hamdu " (a form used by 
 the Moslems as they bow in prayer) in our prayers. I 
 replied that not only had we one but several, and at his 
 request I repeated the Lord's Prayer in Arabic. 
 
 This created much surprise amongst the ignorant 
 listeners, w T ho believe that Christians do not know 7 how 7 
 
110 TEN YEARS* CAPTIVITY IX THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 to pray, and I was thought quite " fasieh " (i.e. edu- 
 cated). After a long conversation on the Psalms of 
 David, the Mahdi said, " I know that you Christians are 
 very good people, and that you feed the hungry." He 
 then told me about " deeds of mercy," and added that 
 all such acts were useless, as anyone who did not believe 
 in the Mahdi was but "wood for the fire." Our con- 
 versation was interrupted by the Aser or afternoon 
 prayers, after which the Mahdi again held a reception. 
 Amongst others a small dwarf appeared, and the Mahdi 
 spoke to him about his tribe and asked if he were 
 married. The dwarf replied that he had come to ask for 
 a wife, and explained that the possession of one was the 
 desire of his heart, whereupon the Mahdi gave orders 
 that he should at once be provided with one. He then 
 rose up to leave, and I was permitted to go home. 
 
 On the following day I was again summoned before 
 him, and he explained that through the noonday prayers 
 he knew he should win over the whole world. He said 
 that God had given him a period of forty years (as a 
 matter of fact he only lived four years, but a cypher 
 more or less is of no consequence) during which he 
 should make all people believe on him and acknowledge 
 that he was the Mahdi. He added that after the sub- 
 jugation of the Sudan he would take Egypt, which 
 would only offer a weak resistance, and that afterwards he 
 would attack Mecca, where the most bloody battle which 
 the world had ever seen would take place ; from Mecca 
 he should proceed to Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ 
 should descend from heaven. " Of course," I said, 
 " Christ will possess all the characteristics which the 
 Gospel attributes to Him ; " but the Mahdi continued, 
 
 Would Christ not fight with anti-Christ ? If I do not 
 believe in Him He will kill me." 
 
 The Mahdi then asked me if I ever had dreams, and 
 I replied that even if I did have dreams I did not 
 believe in them. Then the Mahdi turned round to those 
 who were near and said, " Assuredly the Turks do not 
 believe in dreams, or they would have admitted that I 
 am the Mahdi." It is said that Mahmud Bey Ahmedani, 
 
ABU A NO A ATTACKS J ED EL DA IB. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Mudir of Khartum, who had accompanied Hicks and 
 had fallen near Shekan, had seen the Mahdi's shadow 
 on the wall surrounded with a halo of light, but in his 
 obstinacy he still refused to acknowledge him. 
 
 Just then a Sherif of Syria came in, and, making 
 obeisance to the Mahdi, said, " Sire, you are my rela- 
 tion ! " (By this he meant that as he belonged to the 
 Prophet's tribe, and as the Mahdi had sprung from the 
 Prophet, that therefore they were connected.) The 
 Mahdi was much gratified by this flattery, and ordered 
 Wad Suleiman to give him fifty dollars and a concubine. 
 The conversation was then turned on Gordon. The 
 Mahdi remarked he was full of pity for him, for he said 
 that he was convinced it was the Ulema's arguments 
 which had made Gordon believe that he was not the true 
 Mahdi. He then asked me what was the object of the 
 wires with which Gordon had surrounded Khartum. I 
 replied that I knew nothing of the art of war, but others 
 said that this was telegraph wire, which Gordon had 
 put down so that in case of attack the horses would 
 stumble over it. The Mahdi smiled, and remarked that 
 God was more mighty than all the tricks and artifices 
 of Gordon. 
 
 It was now evening, and the Mahdi got up to go, so I 
 went home, and when I returned to Sheikh Idris, several 
 came up and congratulated me for having had the good 
 fortune to talk with the Mahdi. For my own part I 
 would gladly have dispensed with this good fortune. 
 When I was summoned the next day I sent word that 
 I was very ill, and by this means secured some rest. 
 
 Whilst at Rahad, the Mahdi's eyes were continually 
 directed on Jebel Dair, and when Abu Anga and the 
 emirs who were sent to subjugate these districts, re- 
 turned, defeated in their attempts to scale the moun- 
 tain, the Mahdi then despatched every man fit for war 
 to reinforce him. He excused himself for this unusual 
 measure by saying that all persons should be exercised 
 in war, and that, moreover, this was penance to those 
 who had only recently joined him, to purify them from 
 the sin of not having joined him earlier. As a matter 
 
112 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAITDPS CAMP. 
 
 of fact, these Arabs were a source of great trouble 
 and annoyance to the Mahdi, for they did nothing 
 but wander about the market-place begging, and it 
 was no small difficulty to keep such vast crowds in 
 order. 
 
 The war against the Nubas was washed in the most 
 cruel manner ; the proud Dervishes were incensed at 
 the stubborn resistance of these poor black slaves, as 
 they used to call the Nubas. On one occasion, when 
 the Dervishes, led by Abu Anga and followed by the 
 Gellabas, attempted to ascend the mountain, the Nubas 
 allowed them to advance some way and then pounced 
 down upon the Gellabas in the narrowest pass ; these 
 men were badly armed, and four hundred of them were 
 killed. Abu Anga seeing this beat a rapid retreat, and 
 on coming into the pass was implored by the wretched 
 wounded Gellabas to carry them away, but Abu Anga's 
 men jeeringly replied that they must die " in God's 
 cause," and left them to the tender mercies of the Nuba 
 lances. 
 
 I may here remark that there was great ill-feeling 
 between the blacks and the Dervishes, for the black 
 soldiers complained that they were always placed in the 
 forefront of the battle. In another attack the Der- 
 vishes succeeded in reaching the Nuba village, burning 
 the huts, killing a large number of them and carrying 
 off their wives and children as captives to Rahad, where 
 they were sold as slaves. On this occasion Nur Angar 
 cut off the heads of three Nubas who had already sub- 
 mitted,- while Abu Anga's men seized the little children 
 by the feet and dashed their brains to pieces on the 
 rocks. At Rahad a special zariba was built for the 
 Nuba captives, who were driven like cattle into a pen 
 to be sold. These poor creatures, without covering from 
 the sun or rain, suffered terribly from hunger and thirst ; 
 each evening they were given a handful of dhurra and 
 some water, but that was quite insufficient, and in a 
 few days mothers had to see their children slowly 
 starving to death, while the little suckling babes gathered 
 round their mothers in the vain search for food. Each 
 
TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS OF THE NUBA CAPTIVES. 113 
 
 morning the guards looked in to inquire if there were 
 any dead or dying, and then ordered the wretched sur- 
 vivors, who had scarcely the strength to get up, to drag 
 out their dead and dying friends and relations. 
 
 It would take a long time to tell of all the horrible 
 atrocities and cruelties which these poor Nubas suffered 
 at the hands of the Dervishes — and why ? because they 
 tried to retain their freedom and defend their fatherland, 
 refusing to follow that base liar who called himself the 
 Mahdi, to the siege of Khartum. Amongst the captives 
 in the zariba was a man and his wife and two small 
 children. The sight of his starving children was breaking 
 the father's heart ; the view of his native mountain so 
 affected him that he became desperate, and knowing 
 that he would probably be separated from his wife and 
 children and sold the next day, he took a terrible 
 resolution : in the middle of the night he embraced 
 his wife, kissed his little children, and then plunged 
 his knife into each of them, preferring rather that 
 they should die than become slaves ; he then broke 
 out of the zariba and fled, the guards fired and missed 
 him ; thus the wretched man succeeded in reaching his 
 beloved hills. 
 
 I 
 
114 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMF. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FATHER OHRWALDER's VIEWS OF GORDON'S MISSION. 
 
 Ohrwalder describes his treatment at the hands of various masters — 
 The Xubas surrender and afterwards desert — News from Khar- 
 tum — The capture of the English mail — Its arrival at the 
 Mahdi's camp — The Mahdi decides to advance on Khartum — 
 Brief review of events in Khartum and Berber — Ohrwalder's 
 views on Gordon's mission — The Mahdi sets out for Khartum 
 — Mohammed Ali Pasha's defeat and death — Colonel Stewart, 
 Mr. Power, and others leave Khartum in ss. " Abbas " — Descrip- 
 tion of their wreck and treacherous murder. 
 
 The war with Jebel Dair dragged on a long time ; the 
 Nubas fought with desperate courage. I used to hear 
 of their bravery from the Dervishes who frequented my 
 master's house. After about a month my master was 
 sent to Birket, where he was ordered to collect the Arabs 
 and send them on to Eahad. At this place he practised 
 unprecedented cruelty. A man found drinking marissa 
 he ordered to be flogged with eighty lashes, until the 
 poor victim's bowels fell out. During his absence I 
 was sent back to my old master, Sheikh Idris, where I 
 continued to lead a wretched existence, eating out of 
 the horses' nose-bag and quenching my thirst from the 
 share of water which was allotted to the animals. The 
 ground was my bed, the sky my roof. 
 
 Every morning when I got up I had to snake off the 
 scorpions from my clothes, into which they had crept 
 during the night. It is curious that the sting of these 
 animals, which at other times was always most painful, 
 causecl me little trouble or irritation. The filth in the 
 camp, owing to the entire absence of all sanitary rules, 
 caused the flies to increase prodigiously ; eating during 
 
OER W ALDER'S INTERVIEW WITH SHEIKH ID HIS. 115 
 
 the daytime was impossible, for one would have eaten 
 as many flies as food. 
 
 I still suffered threats and insults here as in other 
 places, and many a time did I intentionally put my 
 head in danger in the hope that death would release me 
 from these savages. Sheikh Idris was annoyed at my 
 ill-treatment, but what could one man do with these 
 hordes of fanatics ? One day after a review I was asked 
 by Idris to have breakfast with him in his hut ; after 
 breakfast he began to talk confidentially with me, and 
 said that the Prophet Mohammed had expressly for- 
 bidden the ill-treatment of priests and hermits. He then 
 said that Egypt had lost the Sudan, and that Gordon 
 would not be able to withstand the Mahdi ; most of 
 the fikia and sheikhs had already submitted to the 
 Mahdi, and the Sudan was in their hands. When I 
 pointed out the great difficulties he would have in 
 traversing the deserts to Wadi Haifa, he remarked that 
 the Mahdi's undertaking was not likely to be hindered 
 by the death of a few thousand men ? I then argued 
 that it was most unlikely that the white Moslems would 
 ever accept a black Mahdi ; and that, moreover, accord- 
 ing to the traditions, the Mahdi would appear in Mecca. 
 He replied, " God is the Lord of all," by which he meant 
 to say that God can make a black Mahdi. 
 
 We had a long conversation about the Mahdi, and it 
 seemed to me that Sheikh Idris did not believe in him, 
 but had merely joined him in the hope of gain and 
 rewards. Idris also added, " By what right should we 
 be ruled by the Turks ? can we not govern ourselves ? " 
 If there had been many more sensible and enlightened 
 men like Sheikh Idris, it is probable that Mahdiism 
 would have taken a very different form ; but Idris was 
 an exception — most of the principal emirs were unedu- 
 cated and ignorant savages. It was God's will that 
 this Idris should fall later on in the battle of Argin in 
 1889, fighting against Wodehouse Pasha. 
 
 A few days after this conversation, my original 
 master, Abdullah Wad en Nur, arrived from Jebel Dair 
 to obtain the Mahdi's instructions as to the future con- 
 
 i 2 
 
11G TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 duct of the war. The Mahdi presented him with a 
 very good horse. Khalifa Abdullah asked him what he 
 intended to do with me, and advised him that when he 
 again went to the Nuba country he should take me 
 with him and put me in the front so that the Nubas 
 might kill me. Sheikh Idris told me this, and Khalil 
 Hassanein, Eoversi's old clerk, who had obtained a 
 good place in the beit el mal, brought me three dollars 
 for the journey. I was delighted with the idea of a 
 change, for T could not have been worse off than I was 
 at Rahad. 
 
 At first I was handed over to a flki, who bothered me 
 with his useless and nonsensical talk ; his name was 
 Mahmud, and he came from Tuti Island, near Khartum ; 
 he joined the Mahdi after Hicks's defeat, and brought a 
 donkey and a few dollars with him. The first thing he 
 did was to sell his donkey and purchase a concubine, 
 but in two days the latter purchase ran away, so he lost 
 both his donkey and his money. He then joined the 
 Khalifa Abdullah, who recommended him to Idris as a 
 good man to instruct me in the right way ; but instead 
 of convincing me of the Mahdi's divinity, I very soon 
 convinced him of the reverse, and it was by no means 
 difficult to do so ; the fiki used frequently to go to the 
 beit el mal to try and get a concubine, but no one took 
 the smallest notice of him. On the other hand he used 
 constantly to see the numerous concubines of Idris, who 
 was rich, while he was but a poor man. From this I 
 made him understand that the chiefs of Mahdieh sought 
 only how they could best gain riches and honour at the 
 expense of their poorer brethren. Soon afterwards he 
 fell sick at Eahad, and there was no one to look after 
 him or care for him ; I knew that in his heart he had 
 had quite enough of the Mahdi, but he was ashamed to 
 acknowledge it before me. One night, not hearing his 
 voice in the miserable hut which had been given to 
 him, I looked in and found him lying stretched out 
 dead on the ground. I felt sorry for the poor creature 
 who had died away from his own home. 
 
 Another reason which made me glad to go away to 
 
TEE NUB AS OF DA IB SUBMIT. 
 
 117 
 
 Dair, was that I was ill and suffering much from my 
 old complaint, which forced me to frequently retire 
 outside the camp amidst the jeers of the Arabs ; but 
 suddenly the ray of hope which had come to me with 
 the thought of a change to the mountain, was as 
 suddenly extinguished, for it transpired that Idris had 
 arranged with Abdullah, without my knowledge, to 
 leave me at Rahad. 
 
 The war against the Nubas was continued, and from 
 Rahad I could see the columns of smoke ascending, 
 showing where the villages had been burnt by these 
 cruel Dervishes. At length these poor but brave 
 mountaineers, overwhelmed by superior numbers, be- 
 came discouraged, and agreed to submit on condition 
 that they should remain free, and be allowed to live in 
 their mountains. The Mahdi approved, for the Dervishes 
 were quite worn out with their long and bloody war. 
 The brave inhabitants descended from their hills — men, 
 women, and children — in astonishing numbers, and 
 established themselves at the foot of the mountain, and 
 near the Dervish camp, while Mek Kumbo and the 
 principal chiefs went to the Mahdi to take the Bea'a 
 (oath of allegiance). 
 
 There was now great rejoicing. The Mahdi received 
 them kindly, gave them presents, and handed back to 
 them those who still remained in the beit el mal ; but 
 before they left his presence he ordered them and their 
 wives and children to follow him to the White Nile. 
 This was quite contrary to the agreement made between 
 them, but the Mahdi cared little about honour and 
 keeping his word, his main object was to attain his 
 point by any fraud or deception he could practise. The 
 Nubas promised to do so, and went back to their camp ; 
 but on talking to their people, they agreed to escape 
 during the night, preferring rather to starve in the 
 caves and recesses of their own mountains, than to leave 
 their native country. Like one man, they rose and fled 
 to the hills, and the fight was once more renewed. 
 Many of them fought with the most stubborn despera- 
 tion ; several were killed but the Dervish loss was also 
 
118 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 very heavy. The Nubas retired into the inmost recesses 
 of the hills, where the enemy could not possibly follow 
 tli em. On one occasion the Dervishes all but captured 
 Mek Kumbo ; his horse and lance fell into their hands, 
 but he himself escaped. 
 
 At length, thoroughly exhausted by this tedious and 
 interminable war, they returned to Rahad ; but heavy 
 rain had fallen, the Khor was now a rushing torrent, 
 and here hundreds of Mahdiists were drowned — victims 
 to their rash fanaticism — for they believed that the 
 Mahdi's power could save them from the wild im- 
 petuous stream. Many of them crossed on angaribs 
 (native beds), to each post of which an inflated skin was 
 attached. 
 
 Towards the end of June, 1884, Slatin Bey arrived at 
 Eahad. The Khalifa Abdullah ordered the big war- 
 drums to be beaten, and the whole of the cavalry left 
 the camp to meet him and escort him in. The Mahdi 
 received Slatin very kindly, and he was attached to 
 Khalifa Abdullah's followers. 
 
 Abdullah delighted in collecting foreigners around him. 
 One day Father Bonomi and I were summoned by 
 Abdullah to meet Slatin, and this gave me a chance of 
 meeting Father Bonomi, whom I had not seen for 
 months. 
 
 It was about this time that Marietta Combotti, one of 
 our black girls, came from Khartum to Eahad. After 
 Hicks's defeat we sent her to Khartum to inform our 
 people there about our condition and about the Mahdi's 
 power", and urged everyone to leave Khartum as soon 
 as possible. We gave her some letters which were sewn 
 into the end of a mat. Consul Hansal had assisted 
 Combotti in every way, and had given her several things 
 for us, such as clothes, money, and medicines. She had 
 suffered greatly on the journey, had been put in chains, 
 and all she had succeeded in saving was her money. 
 She had been away seven months. 
 
 Amongst other things Consul Hansal sent us a photo- 
 graph of our new and highly-honoured bishop, Monsignor 
 Tmbrien, of the Tyrol. Marietta also brought a letter from 
 
MISSIONARIES RECEIVE LETTERS FROM KHARTUM. 119 
 
 the consul to me describing the condition of Khartum, 
 and the defeat of Baker Pasha, about which we had 
 heard nothing. The consul further added : " We hope 
 that the English w T ill energetically push forward into 
 the Sudan, or we shall be lost. Our condition is 
 desperate." This letter was dated early in January, 
 1884. Hansal also sent us the Tyroler Volhsblatt news- 
 paper, published in Posen, and in it I was surprised to 
 read an account of my own death. The paper said 
 I had been captured by the Mahdiists, and had died of 
 fatigue and ill-treatment. So my friends believed I was 
 dead ! and, indeed, I felt then that death could not be 
 far distant. My complaint was worse than ever, and I 
 w^as suffering from scurvy as well. We did indeed feel 
 grateful to the unfortunate Hansal who had done all 
 he could to alleviate our distress ; but God has disposed 
 otherwise. How I wish poor Hansal had taken our 
 advice and gone home. 
 
 The state of moral darkness in which we lived, the 
 constant insults, being gazed upon by such multitudes, 
 being at the mercy and sport of these savages, just as if 
 one were a monkey or other curious animal, all had a 
 dulling effect on one's spiritual nature, and I felt that 
 I must be losing my mind ; but yet in all these trials 
 and afflictions God did not leave us. Again a ray of 
 hope shone through the obscurity. 
 
 We had alreadv heard something about English 
 troops, but the information was very vague. One of 
 the Mahdi's messengers, who took the Mahdi's answer 
 back to Gordon in Khartum, told me that Gordon had 
 received him well, had given him some bakshish, not 
 like the God-forsaken Mohammed Said Pasha, who had 
 executed the Mahdi's messengers ; but, prior to his 
 departure, Gordon had warned him in the following 
 words : — " Go, tell the Mahdi that I have only to stamp 
 my feet on the ground, and thousands of Englishmen 
 will at once spring up." I believed this story, for I did 
 not think the messenger was clever enough to invent it ; 
 besides, I felt sure that Gordon must have known quite 
 well that he alone was utterly unable to extinguish the 
 
120 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAME. 
 
 fire of this gigantic revolt. But at length all these 
 reports were fully confirmed. 
 
 It was Friday. The Khalifas were out on parade, 
 when two camels, carrying an English mail, arrived. 
 Khalifa Abdullah at once left the review, and sent for 
 Klootz to read the letters. Klootz came at once to me 
 and said that an entire English mail for Gordon had 
 been captured near Omdurman. It was clear from 
 several letters that English troops were advancing into 
 the Sudan from three directions ; that is to say, from 
 Suakin to Berber, from Korosko to Abu Hamed, and from 
 Dongola, where there were 20,000 infantry and 10,000 
 cavalry. There was a telegram from Cairo to Assuan 
 announcing General Graham's advance ; a touching 
 little letter from a young girl to her father in Khartum, 
 whose name I forget. In this letter she told of the 
 alarm she felt for her father's safety, and how she 
 prayed daily that her father might not meet the same 
 fate as General Hicks. In another letter Gordon was 
 informed that £60,000 had been sent to him. 
 
 All these letters had been sent from Berber to General 
 Gordon by Joseph Cuzzi, who had written a letter to 
 Gordon to that effect in Italian. One letter said that 
 it was well known that the Khalifa Abdullah was the 
 moving spirit of the revolt, and that the Mahdi merely 
 supplied the religious element ; but Klootz did not 
 translate this in the Mahdi's presence. When the latter 
 got up to go, Klootz translated this sentence to the 
 Khalifa Abdullah, who was delighted with this flattering 
 remark. Cuzzi's Italian letter was concealed by Klootz, 
 who afterwards brought it to me. In this letter Cuzzi 
 briefly informed General Gordon that he was forwarding 
 the letters ; that he had sent a messenger to Sawakin to 
 come to an understanding with General Graham, and 
 that the rebels at Abu Hamed had seized a number of 
 the Government boats. He added that Gordon should 
 have no anxiety about Berber, as long as Hussein Pasha 
 Khalifa was Mudir. But in this matter he proved to 
 have been completely deceived. 
 
 The general import of all these letters convinced the 
 
THE CAPTURE OF TEE ENGLISH MAIL. 121 
 
 Mahdi that the English were in earnest. He therefore 
 decided to take no action for a time, and to remove the 
 camp to the foot of the mountain, where it was his 
 intention to await their advance. 
 
 But soon after came the news that Berber had fallen, 
 and that General Graham had returned to Sawakin, and 
 this decided the Mahdi to advance on Khartum. 
 
 The Nubas now began to give some difficulty. 
 No sooner had the Dervishes abandoned their camp 
 at the foot of the mountain, than the Nubas rendered 
 all roads in the vicinity of Eahad, and for a consider- 
 able distance, unsafe. Slaves going out to gather 
 wood or straw were suddenly swooped down upon 
 by these bold mountaineers, who killed or captured 
 them. In this way they revenged the cruelties which 
 they had suffered. The Mahdi was quite unable to 
 subdue these blacks, and his failure to do so was a great 
 blow to his pride. 
 
 I may here remark that at this period of the Mahdieh 
 religion, violation of moral laws was very severely 
 punished. One of the Mahdi's bodyguard caught in 
 flagrante in the practice of a species of immorality by 
 no means uncommon in Eastern countries, both culprits 
 were led out in chains and beheaded in the presence of 
 the assembled multitudes. 
 
 Before following the Mahdi on his march to Khartum, 
 it is advisable here to take a brief review of the events 
 which had occurred in Khartum, Berber, and the 
 Gezireh. 
 
 The catastrophe which had overtaken General Hicks's 
 force filled the inhabitants of Khartum with indescrib- 
 able dismay. Several of them returned to Egypt, and 
 the members of the Austrian Mission, with their blacks, 
 quitted Khartum on the 11th of December, 1883. For- 
 tunate were those who seized this chance of escape 
 before the roads became blocked ! 
 
 General Gordon's arrival in Khartum gave fresh life 
 and hope to the inhabitants. Great were the rejoicings, 
 and a magnificent reception was prepared for the long- 
 expected deliverer. This reception took place on the 
 
122 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHD? S CAMP. 
 
 1 8th of February, 1 8 84, and must have greatly encouraged 
 General Gordon in his undertaking ; but it was not 
 Gordon's individual presence which so greatly inspired 
 the people. What could Gordon do alone, against the 
 now universally worshipped Mahdi ? The nature of the 
 revolt was not political ; the Sudanese had no intention 
 of establishing an empire under the Mahdi's rule, and, 
 even had this been the case, it is very improbable that 
 Gordon's mediation would have been of any avail. 
 
 The movement was a religious movement, and was 
 not limited to the Sudan alone ; the Mahdi's intention 
 was to subdue the world. He was a prophet, and in his 
 
 THE GOLD MEDAL STRUCK BY GORDON TO COMMEMORATE THE 
 SIEGE OF KHARTUM. 
 
 own and the estimation of his followers he was a greater 
 man than the Prophet Mohammed. The world was to 
 come to an end in his time. Had Gordon only known 
 beforehand how boundless was the wild fanaticism, and 
 how completely the Mahdi's followers were intoxicated 
 by it, he would never have accepted the mission. As 
 it appeared to us in Kordofan, and to the Mahdi him- 
 self, Gordon's undertaking was very strange ; it was just 
 as if a man were attempting to put out an enormous 
 fire with a drop of water. Gordon's name alone could 
 not suppress the revolt, and it was not on account of his 
 name that the Khartum people rejoiced at his arrival ; 
 
0 II Pi WA L DEB' 8 VIEWS ON GORDON'S MISSION 123 
 
 it was because they looked on Gordon as an English 
 representative, and that he was only the precursor of an 
 English expedition sent to take possession of the Sudan 
 for England. That is what made the people glad, and 
 caused them to put aside all idea of departure. Had 
 they not been certain that an English expedition was 
 coming, not a soul would have remained in Khartum, 
 and I have no hesitation in saying that had the Egyptian 
 Government not sent Gordon, then undoubtedly the 
 evacuation originally ordered could have been carried 
 out without difficulty. 
 
 Those who escaped massacre in Khartum have often 
 told me that they were perfectly ready to leave, and it 
 was only Gordon's arrival that kept them back ; but 
 Gordon's arrival without troops had rather disappointed 
 them. Had he been accompanied by five hundred 
 British bayonets, his reputation in the Sudan might 
 have been maintained, and probably the Mahdi would 
 never have left Kordofan. 
 
 Gordon himself committed a mistake, by which he 
 gave a death-blow to himself and his mission. On his 
 way to Khartum he stopped at Berber and interviewed 
 the Mudir Hussein Pasha Khalifa ; he imprudently told 
 him that he had come up to remove the Egyptian 
 garrisons, as Egypt had abandoned the Sudan. At 
 Metemmeh also — a strong place between Berber and 
 Khartum, and the headquarters of the powerful Jaalin 
 tribe — he committed a similar imprudence, by giving 
 the same information to Haj Ali Wad Saad, the emir of 
 Metemmeh. 
 
 This Haj Ali was a man held in great respect, on 
 account of his just dealings, and afterwards, when he 
 died in Orndumian, there was public mourning for him. 
 The fact, indeed, that the Khalifa had pardoned him 
 after " marissa " had been found in his house, sufficiently 
 indicates how greatly he was respected. Both Haj Ali 
 and Hussein Pasha Khalifa informed all their principal 
 people about the decision of the Government, and it 
 was this announcement that made these faithful sheikhs, 
 who were then trembling in the balance, throw in their 
 
124 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDPS CAMP. 
 
 lot with the Mahdi. Why should they remain loyal to 
 a Government which had decided to give up their land ? 
 Had they remained faithful, what had they to expect 
 when the Mahdi prevailed ? It was this announcement 
 oT Gordon's which was the main cause of the fall of 
 Berber, which place was essential for Gordon's plan of 
 operations. 
 
 Haj Ali, shortly before his death, and when in great 
 suffering, reviewed the misery which the Mahdi had 
 brought upon the Sudan, and the part he himself had 
 taken in it, and he then said that it was nothing but 
 the knowledge of the intention of the Government to 
 abandon the Sudan which made him join the Mahdi. 
 " How," he said, " could I have remained loyal to a 
 Government which I knew intended to leave me in the 
 lurch afterwards ? I would only have been paving the 
 way for the Mahdi's vengeance." 
 
 At the time Haj Ali said this he was in doubt about 
 the Divine nature of the Mahdi, and spoke openly to 
 people on these matters. " But," he added, " at that 
 time every one thought only of himself. Gordon 
 thought only how he could save himself and the 
 Egyptians, and we thought how we could save ourselves 
 and avert the Mahdi's vengeance by taking his part ; 
 so we went to Berber, joined with the Ababdeh, besieged 
 and took the town, and then cut Gordon's communica- 
 tions with Egypt." 
 
 Gordon was soon destined to see with his own eyes 
 what a fatal mistake he had made, but only when it was 
 too late. 
 
 No notice was taken of Gordon's peaceful proclama- 
 tions ; the revolt was now widespread, and masses of 
 fanatical Dervishes were gradually encircling Khartum. 
 Mohammed Wad el Besir, the sheikh El Obeid — a man 
 held in great respect in the Gezireh — his sons, and the 
 Fiki Medawi advanced on the town from the south. 
 On the 16th of March, 1884, Gordon's troops were heavily 
 defeated, and their leaders were executed by Gordon for 
 treachery. 
 
 Another blow fell on Gordon by the surrender, at 
 
THE FALL OF BERBER. 
 
 125 
 
 Fedasi, of Saleh Wad el Mek, with 1,400 men, to the 
 emir Abu Girgeh. Still Gordon did not despair of 
 success, and it was his individuality which inspired the 
 inhabitants of Khartum w T ith hope. 
 
 • Saleh Wad el Meks surrender greatly encouraged the 
 Dervishes. Rebels were also gathering to the north of 
 Khartum. The Jaalin of Metemmeh and the Ababdeh, 
 as I previously stated, prepared to attack Berber. 
 Hussein Pasha Khalifa, Sheikh of the Ababdeh, who 
 had been Muclir there since the 18th of December, 1883, 
 remained faithful to the Government, but his sub- 
 ordinates paid no attention to him ; and it was largely 
 due to the influence of these officials that numbers of 
 local sheikhs joined the Mahdi. 
 
 The Ababdeh, Barabra, and Jaalin, under the supreme 
 command of Mohammed el Kheir, now besieged Berber. 
 Eight days later the town was taken by storm, and 
 most of the garrison and a number of inhabitants were 
 massacred. Joseph Cuzzi had attempted to escape, but 
 he was caught and sent to Khartum to endeavour to 
 induce Gordon to surrender. He was subsequently 
 sent on to the Mahdi at Rahad. 
 
 Gordon's communications with the north were now 
 cut. After Saleh Pasha's surrender, the number of 
 besieging Dervishes increased greatly, and Abu Girgeh 
 growing bolder, seized the village of Buri, where he 
 built a fort and began to shell the town. Gordon 
 therefore, on the 2nd of May, sent out a considerable 
 force, which attacked Abu Girgeh, drove him out of his 
 position, and all but succeeded in capturing him. Thus 
 did Gordon, although hemmed in on all sides, maintain 
 a bold front, and employed every art of war to keep the 
 Dervishes from investing the town more closely. 
 
 To return now to the Mahdi at Rahad. He was at 
 this time in full preparation for departure to the siege 
 of Khartum, and, as usual, he despatched Abu Anga, 
 Wad Nejumi, Wad En Nur, and Wad Gubara, with all his 
 best troops in advance. As I have previously related, 
 Cuzzi, who arrived at Rahad at the end of June, had 
 been previously sent by the Dervishes to Khartum to 
 
126 TEN YEARS CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDl's CAMP. 
 
 try and induce Gordon to surrender, and Gordon had 
 given strict orders that he should not be permitted 
 within the walls. When, therefore, he arrived at 
 Rahad, the Mahdi received him very well, loaded him 
 with presents, and then sent him back with George 
 Clementino to Khartum as bearer of letters to Gordon. 
 He arrived at the Dervish camp at the same time as 
 Nejumi. Clementino was permitted to converse with 
 the Greek consul, Leontides, but Cuzzi returned to 
 Berber. 
 
 The Mahdi passed the month of Eamadan in Eahad, 
 and it was not until the 8th of August that he set out for 
 Khartum. The whole population, like a swarm of 
 bees, accompanied him on the same road which Hicks 
 had taken. The people joyfully undertook this long 
 journey through pathless districts, and at a time w^hen 
 the rainfall was heaviest. Camels, too, were expensive 
 and difficult to procure ; but, in spite of all these 
 obstacles, fanaticism was more pronounced than ever. 
 There were in all upwards of 200,000 people, and at 
 Shirkeleh the cavalry numbered 4,000. To defeat such 
 an enormous force as this, a European expedition was 
 necessary, not the weak force at Gordon's disposal. 
 
 Throughout the entire route fresh cavalry joined, 
 whilst the herds of cattle w T hich the Arabs drove along 
 served as food, and meat was then cheap enough. 
 Numbers of animals died during the march, and the 
 road was plainly marked by an unbroken line of dead 
 camels, donkeys, horses, and oxen. The route lay from 
 Shirkeleh to Shatt, and thence to Duem. Here a 
 halt was called for a few days to collect stragglers. All 
 notion of working in the fields w r as abandoned, and 
 agricultural pursuits were entirely dispensed with. Thus 
 it happened that on the Mahdi's arrival at Omdurman 
 the Dervishes w r ere in great w r ant of grain. 
 
 The Mahdi arrived at Omdurman on the 23rd of 
 October, 1884, but the whole of the stragglers did not 
 reach it till early in November. Everything had been 
 prepared. Gordon was surrounded by numerous enemies, 
 still he did not despair. 
 
THE SIEGE OF KHARTUM. 
 
 127 
 
 In August both Niles had risen considerably ; the 
 Blue Nile had arrived almost at its full height, while 
 the White Nile had overflowed its low bank, and now 
 swept past Fort Mukran and the houses in Khartum. 
 So hioh was it, that a dam had to be constructed to 
 keep the water within bounds. At high Nile the White 
 river is very broad ; and at a later date, when I crossed 
 over from Omdurman to the roughly built fort which 
 has long since been destroyed, I was sea-sick. But as 
 the river fell it left the ditch full of mud, and this 
 proved a source of great danger. When the river was 
 hirfi, Gordon made several successful counter-attacks. 
 Mohammed Ali Pasha went up the Blue Nile to a place 
 near Gereif, and on the 30th of August fell upon the 
 Arabs, utterly defeating them. This brave leader also 
 attacked the old Sheikh El Obeid at Halfaya, and 
 captured a quantity of dhurra and cattle. Khartum 
 breathed once more, and it seemed as if all would be 
 well ; the bands played in the evening, and the town 
 was full of joy, which, alas, was soon to be turned to 
 sadness. 
 
 Mohammed Ali Pasha, emboldened by his late 
 successes, advanced again on the Sheikh El Obeid, 
 whom he defeated near El Eilafun ; but, advancing into 
 the desert to renew the attack on the 4th of September, 
 he and upwards of 800 of his troops fell into an ambush 
 and were slaughtered. This proved a very severe blow to 
 Gordon, and Khartum being now closely invested, he 
 decided to send a steamer north to communicate with 
 the Government, and give them full information of the 
 state of affairs. 
 
 As the Nile was now high, it was thought the small 
 steamer Abbas would be able to make her way safely to 
 Dongola. The Abbas left Khartum on the 10th of 
 September, and was accompanied by two other steamers 
 towing boats, in one of which were a number of Greek, 
 and in the other Syrian merchants. These steamers ran 
 the gauntlet of shot and shell till past Berber. When a 
 short way beyond that town, the steamers Mansureh 
 and Sajia turned back, and reached Khartum only with 
 
12S TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDTS CAMP. 
 
 the greatest difficulty, being fired upon throughout 
 almost the entire distance. The Abbas continued her 
 journey north, and drew up for the night at a small 
 island. The two boats which had been cast off when 
 the other steamers left, now passed the Abbas, but were 
 driven on to some rocks by the wind, and here they had 
 to stop for the night to repair. The next morning the 
 Abbas passed them, and Colonel Stewart urged them to 
 push forward. The Greek boat started, but it was some 
 time before the Syrians could set sail ; and again they 
 were driven on to the rocks, where they remained firmly 
 fixed. 
 
 In the meantime the Dervishes at Berber, who had 
 gained possession of the steamer El Fasher when the town 
 fell into their hands, at once sent heroffin pursuit, together 
 with two large sailing boats. The Fasher soon came up 
 with the wrecked Syrian boat, which now made a sign 
 of truce, was boarded and taken possession of. The 
 Dervishes, having obtained all information, left one of 
 their boats in charge of their capture, and then pursued 
 the Greek boat, with which they soon came up, and, 
 having secured her, the Fasher continued her pursuit of 
 the Abbas. She proceeded almost as far as Abu Hamed, 
 but here the captain refused to take her any further, as 
 he feared running her on to a rock. So she returned to 
 Berber with her captured boats, in which there were in 
 all twelve Greeks and fifteen Syrians. Of the latter, 
 eight were males, five females, and two children. 
 
 The steamer Abbas, after passing Abu Hamed, entered 
 the Wadi Gamr cataracts, which are very rocky and 
 dangerous, and here she struck on a rock near the village 
 of Hebbeh, the inhabitants of which belong to the 
 Monasir tribe. Colonel Stewart had the baggage dis- 
 embarked on an island, on which the travellers now took 
 up their abode until the expected Greek and Syrian 
 boats should arrive ; but, after waiting two days, 
 Stewart sent his interpreter, Hassan Husni, with Moham- 
 med Hilmi Gorab and the captain, ashore, with instruc- 
 tions to see the sheikhs, and, by the offer of presents 
 and the promise of a good reward from the Government, 
 
STEWARTS PARTY TREACHEROUSLY MURDERED. 129 
 
 to induce them to supply camels to enable the ship- 
 wrecked party to continue their journey to Dongola. 
 
 These messengers were well received by Sheikh 
 Suleiman Wad Naaman, and neither he nor his people 
 were wearing jibbehs ; they asserted that they were 
 thoroughly loyal to the Government, and added that it 
 was only the arrival of Sheikh Heddai that had made them 
 pretend to be against the Government. Suleiman said 
 that he would assist the shipwrecked passengers with 
 the greatest pleasure, and so well did he conceal his wicked 
 treachery that the messengers returned to Stewart 
 greatly elated with their success. But in the meantime 
 Suleiman had prepared a treacherous trap, into which 
 the over-confident passengers blindly fell. He sent 
 secret orders to all the people round about to prepare 
 for a fight, and then drove some camels along the river 
 bank, to show that he was preparing for the journey. 
 Colonel Stewart ordered all the spare ammunition to be 
 thrown into the river, and then landed with the other 
 passengers. 
 
 Suleiman invited him and the consuls, Power and 
 Herbin, to go into his house, so as to make final 
 arrangements with the camel-owners, and at the same 
 time he begged them to remove their arms, as the Arabs 
 might get alarmed and make difficulties about hiring 
 their camels. An artillery captain who was with 
 Stewart begged him not to let go his arms, as there 
 might be treachery ; but Stewart laughed at his fears, 
 and he, with the two consuls and the interpreter, entered 
 the house, while the others remained outside ; they still 
 retained their revolvers. Suleiman begged them to be 
 seated, and proceeded to present to them a number of 
 Arabs, who, he asserted, were the camel-owners. 
 
 The traitor had dates brought to them, and, so as not 
 to offend him, they took some. Then Suleiman stood 
 up and lifted his leather water-bottle, which was the 
 prearranged signal for the Arabs to rush out of their 
 hiding-places and attack the guests. In a second the 
 house was full of armed men, who called upon them to 
 throw down their revolvers and submit ; but before 
 
 K 
 
130 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 they had even time to do this, the Arabs rushed upon 
 them with their swords. Consul Herbin, who was 
 standing near the door, was the first to fall ; his head 
 was chopped off with an axe. Consul Power and Colonel 
 Stewart were soon cut to pieces. The interpreter, 
 Hassan, begged to be spared, crying out, " I am a 
 Moslem ! I am a Moslem, and my name is Hassan ! " 
 So he was not killed, but received a wound in the 
 shoulder. The murderers then rushed off to the river 
 bank to attack the others, who were soon killed, except 
 two artillerymen, who jumped into the river, and a few 
 servants. It was said that the interpreter, Hassan, had 
 arranged the betrayal, and I was afterwards told that 
 when he got into difficulties later, he sent a petition to 
 Mohammed el Kheir, in which he said that he was 
 entitled to reward for having secured Colonel Stewart's 
 death. He is still living in Omdurman. 
 
 Suleiman sent all the correspondence he captured to 
 the Mahdi, who thus became thoroughly aware of 
 Cordon's desperate condition. On the 22nd of October 
 he wrote to Gordon, informing him of the event, and 
 summoned him to submit, as he had no hope of re- 
 ceiving any relief. 
 
 This catastrophe was another terrible blow to Gordon. 
 He had counted on Stewart being able to inform the 
 Government of the straits to which Khartum was 
 reduced, and the necessity of sending immediate help. 
 The state of Khartum now became very serious. Nejumi 
 and the other forces were clustering round Kalakala ; 
 there was daily fighting, and bullets fell in the streets 
 of Khartum. There were upwards of 10,000 Dervishes, 
 extending from Kalakala to Buri. Wad Gubara and 
 Wad Sheikh el Obeid had their camp at Khojali, on the 
 right bank of the Nile, to the north. Thus w r as 
 Khartum surrounded by hordes of fanatical Arabs, who 
 attacked the starved and forsaken town from morning 
 till night. 
 
( 131 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SIEGE AND FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 The surrender of Oindurman fort — Gordon's dispositions for defence 
 — His great personal influence — The night before the assault — 
 The attack and entry of the Dervishes — Gordon's death — The 
 adventures of Domenico Polinari — The massacre in Khartum — 
 How most of the Europeans died — Ruthless cruelty and blood- 
 shed — The fate of the wives and daughters of Khartum — 
 — Ohrwalder's views on the situation in Khartum and the 
 chances of relief by the British Expeditionary Force — His 
 description of the town three months after the fall. 
 
 The Mahdi camped on the south side of Omdurman fort, 
 and at once began to direct the siege, the command 
 of his troops was vested in Abu Anga ; but he did 
 not dare to send his black troops, who had previously 
 fought in the Egyptian service under Gordon, against 
 Khartum, fearing that, owing to the influence which 
 Gordon had formerly exercised over them, they might 
 desert to him. 
 
 ( )mdurman Fort, which was then under the command 
 of Faragallah Pasha, was soon reduced to great straits, 
 and the Mahdiists threw up trenches, in which they were 
 comparatively safe from the continuous fire. Eventually 
 they succeeded in entrenching themselves between the 
 fort and the river, thus cutting the communications, 
 which Gordon was unable to restore. Consequently, 
 the garrison soon began to starve ; but they still fought 
 courageously, and inflicted great loss on the Dervishes. 
 Amongst the latter was a certain emir, named Moham- 
 med Wad el Areik, who, while in the act of laying a gun 
 at ( )mdurman, was struck in the back of the neck by a 
 bullet. He was visited by the Khalifa Abdullah, who 
 promised that he should recover ; but, in spite of this 
 promise, lie died the following day. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 TEN YEABS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 Faragallah, having now no food left, was obliged to 
 surrender, and thus the Mahcli was enabled to press the 
 siege of Khartum more closely than ever. 
 
 The town itself was full of traitors ; almost all the 
 important townsmen had written to the Mahcli from 
 time to time, to the effect that they wished to submit 
 to him, and that they believed in him. Gordon was, so 
 to speak, alone in the midst of enemies, but the expected 
 arrival of the English kept the inhabitants from sur- 
 rendering. 
 
 Every day Gordon invented some means of making 
 the people believe that their deliverers were near ; he 
 frequently had the walls placarded with announcements 
 that they were very near Khartum, but all his promises 
 came to nothing. 
 
 Gordon was almost superhuman in his efforts to keep 
 up hope. Every day, and many and many a time 
 during the day, did he look towards the north from the 
 roof of the palace for the relief which never arrived. He 
 overcame the want of money by issuing paper bonds ; 
 but soon the people refused to accept them, and to 
 enforce his order he sent fourteen merchants to the east 
 bank, just in front of the enemy's guns ; this he did to 
 frighten them, and when they agreed to accept the 
 bonds he had them brought back to the town. To 
 further strengthen the belief of the people in the speedy 
 arrival of the English, he hired all the best houses along 
 the river bank, and had them prepared for their occupa- 
 tion. He was sure they would come — but when ? The 
 time was pressing. How eagerly he searched the distant 
 horizon for the English flag he longed to see, but every 
 day he was doomed to disappointment. 
 
 The troops were famine-stricken, and began to lose 
 heart, whilst the enemy without the walls daily grew 
 bolder in anticipation of the plunder they hoped so soon 
 would be theirs. From Buri to Kalakala the Dervishes 
 extended in one unbroken mass, whilst their hundreds 
 of noggaras never ceased beating in Gordon's ears night 
 and day. 
 
 The town was closely hemmed in on three sides. 
 
uORDONS PERSONAL INFLUENCE AND GENEROSITY. 133 
 
 Wad (Jul mm on the north was near enough to shell his 
 palace : and under the hole where the first shot struck 
 the wall Gordon inscribed the date as a remembrance. 
 None of us can realize how heavily his terrible responsi- 
 bilities weighed upon him. Despair had seized upon 
 the town. The unreliable nature of the Sudanese was a 
 constant source of anxiety to him, and enhanced the 
 critical situation. Those in charge of the biscuits and 
 dhurra stole quantities of it on every possible occasion, 
 and tried to deceive Gordon by assuring him that there 
 were millions of okes in store, wdien in reality there was 
 almost nothing. In their endeavours to enrich them- 
 selves they forgot that they were only preparing the 
 way for their ultimate destruction. 
 
 The officer in charge of the dhurra store was arrested 
 and brought before a Court of Inquiry ; but Gordon had 
 to point out to those who were making the investigation 
 that they should not inquire too critically into the 
 matter. He knew all that had taken place, but he was 
 p< >werless to stop it. He won the people's hearts by his 
 generosity ; and even to this day all who knew him 
 never cease speaking of his kindness. His endeavours 
 to recompense the Greeks for their honesty are affecting 
 in the extreme. He elaborated numerous plans for 
 their escape. His first intention was to place a steamer 
 at their disposal to convey them to Emm Pasha in 
 Kquatoria ; and, to avoid ill-feeling and jealousy, he 
 made known his plans to them at a public meeting, 
 remarking that as most of them were natives of the 
 Greek islands, they had necessarily considerable ex- 
 perience of brats and navigation, and that therefore it 
 became their duty to patrol with the steamers on the 
 Blue and White Niles, and watch the enemy's move- 
 ments ; but secretly he warned them that they should 
 be in readiness, as soon as they saw Khartum was lost, 
 to set off and join Emin Pasha. 
 
 This plan did not, however, please the Greeks, so 
 Gordon proposed another, which was that, in case of 
 great danger, they should proceed north ; and for this 
 purpose he kept a steamer moored off* the palace, well 
 
134 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 stocked with biscuits and other necessaries. To enable 
 them to get their families on board during the night 
 without the other townspeople knowing about it, he 
 gave orders that after 9 p.m. all traffic along the roads 
 leading to the Blue Nile should be stopped, and that no 
 persons were to be allowed out of their houses after that 
 hour. In this way, should the Dervishes enter the town 
 by night, the Greeks could easily escape to the steamer, 
 start down stream, and meet the English. Some of 
 them resolved that, should the Mahdiists effect an 
 entrance, they would forcibly carry off Gordon and put 
 him on board the steamer, for they felt sure he would 
 not leave Khartum of his own accord. Everything was 
 carefully prearranged and considered ; and all would 
 have been well but for a disagreement amongst the 
 Greeks themselves, which mainly arose through the 
 phlegmatic and short-sighted conduct of their consul 
 Nicola Leontides. 
 
 On that fatal Sunday evening one of the principal 
 Greeks came to the consul and begged him urgently to 
 spend that night on the steamer. The consul refused, 
 arguing that there was no imminent danger, and that 
 he was sure the troops could hold out a few days longer. 
 The Greek argued in vain, and at length left him ; and 
 that was the last time they saw each other. 
 
 That night proved to be the last night on earth for 
 Gordon and thousands of others. While they were 
 sleeping soundly, and dreaming perhaps of the arrival 
 of the English, the Dervishes were creeping like snakes 
 towards the parapets. It is hardly likely Gordon could 
 have slept. For two days he had remarked considerable 
 movement in the Mahdi's camp ; he had observed 
 numbers of boats passing to and fro on the White and 
 Blue Niles. He could not have doubted that the Mahdi 
 was preparing to strike the final blow. And so it 
 proved, for he was planning the assault on Khartum. 
 He had received news of the destruction of his troops at 
 Abu Klea and Abu Kru, and of the advance of the 
 English. 
 
 The Mahdi was convinced that if one Englishman 
 
TEE ASSAULT ON KHARTUM* 
 
 135 
 
 reached Khartum his chance of success was gone, and 
 that he must retire to Kordofan. That was his reason 
 for attempting the assault. Gordon, on the other hand, 
 expected the arrival of the English at any moment ; 
 and while he was counting the hours which might 
 elapse ere they could reach him, his enemies were 
 shaking their lances with which they should pierce him. 
 
 The moon had gone down, deep obscurity reigned ; 
 and now the Dervishes stealthily advanced in perfect 
 silence towards that portion of the defence which had 
 been destroyed during the high Nile, and which, as the 
 river receded, had left an open space in which ditch and 
 parapet had almost disappeared. Here there was little 
 to impede their entry ; and the Dervishes, shouting 
 their wild battle-cry, dashed in wild disorder over this 
 open ground. 
 
 Farag Pasha commanded the whole of this portion of 
 the defences. Many people in the Sudan, more especi- 
 ally those who used to be in the Government service, 
 say that Farag Pasha betrayed the town ; but the fact 
 that he was killed almost immediately after the fall 
 points to his not having done so. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that many of the senior 
 officers were wavering, and numbers of Khartum 
 merchants were in correspondence with the Mahdi. It 
 is possible that their action may have assisted the 
 Dervishes. The latter naturally assert that Khartum 
 was captured entirely by force of arms, for any acknow- 
 ledgment on their part of treachery within the town 
 would tend to detract from the effect of the Mahdi's 
 success. The matter stands thus : the parapet which 
 had been destroyed had never been repaired. This was 
 not Gordon's fault ; in his desperate position he could 
 not be everywhere. It is a thousand pities that he had 
 not a few trusty European officers with him. With the 
 exception of this defective portion near the White Nile, 
 the whole line of defence was almost impregnable ; the 
 ditch was so deep and the parapet so high that ?t would 
 have been next to impossible to cross it. 
 
 On coming through the open space the Dervishes 
 
A DEPYLSH E.MIR, PRE SEX T IX THE ATTACK OX KHARTUM, AND 
 AFTERWARDS CAPTURED AT TOSKI. 
 
THE FALL OF KHARTUM AND DEATH OF GORDON. 13'< 
 
 broke up into two parties. One party dashed along the 
 parapet, breaking all resistance, and slaughtering the 
 soldiers in all directions ; the other party made for the 
 town. The inhabitants, roused from their sleep by the 
 shouts of the Arabs and the din of rifle-shots, hurried 
 out, anticipating what had occurred. Like a pent-up 
 stream suddenly released, over 50,000 wild Dervishes, 
 with hideous yells, rushed upon the 40,000 inhabitants 
 of Khartum, besides the 5,000 soldiers — all that was 
 left of the 9,000 at the commencement of the siege. 
 The only cry of these fanatical hordes was " Kenisa ! 
 Saraya ! " ("To the church ! the palace ! ") — i.e. the 
 Austrian Mission Church and Gordon's palace, where 
 they expected to find treasure stored up in the cellars, 
 and priests and sisters. 
 
 The surging mass threw itself on the palace, over- 
 flowed into the lovely garden, and burst through the 
 doors in wild search for their prey ; but Gordon went 
 alone to meet them. As they rushed up the stairs, he 
 came towards them and tried to speak to them ; but 
 they could not or would not listen, and the first Arab 
 plunged his huge spear into his body. He fell forward 
 on his face, was dragged down the stairs, many stabbed 
 him with their spears, and his head was cut off and sent 
 to the Mahdi. 
 
 Such was the end of the brave defender of Khartum. 
 When I came from El Obeid to Omdurman I visited 
 Khartum, and went to the palace, where I was shown 
 sonic black spots on the stairs which they told me were 
 the traces of Gordon's blood. 
 
 On Gordon's head being brought to the Mahdi, he 
 appeared to have' been much displeased at his death — 
 not because he felt pity for him, but he believed that 
 Gordon might join his army. Had he not done so, he 
 would have imprisoned him and reduced him to slavery. 
 It was much better that Gordon should have died when 
 he did than have remained a captive in the hands of 
 these cruel and fanatical Arabs. Gordon's head was 
 hung on a tree in Omdurman, and the wild multitude 
 rejoiced in heaping curses on it and insulting it. 
 
138 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDTS CAMP. 
 
 Alter the palace, the Mission building was the next 
 principal object on which the wild, plunder-seeking 
 Arabs vented their fury. General Gordon had some 
 time previously hired this building, which was of stone 
 and bomb-proof, and turned it into a powder magazine 
 and ammunition store. The Dervishes killed the guards 
 mounted outside the garden, and then broke in, while 
 others clambered over the high wall. A black who was 
 employed in the Mission garden was lying on the point 
 of death on his mattrass in the garden ; the Dervishes 
 ended his life by ripping open his body. 
 
 The Mission gardener, brother Domenico Polinari, 
 who had been left to take charge of the Mission 
 property, on the first alarm, had rushed to the main 
 gate of the garden to see what was the matter. He 
 opened the gate slightly, and, seeing an array of lances, 
 he slammed to the gate with all his might, and fled to a 
 small hut in the garden which was full of hay, and he 
 hid himself in the corner underneath the hay. Several 
 slaves who were working in the garden followed his 
 example ; but they did not stay long, for, thinking it 
 was not a sufficiently good hiding-place, they were 
 running off to another hut when they were fallen upon 
 and massacred. Domenico heard their shrieks and the 
 click of the sword which beheaded them from his place 
 of concealment ; but he dared not move from the spot, 
 though half choked with the dry grass in which he lay. 
 Several Dervishes entered the hut and thrust their 
 spears into the hay to search for any one in con- 
 cealment. 
 
 One can realize the terror of poor Domenico as the 
 naked spear-heads were forced through and almost 
 touched him. He lay, however, undiscovered for some 
 hours, and at last the noise and din of rifle-shots grew 
 less. Though suffering agonies from thirst, he still did 
 not dare to move till close on midnight, when he 
 emerged from his bed of hay. All was still, the 
 stillness of death. He could see the Dervish guard 
 fires ; and, as he crept along, he stumbled over the 
 dead body of the black who had been working in the 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF DOMENWO POLINA RI. 139 
 
 garden. Horror-stricken, lie slowly moved forward 
 again. At every step he saw a dead man, all of them 
 labourers and watchmen who had attempted to escape 
 when the Dervishes entered. Creeping under the 
 shadow of the large lemon-trees, he reached the main 
 gate, above which was a small hut which had been 
 occupied by one of the black families belonging to the 
 Mission. The windows of the hut looked into the 
 garden, and Domenico scrambled through one of these 
 into the room. Here he found one of the women, 
 Halima, and begged her to give him some bread and 
 water. He questioned her about the entrance of the 
 Dervishes and the fate of the inhabitants. She replied in 
 a few words that the town had been stormed, and numbers 
 of the inhabitants, as w T ell as General Gordon, Consul 
 Hansal, and most of the Europeans, had been killed. 
 
 This was a new shock to the already terror-stricken 
 Domenico. He threw himself on the bed and bested 
 that Halima would not betray him ; but she, fearing to 
 be found out, crept out of the hut, went up to the 
 Dervishes who were collected round the camp fire, and 
 told them that there was a Turk in her cottage. Some 
 of them jumped up, and, following Halima into the hut, 
 they drove out the unfortunate Domenico with the butt 
 ends of their lances. He was brought in front of the 
 camp fire and carefully searched for money ; but he at 
 once drew forty pounds out of his pocket, which he 
 distributed amongst them, and they were satisfied and 
 did not ill-treat him. 
 
 On the following day he was taken before Ahmed 
 Wad Suleiman, the Emin beit el mal, who made full 
 inquiries of him regarding the Mission money. Do- 
 menico said that when the Mission left Khartum they 
 took all the money with them, and had left nothing. 
 Domenico was then sent to the garden to work there 
 for his new master, but soon afterwards was betrayed a 
 second time, and fell into grievous trouble and danger. 
 
 A few days before the fall of Khartum he had buried 
 £150 in the garden, intending to make use of it when 
 the needful time came ; but one of the blacks who was 
 
140 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 working at the steam-pump in the garden, to whom 
 Domenico had confided his secret, and who was one of 
 the garden labourers who had escaped the massacre, 
 went and told Ahmed Sharfi (one of the Mahdi's 
 nearest relations) that Domenico had concealed money. 
 This he did to ensure his own safety, for the Dervishes 
 had been greatly disappointed in the quantity of loot 
 they expected to find. In the palace they had dis- 
 covered only paper money, and in the Mission some 
 furniture, instead of the treasure they had been led to 
 expect. Ahmed Sharfi was therefore much pleased 
 with the black's information, himself came to Domenico 
 and asked to be shown the place where the money was 
 buried. In vain Domenico protested that he had given 
 all the money to Gordon. He was at once knocked 
 down and flogged with a kurbash ; but the first stroke, 
 which drew blood, made him cry for mercy ; he disclosed 
 the hiding-place, and, when Ahmed Sharfi had secured 
 the money, he was released. 
 
 The ruthless bloodshed and cruelty exercised by the 
 Dervishes in Khartum is beyond description. I will 
 briefly describe the deaths of the best-known people. 
 Nicola Leontides, the Greek consul, who, on account of 
 his amiable character, was much respected in Khartum, 
 had his hands cut off first, and was then beheaded. 
 Martin Hansal, the Austrian consul, who was the oldest 
 member of the European colony, was alive up till 2 p.m., 
 when some Arabs from Buri, led by his chief kavass, 
 who was on bad terms with him, entered the courtyard 
 of the .house, and, on Hansal being summoned to come 
 down, he was at once beheaded. At the same time 
 Mulatte Skander, a carpenter who lived with him, Avas 
 killed in the same way. His body, together with that 
 of his dog and parrot, were then taken out, alcohol 
 poured over them, and set fire to. After a time, when 
 the body had become like a red-hot coal, it was thrown 
 into the river. 
 
 Human blood and ruthless cruelty alone seemed to 
 satisfy the Dervishes. The Austrian tailor, Klein, on 
 making the sign of the cross, had his throat cut from 
 
THE MASSACRE IN KHARTUM. 
 
 14] 
 
 car to car with a knife which was used to slaughter 
 animals, and his life-blood was poured out before the 
 eyes of his horror-stricken wife and children. Not 
 satisfied with the death of the father, they seized his 
 son, a youth of eighteen, and, burying their lances in 
 his body, they stretched him out at his mother's feet, a 
 corpse ! They then took counsel as to how they should 
 kill the next son, a lad of fifteen. But by this time 
 the mother, a daughter of Cattarina Nobili, of Venice, 
 was worked up into a state of mad despair. Seizing 
 her son of five years old with her right hand, while she 
 held her suckling babe to her breast with her left, she 
 fought against these murderers like a tigress being 
 robbed of her young, and they could not wrest her 
 children from her ; but they seized her daughter, a girl 
 of eighteen, who became the wife of an Arab. 
 
 The son-in-law of Doctor Georges Bey (who had been 
 killed in the Hicks's expedition) was roused from sleep 
 by the noise of the Arabs breaking in. He rose from 
 his bed, and, making the sign of the cross, rushed to 
 the window, where he shouted " Aman " (" Security of 
 life ") ; but a bullet struck him in the forehead, and he 
 fell dead at the feet of his young wife. The Dervishes 
 forced their way into the house, broke in the door of the 
 room where the dead man lay stretched out on the bed, 
 killed another Greek, and clove open the head of the 
 little son, a boy of twelve years of age, with an axe, 
 scattering his brains over his unfortunate mother, who 
 was sitting beside him. She saved her little son of six 
 months old by saying he was a girl. The mother her- 
 self was not killed, as she was with child, but she was 
 reserved to become the wife of Abderrahman Wad en 
 Nejumi. 
 
 Aser, the American consul, fell down dead on seeing 
 his brother beheaded before his eyes. The males of 
 most of the Coptic families were massacred, but the 
 women were spared. I know several of these poor 
 women who, from continuously weeping over the cruel- 
 ties of that terrible 26th of January, have become quite 
 blind. 
 
142 TEN YEARS 1 CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 Those men whose lives were spared have to thank 
 Providence that either they fell into the hands of those 
 less cruel than their comrades, or that they did not quit 
 their houses for two days, at the end of which time 
 the first wild passions of these murderers had cooled 
 down. 
 
 The fate of seven Greeks was a sad one ; these were 
 all together in one house, for, through a merciful 
 Providence, they had fallen into less cruel hands. It 
 was past noon, and they were rejoicing at having 
 escaped from the general massacre. Then a certain 
 George Clementino entered. This Clementino had 
 originally come from El Obeid, and had frequently been 
 sent by the Mahdi with messages to Gordon, and when 
 he returned from Khartum to the Mahdi, the latter 
 treated him with much favour. 
 
 When the capture of Khartum was known in Omdur- 
 man, Clementino hastened to the town, with the 
 intention of rescuing any compatriots he could find, and 
 he soon heard of the seven surviving Greeks. Full of 
 delight at their safety, he congratulated them, and 
 advised them to make their way to the house of 
 Manoli, the Greek who, with his wife and nephew, had 
 escaped by concealing themselves in the dove-cot. 
 
 It was Clementino's intention to collect all the Greeks 
 here, and then take them to Omdurman. The seven 
 Greeks trusted to their compatriot's name and influence 
 to protect them, but Dervishes were on the watch to 
 stop them. As they were following Clementino to 
 Manoli's house, which was only a short distance off — 
 indeed, they had only gone a few steps — they were 
 met by a party of Ahmed Sharfi's Danagla, who 
 were searching the streets filled with the dead and 
 wounded, with the object of giving the coup de grace to 
 any who might still be alive. 
 
 When these murderers espied the party of white men 
 from a short distance, they shouted, " Look ! Some of 
 these dogs, these unbelievers, are still alive," and, full 
 of anger, they rushed upon the unfortunate Greeks. 
 Clementino begged and prayed thai they might be 
 
RUTHLESS CRUELTY AND BLOODSHED. 
 
 143 
 
 spared, but they were beheaded before his eyes, and he 
 himself barely escaped with his life. Pale, terror- 
 stricken, and trembling, he fled to Omdurman, and for 
 some months he lay on the point of death, so great had 
 been the shock of witnessing the massacre of his fellow- 
 countrymen. 
 
 Numbers even of women and little children were not 
 spared, and the torture which the survivors had to 
 undergo, to force them to produce their money, are 
 scarcely credible. Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi (the favourite 
 of Gordon) was tied for several days to a date-palm and 
 flogged till he gave up all his money. The old widow 
 of Mustafa Tiranis was flogged almost to death. She 
 was a rich Circassian lady, and had supplied Gordon 
 with money in donkey loads, and had been decorated by 
 him with the Khartum medal. 
 
 Slaves were most cruelly tortured, beaten, and 
 forced to disclose the hiding-places of their masters' 
 money and treasures. The Shaigieh tribe in particular 
 was most harshly dealt with ; this was the only tribe 
 which remained loyal to the Government, and even 
 eight days after the fall of Khartum, if a Shaigi was 
 seen, he was instantly killed ; hence the Dervish pro- 
 verb, " Esh Shaigi, Wad er Rif el Kelb ma yelga raha 
 fil Mahadieh " (" The Shaigi, the Egyptian, i.e., the white 
 one, the dog, no rest shall he find in Mahdieh ").* 
 
 Farag Pasha did not live long after the fall ; some 
 still said he had betrayed the town, and the Dervishes 
 were furious with him because, some ten days before the 
 assault, during one of the preliminary attacks, he had 
 shot Abdullah Wad en Nur, an emir of great repute, 
 and much beloved by the Ansar. Farag was summoned 
 before Wad Suleiman, who ordered him to produce all 
 the money he had. Incensed at his treatment and at 
 the charge of treachery, he fell into a hot dispute with 
 Wad Suleiman, who had him forthwith beheaded as an 
 unbeliever and an obstinate man. If he was really a 
 
 * According to the Mahdi doctrine, dogs, being considered impure 
 animals, arc destroyed ; but this subject will be considered in another 
 chapter. 
 
144 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY JN THE MATIDPS CAMP. 
 
 traitor, he richly deserved his fate; but if not, his death 
 was that of a brave man. 
 
 When the massacre in Khartum was at an end, the 
 Mahdi himself gave orders that the survivors should be 
 spared, but the wild fury of these fanatical Arabs had 
 been satiated at the cost of 10,000 lives ; the streets 
 were filled with headless corpses, which were left 
 unburied until the plunder had been distributed. 
 
 The whole of Khartum was now divided up amongst 
 hundreds of emirs and their mukuddums. Every emir 
 planted his flag in the midst of the quarter captured by 
 his men, and then the work of collecting the survivors 
 was begun. Ahmed Wad Suleiman ordered all free 
 women and slaves to be brought to the beit el mal ; 
 here the young and good-looking fair women were 
 locked up in a separate enclosure, the good-looking, 
 unmarried Sudanese girls in another zariba, and in a 
 third were placed black slave girls, suitable as con- 
 cubines. 
 
 It is deplorable to think that at such a time were 
 found certain of the w T ell-known townsmen of Khartum 
 who assisted the Dervishes to lay hands on all the 
 prettiest girls in Khartum ; through their intermediary, 
 many of the women who had cut off their hair, and in 
 other ways concealed their beauty and sex by disguising 
 themselves as men, fell into the hands of the Ansar. 
 
 May God's curse fall on those wicked traitors who 
 delivered up these unfortunates in order to gain favour 
 with the Mahdi ! What sufferings these miserable 
 creatures underwent when they lay huddled together 
 like cattle in a pen, awaiting their cruel fate ! Many 
 of them were still in their silken robes, all bespattered 
 with the blood of their husbands and children, and 
 there they lay, awaiting their turn to become the wives 
 of those wdio had murdered their husbands and their 
 offspring ! 
 
 The first selection was, of course, made for the Mahdi, 
 who took for himself all girls of five years of age and 
 upwards, who, in a few years' time, he would take to 
 his harem ; then came the turn of the three Khalifas, 
 
FATE OF TEE WIVES AND DAUGHTERS OF KHARTUM. 145 
 
 whose selections were made especially under the direc- 
 tion of Wad Suleiman ; then followed the emirs, each in 
 the order of his rank, and one by one they made their 
 choice of these wretched women. Those that were left 
 were distributed amongst the Ansar. Then were openly 
 enacted sights which would have melted hearts of 
 stone. The weeping and lamentation of the white 
 women, as they prayed and besought the pity of their 
 masters, the rough jeering and foul replies of these 
 monsters, it is all too horrible to relate. 
 
 The old unmarried women were given a few rags 
 with which to partially cover themselves, and were sent 
 to Nejumi's camp, where they were kept in captivity 
 for a few days. All suffered the agonies of hunger and 
 thirst, heat and cold. Little babies, not yet weaned, 
 were left to die of hunger, and for weeks after the fall 
 young widowed mothers could be seen wandering naked 
 through the market at Omdurman, bego'in£. Some 
 poor women brought forth children in the streets, and 
 there they would lie, mother and child, naked and 
 foodless, until death came as a happy release from their 
 misery. 
 
 The Mahdi had directed that all gold and silver 
 jewellery, precious stones and ornaments, should be 
 collected in the beit el mal ; but of course most of this 
 had already found its way into the pockets of the emirs ; 
 and, in spite of the Mahdi's most stringent orders, and 
 his threats that those who concealed the booty would be 
 punished in hell-fire, still the Ansar kept the loot and 
 risked the eternal flames. 
 
 Considerable quantities of treasure were, however, 
 collected in the beit el mal, for Khartum was wealthy, 
 and the women especially had quantities of gold and 
 silver ornaments ; but so much loot soon reduced the 
 currency, and a sovereign was now valued at two and a 
 half dollars. Every penny was extracted from the 
 prisoners by the lash, and all were reduced to complete 
 beggary. They were then sent to Nejumi's camp ; and 
 on their way thither they were again beaten and 
 searched. They were kept a few days longer as 
 
 L 
 
146 TEN Y1SAR& CAPTIVITY IN THE MAJ1DFS CAMP. 
 
 prisoners in that camp, and then those who had the 
 fortune to meet with relations or friends who had been 
 released would weep together over their wretched state. 
 The confusion was terrible. Women wandered through 
 the camps in search of their children, children sought 
 their parents ; but how few ever found them ! 
 
 After a time all the prisoners were permitted to live 
 in Omdurman, where they eked out a miserable exist- 
 ence by begging ; but hunger, disease, and all the 
 sufferings they had undergone carried off hundreds. 
 For days they remained naked, scorched under the 
 burning sun by day, and perished with cold at night. 
 How could people accustomed to ease and comfort bear 
 up against such hardships ? 
 
 When at length all the houses in Khartum had been 
 evacuated, the furniture, &c, removed, and their owners 
 robbed of all they possessed, the effects were sold from 
 the beit el mal at a low price. The various coloured 
 stuffs were cut up and utilised for making the patches 
 on the jibbehs (Dervish uniform), gold brocades were 
 purchased by those who knew their real value for a 
 mere trifle, and the gold melted down and made into 
 ornaments. Mirrors and looking-glasses were chopped 
 in pieces with axes, and valuable china and pottery 
 articles, which might have been sold for much, were 
 smashed in pieces. The beautiful Khartum gardens 
 were divided up amongst the chiefs ; the Khalifa 
 Abdullah became the possessor of Gordon's garden, 
 Khalifa Sherif took that of the Koman Catholic Mission, 
 and .Khalifa Ali Wad Helu became owner of Albert 
 Marquet's. Every emir selected the best house he 
 could find, and there he installed himself with his wives 
 and slaves ; while the Ansar took the houses of the 
 poorer Copts and Egyptians. But Omdurman, and not 
 Khartum, was now considered the Dervish capital. 
 
 Intoxicated by their success, and insatiable in their 
 desire for women and plunder, the Dervishes had for- 
 gotten altogether about the English, for whom Gordon 
 had waited so long. How cruel is fate ! Two days after 
 the fall, on the 28th of January, 1885, two steamers were 
 
THE BKITISTI EXPEDITION TOO LATE. 
 
 147 
 
 seen slowly making their way along the western shore 
 of Tuti Island. 
 
 Khartum and Omdurman were electrified ; a consulta- 
 tion was quickly held, and it was at once decided to 
 prevent their landing. The English could be seen 
 searching in all directions for some sis^n to show them 
 that Gordon was still alive ; but the only answer they 
 got was the rain of thousands of bullets fired from 
 thousands upon thousands of rifles and guns at Omdur- 
 man and Fort Mukrun. All rushed to the river bank. 
 The women, seizing sticks and waving them over their 
 heads, shrieked and yelled like hyenas, " Mot lil Inglez !" 
 (" Death to the English ! ") and they were prepared to 
 rush at them with their sticks if they attempted to land. 
 When the English saw this, they could have had little 
 doubt as to what had happened ; they turned back and 
 disappeared. The rage of the Dervishes at their de- 
 parture was unbounded. They rained bullets and shell 
 after them ; but they were soon out of sight. 
 
 Let us now consider for a moment the chances of 
 success of the English relief expedition. The defeat at 
 Abu Klea struck terror into the Mahdiists gathered 
 round Khartum ; the arrival of some wounded men at 
 Omdurman added to the general alarm. Had twenty 
 redcoats arrived at Khartum, it would have been saved. 
 Their presence would have given fresh courage to the 
 inhabitants ; and, confident of their approaching de- 
 liverance, they would have striven might and main to 
 hold out longer. General Gordon, assisted by the advice 
 and energy of a few English officers, would have com- 
 pletely regained his influence. It is true, indeed, that 
 the soldiers were weary of the long siege and continual 
 fighting, and they had lost all faith in Gordon's repeated 
 promises that the English were coming. They became 
 heart-broken and in despair ; but Khartum was not for 
 long in the state of distress which prevailed in El Obeid 
 before that town fell. In Khartum they had only been 
 eating gum for a few days previous to the fall, while 
 in El Obeid they had existed on it for months, and 
 had practically nothing else to live upon. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 Had the Khartum people but seen one Englishman 
 with their own eyes, they would have taken fresh 
 courage, and would in all probability have held out 
 for another month, until the relief for w 7 hich they had 
 waited so long was a fait accompli. The Mahdi would 
 not have dared to assault Khartum ; and even if he 
 had, it is most probable he would have been beaten 
 back. Many survivors of Khartum often said to me, 
 " Had w T e seen one Englishman, we should have been 
 saved ; but our doubt that the English w r ere really 
 coming, and the feeling that Gordon must be deceiving 
 us, made us discouraged, and we felt that death would 
 be preferable to the life of constant war and daily 
 suffering; we were leading during the siege." 
 
 © © © © 
 
 The unaccountable delay of the English was the cause 
 of the fall of Khartum, the death of Gordon, and the 
 fate of the Sudan. The Mahdi only made up his 
 mind to attack when he heard that they had delayed at 
 Gubat. He did not begin to cross over his troops till 
 the 24th of January, and it was not till Sunday night 
 that the crossing was complete. He could not 'have 
 attacked earlier than he did. When the first news of 
 his defeat at Abu Klea reached him he wished to raise 
 the siege and retire to Kordofan. If the English had 
 
 © ■ © 
 
 appeared at any time before he delivered the attack he 
 w T ould have raised the siege and retired. Indeed, it was 
 always his intention to revisit El Obeid before he made 
 his attack. 
 
 Even to the present day people in the Sudan cannot 
 understand the reason for the delay. Some say that 
 the English general was wounded at Abu Klea, and was 
 lying insensible, and that those who w r ere acting for 
 him did not dare to undertake any operations until he 
 was sufficiently recovered to be able to give his own 
 orders. 
 
 The Sudanese wondered why Europeans, who generally 
 take precautions for every eventuality, should not have 
 done so in this case. Others thought that Kashm el 
 Mus Pasha must have urged the English to attack the 
 Arabs about Metemmeh and Shendi, in revenge for the 
 
NEJUMI PURSUES THE ENGLISH. 
 
 149 
 
 persistency with which they had attacked and harassed 
 the steamers. The above are only some of the many 
 reasons by which the Sudanese seek to explain the 
 delay after the battle of Abu Klea. 
 
 When the English were convinced that Khartum had 
 fallen, they retreated north. Once the town had fallen, 
 the little English fighting force was in the gravest peril ; 
 the Mahdi had now his entire force at his disposal to 
 combat them. He at once despatched Nejumi and a 
 large number of his best emirs with a large force ; and 
 had not the English already retreated before he reached 
 Metemmeh, they could not have escaped. 
 
 The Mahdi was furious when he heard that the 
 English, who had killed such numbers of his best troops, 
 had retired ; and, though the latter failed in their 
 object, still their bold attempt to snatch the prey from 
 the lion's mouth must remain for ever a grand exploit, 
 The bravery of the English in advancing on Khartum 
 with such a small number of men is always a source of 
 wonder to the Sudanese. But, alas, what a useless 
 sacrifice of blood and money ! The relief came too 
 late. 
 
 The memory of Gordon, the heroic defender of 
 Khartum, is still held in respectful remembrance in the 
 Sudan. His bravery, generosity, and voluntary self-sac- 
 rifice have won the admiration of his bitterest enemies. 
 It is the common saying amongst Moslems, " Had 
 Gordon been one of us, he would have been a perfect 
 man." I will now give a slight sketch of the events 
 subsequent to the fall, and the fate of the town. 
 
 After the retreat of the English, the new masters of 
 Khartum settled down and made themselves comfortable. 
 The Ashraf, i.e. the Mahdi's relatives, especially made 
 themselves at home in the best houses and gardens, the 
 best dancers entertained them by night, and they lived 
 a life of ease and luxury. After the death of the 
 Mahdi, which occurred on the 22nd of June, 1885 his 
 successor, the Khalifa Abdullah, looked on the prosperity 
 of Khartum with jealous eyes. 
 
 When I arrived in Khartum from El Obeid in April 
 
150 TEN YEARS 1 CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 1886, I visited every part of the town, and examined it 
 most carefully ; very few houses had been destroyed, 
 and the town was thickly. populated. I also visited the 
 lines of defence between the Blue and White Niles, they 
 extended about six kilometres. The impression I 
 gathered from the appearance of the ditch, which at 
 that time had been much damaged by the heavy rains, 
 was that it could not have been crossed, except near the 
 White Nile where it was quite choked up with mud and 
 sand. At various points along the line there were 
 strongly-built forts manned with guns, and a little in 
 rear of the parapets were high structures which com- 
 manded the ditch ; behind every loophole were small 
 mud shelters, evidently made by the troops to protect 
 themselves from the cold and strong winds. 
 
 The Messalamieh gate was built of burnt bricks and 
 cement and was then in a good state, but the iron gate 
 lay unopened against the side of the ditch. I counted 
 about 150 bodies along the parapet; there they lay, 
 shrivelled up like mummies, while rats and mice had 
 made their homes in them. In one place I saw two 
 bodies tied together by the feet, they had evidently 
 been killed in this position. It was impossible to 
 distinguish the Egyptians from the blacks, for the sun 
 had burnt up and shrivelled the skin into one black 
 colour. Here, where there had been such bustling 
 activity, now only the stillness of the tomb prevailed. 
 As one walked along, lizards and other reptiles would 
 creep from beneath the skeletons and dart off to take 
 refuge under others. 
 
 I strolled on from the Messalamieh gate to the 
 European cemetery. Here what desolation and desecra- 
 tion met my eyes ! The crosses had been smashed to 
 pieces and lay strewn about in little bits. Graves had 
 been dug up and the bodies pulled out. I recognised 
 from their clothes three who had died in January 1881. 
 The grave of Bishop Comboni, who had died on the 11th 
 of October, 1881, and had been buried in the Mission 
 garden, had also been opened, but the obelisk erected to 
 his memory by the townspeople of Khartum had not 
 
THE DESTRUCTION OF KHARTUM. 
 
 151 
 
 been destroyed. The church bells had been pulled 
 down, but lay there in the garden undamaged. 
 
 Shortly after my visit, Khartum was reduced to ruins. 
 The Khalifa Abdullah, jealous of the Ashraf, who had 
 completely established themselves in the town, and 
 whose actions he could not therefore sufficiently super- 
 vise, determined to order its evacuation. In August 
 the command was given to all to quit the town within 
 three days ; it was carried out at once, and on the 
 fourth day the destruction of Khartum began. Houses 
 were pulled down, the wood of the windows, balconies, 
 and doors was transported to Omdurman, and within a 
 very short time the whole place was in ruins ; the burnt 
 bricks were for the most part brought to Omdurman ; 
 the only buildings which were spared were the Arsenal, 
 in which work still continues to be done, Gordon's 
 palace, and the Mission house. In fact, Khartum is 
 now nothing but a heap of mud ruins, here and there a 
 wall is left standing, everywhere large prickly thorn 
 bushes have sprung up and cover as with a veil the sad 
 remnants of the once thriving and populous metropolis 
 of the Sudan. 
 
]52 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE MAHDl's LAST DAYS. 
 
 ( )hrwalder's criticisms on certain events connected with the defence 
 of Khartum — The Sudan devastated by small-pox — The Mahdi 
 gives way to a life of pleasure — Description of his harem life — 
 — The Mahdi sickens and dies — The efiect on his followers — 
 The Khalifa Abdullah succeeds — Party strife and discord — 
 Abdullah prevails — Events in Sennar and Kassala. 
 
 Looking back on the events which occurred during the 
 siege of Khartum, I cannot refrain from saying that I 
 consider Gordon carried his humanitarian views too far, 
 and that this excessive forbearance on his part both 
 injured the cause and considerably added to his 
 difficulties. It was Gordon's first and paramount duty 
 to rescue the Europeans, Christians, and Egyptians from 
 the fanatical fury of the Mahdi. which was specially 
 directed against them. This was Gordon's clear duty, 
 but unfortunately he allowed his kindness of heart to be 
 made use of to his enemy's advantage. 
 
 Khartum during the siege was full of the wives, 
 relations, and children of men who had joined the 
 Dervishes, and were foremost in their efforts to harass 
 and attack the town. These crafty people thus assured 
 themselves that should the Mahdi be victorious, their 
 loyalty to him would ensure the safety of their families 
 and property in Khartum, while, on the other hand, 
 should Gordon be victorious then their wives and 
 families would be able to mediate for them with the 
 conquerors. Thus in his kindness of heart did Gordon 
 feed and support the families of his enemies. It was 
 quite sufficient for a number of women to appeal to 
 Gordon with tears in their eyes, that they were starving, 
 for him to order that rations of corn should at once be 
 
OIIRWALDERS CRITICISMS. 
 
 issued to them, and thus it was that the supplies in 
 the hands of the Government were enormously reduced. 
 
 Had Gordon, in the early stages of the siege, relieved 
 Khartum of the presence of these people, as he sub- 
 sequently was forced to do, he would have had supplies 
 sufficient to prolong the resistance of his troops far 
 beyond the limits at which they had arrived when the 
 assault took place, and, after all, should not Gordon's 
 first care have been for his troops ? His men clamoured 
 against the lavish way in which Gordon distributed 
 what should have been their rations amongst the 
 
 o 
 
 families of the besiegers, but it was of no avail. 
 
 Gordon should have recognised that the laws of 
 humanity differ in war from peace time, more especially 
 when the war he was waging was especially directed 
 against wild fanatical savages who were enemies to all 
 peace. He was entirely deceived if he believed that by 
 the exercise of kindness and humanity he was likely to 
 win over these people to his side ; on the contrary, they 
 ridiculed his generosity and only thought it a sign of 
 weakness. The Sudanese respect and regard only those 
 whom they fear, and surely those cruel and hypocritical 
 Mahdiists should have received very different treatment 
 to civilized Europeans. 
 
 I also think that Gordon brought harm on himself 
 and his cause by another action which I am convinced 
 led to a great extent to his final overthrow. Such men 
 as Slatin, Lupton, Saleh Wad el Mek, and others had 
 offered at the risk of their lives to come and serve him. 
 It is almost certain that some means could have been 
 found of rescuing from slavery these brave men who 
 had defended their provinces with the greatest deter- 
 mination against treachery from within and over- 
 whelming numbers from without, and they could have 
 rendered him most valuable and useful services. None 
 knew better than these men the weak and the strong 
 points of the Mahdi's rule and his method of warfare, 
 and it is quite possible that they might have been 
 able to alter the fate of Khartum. In the Mahdi's camp 
 they were looked upon as brave and skilful leaders, 
 
154 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 indeed they were feared, and that is why they were put 
 in chains, as it was thought they might attempt to 
 escape. Had they been permitted to enter Khartum 
 they would not only have been able to assist in the 
 Mahdi's overthrow, but they would have been able to 
 encourage the garrison. 
 
 Gordon would not, however, even vouchsafe an 
 answer to the letters of appeal these men wrote to him. 
 He could not have believed they were traitors, such an 
 idea could not have entered into the mind of an 
 European. The Mahdi never for an instant doubted 
 their inclinations, and treated them with the greatest 
 mistrust ; but even to these savages the idea of killing 
 men who had been loyal to the Government, and had 
 fought bravely for their provinces, was objectionable, 
 unless they could have produced a really valid reason 
 for doing so. How was it possible Gordon could be for 
 an instant in doubt as to the inclinations and intentions 
 of these men ? I feel strongly on these points, and 
 therefore cannot refrain from mentioning; them. 
 
 After the fall of Khartum only two strong places 
 remained in the hands of the Government, Kassala and 
 Sennar, both of which were closely besieged. The 
 English had retired north, and the Mahdi could rest at 
 last, assured that he was now possessor of the Sudan. 
 
 The enormous multitudes around Khartum had been 
 engaged during the whole of the winter season in war, 
 consequently cultivation was neglected, and had it not 
 been for the quantities of cattle available, a disastrous 
 famine must have occurred. As it was, there was a 
 great deal of distress, and numbers died of starvation. 
 Famine and war had brought disease in their train. In 
 addition to fever and dysentery, small-pox, which in the 
 Sudan is endemic, increased with fearful rapidity. In 
 Omdurman hundreds died, and the principal business of 
 the beit el mal was distributing " kafans " (shrouds). 
 
 It was curious that the Sudanese, who much dread 
 this disease, should have attributed it to the English ; 
 but that they did so is a fact, and this is how it came 
 about. When the English retired from Gubat, they 
 
THE SPREAD OF SMALL-FOX. 
 
 155 
 
 left behind them a quantity of preserved stores and 
 tinned meat. The Dervishes, in spite of the belief that 
 they contained pork, which is an abomination to them, 
 were so hungry that they consumed almost everything 
 they found, and it is said that almost immediately 
 afterwards they were attacked by small-pox, which gave 
 rise to the idea that the English had mixed their food 
 with the germs of the disease, and this was implicitly 
 believed in. 
 
 Owing to the prevalence of small-pox in Omdurman, 
 many people fled to Kordofan, Darfur, and other places, 
 and consequently caused the disease to spread over the 
 whole country. Several false doctors, with the sole 
 object of making money, guaranteed to check the 
 disease by inoculation ; but as the inoculated matter 
 was frequently in itself diseased, the epidemic was still 
 further increased. 
 
 Notwithstanding this national calamity, the Mahdi 
 now gave himself up to a life of ease and luxury, in 
 which the unfortunate women captured in Khartum 
 played a prominent part. He represented that all those 
 who died of small-pox were suffering God's punishment 
 for being evil-minded or having appropriated the booty. 
 People believed what he said, and would still believe 
 him, if he were alive and told them even more incredible 
 things. The capture of Khartum had, of course, raised 
 his prestige enormously, and now the belief in his 
 Divine message needed no furthur confirmation. Before 
 the assault took place he said that he would divide the 
 river into two parts, just as Moses had divided the Eed 
 Sea, so that his followers could cross to Khartum on dry 
 land if they failed to take it by assault. His promise, 
 too, that very few should fall by the sword, not only 
 encouraged them in the attack, but its verification 
 served only to further prove his divinity. His uncle, 
 Sayid Abdel Kader, up to the time of the fall of 
 Khartum, still doubted that he was the true Mahdi ; 
 but, once the town was taken, he doubted no longer. 
 
 All this success increased the adulation and worship 
 of the Mahdi to an extraordinary extent, and as for 
 
156 TEN YE APIS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 himself, although he was continually warning his fol- 
 lowers to despise the good things of this world, and to 
 abandon all luxurious modes of life, he surrounded 
 himself with every sort of comfort and luxury, appre- 
 ciating to the utmost the very pleasures which he 
 
 AX EGYPTIAN HAREM WOMAN. 
 
 declaimed so violently. He urged moderation in eating 
 and drinking, yet he secured for himself every dainty 
 which Khartum could possibly produce. He now wore 
 shirts and trousers of the finest material, and. before 
 
THE MA1IDI GIVES WAY TO A LIFE OF PLEASURE. 157 
 
 putting them on, his wives were obliged to perfume 
 them with incense and other costly fragrances. His 
 wives attended on him in turns, but no regularity was 
 preserved. They anointed his body with all sorts of 
 precious unguents, but his speciality was the expensive 
 " Sandalia " (a perfume prepared from sandal-wood and 
 oil), and so saturated was he with these perfumes that 
 when he went forth the air was laden with sweet-smell- 
 ing odours. 
 
 The courtyard of his harem was full of women, from 
 little Turkish girls of eight years old to the pitch-black 
 Dinka negress or copper-coloured Abyssinian ; almost 
 every tribe in the Sudan supplied its representative, so 
 that one mis;ht sav the entire Sudanese woman -world 
 was to be seen here. 
 
 Amongst this vast concourse four only were lawful 
 wives ; the remainder were considered as " ghenima," or 
 booty, and were looked upon as slaves and concubines. 
 His principal wife was called " Aisha," or, as she is 
 better known in Omdurman, " Om el Muminin " (the 
 Mother of the Faithful). She was a woman of con- 
 siderable influence, for the wives of all the principal 
 emirs visited her, and she was assisted by them in 
 elaborating an extensive system of espionage. Alas, 
 how many unfortunate girls were left weeping day and 
 night for their miserable state, robbed by this Aisha of 
 their happiness and liberty ! 
 
 The Mahdi's dwelling was built for the most part of 
 the captured loot. From the boards of General Hicks's 
 stable he had two huts built, and near these a hut made 
 of mortar and a small magazine. This man, who 
 hitherto had but ■ a small straw mat, now lay on fine 
 bedsteads originally brought from Jedda and captured 
 in Khartum, while the floors were spread with Persian 
 carpets. Here was this Divine Mahdi leading indoors a 
 life of the most immoderate uxoriousness, whilst out- 
 side his fanatical followers hailed him as the direct 
 messenger of God, sent to purge the world from the 
 evil practices of the hated Turk. 
 
 Two persons whom I knew well, and who had visited 
 
158 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDFS CAMP. 
 
 the Mahdi less than three weeks before his death, gave 
 me an account of the sort of life he was then leading. 
 It was the month of Eamadan, the great fast, and any 
 one who failed to keep it strictly was punishable by 
 death. From noon till midnight people used to crowd 
 to the mosque, which was then only a large enclosure 
 surrounded by a zariba. Thousands of Dervishes could 
 be accommodated in this large rectangular space, in 
 which the clash of a forest of spears indicated their 
 impatience to see the Mahdi as he came to prayers ; 
 they had seen him hundreds and hundreds of times 
 before, but they seemed never tired of gazing at 
 him, and often fought to get a place near the mihrab 
 (niche) where he prayed. 
 
 Whilst the impatient murmur of thousands of voices 
 indicates that the time of his approach has almost 
 arrived, let us for a moment turn into the Mahdi's 
 harem, and here is a true picture of what my friends 
 there beheld. The Mahdi reclining on a magnificent 
 carpet, his head propped up by a pillow covered with 
 gold brocade ; he is clothed in a linen shirt of finest 
 texture, a pair of drawers, and a gallabieh ; his shaved 
 head covered by a takia of embroidered silk. Up- 
 wards of thirty women stand around him ; some fan 
 him with great ostrich feathers, others gently rub his 
 feet (a practice in which the Sudanese delight), without 
 in any way disturbing his slumber ; others gently 
 smooth his hands, and Aisha lies beside him, covering 
 his head and neck with loving embraces. 
 
 Meanwhile hundreds of Ansar are shouting outside 
 his zariba, impatiently awaiting his blessing, and 
 anxiously expecting to hear his voice. The eunuchs 
 are trying to drive off this importunate crowd with 
 whips, but they will not leave until they have obtained 
 the earnestly sought blessing. At length one of the 
 eunuchs enters, and receives from Aisha the blessing, 
 which she gives without disturbing the Mahdi. He 
 then returns and tells the impatient crowd that the 
 Mahdi is at present in deep contemplation, but that he 
 is graciously pleased to give them his blessing, which is 
 
THE MAUDES HAREM LIFE. 
 
 159 
 
 then repeated. This is the signal for a wild shout of 
 joy, and then they return to the mosque to range 
 themselves in their appointed lines for prayers. And 
 now those who were not present to receive the blessing 
 press forward to touch the others, and thus obtain some 
 of its virtue. 
 
 The Mahdi is gradually sinking from his half doze 
 into a sound slumber, when Aisha very gently rouses 
 him and tells him that the appointed time for ablutions 
 and prayers is already passed. The women now assist 
 him to rise, his red shoes are brought, and then he 
 proceeds to the place of ablution, followed by four 
 women carrying his water-bottle. On his return the 
 women throw themselves down frantically on the spots 
 which his feet have touched, and stable with each 
 other in their endeavours to embrace the ground on 
 which he has trodden. 
 
 It is believed that the earth touched by the Mahdi's 
 foot has healing properties, and has, moreover, the 
 effect of ensuring a quick and painless delivery ; it is 
 therefore distributed amongst holy women, and even to 
 this day is carefully preserved for the purpose which I 
 have cited. Not a drop, too, of the water with which 
 the Mahdi has washed is allowed to be wasted, but is 
 hoarded with the greatest care, and drunk as an unfail- 
 ing remedy for every sort of illness and malady. 
 
 But to return to my friends' description. The 
 Mahdi's ablutions over, his son Bashra runs up to him 
 and shows him a golden ring his mother has given him. 
 Bashra asks permission to wear the ring, but the Mahdi, 
 who has by this time noticed the presence of two 
 strangers, says, "Oh, my son, only the Turks wear 
 such ornaments, because they love the things of this 
 world ; but it is not becoming in us to wear such 
 ornaments, which are perishable ; we strive to obtain 
 things imperishable. Give the ring back to your 
 mother." The little hypocrite well understands what 
 his father means, and obeys. 
 
 Aisha then clothes the Mahdi in his Dervish jibbeh, 
 girdle, and turban, and in this godly raiment he marches 
 
160 TEN YEARS CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDFS CAMP. 
 
 off to the mosque. As he quits the palace, his body- 
 guard surround him and keep off" the crowd. On 
 reaching the mihrab he is received w ith a shout by the 
 assembled multitude. x4fter prayers he gives a short 
 sermon, and then returns to his wives. 
 
 Thus did the Mahdi enjoy the sweets of victory 
 indoors, whilst outside he practised the most abominable 
 hypocrisy. Most of his principal emirs (with the ex- 
 ception of his uncle, Sayid Abdel Karim, who had been 
 sent to reduce Sennar) followed in their divine master's 
 footsteps, and led a life of pleasure and debauchery. 
 Sometimes the Mahdi used to cross over to Khartum 
 and disport himself in Gordon's palace, whither he 
 ordered a portion of his harem to be transferred. 
 
 But all this good living and unbridled sensuality 
 w T ere to be the cause of his speedy dissolution. He 
 grew enormously fat. The two visitors, whom I men- 
 tioned above, saw him only eight days before his death, 
 and told me that they believed then he could not live 
 much longer. Early in Ramadan he fell sick, and 
 soon became dangerously ill. The hand of God's 
 justice fell heavily upon him ; and it was decreed that 
 he should no longer enjoy the empire which he had 
 raised on the dead bodies of thousands of the victims 
 to his wretched hypocrisy and deceit. 
 
 It is, indeed, terrible to think of the awful misery 
 and distress brought upon his own country by this one 
 man. His disease grew rapidly worse ; he complained of 
 pain in the heart, and died, on the 22nd of June, 1885, 
 of fatty degeneration of the heart. Some say that he 
 was a victim to the vengeance of a woman who had 
 lost husband and children in the fall of Khartum, and 
 who repaid the Mahdi's outrage on her own person by 
 giving him poison in his food. This may be so ; and 
 it is true, poison is generally used in the Sudan to put 
 people out of the way ; but I am rather inclined to 
 think that it was outraged nature that took vengeance 
 on its victim ; and that it was the Mahdi's debauched 
 and dissolute mode of life which caused his early death. 
 He died in the mortar hut, which I previously de- 
 
THE MAEDFS DEATH. 
 
 1G1 
 
 scribed ; and his adherents gave out that he was about 
 to travel through the heavens for a space of three 
 years. People were not allowed to say " The Mahdi is 
 dead," but k 'El Mahdi intakal " (i.e. "The Mahdi has 
 been removed "). 
 
 The shock of his death was terrible. The wild fanatics 
 were, so to speak, struck dumb ; their eyes were 
 suddenly opened ; and their very confusion showed that 
 they had realized the Mahdi was a liar. Omdurman 
 was full of suppressed murmuring ; and the people were 
 collected in groups, talking of this awful catastrophe. 
 
 Those who were oppressed believed that the sudden 
 collapse of Mahdieh must result in a revolution. No 
 one believed that the Mahdi's party could continue 
 ruling in his name. Would that some o-ood man could 
 have been found to rapidly seize this opportunity of 
 putting himself at the head of the anti-Mahdiists ; he 
 must have been successful ! 
 
 The confusion in the Mahdi's household was beyond 
 description ; his women wept and wailed in the wildest 
 grief. Ahmed Wad Suleiman and the Mahdi's nearest 
 relatives prepared a grave immediately beneath the bed 
 on which he had died ; the body was washed, wrapped 
 in a shroud, according to the Moslem custom, and, in 
 the presence of the Khalifas and all the members of 
 the Mahdi's family, it was lowered into the grave, 
 amidst the lamentations and wailing of the enormous 
 crowd collected outside the building. Before the grave 
 was filled in, the body was sprinkled with perfumes ; 
 then each person present took a handful of earth and 
 threw it into the grave, amidst murmurs of " Ya 
 Rahman, Ya Rahim ! " (i.e. 0 merciful, 0 gracious God !) 
 A simple monument was erected over the tomb. 
 
 Thus ended the Mahdi — a man who left behind him 
 a hundred thousand murdered men, women, and chil- 
 dren, hundreds of devastated towns and villages, 
 poverty, and famine. Upon his devoted head lies the 
 curse of his people whom he had forced into a wild 
 and fanatical war, which brought indescribable ruin 
 upon tne country, and which exposed his countrymen 
 
 M 
 
162 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 to the rule of a cruel tyrant, from whom it was im- 
 possible to free themselves. 
 
 Before his death, the Mahdi had nominated the 
 Khalifa Abdullah as his successor ; he saw that this 
 was the only man capable of holding in check the 
 rapacious Sudanese tribes, and of governing the strange 
 empire which he had raised ; but the selection of this 
 " foreigner " was a bitter disappointment to the Danagla 
 and Jaalin, who, hitherto rulers, had now to become 
 the ruled ; and from whose hands their authority was 
 transferred to the cruel and tyrannical Baggaras, who 
 henceforth became the conquerors of the Sudan, and 
 who governed its inhabitants with a rod of iron. 
 
 In nominating the Khalifa Abdullah, the Mahdi 
 threw the firebrand of discord amongst the hitherto 
 united ranks of Mahdieh, and thereby greatly weakened 
 his cause. It was hard for the Mahdi to die, just when 
 he had established an empire stretching from the 
 Bahr el Ghazal to Egypt, and from Darfur to the 
 Keel Sea ; he had neither had the time nor the inclina- 
 tion to try and govern it ; his mission had been the 
 destruction of all existing forms of government ; and 
 he had carried it out to the letter. 
 
 Immediately after the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa 
 Abdullah summoned a meeting, and then and there 
 insisted on the two Khalifas and the Ashraf acknow- 
 ledging him as the Khalifat el Mahdi (or Mahdi's 
 successor). After a long discussion it was at length 
 agreed to, and he gave a solemn assurance that he 
 would follow absolutely in the Mahdi's footsteps. Just 
 at this time the agitation w r as too great for him to 
 think of introducing the selfish and ambitious plans 
 which he had already formulated. Moreover, Sennar 
 and Kassala were still holding out ; it was therefore 
 the first necessary step to be most conciliating on all 
 sides, and to all parties. 
 
 The Mahdi's name was still paramount in inspiring- 
 fanaticism ; and therefore the Khalifa's watchword be- 
 came " Ed din mansur " (Religion is victorious) ; thus 
 he sought to establish unity and concord by means of 
 
PARTY STRIFE AND DISCORD. 
 
 163 
 
 the new religion which the Mahdi had founded, and 
 which, now that its originator was dead, he sought to 
 make unassailable. 
 
 Nevertheless, discord very soon sprang up. The 
 Khalifa Sherif and the Ashraf were furious at being 
 out of power, and they could not long conceal their 
 discontent. Each Khalifa now did his utmost to show 
 his independence of the other ; each of them rode 
 about in Omdurman in the greatest splendour, as if 
 he were a king, and ordered his own great war-drum 
 to be beaten. Jealousy, hatred, and discontent spread 
 rapidly amongst the people ; and soon Omdurman was 
 divided into two distinct camps : Khalifas Sherif and 
 Ali Wad Helu in the one, and Khalifa Abdullah in the 
 other. 
 
 Both parties now prepared for battle. Abdullah had 
 the Baggaras and blacks, under Fadl Maula (Abu 
 Anga's brother). There were frequent disputes in the 
 market-place ; and every day it was thought a fight 
 must take place. At length matters reached such a 
 stage that Abdullah challenged the two other Khalifas 
 to fight on the open plain, on which the great reviews 
 usually take place, just outside the town. 
 
 The two parties collected their entire forces ; but it 
 was evident the Baggaras were by far the stronger ; 
 and as they marched out they shouted " Mot el G-ellaba " 
 ("Death to the Gellabas ! " i.e. the Danagla, in con- 
 tradistinction to the Baggara). Khalifa Wad Helu 
 now acted the part of mediator, and went across to 
 confer with Abdullah ; the troops of the latter were 
 drawn up in battle-array, and quite prepared for the 
 fray. Khalifa Sherif feared to enter the lists alone, 
 and therefore he submitted ; he was obliged to hand 
 over his soldiers, arms, ammunition, flags, and war- 
 drums, which Abdullah took possession of, and was 
 allowed to retain only fifty men, with firearms, as a 
 bodyguard. 
 
 Thus Abdullah constituted himself the one and only 
 ruler, and showed that he was quite resolved to allow 
 no one else to share his authority with him. Gradually 
 
 M 2 
 
164 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 he reduced the power of the two other Khalifas and 
 of the Ashraf, and in a short time they became men 
 of little influence. The Mahdi's two uncles, Abdel 
 Karim and Abdel Kader, who showed the most open 
 and violent animosity, were at once thrown into chains, 
 their houses destroyed, and themselves declared enemies 
 of the Mahdi ; and, as we shall presently relate, he 
 ordered Abu Anga to secure Zogal and put him in 
 prison. 
 
 Whilst all these disturbances were going on in Ora- 
 durman, the two places, Sennar and Kassala, in which 
 Government troops were still holding out, were now in 
 the greatest straits ; and I will here give a brief account 
 of the events which occurred. 
 
 Sennar had suffered from the Mahdiists for a very 
 long time. Ahmed Wad el Makashef had besieged it 
 in 1883 ; Abdel Kader Pasha, Governor-General of the 
 Sudan, had advanced to its relief with a large force, had 
 defeated the Makashef, and then raised the siege. 
 Abdel Kader himself was wounded in this fight, and his 
 watch was broken to pieces by a bullet. Sennar and 
 Khartum were once more in communication. It is 
 unfortunate that Abdel Kader, who was greatly feared 
 by the Sudanese, was recalled to Egypt. 
 
 In 1884 the rebels again attacked Sennar, but were 
 repulsed. It was then besieged by El Mehrdi Abu 
 Rof, who succeeded in defeating the Egyptian troops 
 under Nur Bey. I shall presently relate how this 
 Mehrdi was afterwards treated by the Sudanese. 
 
 Some say that the fall of Khartum had a very 
 discouraging effect on the gallant garrison of Sennar ; 
 but this was not so — they determined to make a stand. 
 The Mudir, Hassan Sadik, who had been put in chains 
 by Nur Bey, volunteered, if he should be released, to 
 attack the rebels, and, in fact, he succeeded in driving 
 them off ; but on his return to the town he fell into an 
 ambush and was killed. Brave Nur Bey again pursued 
 the enemy, and succeeded in inflicting a further defeat 
 on them. 
 
 Abdel Karim now arrived with a large force, and 
 
KASSALA AND SENNAB BESIEGED. 
 
 165 
 
 summoned the garrison to surrender. Nur Bey refused, 
 and on the 1 6th of June the city was assaulted ; but 
 Abdel Karim was driven back, and was himself wounded 
 in the thigh. He then decided to make the garrison 
 capitulate by famine. The siege was pressed very 
 closely, and on the 18 th of July Nur Bey made a 
 successful sortie, inflicting considerable loss on the 
 enemy ; but he too was wounded in the leg, and was 
 rendered permanently lame. 
 
 The determined defence of the town now induced the 
 Khalifa to despatch Wad En Nejumi with large rein- 
 forcements. Meanwhile the garrison had been suffering 
 greatly from famine, and Nur Bey had decided to make 
 a last sortie, which should be under the command 
 of Hassan Bey Osman ; but this proved unsuccessful, 
 the commander was killed on the 19th of August, 
 1885, and Nur Bey was forced to capitulate. Of the 
 3,000 men of whom the garrison had originally 
 consisted, 700 only remained — a tangible proof 
 of the vigorous and determined resistance they had 
 made. 
 
 It is thought throughout the Sudan that the defence 
 of Sennar was most praiseworthy. Nur Bey still lives 
 in Omdurman. Only last year his old wound was cut 
 open to remove the splinters of bone. He was better 
 again when I escaped, but is still lame. Wad En 
 Nejumi arrived two days after the fall of the town and 
 found it in ruins. All that is left of Sennar are a few 
 mud and sand heaps, and its very name has ceased to 
 exist, although early in this century it was better 
 known even than Dongola or Kordofan. 
 
 Kassala alone was left. This town is situated on the 
 Khor el Gash, not far from the Atbara Eiver, and about 
 midway between Khartum and Massawah. It had a 
 population of 13,000, and was surrounded by a wall. 
 Here the celebrated moslem, Sid el Hassan, is buried, 
 and a dome is erected over his grave. This man was 
 greatly venerated in the Eastern Sudan ; and if any one 
 swears by his name, it is believed that he must be 
 speaking the truth. One of his pupils, whom I met in 
 
166 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 Omdurman, told me of his miracles, of which I will 
 quote one or two examples. One day he was preaching 
 a sermon ; and when it was over, several of the listeners 
 came to him and begged for alms. Sid el Hassan 
 struck his knee, and forthwith a number of dollars fell 
 out — the exact sum for which the beggars had asked. 
 Amongst the bystanders was a poor shame-faced man, 
 who immediately begged that he might have one dollar. 
 Sid el Hassan again struck his knee, and one dollar fell 
 out, which he at once handed to the man, saying, " This 
 is for the poor shame-faced one." The man at once fell 
 at his feet and gratefully kissed his hands. All who 
 were present were greatly astonished at this miracle, 
 and some, bolder than the rest, approached Sid el 
 Hassan and touched him, when they found, to their 
 wonder, that he felt just like a sack full of dollars. 
 
 On another occasion two travellers arrived, with the 
 intention of making a map of the country. Having 
 failed in their purpose, they applied to Sid el Hassan 
 for advice, and, after offering them food and drink, he 
 handed to them the map they required. He performed 
 many different miracles, and was, moreover, a very 
 tolerant man, rendering the Government many valuable 
 services, especially when he succeea ed in stopping a 
 revolt of the soldiers. During all the recent events, his 
 relations remained perfectly loyal. 
 
 But to return to my narrative. When Osman Digna 
 came to the Sawakin neighbourhood, he sent the emir, 
 Mustafa Hadal, to commence the siege of Kassala ; but, 
 as the Shukrieh tribe supplied quantities of corn, it was 
 enabled to stand a very prolonged siege. In January 
 1884, it was assaulted, and the Mudir suffered serious 
 loss. The Arabs, who had hitherto remained loyal, 
 seeing no hope of help from the Government, also 
 deserted. 
 
 The siege was now more closely pressed, and the 
 suburb of Khatmieh was nearly captured ; but the 
 enemy were at length driven back. A treaty was 
 concluded with Abyssinia to relieve the Egyptian 
 garrisons and bring them through that country to Mas- 
 
THE BATTLE OF KUFIT. 
 
 167 
 
 sawah ; and though at that time all the donkeys in the 
 town had been eaten, they still hoped for relief. 
 
 In June 1885, the city was hemmed in on all sides, 
 and was in a desperate condition. Nevertheless the 
 attempted assault on the 15 th of the month was success- 
 fully repulsed, and the Mudir pursued the enemy, of 
 whom he killed 300. He also succeeded in capturing 
 1,000 head of cattle. This enabled the town to hold out 
 for a short time ; and the news of the Mahdi's death 
 served to further encourage the garrison. 
 
 But at last the town was reduced to absolute starva- 
 tion, and, on condition that the lives of the inhabitants 
 should be spared, the Mudir surrendered. No sooner, 
 however, were the arms given up than the conquerors 
 began to pillage the town and inflict all sorts of 
 cruelties on the people. Osman Digna, who was at that 
 time furious on account of his defeat by Eas Alula on the 
 22nd of September at Kufit, vented his wrath on the 
 unfortunate Mudir, Ahmed Bey EfFat, Hassan Agha, 
 and Ibrahim Eff Shawki, and also on two Greeks, Stello 
 Apostolidi and Tadros Manioseh, whom he caused to be 
 beheaded on the 30th of September, 1885. 
 
 From that time Kassala remained under Osman 
 Digna ; but in 1886, when the latter was fully occupied 
 in his operations against Sawakin, the Khalifa sent Abu 
 Girgeh there as emir. When Abu Girgeh was subse- 
 quently sent to Tokar, Sayid Hamed became emir of 
 Kassala, which from that time formed a part of the 
 province of Galabat, of which Sheikh Nasri, of the 
 Bederieh tribe, became emir. 
 
 Abu Girgeh was eventually sent to Berber to replace 
 Osman Wad Dekeim, who had fallen into disgrace. 
 This Osman was very anxious to marry a pretty woman 
 he had seen in Berber, and had frequently visited her in 
 the hope that she would consent ; but the woman, who 
 did not want to marry him, decided on a stratagem, and 
 agreed to have a rendezvous on a certain day. She, 
 however, told her brothers and relations to lie in wait ; 
 and when Osman arrived at the appointed hour, and 
 was almost sure that he had succeeded, the brothers sud- 
 
168 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAJIDPS CAMP. 
 
 denly broke into the hut and thrashed him so soundly 
 that he made off, and resolved not to urge his suit a 
 second time. 
 
 Abu Girgeh did not long remain on good terms with 
 this low Arab, and soon they were both recalled to 
 Omdurman ; the former was again sent to Kassala, 
 where he accused Nasri of having oppressed the inhabi- 
 tants, and appropriated a quantity of money ; the latter 
 fled to Omdurman, where the Khalifa pardoned him. 
 
 Sayid Hamid also quarrelled with Abu Girgeh, and 
 just before I left the Sudan I was told that the Khalifa 
 had recalled him on suspicion that he was in league with 
 the Italians. It is generally believed in the Sudan that 
 Italy will shortly take possession of the weakly defended 
 Kassala, but accurate information of occurrences in the 
 Eastern Sudan is more likely to be received in Cairo 
 than in Omdurman. 
 
( 169 ) 
 
 I CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ESCAPE OF FATHER BONOMI 
 
 Ohrwalder continues to describe his personal experiences— Mahmud 
 the emir of El Obeid — His unsuccessful attempts to entrap the 
 Nubas — The arrival of Olivier Pain in El Obeid — His motives 
 in joining the Mahdi — His journey towards Omdurman — His 
 sad fate — Lupton Bey arrives at El Obeid from the Bahr el 
 Ghazal — He is sent to Omdurman and thrown into chains — 
 Life in El Obeid — The escape of Father Bonomi — Ohrwalder 's 
 solitude — The death of the Khojur Kakum. 
 
 I must now return to the narrative of my own personal 
 experiences, which I broke off in order to follow those 
 events of the Mahdi's career in which I did not take 
 part. 
 
 Before the Mahdi left Rahad, I was again handed 
 over to yet another master ; this was Sherif Mahmud, 
 the Mahdi's uncle, and Governor of Kordofan, and I was 
 put into his charge when he came to Rahad to see the 
 Mahdi off. I stayed a few days with Mahmud at Rahad. 
 I was then in a wretched state of health ; to my horror 
 I discovered black spots on my body, my teeth were 
 chattering, and then I knew that I had scurvy. I 
 longed to escape to the Dobab hills, but my guards 
 were always with me, and I could not succeed. 
 
 At length Mahmud started back for El Obeid, and he 
 gave me one of the few surviving mules of the Hicks 
 expedition, which had been wounded by a bullet in the 
 neck and which had never healed. The heavy rain had 
 entirely changed the aspect of the country, which was 
 now a mass of green, and under any other circumstances 
 the journey would have been pleasant enough. We 
 were twice overtaken by terrible thunder-storms, which 
 obliged us to halt, as the heavy rain made travelling 
 
170 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 impossible ; at night we had to sleep on the wet 
 ground. 
 
 As we approached El Obeid we heard the war-drums 
 beating, to announce the Governor's arrival. The great 
 sandy plain around was transformed into green fields 
 planted with dokhn. We halted for a time under the 
 leafy Adansonia tree, under which the Mahdi's tent 
 had been pitched, and I noticed that the entire bark of 
 the tree had been peeled off. I afterwards learnt that 
 the people believed the Mahdi's presence had hallowed 
 the tree, and that in consequence the bark had been 
 stripped off and boiled, the liquid being used as medicine 
 or for witchcraft purposes. 
 
 Only a few huts were left standing in El Obeid, and 
 Mahmud went to live in the Mudirieh. He had a great 
 reception on his arrival, and the most profuse flattery 
 was showered upon him. It was the usual thing to say 
 that " during his absence the town had been as still as 
 the grave and as dark as night, but, thanks be to God, 
 on his return light was once more restored," &c, &c. 
 The Sherif delighted in this adulation. 
 
 A few days after our arrival, Father Bonomi was 
 brought from Kahad to El Obeid in chains, and he and 
 I were given a small hut in the midst of his slaves' 
 quarters, where it was thought we would be in safe 
 custody. 
 
 Sherif Mahmud was a small thin man about fifty 
 years of age, full of wiry strength and with evil, 
 malignant-looking eyes. He had formerly been a slave- 
 dealer" in Dar Fertit and had then joined Zubeir Pasha's 
 army. Even at Abba he was one of the Mahdi's most 
 fanatical adherents. He pretended to hate the things 
 of this world, was always poorly dressed, and before 
 others always eat of the worst and humblest food. But 
 he was inordinately proud, and loved the power of 
 commanding. During his prayers he used to throw 
 about his arms and legs and shout " Hoa ! Hoa ! " ("It is 
 He ! it is He ! " i.e. God). His followers used to say that 
 when he did this he saw God in his vision ; but others 
 who knew him of old laughed at these antics, though at 
 
MABMUD, GOVERNOR OF EL OBEID. 171 
 
 the same time they were afraid of him and indulged 
 him with flattery. He was excessively severe and strict, 
 but was impartial in his administration of justice. 
 
 He dealt very severely with the robbers who now 
 infested El Obeid, and cut off a number of hands and 
 feet. He thoroughly believed in the Mahdi's divine 
 message, and had the reputation of being the bravest 
 of the family. He had received a bullet wound at 
 Gedir, and at Shekan he was always in front, carrying 
 a flag, until he disappeared in the smoke ; he fell pierced 
 by two bullets and was thought to have been killed ; 
 after the battle, however, his people found him lying on 
 the ground with both legs broken ; but he recovered. 
 He carried such a number of arms that men laughed 
 at him. In addition to the two broad-bladed spears, he 
 carried two smaller ones, as well as a number of javelins 
 in a quiver ; from his shoulder hung his sword and a 
 small Remington rifle, while his girdle was stuck all 
 over with revolvers and knives. Women always fled 
 out of his path, for he whipped them ruthlessly ; 
 sometimes he would dash amongst a crowd of women 
 on his horse and lay about him right and left. He had 
 a very choice harem, and amongst his women was a 
 young Egyptian girl ; it is the great desire of a 
 Mahdiist to possess a fair woman, and they often 
 have recourse to the most violent and cruel practices in 
 order to acquire what they want. 
 
 Mahmud frequently went through his prayers with 
 his wives and concubines, and on one occasion they 
 began to laugh, in consequence of which the Egyptian 
 girl was sent away and the rest flogged. From this date 
 he took an intense dislike to all the fair-skinned people, 
 and the few Egyptian families who still lived in El 
 Obeid were banished from it 
 
 He flattered himself that neither Abu Anga nor 
 Nejumi understood how to wage war against the 
 Nubas, and therefore he once more determined to 
 attack these mountaineers ; but he set about it in a 
 very different manner from his predecessors. He armed 
 400 Takruris and instructed them to encamp at the foot 
 
172 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 of the mountain ; they were to say they were at enmity 
 with the Dervishes and desired the friendship and 
 assistance of the Nubas. 
 
 Meanwhile Mahmud pitched his camp at Kahad, and 
 was in constant readiness for the attack. At first the 
 Nubas were inclined to fall into the trap, and made a 
 treaty of friendship with the Takruris ; but they too 
 had recourse to a still more successful stratagem, and 
 when the Takruris seemed quite certain of their prey, 
 the Nubas suddenly fell upon them during a wild, 
 stormy night and killed almost all of them, very few 
 escaped, and Mahmud was obliged to return crestfallen 
 to El Obeid. 
 
 On the 15th of August, 1884, a great surprise came 
 upon El Obeid. Quite unexpectedly, at about two o'clock 
 in the afternoon, a European and three Arabs, mounted 
 on good camels, entered the open yard of the Mudirieh, 
 where Ali Bakhit, the chiefs, and a number of Dervishes 
 were assembled. The European dismounted, and boldly 
 advanced towards the crowd. He was tall, and gave 
 one the impression of being a powerful and energetic 
 man ; he had a fair beard, and his face was very 
 sunburnt. His appearance made a great commotion 
 amongst the Dervishes. 
 
 Immediately all sorts of wild rumours were flying 
 about ; some said he was the King of France ; others 
 that he was one of the principal ministers of that 
 nation. He wore a jibbeh, white cap and turban, and 
 at once was directed to Ali Bakhit. Being unable to 
 speak Arabic, Father Bonomi was immediately summoned 
 to act as interpreter ; but he had much difficulty in 
 making himself understood. 
 
 The stranger informed Bonomi that he had marched 
 from Dongola to El Obeid in thirteen days ; that he 
 had escaped from Dongola, as the English had endea- 
 voured to thwart him in his projects ; that his name 
 was Olivier Pain, and that he was the bearer of letters 
 from Zubeir Pasha to the Mahdi ; but that fear of the 
 English had obliged him to destroy them. He said 
 that he came in the name of France, to place his 
 
ARRIVAL OF OLIVIER PAIN AT EL OBEID. 173 
 
 nation's submission in the Mahcli's hands ; and that he 
 was prepared to assist the Mahdi, both by advice 
 and, if required, by deeds. 
 
 After this statement Olivier Pain was searched, and 
 at once relieved of his money ; a small hut was then 
 pointed out, in which he was to live, in charge of a 
 guard ; the three guides were also secured in another 
 place. The Dervishes did not credit Pain's statement ; 
 they could not believe it possible that a European 
 would voluntarily come into the Sudan to join the 
 Mahdi ; they entirely distrusted Europeans, whose 
 mental superiority they thoroughly recognised ; they 
 therefore concluded that Pain was a spy sent by the 
 Eno-lish to take stock of the situation. 
 
 o 
 
 On the following day Bonomi was again summoned ; 
 the various articles Pain had brought with him were 
 laid before him, such as books of travels in the Sudan, 
 an Arabic dictionary, a Kuran in French, a few maps, 
 letters, and a passport. Bonomi had to explain these 
 various articles to the Dervishes, who were not a little 
 surprised about the maps of the Sudan, and more 
 especially that of Kordofan. It is true there was 
 nothing found in Pain's baggage of a suspicious nature ; 
 still, the Dervishes did not trust him ; and he was 
 kept under a very strict guard ; we were not permitted 
 to visit him. 
 
 The next day Pain complained of the bad food he 
 was given ; but the Dervishes gave him wholesome 
 instruction : they told him that the true adherents of 
 the Mahdi were dead to the things of this world. 
 Poor Pain's mind must have been sadly disabused by 
 this reception. 
 
 The Dervishes were full of curiosity about this strange 
 Frenchman's doings and intentions, and kept worrying 
 us to know why he should have come ; but it was also a 
 mystery to us ; and when they asked him, he always gave 
 the same answer — " The whole of the European nations, 
 more especially France, and with the one exception of 
 England, entirely sympathised with the Mahdi." He 
 was asked if the Senussi had risen against the un- 
 
174 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 believers in Egypt ; but be replied tbat tbe Senussi 
 feared tbe English. Wben asked what the English 
 were doing, he replied that they were building forts 
 at Assuan ; whereupon Ali Bakhit observed — " May 
 God destroy their forts." But, question as they would, 
 Pain's arrival and his reasons for coming still remained 
 a mystery to them. He was therefore sent, in charge 
 of a large escort, to Mahmud at Rahad ; Mahmud 
 received him well, gave him a horse and a female slave, 
 and sent him on to the Mahdi, who was then on his 
 march to Omdurman. 
 
 On the 28th of August Pain arrived at Aigella, where 
 one of our El Obeid Mission brothers was staying ; the 
 latter at once inquired of Pain what he was going to 
 do. On this occasion, it appears, he spoke more openly ; 
 he asked if the brother understood French ; but the 
 latter replied that he could not speak it, though he 
 understood it. Then Pain proceeded to say that he 
 was correspondent of a newspaper, and came to see 
 the Mahdi and his empire, about which he intended 
 to write full accounts to his paper. 
 
 This brother endeavoured to explain to him the 
 difficulties he would be sure to meet with, and on what 
 dangerous ground he was treading, adding that it was 
 most unlikely he would ever return ; but Pain replied 
 that if he succeeded in his undertaking, he would 
 receive an immense reward ; and that hitherto the 
 Dervishes had not treated him badly ; moreover, he 
 was full of energy, and would not give up hope of 
 escape, in the future. Pain also explained to the brother 
 the difficulties with which the English expedition would 
 be sure to meet, and how he believed Khartum would 
 certainly be lost. 
 
 Pain caught up the Mahdi at the village of Busata. 
 Various were the surmises of those in camp regarding 
 his intentions. Slatin, Klootz, and the other Europeans 
 were especially perplexed. Olivier Pain had imagined 
 that the immense services which he would be able to 
 render the Mahdi would cause the latter to receive him 
 with open arms ; but the poor man was sadly deluded. 
 
THE DEATH OF OLIVIER PAIN. 
 
 175 
 
 He was presented to the Mahdi, who greeted him coldly, 
 and asked him his reasons for coming. Pain replied — 
 " To acknowledge you as Mahdi, and to lay before you 
 the submission of the French nation." The Mahdi 
 gave an ironic smile, as much as to say he did not 
 believe a word Pain was saying ; and then he ordered 
 Abu Anga to take charge of him, guard him most 
 carefully, and permit no one to see him. 
 
 During the march to Shatt, Klootz managed to 
 approach Pain, and began talking to him ; but for 
 this disobedience he was at once seized and put in 
 chains. On Slatin's representations, however, to the 
 Khalifa Abdullah, he was released. 
 
 At Shatt, Pain began to suffer from dysentery and 
 fever, brought on by over-fatigue and bad water. The 
 Mahdi permitted Slatin to visit him ; and Pain's wretched 
 condition so disturbed Slatin that he begged the Mahdi 
 to give him a little money, with which he could buy 
 some better food, which it was absolutely necessary 
 Pain should have. 
 
 But his disease became worse ; and it was with the 
 greatest difficulty he could continue his march to Om 
 Sadik. Here his condition became hopeless ; he explained 
 that he could go on no longer, and begged for some 
 medicine. The custom in the Sudan is to drink melted 
 butter ; and after Pain had taken a little, he was 
 placed on a camel ; but it had scarcely gone a few 
 steps, when he was seized with a fainting fit, and fell 
 off. As he lay unconscious on the ground, and was 
 deathly pale, his guards believed that he must be 
 dead ; so they dug a rough grave, in which poor Pain 
 was laid, covered him over with sand, and then hurried 
 on. It is quite possible the unfortunate man was not 
 dead. They marked his grave by planting his stick 
 in the sand, and tying his sandals to it. This event 
 occurred on the 15th of November, 1884. 
 
 Early in September, Lupton Bey, Mudir of Bahr el 
 Ghazal arrived at El Obeid ; he had been permitted to 
 retain his property, and he was most kind to us ; indeed, 
 I have no words to express our gratitude to him for his 
 
17(5 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAI1DPS CAMP. 
 
 unvarying generosity to us. He told us a great deal 
 about his own fights, and related how, after the destruc- 
 tion of General Hicks, the Mahdi had despatched the 
 two slave-dealer brothers Karamallah and Kirkesawi 
 from Dongola to the Bahr el Ghazal. Karamallah had 
 summoned Lupton Bey to surrender ; but Lupton, as 
 his letters to Emin Pasha show, determined to fight ; his 
 subordinate officers, however, almost all deserted him, and 
 joined the Mahdiists, and the few who remained loyal 
 eventually refused to fight. Indeed, I have seen the 
 actual document they drew up and signed to that effect. 
 Lupton, who at that time was thoroughly exhausted by 
 his constant warfare against the Dinkas, had therefore 
 no alternative but to submit, which he did on the 
 the 28th of April, 1884. 
 
 A few days later Lupton, with his kavass and clerk, 
 were sent as prisoners to El Obeid, via Shakka. His 
 arrival was a welcome addition to our little circle, and 
 it was a very great comfort to us to have the society 
 of such a genuine and kind friend as Lupton in these 
 times of trial. He remained with us for about a month ; 
 at that time we had daily information about the 
 movements of the English expedition, and we now 
 hoped that the time for our deliverance w r as approach- 
 ing. Many of the Mahdiists themselves were getting 
 tired of the new regime, which gave neither rest nor 
 security of property to anyone. It was through these 
 malcontents that we obtained news which gave us food 
 for argument and speculation during the long and weary 
 days of our captivity. 
 
 This life of a slave was terribly obnoxious to poor 
 Lupton. who frequently gave way to bursts of indigna- 
 tion, and in one of these Sherif Mahniud arrested him, 
 and in the first week of October he despatched him 
 under escort to the Mahdi. On his arrival at Omdur- 
 man he was put in chains, where he remained for ten 
 months, as he had attempted to escape to Khartum. 
 During this period of captivity, Lupton underwent 
 terrible sufferings, which I could not possibly describe. 
 
 Shortly after Lupton left us, we received a letter 
 
NEWS OF FALL OF KHARTUM REACHES EL OBEID. 177 
 
 from Slatin, saying that Gordon intended holding out 
 until the English arrived, at the same time he urged us 
 to try and obtain leave to come to Omdurman ; but 
 this was impossible. Another friend also told us that 
 he hoped shortly to be able to effect our release ; but in 
 his letter he wrote in such a manner that we alone were 
 able to grasp his meaning, for he feared that what he 
 had written might fall into the hands of the Dervishes. 
 
 Our anxiety can readily be understood, for we felt 
 certain that if the English were victorious, we should 
 be killed in revenge. Sherif Mahmud had already 
 received orders from the Mahdi to encamp outside the 
 town, and be prepared for any eventuality. So our days 
 passed in a whirl of hopes and fears, and death would 
 have been welcome. 
 
 But now a new disaster occurred ; the circumstantial 
 account of the death of Colonel Stewart and his party, 
 and the fact that the state of Khartum was rapidly 
 becoming desperate, made us full of doubt as to Gordon's 
 fate. The fall of Omdurman further confirmed our 
 fears, and we trembled to think that Khartum 
 would fall before the English arrived. The prolonged 
 resistance of the town, and the knowledge that the 
 English were almost there, caused no small alarm 
 amongst the people in El Obeid ; when, therefore, Sherif 
 Mahmud ordered a salute of one hundred guns to be 
 fired to announce a great victory, the reaction was 
 tremendous. 
 
 The news of the fall of Khartum and of the English 
 victory at Abu Klea reached El Obeid the same day. 
 Mahmud held a great review, and the Mahdiists were 
 wild with joy. Thus the last bulwark of Egyptian 
 authority in the Sudan had disappeared ; the English 
 turned back and left the Sudan to its fate. The Mahdi 
 rested for a time on his laurels, and occupied him- 
 self with bringing into subjection the few who still 
 resisted. 
 
 Sherif Mahmud now determined to make himself 
 famous for his bravery, and resolved to conquer the 
 whole of Nuba, and convert the inhabitants. As a first 
 
 N 
 
ITS TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 step, he proceeded with a force of two thousand men 
 straight to Delen ; these good people had been left un- 
 molested since Mek Omar had taken his departure, and had 
 gone back to their peaceful ways and former mode of 
 life, which consisted largely of breeding swine, planting 
 tobacco, and drinking marissa to their heart's content. 
 
 The Baggaras, w T ho lived in Nuba, and of whom many 
 had been unwillingly forced to follow the Mahdi, w^ere 
 getting somewhat tired of the new T faith. Khojur Kakum 
 was just in the same position as before, and had gained 
 considerably in reputation, as he had foretold correctly 
 how the Mahdi would conduct himself. Mahmud duly 
 arrived at Delen, and encamped at the foot of the hills. 
 
 On Mahmud's departure, we thought the time had at 
 length arrived when we might attempt to escape, for 
 long ago we had projected a plan to get the Kaba- 
 bish to assist us. Formerly this tribe did much of the 
 carrying trade between Dongola and El Obeid, and they 
 had already proved that they were loyal to the Govern- 
 ment. It was said that when the English came to Don- 
 gola, this tribe was bringing thousands of camels laden 
 with corn from Dar Hamer ; but when Mahmud heard 
 of it, he sent after them, and captured two thousand 
 five hundred loads, so from that time no Kababish ever 
 came to El Obeid. This, therefore, greatly interfered 
 with our plans ; besides, we had no money either to buy 
 camels or pay the guides, so I reverted to my old idea, 
 which I had formulated at Eahad, to escape to Jebel 
 Dobab and live with the brave Xubas. 
 
 I was thinking over this plan, and casting up in my 
 mind the chances of success, when, on the 4th of June. 
 1885, a Coptic friend of ours called Sideham arrived, and 
 handed Father Bonomi a small note, saying at the same 
 time that a man had come to take him back to Dongola, 
 and that he would meet him in the market next day. 
 Bonomi and I then retired to a place where we knew 
 no one would see us, and there in fear and trembling 
 we tore open the letter ; then Bonomi, in the deepest 
 agitation, read as follows : — 
 
 "Dear Friend, I am sending this man so that you 
 
FATHER BONOMI RECEIVES A LETTER. 
 
 179 
 
 may escape with him. Trust him — he is honest. Mon- 
 signor Sogaro awaits you in Cairo with outstretched 
 arms. Your fellow-countryman, Alois Santoni." 
 
 For some moments we were so excited we could 
 scarcely speak ; but my first thought was, " Why is 
 Bonomi only sent for ? " and the feeling that flight 
 was debarred from me, filled me with the most utter 
 dejection. 
 
 It was to be my sad fate to see my companion in 
 adversity start without me ; then a ray of hope flashed 
 across my mind, possibly the man might be the bearer 
 of a verbal message. It was the very moment for 
 flight ; there were very few Dervishes in El Obeid. 
 Oh, the terrible length of that day and night ! How 
 slowly the hours went by ! 
 
 The next morning Bonomi went alone to the place 
 of rendezvous. I thought if I went with him it might 
 create suspicion ; but at the same time I begged him 
 to urge the man to take me with him as well. 
 Bonomi met the man, and it required only a very few 
 moments to come to an arrangement. How I longed 
 for him to return and know the result. At length he 
 came, looking very pleased ; but the man, he said, had 
 definitely declined to take me with him ; however, he 
 promised that if he succeeded in conducting Bonomi 
 safely, he would return for me in fifteen days. 
 
 I grieved terribly at the news that my flight must 
 be deferred ; but, on the other hand, I rejoiced that 
 one of us should be fortunate enough to escape from 
 this terrible bondage. The man told Father Bonomi 
 not to trouble about anything, but merely to meet him 
 on Mount Kcrbatsh, where he would find him with the 
 camels. 
 
 ( >n the afternoon of the 5th of June, Bonomi prepared 
 himself for flight, taking a large knife with him. We 
 left our huts, and proceeded to the rendezvous ; our 
 hearts were too full to speak. At last I left him ; and 
 pressing him to my heart, bade him farewell, saying — 
 4£ Do not forget your poor companion in adversity, 
 who is left behind." 
 
 X 2 
 
180 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA HI) PS CAMP. 
 
 Many a time did I turn round to look back, until 
 Bonomi disappeared from view in the wood. It was 
 just sunset, and a lovely evening, which made even 
 that dull plain look beautiful. Wild, anxious thoughts 
 kept careering through my brain, as I walked back to 
 my wretched and solitary home. Would Bonomi succeed, 
 and what would happen to me ? for I knew that the 
 Dervishes must conclude that I knew about Bonomi' s 
 flight. So immersed was I in these thoughts that I 
 kept on losing my way, and did not get back till late. 
 
 My delay had already caused some suspicion ; but I 
 found a ready excuse. I said that I had been search- 
 ing for corn ; for at that time there was famine ; and 
 nothing was to be had in the market. My excuse was 
 accepted, and fortunately they did not think of asking 
 for Bonomi. I now threw myself down on my hard 
 bed ; but my weary eyes found no sleep. I kept 
 revolving in my mind all that had occurred ; but at 
 length I determined to pluck up courage and put my 
 trust in God ; and then my thoughts turned to more 
 practical considerations. How should I explain Bonomi's 
 absence to the emir without saying anything which 
 would implicate myself ? 
 
 It was a hot, sultry night, but a refreshing shower 
 fell just then ; and in the midst of the patter of the 
 rain-drops, I thought I heard Bonomi's voice in the 
 hut. What could it be ? Had he returned ? A thousand 
 wild thoughts crowded into my mind ; but I did not 
 dare make a noise, though it was all I could do to 
 control my curiosity. 
 
 I rose very early the next morning, and searched 
 about the hut ; but found no one. It was at any rate 
 quite certain Bonomi had gone ; but yet I felt sure 
 he must have come back during the night. It was 
 not until six long years afterwards, when I returned 
 to Cairo, that I solved the mystery ; and then he 
 himself told me how, after parting from me, he had 
 lost his way, and could not find the guide or camels ; 
 after vainly wandering about, he had returned to the 
 hut, where the Copt who had given him the note found 
 
OUR W ALDER IMPRISONED IN THE BEIT EL MAL. 183 
 
 him, and conducted him to the Arab with whom he had 
 escaped. 
 
 I must here explain why it was the messenger had 
 only been commissioned to rescue Father Bonomi ; and 
 this I did not learn till after my own escape. News 
 had reached Cairo that I was in Omdurman, and that 
 Bonomi had been left alone in El Obeid ; and there- 
 fore arrangements had been made for his rescue only.* 
 
 Meanwhile, I kept Bonomi's escape concealed ; and 
 it was not until the fourth day after he had left, and 
 when I was assured of his safety, that I informed the 
 emin beit el mal f that he had gone to Khartum to 
 fetch some medicine. I believe this man thoroughly 
 knew that he had escaped ; but he did not show the 
 slightest suspicion, and ordered us to go to Khartum 
 as well ; and we were placed under close surveillance. 
 He also wrote to Sherif Mahmud at Delen, and to 
 Khartum ; a few days later orders came from Mahmud 
 that we were to be imprisoned in the zariba of the beit 
 el mal. That evening, soldiers came and dragged us 
 and our slender property to the zariba ; and while 
 waiting till huts should be made for us, we were housed 
 with slaves suffering from small-pox. 
 
 This disease was then very prevalent in El Obeid, 
 and horrible sights continually met our eyes. These 
 unfortunate sufferers had no one to help them, and 
 they were left to die, either of the disease, or of hunger : 
 they lay about under the trees in the market-place, 
 shunned by every one ; often, when still living, they 
 were dragged off by men, who tied ropes round their 
 bodies, and pulled them along the ground till they 
 were beyond the outskirts of the town ; and there they 
 were left to be devoured by the hyenas. 
 
 A dreadful famine prevailed, and the population was 
 
 * Father Bonomi arrived safely in Dongola, and Mr. Santoni, who 
 is now director of posts at Assiut, was rewarded by His Holiness 
 Pope Leo XIII. with the Order of Gregory the Great, in recognition 
 of the humane service he had rendered. 
 
 t I.e. the official in charge of the beit el mal or Dervish store- 
 house and treasury. 
 
184 TEN YEARS 9 CAPTIVITY IN TUE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 decimated by hunger ; ten to twelve pounds of corn 
 were sold for a dollar, and the man was fortunate who 
 could buy it at this price. In the market, fights were 
 frequent ; meat, however, was not so expensive, and we 
 lived for days on meat only, without any bread. The 
 poor people used to dig about the streets and in the 
 houses for gum, which they knew had been concealed 
 during the siege ; and this unwholesome food frequently 
 caused their death. 
 
 The air in the zariba was poisoned by the number 
 of people suffering from small-pox ; but curiously enough, 
 the disease never seemed to touch the white people. 
 My new abode turned out to be not so bad as I ex- 
 pected. I became friends with some of the soldiers 
 who used to be in the Government service, and sym- 
 pathised with them in their wretched state ; these poor 
 men often tried to do me any little service they could. 
 
 It was about this time that Sultan Dud Benga, flying 
 from Zogal, arrived, on his way to give himself up to 
 the Mahdi in Omdurman, and also a certain Sherif, 
 who set himself up to be the fourth Khalifa — Osman. 
 The latter, however, on his arrival in Omdurman, was 
 thrown into chains, and his wives, horses, and slaves 
 confiscated. I planted a few water-melons round my 
 hut, which grew well ; and I used to amuse myself by 
 watching the movements of the chameleons which dis- 
 ported themselves underneath the leaves ; but one day 
 a fire broke out, which destroyed my hut, water-melons, 
 chameleons, and all ; and so this little dissipation was 
 denied me. However, I built a new hut in a few days. 
 
 Almost a month had now passed since Bonomi's de- 
 parture, and I began to look about anxiously for the 
 return of the Arab who was to help me to escape. 
 During the night I had cautiously loosened the zariba 
 hedge, so that I could easily get out, when the time 
 came ; but day by day passed, and I began to lose 
 hope. I did hear a rumour once that a man had come 
 to help us to escape, but that on hearing we were 
 locked up in the zariba, he had gone away. This was 
 very probably true ; for the Arabs are excessively timid ; 
 
NEWS OF THE MAIIDPS DEATH BE A CITES EL QBE ID. 185 
 
 and we were as universally shunned by all as if we 
 were infested with a plague ; if anyone dared to speak 
 to us, he was almost sure to be arrested and locked up. 
 Thus we draped out a miserable existence, devoid 
 
 Do 7 
 
 of hope, shunned by all, and suffering much from 
 continual sickness. One event, however, unexpectedly 
 occurred, which we thought would completely alter the 
 state of affairs, and would produce a revolution, in 
 which we again thought we saw some chance of escape. 
 
 Early in July 1885, the news of the Mahdi's death 
 arrived. At first it was not credited, and the leading 
 people thought it better to keep it a strict secret, but 
 their dismal countenances belied them. It was a 
 terrible blow to the Dervishes, and they themselves 
 believed that disturbances would undoubtedly take 
 place, for the number of malcontents was by no means 
 small. The truth, however, soon came out, and the 
 immediate effect on the ignorant masses was the realiza- 
 tion that they had been deceived, and that the Mahdi 
 was no Mahdi at all. Hitherto Mahdiism had been 
 thoroughly admitted, and it was their belief in the 
 Mahdi's divine mission which had given birth to the 
 fanaticism which had made them so bold and fearless — 
 the belief that to die in battle as martyrs assured them 
 paradise with its myriads of lovely houris, its lovely 
 gardens, laden with milk and honey, fruits and flowers. 
 
 All this was implicitly believed. What wonder then 
 that they should throw themselves into the very thickest 
 of the fight in the sure and certain hope that to die in 
 the Mahdi's cause ensured eternal delights and pleasures ! 
 Now all these glorious visions had collapsed like a house 
 of cards, and in the future Mahdiism to live would have 
 to be enforced. From this time forth there was no 
 voluntary seeking to obey, and it was clear that the 
 new Religion was on the wane. 
 
 The family and adherents of the Mahdi were at 
 variance with the followers of Khalifa Abdullah, the 
 latter by his immense energy had made himself master 
 of the situation. But the fflow and fervour of religious 
 enthusiasm was gone. 
 
186 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 The blow of the Mahdi's death almost killed Sherif 
 Mahmud ; many of his chiefs and emirs muttered : " See 
 how the Mahdi has deceived us. Had he been the real 
 Mahdi he would not have died in Omdurman. Alas ! 
 what thousands of human lives have been sacrificed to 
 this false Mahdi's caprice." Mahmud was at a loss to 
 know w T hat to say and contented himself with murmur- 
 ing : " Even if the Mahdi be dead, his religion did not 
 die with him ; let us therefore fight in the cause of 
 religion." 
 
 Nevertheless all obedience and discipline did not 
 disappear, for these men had still their own interests to 
 look after : but it was unfortunate there was no one 
 to place himself at the head of the malcontents and 
 openly declare that the Mahdi was no Mahdi. 
 
 Mahmud now returned without delay to El Obeid, 
 and immediately on his arrival he ordered the criers to 
 announce that he required some account of Father 
 Bonomi's escape. He was furious at his flight ; he sent 
 for me and asked where he had gone ; I simply replied, 
 that he had disappeared one night and that the next 
 morning I could find no trace of him in the hut. If 
 Mahmud had not been so upset by the Mahdi's death, 
 I believe I should have had to pay dearly for his flight. 
 As it was he believed that Bonomi would be seized by 
 the Dervishes in Dongola, and at the same time he sent 
 out spies to try and discover who had assisted him to 
 escape. Suspicion fell on Mohammed Suleiman, who had 
 been our old captain at Delen and who was now the 
 kadi's clerk ; he was threatened with a flogging, which 
 he would certainly have received had not his master 
 be^ored him off. 
 
 Mahmud brought with him from Delen the un- 
 fortunate Khojur Kakum ; this poor man was thrown 
 into chains soon after his arrival, and his hut and 
 the chair which he used for his religious ceremonies 
 were burnt. The Xubas were solemnly abjured to 
 desist from their superstitious beliefs, and Mahmud 
 made a small straw mosque for them in which they 
 were obliged to sav prayers ; but the Nubas set fire to 
 
THE DEATH OF KHOJUR KAKUM. 
 
 187 
 
 it, and after Mahmud's departure they named their 
 pigs after the Mahdi's important emirs. 
 
 When Kakum was on his way to El Obeid, he had 
 had a bad fall from a bullock, which had injured him 
 internally and made it almost impossible for him to 
 move : he was put into our zariba, and soon after he 
 came I went to see him and found him in a state of 
 profound dejection. He was very pleased to see me, 
 and the tears rolled down his black cheeks ; he was so 
 affected he could barely speak, and lost all control over 
 himself. His two wives were sitting near him — one of 
 them, Mea, was a thoroughly good woman, and many a 
 happy hour did I spend playing with her little child of 
 six years old. Kakum gave me coffee, and we talked 
 over the old days at the Mission, then I left him to 
 rest. That same night I was suddenly summoned by 
 Mea, who said that Kakum was seriously ill ; I hastened 
 to the hut and found him almost unconscious, and in a 
 few hours he was dead. He was a thoroughly good, 
 sensible man, and had been a faithful friend to the 
 Mission and to the Government. He died in July 1885, 
 and I think he must then have been about fifty-five 
 years of age. His second wife married the Khojur of 
 Sobei, who had also been dragged to El Obeid by 
 Mahmud ; but Mea did not marry again. She devoted 
 herself to her little child. 
 
 The boy delighted in being with me, and said he 
 always wanted to stay with the Christians ; but a month 
 later Mea and her child were allowed to return to 
 Delen. I gave the boy a little shirt, and in return Mea 
 promised to send me some tobacco ; and, true to her 
 word, a messenger arrived soon afterwards with that 
 luxury, in return for which I sent her some glass beads. 
 
 During his stay at Delen, Mahmud had captured 
 Shirra, one of the renegade Baggara chiefs, and his two 
 sons. This man had formerly been our sworn enemy, 
 and had declared that he would kill every one of us 
 Christians ; but when this great chief and his sons came 
 into the zariba they greeted me like lambs, and when, 
 in fun, I recalled to them their former oaths, they 
 
188 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA /IDES CAMP. 
 
 admitted that they had been completely deceived, and 
 now that they had not words sufficient to praise the 
 Christians or to curse the Mahdi. It was no little 
 satisfaction to me to find such an entire change of mind 
 and purpose in one who had been our bitterest foe. 
 Thus was justice tardily meted out to us. 
 
 Meanwhile Khalifa Abdullah had sent an order from 
 Omdurman to Mahmud, telling him to set out forthwith 
 for Omdurman to swear the Bea'a (or oath of allegiance) 
 to the Mahdi's successor. Mahmud therefore, in August 
 1885, left El Obeid with a large number of followers. 
 
K ) 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 REVOLT AGAINST THE DERVISHES. 
 
 The black soldiers of the old Sudan army — They revolt against the 
 Dervishes in El Obeid — And march off to Dar Nuba — The ernir 
 Mahmud pursues and is slain — Ohrwalder quits El Obeid for 
 Omdurman — Zogal and Abu Anga at Bara. 
 
 The old Sudanese soldiers of the Egyptian army were 
 perhaps, of all others, the most dissatisfied with Mahdi- 
 ism. These brave blacks who, as they say in the 
 Sudan, " had eaten the Khedive's bread," were now in 
 a wretched state compared with the once miserable 
 Gellabas, who now galloped about proudly on horse- 
 back, while in former years they had scarcely a donkey 
 to their name. Several of these soldiers had been to 
 Egypt, some had been servants to Europeans, and most 
 of them had been in the various fights which had pre- 
 viously taken place in the Sudan. Sherif Mahmud, it 
 is true, treated them with some deference, and gave 
 them corn when he refused to give it to the Gellabas 
 who were starving ; but in spite of this, their previous 
 condition was infinitely preferable to their life under 
 Mahdiist rulers. There were about two hundred of 
 these soldiers in El Obeid ; shortly afterwards, a number 
 of slaves arrived, -and quite recently their numbers had 
 been further increased by the addition of a company 
 sent by Zogal. 
 
 .Many of these men had fought under Munzinger 
 Pasha, and under Slatin Bey, and were distinguished 
 for their bravery ; their total number was now three 
 hundred, under the command of an Egyptian mowallid,* 
 
 * The name given to natives of a mixed parentage ; i.e., generally 
 an Egyptian or Turkish father and a Sudanese mother. 
 
190 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 named Abdullah. These men used to complain of being 
 always placed in the forefront of the battle ; and they 
 were further irritated by the arrogant way in which they 
 were treated by the Danagla and their unbearable emir 
 Wad el Hashmi, who used to call them " abd " (i.e. 
 slave) ; they therefore decided to revolt against this 
 tyrannical rule, and in this their emir supported them. 
 It was agreed that they should await the great Dahiyeh 
 festival, and when they w^ere all out on parade, and the 
 Dervishes were going through their prayers, they would 
 suddenly separate themselves and, trusting to their good 
 rifles, would be able to annihilate their hated enemies ; 
 but the thought that a number of innocent people 
 would be thus sacrificed, decided them to await some 
 other more favourable opportunity. It was often a 
 matter of surprise to me how these blacks managed to 
 keep their secret, which even all their women knew. 
 
 A clever young mukuddum lived near my hut, and 
 did me many a kindness ; he often used to bring me 
 some meat to eat, as the soldiers who looked after the 
 she^p and goats taken from the Arabs frequently 
 killed some for their own food and then reported that 
 they had died. At this time I suffered a great deal 
 from fever, I could not remain in my close and small 
 hut, and used to lie wide awake and tossing about on 
 my hard bed outside. I often saw the mukuddum in 
 secret conversation with some of his men, and then 
 they would look at their arms to see they were all right ; 
 this made me feel certain that some plot was brewing. 
 
 Amongst the soldiers I had also another good friend, 
 Hajji Selim, who was at all times ready to render me 
 any little service, in return for which I used to give 
 him a little coffee or some tobacco. Hajji Selim had 
 a curious story. He was born in Bornu, and when 
 young had joined his father, who was going with a 
 caravan to Mecca, Whilst journeying through the 
 Sahara, they came to a district in which two tribes were 
 at war ; he joined one of them, but was taken prisoner 
 by the other, sold as a slave, and taken to Tunis ; from 
 here, he was brought to Constantinople, where he be- 
 
HAJJI SELIM, THE BLACK SOLDIER. 
 
 191 
 
 came the playfellow of his master's son, and in this 
 way learnt the Turkish language. Soon afterwards his 
 master was sent to Egypt as a Pasha, and he came with 
 him, from thence they went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, 
 hence his title of Hajji. On their return to Cairo, the 
 master died, his property was confiscated, and Selim 
 was taken into the army. He was sent to Sawakin, then 
 he served under Munzinffer Pasha at Massawa. and 
 was with him at the time of his murder ; from here he 
 was sent to Darfur, then to Kordofan, and eventually 
 to Delen, where he was taken prisoner with Mohammed 
 Suleiman, and. thus became attached to the Mahdiists. 
 
 This unfortunate man, though comparatively young, 
 had become aged by constant travelling, he was home- 
 less, and had neither wife nor child ; he wore an old 
 coat which had been given to him by some of Hicks 
 Pasha's soldiers, it was riddled with bullet-holes, covered 
 with patches of blood, and very dirty ; however, that 
 did not much matter to him, as he had no soap to wash 
 it ; he always wore the hood of his coat over his head, 
 which further added to his curious appearance. He 
 made his coat into a species of Dervish uniform by 
 patching up the holes with the pieces of an old tarbush ; 
 but withal he was a thoroughly honest man, and I 
 liked him. I also knew I could rely on him to carry 
 out a secret mission, and therefore, after Bonomi had 
 fled, I had made over to him some money and two 
 volumes of the ' Popular Educator,' which Lupton Bey 
 had given me, and which I looked upon as a priceless 
 treasure. I did this because I was afraid that Sherif 
 Mahmud would confiscate my little all: but when all 
 fear was over, the honest man brought back everything 
 just as I had given it to him. At that time I had no 
 suitable place in my hut to hide them, so I asked him 
 to keep them a few days longer ; but, alas ! r_:y books 
 were to become food for the flames, which soon after- 
 wards devoured the camp, and this was an irreparable 
 loss. 1 tried to find out from Hajji Selim what plot 
 was brewing ; but all my inquiries were fruitless. He 
 would not breathe a word, and from that time I saw no 
 
192 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TIIE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 more of him, for he was afraid that my importunity might 
 make him divulge the secret. I knew perfectly well 
 that he must have been one of the conspirators, and as 
 I never saw him again, I presume he must have been 
 killed. 
 
 The above little incident is merely mentioned to show 
 how zealously the soldiers kept their secret ; but all the 
 same, the people in El Obeid had a notion that some- 
 thing was going to happen, and one day an order was 
 suddenly given that a hundred soldiers were to prepare 
 to proceed to Dar Hamer. In this way they thought to 
 split up the party, and then disarm them ; but the men 
 guessed that this was the intention, and therefore decided 
 to execute their plan the following day. 
 
 That night I was lying outsicle as usual ; the sky 
 was particularly brilliant, and I was watching the 
 myriads of shooting stars which, leaving bright trails 
 behind them, burst suddenly like rockets, and illumined 
 the night till it became for an instant almost as light 
 as day. Every one wondered at this curious phenome- 
 non, and foretold that it meant mischief of some sort, 
 and, curiously, there was mischief enough in the air that 
 night. 
 
 The next day, at about noon, I was startled by the 
 sound of firing, and bullets were suddenly flying over 
 my head. In my alarm I had rushed out of the hut, 
 and saw that the firing was from the direction of the 
 powder-magazine. To my intense surprise, I did not 
 see a solitary soldier in the zariba ; even their wives had 
 gone, and had taken their household goods away with 
 them. I shouted and cried out, but no one answered ; 
 a few women passed by, but they were too occupied to 
 answer me ; they, too, soon disappeared, and the whole 
 place, which but a few moments before had been a Babel 
 of din and noise, became silent as the grave. In the 
 distance I could hear continuous firing, and occasionally 
 I caught sight of women and children running away 
 in a northerly direction. 
 
 I now thought it time to quit the zariba myself. I 
 seized a bayonet, and tried to push aside the thorns, 
 
THE BLACK TROOPS IN EL 0BE1D REVOLT. 193 
 
 but they were so firmly fixed in the ground, that I 
 could not move them. I then made for the gate, and 
 here there was not a soul to be seen ; even the slaves 
 in chains had disappeared. Bullets were now flying in 
 all directions. I went towards the Emir Abdullah's 
 house, and found him standing by his door in a state of 
 great agitation, with only two soldiers. In reply to my 
 question as to what was the matter, he answered in a surly 
 tone : " These beit el mal slaves have destroyed every- 
 thing." These words were scarcely out of his mouth, 
 when fifty Dervishes with drawn swords suddenly 
 rushed up, and with frightful yells dragged him and his 
 men off to the courtyard of the Mudirieh. I followed 
 them. Here an enormous crowd of Dervishes was 
 collected, and, wild with rage, they would have torn 
 Abdullah to pieces had not Wad el Hashmi stopped 
 them. 
 
 The Dervishes now accused Abdullah of having incited 
 the soldiers ; but he protested that he knew nothing of 
 the affair, and in proof of his statement urged that 
 he had not quitted his house ; but it was useless. The 
 air resounded with cries of " Cut off his head ! " and he 
 was obliged to kneel down. With one blow his head 
 rolled on the sand; both the soldiers were also beheaded, 
 and their bodies thrown down near the mosque, so that 
 everyone might see them. 
 
 I now learnt that the soldiers had taken possession 
 of the powder magazine, which consisted of a square 
 yard, with small towers at the corners ; it had been 
 utilized as a magazine in Government days. All arms 
 and ammunition were stored here, and a number of 
 Egyptians were employed moulding bullets and filling 
 cartridges ; there were also quantities of caps, and all 
 the necessary implements. The soldiers had broken 
 into this place, killed the guards, made loopholes, and 
 prepared for defence ; they had burnt down most of 
 the houses in the town, and forced all they met to 
 join them. Two Egyptians who refused to do so w T ere 
 at once killed. The Dervishes had rushed, in a body, 
 to attempt t<> recover the magazine, bur had been shot 
 
 o 
 
191 TEN YEARS* CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 down in numbers; several emirs also fell in this 
 assault, and no one dared to return to recover their 
 bodies. At length, having rallied from their first 
 failure, they again collected and advanced — this time 
 with more order — to the attack ; but the soldiers, who 
 had learnt of their Emir Abdullah's death, fought 
 with desperate courage, and again drove them back, 
 with heavy loss. 
 
 The Dervishes now assembled beside the great gate 
 of the Mudirieh, and consulted what was best to be 
 done ; they were thoroughly alarmed, and no wonder ; 
 for everyone who came within range of the fort was 
 almost certainly shot down. Amongst these was Fiki 
 Isa, of the Shanabla, who was struck in the neck by a 
 bullet, and fell dead at once. Naturally, I fled as 
 soon as possible from this dangerous proximity, and 
 went to the house of a clerk, whose walls I knew 
 would give me protection. 
 
 The firing now became faster, and the soldiers sounded 
 the trumpet for the attack on the Mudirieh, intending 
 to capture the guns which stood outside the gate ; but 
 the Dervishes had withdrawn them and closed it, so 
 the troops were forced to retire ; their ranks had been 
 largely increased by a number of male and female 
 slaves, who, on hearing of the mutiny, had at once left 
 their masters. 
 
 Fighting lasted till nightfall : and at length, under 
 cover of darkness, I made my way back to the zariba, 
 to see what had become of my companions in adversity. 
 I found it empty and deserted ; even the cattle had 
 escaped somehow ; and only two miserable slaves, suffer- 
 ing from ferentit (guinea- worm), and who were unable 
 to move, remained behind. I was feverish and restless ; 
 so returned again to the Mudirieh, to see what was 
 going forward there. I found a crowd of Dervishes, 
 exasperated at the idea of having been defeated by 
 the " slave-soldiers," as they called them ; more of their 
 emirs had been killed ; and the chief, Wad Hashmi, 
 had been mortally wounded, and died the following 
 day. When the Dervishes caught sight of me (hitherto 
 
MUTINEERS OCCUPY THE POWDER-MAGAZINE. 195 
 
 I had passed unnoticed), they ordered me back to the 
 zariba, threatening to kill me if I again left it ; I 
 suppose they did this because they thought I might 
 join the mutineers. It was believed that the soldiers 
 would attack and capture the town the next day. How 
 I wish they had had a good leader ! 
 
 My companions and I now found ourselves in the 
 beit el mal again, under the guard of four soldiers. 
 Worn out with excitement, I threw myself down on my 
 angarib : the success of the mutineers again revived 
 in my breast hopes of release ; and with this pleasing 
 thought, I dropped off into a sound slumber. 
 
 I was suddenly roused up by one of the guard 
 prodding me with the butt end of his rifle, and saying — 
 " When everyone is in terror of his life, how can you 
 sleep ? " So I reluctantly had to get up, and began 
 chatting to the guard, as I feared any display of satis- 
 faction on my part would probably call down vengeance 
 from them. "We talked over the events of the day ; 
 and I soon realised that the Dervishes were, in truth, 
 greatly alarmed. 
 
 The powder magazine was not far from the beit el 
 mal, so we could overhear a great deal of what was 
 going on there ; and one would have imagined that 
 they were engaged in marriage festivities rather than 
 in bloody warfare. The whole night through they kept 
 up singing ; the women were dancing, and the men 
 drinking marissa : every now and then the trumpets were 
 sounded, which seemed to add to the women's delight ; 
 they were all laughing over the Mahdi's doings, heaping 
 insults on him and his religion ; and still further 
 exasperating the Dervishes by shouting out to them to 
 come and join them in a drinking bout. 
 
 But whilst these good blacks were enjoying them- 
 selves in the magazine, the Dervishes had fortified the 
 beit el mal, and placed bodies of troops, with their flags, 
 in different parts. Occasionally, the blacks fired a 
 volley into them, which made them disperse, leaving 
 their flag behind them. Everyone was in a state of 
 most anxious expectancy for the next day ; it was looked 
 
 o 2 
 
11)6 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 upon as certain that a fight would take place between 
 the Dervishes and the soldiers, which would finally 
 decide matters ; and that night there was little sleep 
 for anyone. 
 
 Early the next morning the soldiers played the 
 Khedivial salute, which stirred us to the quick ; and 
 by the time the sun had risen, firing had recommenced, 
 and was continued up till nine o'clock. The soldiers 
 made a few raids on camels and donkeys, but did not 
 attempt to attack the Dervishes ; and it was not at 
 all clear what they intended to do. The Dervish emir, 
 being certain that the mutineers were quite demoralized, 
 sent their imam (priest) to tell them that if they wished 
 to surrender, they would receive pardon ; this exasperated 
 the blacks beyond measure ; the imam was told not to 
 talk nonsense ; and was then deliberately dragged out 
 about fifty paces from the fort, pierced through and 
 through with his own spears, and his body thrown out 
 in the direction of the Mudirieh, whilst the soldiers 
 shouted out — " This is the head in return for the head 
 of our Emir Abdullah." They continued to make 
 desultory sorties during the day, and captured a quantity 
 of animals. 
 
 In the afternoon they left the powder magazine ; 
 the band playing, women and children marching in 
 front ; then came the ammunition, surrounded by armed 
 men, and lastly, the soldiers, marching in good order, 
 and disposed in such a manner as to resist any sudden 
 assault. 
 
 The Dervishes, however, determined to attack, and, 
 marshalling their banners, they made for the powder 
 magazine, which they found quite deserted ; the soldiers 
 had thrown into the wells all the powder they could 
 not carry. There were only five fresh graves in the 
 magazine, which showed that the soldiers had lost only 
 five men, whilst the Dervishes had lost about five 
 hundred. 
 
 Meanwhile, the blacks were marching gaily towards 
 Melbeis ; but the Dervishes, more furious than ever 
 after their discoveries in the magazine, set off in hot 
 
" IIAKK HAS EFFEND1NA." 
 
 197 
 
 pursuit ; and when they had got within a short distance 
 of their enemy, they were received by a well-directed 
 volley, which killed some fifty of them ; the remainder 
 tied in disorder to El Obeid. The total number of the 
 blacks, including the slaves who had joined them, did 
 not exceed one thousand men, whilst the Dervishes 
 more than trebled that number. Had they only 
 had a competent commander, there is no doubt they 
 could easily have captured El Obeid. They continued 
 their march, unopposed, to Nuba, and arrived first of 
 all at Delen, where they established themselves, and 
 selected Beshir, an old soldier of Slatin Bey's, to be 
 their Mudir. Mahdiism was entirely renounced, and the 
 Khedive's Government proclaimed. Anyone who swore 
 by the Mahdi's name received eighty lashes ; the regular 
 form of swearing was — " Hakk ras Effendina " ("By the 
 Khedive's head ! ") Strict discipline was enforced. Any 
 one found selling arms or ammunition to the Nubas 
 was punished with death, and the sentence was carried 
 out by shooting. 
 
 Shortly afterwards, they quitted Delen and marched 
 to Jebel Na'ima, the inhabitants of which place are known 
 as the bravest of the Nubas ; but here they still seemed 
 to think themselves too close to their hated enemies, 
 and therefore moved on to Golfan, where they took 
 up a position in an inaccessible mountain, were recog- 
 nized by their neighbours as the rulers of the country, 
 and were supplied by them with quantities of cattle 
 and sesame. 
 
 In the meantime Sherif Mahmud, in Omdurman, had 
 been fully informed of all that had occurred. He fell 
 into a terrible passion, accused all his emirs of cowardice, 
 and proceeded forthwith to El Obeid. He would not 
 even enter his house, but encamped outside the town. 
 Khalifa Abdullah had ordered him to leave the mutineers 
 alone, and to proceed, via the Es Safiyeh Wells, to 
 Dongola ; but Mahmud entirely disregarded this order. 
 He thirsted for vengeance against these rebels, and 
 determined to subdue them. Added to this, he had 
 also conceived the idea of usurping Khalifa Abdullah's 
 
198 TEN YEAliS* CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 authority. His object, therefore, was to increase his 
 power by regaining the co-operation of the soldiers, and 
 so proud and self-confident was he, that he believed 
 they would never attempt to fight against him. 
 
 Here, underneath the great Adansonia tree where the 
 Mahdi had stayed so long, he pitched his camp and 
 made preparations for his advance on Nuba. He called 
 for volunteers, saying that he did not wish to force 
 anyone to go to war, and at the same time he en- 
 deavoured to encourage the people by telling them that 
 the Mahdi had appeared to him in a dream, and had 
 told him to advance and attack the rebels, promising 
 him certain victory. In spite of this summons, very 
 few volunteered, and getting thoroughly annoyed, he now 
 threatened with death anyone who refused to join him. 
 Thus did Mahmud realise that the spirit of Mahdiism 
 had almost died out, and that in future force would be 
 required to carry out its behests. 
 
 He rapidly advanced with a force of 2,500 men, 
 most of them armed with Remingtons. On his way he 
 was joined by a number of Arabs, which raised his force 
 to some 8,000 mem On arrival at Naima he found that 
 the mutineers had moved on ; he therefore advanced to 
 Golfan, and sent in a letter to the effect that if they 
 surrendered he would give them a free pardon. But 
 the soldiers had had previous experience of Mahdieh 
 promises, and received the messengers with volleys, 
 which soon made them turn back. Mahmud determined, 
 therefore, to invest his former adherents, and, putting 
 himself at the head of his troops, he advanced towards 
 the mountain ; but the soldiers, concealed behind rocks, 
 sent volley after volley into the Dervish ranks. Mahmud 
 received a bullet in his side, but, nothing daunted, he 
 continued to advance, carrying his own flag, until 
 another bullet, hitting him full on the forehead, killed 
 him. 
 
 Already over a hundred Dervishes had fallen, and the 
 remainder, hearing that Mahmud was dead, turned tail 
 and fled in disorder towards El Obeid. The soldiers did 
 not pursue, but took up Mahmud's body and gave him 
 
DEATH OF THE EMIR MAI1MUD. 
 
 199 
 
 an honourable burial befitting the brave man he was. In 
 his death Mahdieh lost perhaps the boldest of its adher- 
 ents, and certainly the bravest of the Mahdi's family. 
 And though he had latterly given himself up to a life of 
 pleasure and debauchery, as all the rest had done, still 
 he did not fear exposing himself to every sort of danger. 
 
 Mahmud fell in the month of November 1885, and 
 Khalifa Abdullah was by no means displeased to be rid 
 of a rival whose prowess and popularity he greatly feared 
 and envied. 
 
 In place of Sherif Mahmud, Abdullah despatched 
 his brother Bakhit to Kordofan ; but he was a very 
 different class of man, and was nicknamed "Tor" 
 (" The Bullock "). 
 
 Soon afterwards Bakhit received orders to leave all 
 his men at El Obeid and to return to Omdurman. He 
 was succeeded by the emir Wad el Hashmi, who was 
 followed by Osman Wad Adam (nicknamed " Ganu "), 
 the Mahdi's nephew. 
 
 Preparations were now made to transport all Mahmud's 
 people to Omdurman, and in order to convey so many 
 thousand people, camels were forcibly seized. We also 
 were released, and permitted to go to Omdurman. I 
 had passed too many miserable years in Kordofan not 
 to rejoice at the change : for a time I had a faint 
 hope that someone might be sent by Father Bonomi to 
 assist me to escape, but now it seemed useless to hope 
 for this any longer, whereas, once at Omdurman, I 
 might manage to escape by myself. Our departure was 
 delayed for a month. 
 
 El Obeid had gradually become a dirty Arab village ; 
 except meat and dokhn, there was absolutely nothing to 
 be got in the market. I suffered much from dysentery. 
 There were no medicines to be had, so I had to trust to 
 the recuperative powers of nature, assisted by a little 
 rice which was grown in the marshes about Birket, 
 I had not a civilized soul with whom to associate. 
 
 The Nubas of Jebel Pair did their utmost to harass 
 El Obeid ; they were always hovering about in the out- 
 skirts, ready to pounce down on any cattle and slaves 
 
200 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 they saw. It would have been madness to go an hour s 
 distance from the town without an escort. The Dervishes 
 frequently made attempts to clear the neighbourhood of 
 these brigands, but I observed that they always returned 
 considerably fewer in number, and I secretly rejoiced at 
 their inability to cope with these brave Nubas. Taking 
 everything into consideration, I was not sorry to say 
 good-bye to this dreary and inhospitable town. 
 
 We were given four camels, whose owners acted as 
 the drivers. It was agreed that on arrival in Omdurman 
 we should pay them at the rate of seven dollars a camel. 
 
 On the 25th of March, 1886, we left El Obeid. What 
 a flood of recollections welled up in my mind as we 
 marched for the last time through the desolate ruins of 
 the city ! How strange had been the vicissitudes of 
 this once flourishing place during the last few years ! 
 From a thriving and peaceful township it had been 
 transformed into the theatre of constant warfare and 
 bloodshed. It had then been the scene of the Mahdi's 
 debaucheries, when he rested after his victories, and 
 now it had dwindled down into a wretched Arab village. 
 
 Our road took us past the site of the El Obeid 
 Mission-house, of which not a trace remained. In its 
 place was the market, and a heap of white bones indi- 
 cated the locality of the cook's shop. We halted that 
 evening at Korbatsh ; the next day we started very 
 early ; and after a two days' march, arrived at Bara. 
 This beautiful little town is situated in a woody de- 
 pression of the great Kordofan plain. In the distance 
 we could see the white ruins through the high acacia 
 trees. Formerly the place had been well planted with 
 date-palms ; but during the siege the inhabitants had 
 cut them down, and lived upon the crushed core. 
 
 In the Government days Bara had been a sort 
 of sanatorium for El Obeid, where the richer inhabi- 
 tants used to spend the summer ; they had made lovely 
 gardens, full of date-trees, lemon-plants, banana-trees, 
 and vines, while the vegetables used to be sold in El 
 Obeid. The soil is exceptionally fertile, and there is 
 an abundance of water obtainable at only six feet below 
 
ZOOAL, EMIR OF DARFUR. 
 
 201 
 
 the surface. But now the place was completely des- 
 troyed and neglected ; and wild bushes and thorns grew 
 apace amidst the ruins. 
 
 As we approached Bara, we heard the thunder of 
 guns, and were told that it was a salute announcing 
 the arrival of Zogal, the Governor of Darfur, with his 
 troops. It was the 2nd of April. We halted under 
 a large acacia tree, and took down our angaribs, over 
 which mats were tightly stretched. The arrival of two 
 large parties, one from El Obeid and one from Darfur, 
 soon changed this dismal graveyard into a noisy camp. 
 
 Zogal had brought with him 2,500 infantry, 4,000 
 black soldiers and singers, and 1,500 good horses. He 
 had over 10,000 dollars in his beit el mal, besides 
 what each of his men possessed — and that was no in- 
 considerable quantity : for everyone had enriched him- 
 self in Darfur ; and all this wealth was destined to 
 become the Khalifa Abdullah's property. Zogal had 
 organized bands in his army ; and the same tunes which 
 had been played in the days of the Government, now 
 resounded over the deserted plains of Bara. Zogal's camp 
 was a scene of pleasure and merry-making. Marissa was 
 publicly sold and drunk openly ; all idea of being within 
 the Mahdi's jurisdiction seemed to have been forgotten. 
 Zogal was a liberal man; his principle was "live and 
 let live ; " and he thoroughly enjoyed the good things 
 of this life, which the Mahdi's revolt had placed within 
 his reach. He was a powerfully built, stout man, of 
 about sixty years of age. with a white beard, which 
 gave him a patriarchal appearance. He was known as 
 the father of many children, and was of an open-hearted 
 and generous disposition. 
 
 Zogal's camp was pitched on the ruins of Bara ; rich 
 carpets were spread over the sand, and there he sat, 
 ready to see anybody and everybody at any time of 
 the day ; abundance of food was always ready for 
 all his guests. The only thing for which Zogal should 
 be blamed was his shooting to death twenty-five Sanjaks 
 and Turks, who had surrendered with Slatin, on the 
 fall of Darfur. These Sanjaks had sworn to revolt 
 
202 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TIIE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 against Mahdiism, but had been betrayed. With this 
 exception, he had conducted his rule with great modera- 
 tion ; he did all he possibly could to further trade ; 
 and when in Bara I saw some French calico, which had 
 come from Tunis, via Wadai, to Darfur. Zogal's Bazingers 
 made a great impression on me ; they were a wild and 
 turbulent lot, capable of great marching power, and 
 able to support long-continued privations. 
 
 Lupton Bey often used to tell me of the cannibal 
 propensities of these black warriors. In many instances, 
 their only dress consisted of the leather bandolier, or 
 cartridge case, and a big leather bag, from which a 
 human leg could often be seen protruding ; and in 
 almost every bag some human flesh or bones could be 
 found. When I used to go to the market, crowds of 
 these swarthy warriors would collect to gaze on my 
 white skin, which, in truth, the sun had long since 
 tanned to a very brown colour. 
 
 Zogal's nine days' halt in Bara soon came to an end. 
 News came that disturbances had occurred in Omdurman 
 between Khalifas Abdullah and Sherif ; the latter had 
 frequently written to Zogal to come to Khartum at once, 
 as he was most anxious to have him there. News was 
 brought at the same time that Abu Anga had arrived at 
 El Obeid via Birket ; it was rumoured that Abu Anga 
 had been sent by Abdullah to arrest Zogal, for it was 
 reported that Zogal and Sherif had agreed to combine 
 and wrest the authority from Abdullah. Zogal was 
 quite strong enough to overturn Abdullah ; but 
 unfortunately he was no soldier, and Abdullah had 
 secretly won over a number of his emirs to his side. 
 
 Abu Anga pressed on from El Obeid, and, arriving 
 at Bara, summoned Zogal to surrender. The latter, 
 however, prepared to fight ; but most of his Bazingers 
 and emirs went over to Abu Anga's side, and he was 
 soon left with but a few followers, and easily fell 
 into Abu Anga's hands ; he was at once put in 
 chains and handed over to Said Bey Guma, who 
 was at that time commander of the artillery. All 
 his property was confiscated. Abu Anga did this in 
 
ZOGAVS ARREST. 
 
 203 
 
 revenge, for Zogal had done exactly the same to 
 Said Bey when he took possession of Darfur. Zogal 
 was now dragged in chains to El Obeid, where he 
 was left for a year to think over his changed state. 
 His emin beit el mal, Ibrahim Ramadan, was also 
 seized on his way to Omdurman, and brought back 
 in chains to El Obeid, where he was mercilessly 
 flogged to make him disclose the hiding-place of the 
 money ; but nothing would induce him to tell. He 
 was subsequently taken to Omdurman, where Abdullah 
 received him well and gave him a situation in the 
 beit el mal. 
 
 Zoo-al's arrest was the signal for ill-treatino- all the 
 Khalifa Sherif's adherents ; these were deprived of 
 all their positions, and were replaced by Abdullah's 
 nominees. I had relied considerably on seeing a 
 change for the better if this attempt of Sherif and 
 Zogal to upset Abdullah had succeeded ; but it had 
 failed, and we again moved on towards Omdurman, 
 still further depressed by the feeling that Abdullah was 
 growing more and more powerful. By the time we 
 arrived near Omdurman my camel had died ; the poor 
 Arab wept bitterly for his loss, and I could do nothing 
 towards repaying him. On the evening of the 24th of 
 April, 1886, we encamped close to the town. A fearful 
 sandstorm was blowing, and we were enveloped in 
 clouds of dust— a fitting advent to the capital of the 
 Mahdi's empire I 
 
204 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 ohrwalder's impressions of omdurman. 
 
 Ohrwalder's arrival in Omdurman — His first impressions of the 
 Dervish capital — Khalifa Abdullah's intentions to conquer 
 Egypt— Wad Suleiman of the beit el mal — Wad Adlan succeeds 
 — Gordon's clothes, medals, &c. — Adlan reorganizes the beit el 
 mal — The slave market, museum, mint, and system of coinage 
 — Counterfeit coining — The lithograph press — The Khalifa's 
 system of justice. 
 
 The next morning — the 26th of April, 1886 — we rose 
 covered with dust from head to foot, and by the time 
 we had got under way again, the sun was already high 
 in the heavens, and was unusually hot. This was the 
 worst season of the year. The first place we came to 
 was the Mahdi's old camp, which was marked by a line 
 of mud walls. From this position the fort of Omdur- 
 man had been besieged, and innumerable human and 
 animal bones marked the site of this long-sustained 
 conflict. To our right lay the White Nile, flowing 
 between its green banks, beyond it the Blue Nile could 
 just be seen, and the ruins of Khartum were visible 
 behind the thick belt of palm-trees. 
 
 Emerging from the arid deserts of Kordofan, the Nile 
 with its green banks was a most refreshing sight ; on 
 the other hand, the view of Khartum in ruins awakened 
 the saddest recollections. Of the vast crowd which 
 had beset Gordon on every side, some were scattered 
 far and wide, while others had settled down around 
 their new master in Omdurman. The little hill on the 
 west bank just opposite to the junction of the two 
 Niles was called Omdurman, hence the name of the 
 Mahdiist capital. Previous to the revolt, there had 
 been merely a few huts ; but it was always considered a 
 
Oil It W ALDER ARRIVES IN OMDURMAN. 
 
 205 
 
 place of importance, as the hills in the vicinity sup- 
 plied lime and stone in quantities for building works 
 in Khartum. In those days, the lime-pits were in 
 Omdurman, and the place where the Mahdiist capital 
 now stands was a thick and thorny bush — the abode 
 of the Batahin robbers. 
 
 What a change had now taken place ! From the 
 old fort at the south end, right up to Khor Shambat, 
 and even further, the new capital extends, a countless 
 conglomeration of straw huts (tokuls), surrounded by 
 small zaribas ; here and there a few mud huts, some 
 of which, larger than the others, denote the residences 
 of the Khalifas and principal emirs — they are looked 
 upon as palaces. 
 
 Formerly the mosque consisted merely of a square 
 enclosure, surrounded by a hedge ; but this had now 
 been replaced by a wall of sun-dried bricks. In the 
 distance we could see the galvanised-iron mosque where 
 the Mahdi used, to perform prayers. The Mahdi's original 
 camp had been situated some kilometres' distance to the 
 north of the fort, where the plain widens out. 
 
 On our arrival we at once made inquiries about the 
 market, and sought news of the other Europeans. The 
 market was a sort of maze, and arranged with no idea 
 of system. Merchants never left their goods there over- 
 night ; but always took them to their own houses. A 
 Greek had made a bakery, and drove a good trade, as 
 long as people had money to buy. There were such 
 crowds of people that it was almost impossible to make 
 one's way through ; there were quantities of provisions 
 for sale, and trade seemed very lively. Egyptian mer- 
 chants brought their goods as far as Ed Darner, whence 
 they were brought by Arab merchants to Omdurman. 
 The only tax levied by the Khalifa's order was 2^ 
 per cent, zekka (i.e. alms for the poor), and people 
 seemed generally contented and happy. There were 
 quantities of money in the beit el mal, and at that 
 time there was no occasion to oppress the inhabitants. 
 
 There were numbers of Greeks, Jews, and Syrians, 
 
 of whom were doing fairly well in business. I also 
 
206 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA ED PS CAMP. 
 
 saw Klootz. Slatin at that time happened to be absent, 
 he was commanding some troops under the Emir Yunis 
 at Wad el Abbas. 
 
 Khalifa Abdullah was full of ideas of conquest and 
 pretensions ; he used often to announce publicly that 
 the end of the Turks' rule in Egypt was approaching. 
 He was most anxious to obtain possession of that 
 country, and thought the time had now come. Several 
 of the sheikhs and ulemas in Cairo and in other parts 
 of Egypt had written to him inviting him to take 
 possession of the country where, they assured him, he 
 would be most cordially received. 
 
 The Mahdi's summons and proclamations were sent 
 in all directions. Pilgrims arrived from Samarkand, 
 Bokhara, India, and Mecca, to examine Mahdieh with 
 their own eyes. All this tended to make Abdullah 
 more desirous than ever to conquer Egypt. He des- 
 patched Nejumi and his men to Dongola, whilst Yunis was 
 instructed to collect all the men he could in the Gezireh. 
 Sherif Mahmud's followers were also sent to Dongola ; 
 thus did Abdullah dispose of the adherents of those 
 emirs whom he knew to be hostile to him. Zogal once 
 arrested, Abdullah had now little to fear. Hitherto he 
 had treated his two brother Khalifas, and the Ashraf and 
 Danagla with the utmost respect ; but now he conducted 
 himself in a very different manner, and could not bear 
 to have anyone in the smallest degree associated with 
 him who was of almost equal rank ; he therefore did 
 all in his power to weaken the opposition party, and to 
 increase the influence of his own party. The first blow 
 he struck fell on Ahmed Wad Suleiman, emin of the beit 
 el mal. The day that we arrived in Omdurman he was 
 put in chains, and his house and the beit el mal were 
 put under guards. Wad Suleiman had been one of the 
 Mahdi's most fanatical adherents, and whenever he 
 passed the Mahdi's tomb he used to stretch out his 
 hands and weep like a child — indeed he had every 
 reason to do so, for the Mahdi had raised him from a 
 low position to a post of great honour, and the thought 
 of losing this position distressed him greatly. 
 
WAD ADLAN TAKES CHARGE OF THE BEIT EL MAL. 207 
 
 Suleiman's wheel of fortune had come round at a 
 good time, when the amount of money in the beit el 
 mal was considerable. The immense quantities of loot 
 taken at El Obeid, Shikan, Khartum, Sennar, and 
 Berber, had all passed through his hands, and any 
 Dervish who was in need of anything always came to 
 him, and in this way he acquired great influence. Since 
 the Mahdi' s death there had been great enmity between 
 Suleiman and Abdullah, and on the pretext of examin- 
 ing the accounts, Abdullah had him arrested, and 
 intended to send him away, while he appointed Mo- 
 hammed Osman (Zogal's son) in his place. 
 
 In Suleiman's house some 5,000 grammes of un- 
 stamped gold was found, and it is more than probable 
 that this was but a small portion of what he had pre- 
 viously appropriated. He was therefore thrown into 
 chains, where he remained for a year and more. A month 
 after his arrest, a certain Ibrahim AVad Adlan, of Wad 
 Medina, on the Blue Nile, and sometime merchant in 
 El Obeid, was appointed emin beit el mal. He had 
 frequently been in Cairo, was a pleasant-looking man, 
 and had enlightened ideas. At one time, when a dis- 
 pute arose between the commercial house of Arbib in 
 Cairo, and their two partners in El Obeid, Adlan had 
 been nominated arbitrator by the Cairo house. He had 
 for long remained loyal to the Government, and had 
 stayed in El Obeid until it fell into the hands of the 
 Mahdi, who permitted him — as a special favour — to 
 keep 2,000 of the 30,000 dollars he then had. 
 
 For a long time Adlan had nothing to do ; but he 
 was always an influential man, and was continually 
 trying to help those in distress. After the fall of El 
 Obeid, and when all the clerks had been exiled to 
 various parts, he never ceased until he obtained per- 
 mission for their return. A short time before the Mahdi 
 had quitted El Obeid, he had been employed in the 
 beit el mal, and at Rahad, Wad Suleiman had appointed 
 him his assistant. He was then despatched by the Mahdi 
 to Berber, to secure the £60,000 which had been sent to 
 Gordon from Cairo, and which had been left in the 
 
208 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 Berber treasury, owing to the interruption of commu- 
 nications with Khartum. Ibrahim brought the money, 
 clothes, medals, decorations, and other valuables belong- 
 ing to Gordon to the Mahdi. The clothes were sold, 
 and cut to pieces to repair other garments, the metal 
 of the medals, &c, was melted down, whilst the precious 
 stones were sold, and eventually found their way to 
 Cairo. 
 
 Adlan soon gained considerable influence over the 
 Khalifa, and had sufficient tact to moderate the inborn 
 tyranny of his master. His desire to continually give 
 assistance when he could, had made him very popular. 
 He soon set to work to reorganize the beit el mal, and 
 began by removing it from its original position to the 
 river bank, thus avoiding the unnecessary transport of 
 articles brought by boats to the stores. 
 
 Here he built an extensive yard of sun-dried bricks, 
 which he divided off into sections for the various de- 
 partments of the administration. He made a large corn- 
 store, in which a mountain of dhurra was collected — 
 indeed, so high was it, that it could be seen from a 
 considerable distance. This store was placed in charge 
 of his assistant. Another yard was built containing a 
 number of rooms, in which the slaves were kept under 
 a guard of soldiers. Here the slaves were shackled, 
 twenty or thirty together in one long chain, with iron 
 rings round their necks. Any obstreperous slaves were 
 generally shackled with one or two makias or iron rings 
 round their ankles, joined together by a small chain 
 or iron bar, which made walking very difficult. 
 
 Slaves received a little dry dhurra from the beit el mal 
 as food until they were sold. The female slaves gene- 
 rally grind the dhurra, and make a sort of polenta out of 
 it, which is either eaten with water or boiled and eaten 
 as balila. The dhurra ration of a slave is generally so 
 small and so bad that numbers of them die of starva- 
 tion long before they are fortunate enough to be sold. 
 
 Slaves are sold by auction in the beit el mal, and a 
 written certificate is given to the purchaser, stating in 
 detail the description of the slave, whether male or 
 
THE SLAVE-MARKET. 
 
 209 
 
 female, and that the purchase was effected in the beit 
 el mal. Before an auction the slaves are generally well 
 rubbed with oil, to improve their appearance. The 
 bulk of the slaves sold are females, as male slaves are 
 generally attached to the army. A special woman is 
 also employed, together with the other officials, to see 
 
 A SLAVE WOMAN FROM EQTJATORIA. 
 
 to the female slaves. Adlan also railed off a part of the 
 beit el mal for the reception of cattle— camels, sheep, 
 goats, donkeys, &c. ; these are also sold by auction. 
 
 The Mint forms a distinct sub-department, AVhen 
 the Mahdi was alive, gold and silver coins were struck 
 by his order, not so much to supply the demand, but 
 
 F 
 
210 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDVS CAMP. 
 
 rather to prove his independence of Egypt and the 
 establishment of his new kingdom. He ordered guineas 
 to be coined, just like the Egyptian pounds ; they were 
 made out of the gold ornaments captured in Khartum. 
 Dollars were coined, and made similar to the Turkish 
 Medjidie dollar. A certain Hajji Abdullah Granteli, of 
 Bokhara, formerly jeweller in Khartum, and Elias el 
 Kurdi, watchmaker, w T ere made chief coiners. In 1889 
 the latter lost his hand and foot for issuing counterfeit 
 money. Almost all coins bearing the stamp, " By order 
 of the Mahdi," have disappeared. 
 
 When I arrived in Omdurman there was a great 
 scarcity of small coins, and in consequence pieces of 
 damur (a twilled cotton fabric manufactured in the 
 Sudan), valued at ten, five, and two and a half piastres, 
 were made currency ; but these rags soon became so 
 dirty, from being passed from hand to hand, and so 
 covered with oil and grease, that people refused to 
 accept them. Khalifa Abdullah, when he heard of this, 
 threatened those who refused with confiscation of pro- 
 perty and imprisonment, and employed spies in various 
 parts of the market to report the names of those who 
 objected ; but the spies were bribed to keep silence, and 
 Abdullah was obliged to give in. Merchants had 
 recourse to every sort of deception to evade his orders, 
 so the dirty rags were withdrawn from currency. 
 
 Adlan had organized the Mint rather with the object 
 of making a profit than of supplying a want. Silver 
 was cheap, and he was able to make 50 per cent, profit 
 on the manufacture of dollars. At that time gold 
 coinage was no longer current. On one side of the 
 dollars was stamped the Mohammedan date, with the 
 words, " Struck in Omdurman," while on the reverse 
 was the Sultan's Toghra, underneath which was written 
 the word, " Makbul " (accepted) ; hence the dollar became 
 known as the " Makbul dollar." Pieces of five and ten 
 piastres value were also coined, as well as a few single 
 piastre pieces, on one side of which was stamped the 
 Toghra, and on the other the word " Omdurman." The 
 Mahdi on his coins had written, within the Toghra. the 
 
SYSTEM OF COINAGE. 
 
 211 
 
 words, " By order of the Mahdi," but Khalifa Abdullah 
 did not follow his example. 
 
 Besides these coins, English sovereigns were also 
 current in Omdurman, and were known as " khayala " 
 (cavalry) pounds, on account of the St. George and the 
 dragon being engraved on them. Egyptian pounds 
 were also current, but now all gold coins have become 
 rare. 
 
 The principal currency is the Medjidie dollar, and 
 these have been in such constant use that they are much 
 obliterated. The Maria Theresa dollar (also known 
 as the " Abu Nokta ") is current as well, but chiefly 
 with Sawakin, Massawa, and Abyssinian traders, and 
 notably with the last. The French 5 -franc-piece and 
 the Spanish dollar (known as Abu Madfa) are current in 
 a very minor degree. Egyptian piastres and half- 
 piastres, introduced by the Hicks Expedition, are occa- 
 sionally seen. The Austrian quarter-gulden piece 
 (fiorini) is considered to be worth 2 piastres. In 
 addition to all these silver pieces, copper coins of all 
 descriptions are current. 
 
 The Khalifa Abdullah had no small trouble in cir- 
 culating the Makbul dollar ; the merchants refused to 
 value them at 20 piastres, and, in spite of most 
 stringent orders, and continued threats of confiscation 
 of property, imprisonment, &c, the order was somehow 
 continually evaded. 
 
 Merchants set high prices on their goods, and would 
 never accept until the buyer had shown all the different 
 sorts of dollars he possessed ; he was thus obliged to do 
 this or to buy at exorbitant rates. Complaints became 
 rife, and eventually' they reached Abdullah's ears. He 
 got very angry, and one day in October 1887, he sent 
 troops to the market with instructions to bring all the 
 goods in the market to the beit el mal. It was useless 
 to resist ; the owners were obliged to look after their 
 own goods, which were piled up near the big gate of 
 the beit el mal, in the open, and under a burning sun. 
 Abdullah was now raging, and publicly made the follow- 
 ing curious statement : — . 
 
 P 2 
 
212 TEH YEARS' CAPTIVITY JX THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 "That unbeliever Gordon induced merchants to 
 accept miserable bits of paper as equivalents for money, 
 and now I offer you silver and you won't even take it. 
 
 For fourteen days these wretched people sat by the 
 gate, trembling for their property. All sorts of rumours 
 were flying about. Some said that the Khalifa intended 
 to throw all the goods into the river ; others said that 
 he was going to burn them, and perhaps the most likely 
 notion of all was that he intended to confiscate the lot 
 and transfer it to the beit el mal. By this time the 
 merchants were thoroughly alarmed, and begged some 
 of their influential friends to mediate with the Khalifa. 
 At length the latter summoned the principal merchants, 
 and asked them if they would accept the Makbul dollar 
 at the value of the old dollar, whereupon they not only 
 accepted gladly, but declared their readiness to accept 
 any sort of money he chose to issue, even should it be 
 made of leather. 
 
 Thus was a reconciliation effected. The Khalifa 
 treated the merchants well, gave them plenty of food, 
 and condescended even to eat with them on this festive 
 occasion. After this episode there were no more diffi- 
 culties about making the Makbul dollar current in 
 Omdurman, though to this day the Arabs refuse to 
 accept it, 
 
 But gradually silver became dear, and the Mint began 
 coining bad dollars, made of two parts silver to three 
 parts copper ; consequently the value of the old dollar 
 has now gone up to 25 piastres. This gave further 
 opportunities to the counterfeit coiners. The silver- 
 workers in the Mint began making dollars on their own 
 account, and, those being different from the others, 
 caused great confusion. These false dollars were very 
 well coined, and it required a practised eye to notice 
 the deception ; indeed, it was not until a very large 
 quantity of these false coins had got into circulation 
 that the fraud was found out, 
 
 An inspector was now sent to examine all dollars ; 
 all false coins were broken into pieces, and no compen- 
 sation given to the owners. Thieves and smugglers 
 
THE MUSEUM. 
 
 213 
 
 purchased the bad dollars at 10 piastres apiece, and 
 then, of course, every description of bribery and cor- 
 ruption was practised. For instance, an Arab would 
 agree to sell his camel for 150 dollars, on condition 
 that the monev should be submitted to the examining 
 commission,. The president, who was of course bribed, 
 gave out as his decision that the dollars were all good, 
 and received a good round sum from the purchaser for 
 his falsehood ; thus it happened that the Arab was 
 generally defrauded of 40 or 50 dollars. In spite of 
 several false coiners being punished with the loss of 
 a hand and foot, still the evil practice continued, and it 
 is only within the last few years, since the price of 
 silver has increased so much, that false coining has, to a 
 great extent, ceased. 
 
 A printing and lithograph press was also established 
 in the beit el mal ; it had originally been set up in 
 Khartum, and was now used for pulling off numbers of 
 Mahdi proclamations. Several " Batibs," or Mahdis 
 book of prayers, were also printed and distributed. 
 
 A museum of curios also formed part of the beit el 
 mal. It is known as the Beit el Antikat, and contains 
 numbers of interesting things, such as trophies from 
 Darfur, Abyssinia, and Egypt. The Abyssinian section 
 is the largest, and includes King John's throne. 
 Amongst the Darfur articles are the robes of Sultan 
 Yusef and of the Sultan of Masalit. The robe of one of 
 the Ababdeh sheikhs, who was made a Bey by the 
 Government, and then came to (Jmdurman and sub- 
 mitted to the Mahdi, represents Egypt. 
 
 The beit el mal also contains a dispensary, in charge of 
 an Egyptian doctor ; here are numbers of shelves, laden 
 with medicines, which have long since gone bad, but the 
 doctor has taken entirely to native remedies, of which 
 cauterization and burning are the most usual. 
 
 Amongst the Khartum survivors was a certain Greek 
 soap-boiler, who had established a soap manufactory in 
 the beit el mal, and had handed over to it his large 
 supplies of soda ; but gradually other private individuals 
 began to establish soap works, and soon they began to 
 
2L4 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD IS CAMP. 
 
 sell soap so cheaply that all the beit el mal customers 
 came to them. The consequence was that the Khalifa at 
 once issued an order that the beit el mal held the soap- 
 boiling monopoly, and anyone who infringed this rule 
 would lose one hand, and all his property would be 
 confiscated. 
 
 A careful system of accounts was elaborated in the 
 beit el mal showing all revenue and expenditure. If an 
 expedition is ordered to any part of the country, money, 
 clothing, and other necessaries must be supplied from 
 the beit el mal. The staff to work this large adminis- 
 tration consists of an emin beit el mal, his assistant, 
 head clerk, and a host of smaller officials and clerks. 
 When the merchants refused to accept the Makbul 
 dollar the staff was increased, as at that time the whole 
 of the boats and canoes were also confiscated. Of these 
 there were upwards of 1,000, and they were eventually 
 hired out by the beit el mal. AVad Adlan always tried 
 to secure for the beit el mal the services of those clerks 
 who had formerly served under the Government ; but 
 this plan did not please the Khalifa. Adlan naturally 
 preferred the old clerks, who thoroughly understood their 
 work ; besides, they were terrified of the Dervishes, and 
 thus did not dare to cheat. On the whole, Adlan's 
 administration was very good, and he received the 
 Khalifa's thanks. 
 
 Abdullah now turned his attention to reorganizing 
 the system of justice. Hitherto, and during the Mahdi's 
 lifetime, the office of Kadi had continued, but the 
 Ashraf (Mahdi's relations) also acted in the capacity of 
 judges, and the result was the greatest possible confusion. 
 For instance, supposing a man was sentenced by the 
 judge, Sayid Abdel Kader (the Sheikh el Islam) would 
 immediately pardon him. Abdullah, not unnaturally, 
 wanted to change this anomaly, not so much in the 
 interests of justice as to break down the power and 
 authority of the Ashraf. He therefore nominated Kadi 
 Ahmed as the Kadi el Islam, and appointed a number 
 of assistant judges, whom he called Nuab. 
 
 It was ruled that everyone, old and young, should 
 
THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 
 
 215 
 
 report all causes of dispute to the Grand Kadi, and it 
 was his duty to look into it and give a decision. Kadi 
 Ahmed is a particularly good man, and gives protection 
 to the white people, more especially when they are 
 attacked and abused by the native populace. He is, 
 however, of rather a vacillating, timorous disposition, 
 and is therefore a pliable instrument in the Khalifa's 
 hands ; consequently there is often a miscarriage of 
 justice. 
 
 Thus did the Khalifa secure, in his own person, the 
 right to pardon or to convict, and thus he became 
 absolute master of life and death. As for the law, he 
 only appealed to it when it suited his own convenience ; 
 on every other occasion he absolutely ignored it. 
 
21(5 TEN YEARS', CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE KHALIFA DECIDES TO CONQUER ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Events subsequent to the fall of Khartum — Capture of Gedaref 
 and Galabat — Dervishes defeated by Abyssinians at Galabat — 
 Abu Anga's victorious expedition to Tagalla — His triumphant 
 return to Omdurman — The Khalifa's grand review — Destruction 
 of the Gehena tribe — The Khalifa decides to send Abu Anga's 
 army to conquer Abyssinia — The battle of Dabra Sin — Abu Anga 
 sacks Gondar— The victorious Dervishes return to Galabat — 
 Eejoicings at Omdurman. 
 
 The preceding pages have given a glimpse of Omdurman, 
 the new Dervish capital of the Sudan ; let us now turn 
 briefly to the military events which had occurred since 
 the fall of Khartum. 
 
 Whilst Khartum was besieged on all sides, so also 
 were the various other garrisons still holding out, closely 
 beset. Gedaref, also known as Suk Abu Sin, the name 
 of the patriarchal sheikh of the Shukrieh tribe, was 
 situated in the midst of a fertile plain which produced 
 such quantities of corn that it was the common saying, 
 three camel-loads could be sold for half a dollar. The 
 ground was so productive that anything could be grown. 
 There was no want of water. The Greeks and several 
 Egyptians had made gardens, in which there was found 
 every description of fruit-tree ; grapes grew in abun- 
 dance, and were of particularly good quality ; they wore 
 to be had all the year round ; for it was of no conse- 
 quence in what month the vines were pruned. Quantities 
 of sesame were also grown as well as a special kind of 
 dhurra, with a sweet stalk, from which a substance 
 something like honey was extracted. Water-melons, 
 cotton; tobacco, and all sorts of vegetables were grow n 
 
THE EGYPTIAN RETREAT FROM GAL AH AT. 217 
 
 in the greatest profusion, and everything was of excep- 
 tionally good quality. 
 
 The garrison of Gedaref consisted of only two hundred 
 men, and on being summoned by the Jaalin to surrender, 
 they did so, in April 1884. This is hardly to be 
 wondered at, for the inhabitants of Gedaref are, for 
 the most part, Jaalin, and resistance would, under such 
 circumstances, have been next to impossible. The 
 principal merchants were permitted to keep their goods, 
 and the change of hands did not, for the moment, 
 greatly alter the situation ; but we shall see, later, what 
 became of this rich and valuable province after a pro- 
 longed Dervish occupation. 
 
 As regards Galabat, the difficulties were considerably 
 greater. This town was situated about six days' journey 
 from Gedaref, and was the residence of the well-known 
 Takrurij Saleh Bey Shanga, who was Mamur of the 
 district. This brave official remained loyal to the Govern- 
 ment throughout, and was bitterly opposed to Mahdiism. 
 He succeeded in gaining the friendship of the neigh- 
 bouring Abyssinian tribes, and, through their assistance, 
 inflicted great losses on the Dervishes. In November 
 1884, he severely defeated the besieging Jaalin ; but a 
 few days later, the Dervishes, being heavily reinforced, 
 beset him, very closely. 
 
 Through the intermediary of the English, King John 
 sent a relieving force of Abyssinians, which reached the 
 vicinity of Galabat on the 27th of January, 1885 ; and 
 making known their approach to Saleh, the latter made 
 a sortie, while at the same time the Dervishes were 
 heavily attacked by the Abyssinians, who drove them 
 off, thus enabling the entire garrison, men, women, and 
 children, to escape ; they marched via Gondar to 
 Massawa, under the protection of an Abyssinian force. 
 Galabat was subsequently occupied by the Dervishes, 
 who collected here in great force under the Emir Wad 
 Arbab. 
 
 Meanwhile, Saleh Bey, who was now staying with 
 Ras Ada], the chief of Amhara, was not idle, and was 
 continually urging him to take possession of Galabat; 
 
218 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDFS CAMP. 
 
 he was shortly afterwards joined by the Fiki Medawi, 
 formerly a wild, fanatical adherent of the Mahdi, 
 and who, together with Abu Girgeh, had been one of 
 the first to lay siege to Gordon in Khartum ; this 
 man, after the Mahdi's death, began to find out that 
 he had been following an imposture, and fled from 
 Omdurman ; he stayed in Abyssinia for a time, and 
 eventually reached Cairo. Abdullah was furious at his 
 flight, and put a number of his friends in chains, be- 
 lieving that Fiki Medawi had been instrumental in 
 pushing on Eas Adal to attack Galabat. 
 
 Shortly after the festival of the " Three holy kings," 
 in commemoration of the baptism of our Saviour in 
 Jordan, known as "Ghittas," which means immersion 
 (on this occasion — the 5th of January — a cross is 
 always immersed in the river) ; Eas Adal, having collected 
 a large army, amounting, it is said, to 100,000 men, 
 of whom 20,000 were horsemen, advanced across the 
 mountains and descended on Galabat. 
 
 Sheikh Egeil, of the Hamran Arabs, who had always 
 been loyal to the Egyptian Government, and had com- 
 bated Mahdiism continuously, also joined Eas Adal, 
 and entered Dervish territory. Wad Arbab, who had 
 received full information of the Abyssinian movements, 
 was awaiting their attack, strongly entrenched within 
 Galabat. He had 16,000 well-seasoned troops, mostly 
 Jaalin, and a quantity of rifles and ammunition. In 
 a few minutes the Abyssinian cavalry, dashing down 
 with wild impetuosity, completely surrounded Wad 
 Arbab ; the fight did not last long ; the Dervishes were 
 driven out, pursued in all directions, and Galabat was 
 soon in flames. Arbab's men could not face the wild 
 rush of the Abyssinians, and fell in great numbers ; 
 the high wind caused the flames to spread with terrible 
 rapidity, and soon the powder magazine blew up with 
 a terrific report, burying hundreds in its ruins ; amongst 
 these was a Greek who had come from Sawakin the year 
 before to Omdurman, where he was imprisoned for a 
 time, then released, and came to Galabat, hoping to 
 escape into Abyssinia, just a few days before this fight 
 
THE DEATH OF GUSTAV KLOOTZ. 
 
 219 
 
 which took place in January 1887. The Abyssinians 
 captured a large number of women and children, whom 
 thev draped off as slaves. 
 
 A few months prior to this action, Gustav Klootz 
 had died in Galabat. He had left Omdurman in 
 September 1886, for Galabat, intending to escape into 
 Abyssinia ; but having no money, he was forced to walk 
 the entire distance, and the great fatigue he had under- 
 gone made him seriously ill ; he lingered on for a time, 
 but eventually died ; and perhaps it was fortunate that 
 he did die, for only a few days afterwards an order 
 arrived from the Khalifa Abdullah at Gedaref, order- 
 ing him to be thrown into chains and brought back 
 to Omdurman, where a miserable death awaited him. 
 
 Whilst the Abyssinians were attacking Galabat, Sheikh 
 Egeil fell upon Doka, a place situated between Galabat 
 and Gedaref, which he succeeded in capturing, and 
 putting its inhabitants to the sword. The Abyssinians 
 now returned to their own country, after having sacked 
 and pillaged Galabat, which they left absolutely empty. 
 
 The disaster at Galabat was a great blow to the 
 Dervishes ; Abdullah now appointed his nephew Yunis 
 as emir of the district, and ordered him to reoccupy 
 the town. Yunis, on his return from "Wad el Abbas, 
 had encamped south of Omdurman Fort, at a place 
 which is still known as Dem Yunis ; his force consisted 
 of about 1,000 men, armed with Remingtons, and 2,000 
 sword- and spearmen, of whom the majority had been 
 amongst the Mahdi's original followers at Alma. 
 Abdullah himself now crossed over to Khojali, and led 
 Yunis's troops for some distance. 
 
 The equipment and transport of the force were not 
 expensive items ; each man received about half a dollar ; 
 and perhaps that was sufficient, for the troops always 
 plundered the villages for their food as they went along. 
 Yunis marched direct to Abu Haraz, on the Blue Nile, 
 and thence followed the Khor Eahad up to Galabat, 
 which he found quite empty and deserted. He now 
 settled down, and, to his credit, he occasionally made 
 raids into Abyssinia, destroyed a few villages and 
 
220 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 churches, and sent the ornaments he took to Omdurman. 
 This so delighted the Khalifa thai: he dubbed him 
 " Mismar ed Din " (or the " Nail of Keligion "), and had 
 special poems about his deeds sung in his presence. 
 
 But soon Yunis abandoned hostilities, and guaranteed 
 free passes to merchants travelling in the country ; the 
 Abyssinians believed in these assurances of peace, and 
 descended into the Galabat plain at various times in 
 the year, bringing with them for sale thousands of 
 mules, donkeys, and horses, also quantities of coffee, 
 garlic, lentils, beans, wax, and honey. Things went on 
 quite peaceably for some time ; but one day Yunis 
 suddenly fell on all the merchants collected within 
 their zariba, killed numbers of them, seized their goods, 
 and sent off about 1,000 of them as prisoners to 
 Omdurman. Several died of starvation on the journey, 
 and on their arrival in Omdurman the remainder were 
 released, but had to go about the markets begging 
 their bread. It frequently happened that they would 
 take shelter for the night in the merchants' empty 
 stalls ; and on the latter arriving with their goods in 
 the morning, they would find their shops full of dead 
 and dying Abyssinians ; afterwards, slaves were left by 
 the merchants to guard the shops and prevent these 
 miserable creatures from making use of them. These 
 wretched, gaunt, half-starved people used sometimes to 
 come to us to beg for food ; they knew no Arabic, but 
 knowing that we were Christians, they would repeat 
 that word, or sometimes "Wad Maryam" ("Mary's 
 child ") to excite our pity. Their wretched condition at 
 length reached the Khalifa's ears, and he ordered the 
 beit el mal to take charge of them ; the emin beit 
 el mal now sent ,a crier to the market to warn all 
 Abyssinians that if they came to the beit el mal they 
 would receive assistance. The poor starving creatures 
 dragged themselves there, but were still kept two or 
 three days without food ; numbers of them died, and 
 their bodies were thrown into the river, whilst the 
 remainder were at last given a miserable pittance of 
 dhurra, which served to keep body and soul together 
 
THE KM 1U ABU ANGA DESCRIBED. 
 
 221 
 
 for a time ; but these, too, at length succumbed to 
 starvation ; and after that, I never saw an Abyssinian 
 prisoner again. 
 
 In Julv 1887, Khalifa Abdullah wrote a letter to 
 King John, offering to make peace, on condition that he 
 would become a Moslem, and that he would return all 
 the women and children he had captured, but more 
 especially was he to surrender the persons of Saleh Bey, 
 Fiki Medawi, and the Sheikh el Egeil. If he refused to 
 accept these terms he must expect war. King John did 
 not deign to reply. 
 
 Durino- the feast of Bairam on the 31st of Julv, 1887, 
 Khalifa Abdullah summoned Abu Anga to Omdurman, 
 and here I must give a short description of this renowned 
 warrior. 
 
 Hamdan Abu Anga had been a slave, and had been 
 brought up in the Khalifa Abdullah's household ; he had 
 been well treated by his master, and was eventually looked 
 upon as a member of the family, a custom which was 
 formerly in vogue amongst the Baggara. Rizighat, and 
 
 J O O O O CD ' 
 
 Taisha tribes. In fact, these Arabs used not infrequently 
 to give their daughters in marriage to their slaves. It 
 was amongst the Baggara that Abu Anga had first 
 learnt to ride on horseback and to go out hunting, and 
 it was from them that he had acquired such dexterity 
 in handling and throwing spears, for which he had 
 frequent opportunities in the continual raids which took 
 place on neighbouring tribes. 
 
 Abu Anga had taken part in the campaigns against 
 Zubeir Pasha, by whom he and his entire family had 
 been captured, but subsequently released. When the 
 Mahdi declared himself he joined with his master, 
 Abdullah. During the siecre of El Obeid little was 
 known or heard of him, but after the fall of that city 
 Khalifa Abdullah handed over to him the charge of all 
 captive soldiers in El Obeid, as well as in other places. 
 The astute Khalifa had for long had his eye on these 
 blacks, whose fighting powers he well knew, and he was 
 most desirous to bring them under his direct control, 
 and utilize them. 
 
222 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 Previous to the Hicks Expedition Abu Anga had 
 already secured a number of them, and they were largely 
 instrumental in compassing the complete downfall of that 
 ill-fated army. Then, again, his blacks had shown the 
 greatest bravery in their campaigns against Jebel Dair, 
 when they had acquired a great name for themselves, 
 and, finally, it was through their means that Gordon's 
 Fort of Omdurman had been compelled to surrender. 
 After the fall of Khartum these brave but undisciplined 
 troops, having no more fighting to do, took to highway 
 robbery. Numbers of them hovered about in the desert 
 a few hours' distance from Omdurman, and amused 
 themselves by falling on caravans coming from Kordofan 
 or Berber, and pillaging and killing to their heart's 
 content. Their depredations became so constant that 
 the M ahdi decided that he must employ them somewhere, 
 so he ordered Abu Anga to proceed with them to the 
 still independent Dar Nuba country, which he was to 
 conquer, and obtain from thence recruits for his Jehadieh, 
 or Black Army. 
 
 But there was also another reason which induced the 
 Mahdi to undertake this campaign. During the siege of 
 Omdurman a certain Baggara Sheikh, of Birket, named 
 Noaia, deserted, and gathering a number of malcontents 
 in Dar Nuba, he defied the Mahdi's authority. When I 
 was at El Obeid there were all sorts of strange stories 
 current about the doings of Noaia, who had gathered 
 numbers of horsemen from the Howazma and Miserieh 
 tribes, and had made himself decidedly formidable. All 
 those disappointed slave-hunters and slave-dealers who — 
 annoyed with the suppression of their trade by the 
 Egyptian Government — had flocked in numbers to the 
 Mahdi's standard, now had begun to find out that they 
 were rather worse off than before, and were, in reality, 
 little better than the Mahdi's slaves. These people 
 sought every occasion to desert to Noaia. Abu Anga 
 therefore received orders to hunt him down and annihi- 
 late him. He collected his men, quitted the now de- 
 bauched and pleasure-loving Omdurman, and proceeded to 
 the Tagalla Mountain, at the foot of which he encamped. 
 
ABU ANGA'S CAMPAIGN IN BAR NUBA. 223 
 
 After the death of King Adam, his followers had 
 again thrown off the Dervish yoke and were now in 
 open revolt ; against these Abu Anga conducted 
 several successful expeditions, and captured numbers of 
 slaves, but suffered some loss as well. As long as 
 Abu An<ra was in the neighbourhood, Ta^alla was 
 more or less in a state of submission ; but the moment 
 he moved off they again broke out into active oppo- 
 sition. 
 
 Abu Anga now advanced on Noaia, whose adherents, 
 alarmed by the presence of the soldiers, dispersed. 
 These blacks are greatly feared in the Sudan, not 
 only on account of their great bravery in battle, but 
 also it is well known that they are merciless to their 
 conquered enemies. 
 
 Sheikh Noaia was eventually secured and thrown 
 into chains, and a few days later he died of small-pox. 
 Abu Anga attacked almost all the Nuba mountains ; 
 at times he was successful, at other times he suffered 
 reverses. Tolodi, Gedir, and lastly Naima, were scenes 
 of bloody combats, and at the last-named place Abu 
 Anga, in spite of his artillery — which was commanded 
 by Said Bey Guma — was heavily defeated and driven 
 back. 
 
 One of Abu Anga's most capable assistants was 
 Abdullah Wad Ibrahim, who, on account of his un- 
 paralleled cruelties, made Abu Anga's name a terror 
 throughout the land. Abu Anga was now recalled 
 from his campaign by Khalifa Abdullah to take 
 possession of Zogal and his army, who was then on 
 his way from Darfur to Bara. We have seen how 
 rapidly and skilfully he carried out this order. 
 
 Now all that was left for Abu Anga to do was to 
 punish the mutinous troops of El Obeid who had 
 killed Sherif Mahmud. Wad Ibrahim was sent on this 
 duty, and after a severe fight, in which numbers were 
 killed on both sides, he succeeded in capturing 
 several of the mutineers, whom he attached to his 
 troops ; but some of them escaped to the Nubas, and 
 W ad Ibrahim proceeded in consequence to Golfan- 
 
224 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 Naima, which he besieged, took, and reduced the 
 inhabitants to slavery ; the heads of Bishir and three 
 oilier leaders were sent to Omdurman, where they were 
 exposed for a month on the gallows as a warning to 
 all mutinous-minded persons. 
 
 By all these various actions Abu Anga had succeeded 
 in adding considerably to the numbers of his troops, 
 and he moreover drilled them constantly and instilled 
 a spirit of discipline which had been hitherto unknown 
 — thus he raised up a power which it was almost im- 
 possible to defeat. Khalifa Abdullah now sent in- 
 structions to Abu Anga to return to Omdurman in 
 time for the Bairam festival, and at the same time he 
 sent orders to all the inhabitants of the Gezireh and 
 Nile Valley to collect at Omdurman for a great review. 
 Abu Anga, as usual, complied with the order with 
 alacrity, and making forced marches, via Tayara, Shatt, 
 and Om Sadik, he reached Omdurman in a very short 
 time. Abdullah sent numbers of emirs to meet and 
 welcome him. 
 
 In Omdurman the only topic of conversation was 
 about Abu Anga and his great army. The Khalifa 
 himself also prepared a magnificent reception for his 
 faithful general, in which he strove to do him all 
 possible honour. On the night preceding the great 
 festival, criers were sent through Omdurman announc- 
 ing that any one who failed to present himself at the 
 great review the following morning would be seriously 
 dealt with ; this order was willingly complied with, 
 and at the foot of the hills near Kerreri were assembled 
 enormous crowds, who waited — as the malcontents said 
 — on the pleasure of that " slave," Abu Anga. The 
 guns had all been drawn out in line the evening 
 before, and the festival was ushered in by prolonged 
 salutes. 
 
 In the meantime Abu Anga had arrived at Om 
 Sadik, where a careful inspection was made to see 
 that no one was in possession of unlawful booty ; 
 numbers of female slaves were found, who were sub- 
 sequently sent to the beit el mal. He then moved on 
 
ABU ANGA'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 225 
 
 to his camp near Omdurman, and prepared to make 
 his formal entry the following morning. 
 
 By the time the sun had well risen, the Dervishes 
 were assembled in endless lines under their various 
 flags. Khalifa Abdullah left his residence accompanied 
 by his bodyguard ; he was mounted on a magnificent 
 camel, and advanced to the sound of the great onbeia 
 trumpet. Abu Anga, mounted on a pony and clad in 
 a casque and coat-of-mail, now advanced to meet him, 
 and his magnificent figure created no small impression 
 on the assembled multitudes. His bodyguard, con- 
 sisting of his very best soldiers, accompanied him, as 
 well as a number of mukuddums. On approaching 
 the Khalifa he adroitly dismounted and kissed his 
 hands ; he was warmly greeted, and ordered to mount 
 again. 
 
 Then the march past began. Upwards of 31,000 
 black troops, armed with Kemingtons and formed up in 
 long lines, went by to the sound of drums and 
 trumpets ; but the latter, on which the players 
 attempted to produce some specially Dervish music, 
 raised the most discordant sounds, which gave an in- 
 tensely comic aspect to the whole proceeding. Each 
 emir, with his flag, rode at the head of his division ; 
 the chief emirs were Ibrahim Wad Abdullah, Nur 
 Angara, Zeki Tummal, and Ibrahim Wad Abu Tagalla. 
 When the Jehadieh had passed, the sword- and spear- 
 men followed, some 20,000 in number ; then came the 
 inhabitants of Omdurman in countless numbers. 
 There could not have been less than 60,000. 
 
 After the march past all were formed up again, and 
 then the Khalifa, dismounting from his camel, stood on 
 his sheepskin and conducted prayers. The shout of 
 " Allahu Akbar" from over 100,000 throats was im- 
 pressive in the extreme, and, as the sound rolled down 
 the immense lines, it was echoed again and again 
 through the hills, lasting for over a minute after each 
 shout. 
 
 On the conclusion of prayers the guns pealed forth 
 salutes, and sue]) wild fanaticism and enthusiasm pre- 
 
 Q 
 
226 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 vailed that several men dashed up to the very muzzles 
 of the guns and were blown to pieces. Of course the 
 Khalifa announced that the souls of these stupid people 
 had gone straight to paradise. The salutes over, the 
 lines were once more inspected, and then all the flags 
 were collected in one place, in the centre of which 
 stood the Khalifa ; this was the signal for the whole 
 force to gather around and vie with one another in 
 their shouts of loyalty that they would die a hundred 
 times over for him and his cause. Khalifa Abdullah 
 became so wildly impressed by the enthusiasm of 
 these savage hordes that he could scarcely contain 
 himself, and it was as much as his bodyguard could 
 do to keep the impetuous crowds from crushing him 
 to death. Numbers were bruised and kicked by the 
 horses ; but they were left quite unnoticed — a mere 
 remark, " Umru Khalas " ("It is the end of his 
 life "), was all the sympathy these heartless men ever 
 offered. 
 
 From that day to this I do not think the Khalifa 
 has ever had such an ovation. At that time Omdurman 
 was unusually full, trade was brisk, and it was thought 
 that he would now undertake the invasion of Egypt. 
 But, as it soon transpired, he had still a good deal of 
 work to do in the Sudan itself. One enemy he un- 
 doubtedly had — this was El Merhdi Abu Eof, a 
 descendant of the ancient Kings of Sennar and sheikh 
 of the great Gehena tribe, which, amongst the mass 
 of Arabs allied to the Mahdi, had persistently held 
 aloof.. This tribe possessed a large number of camels 
 of a curious dark-coloured breed, and also quantities 
 of gray-coloured cows. 
 
 El Merhdi had instigated a purely local movement of 
 his own against the Government, and had once besieged 
 and set fire to Sennar ; long before Abu Anga's arrival 
 he had shown hostility to the Khalifa, and had annihi- 
 lated a number of small Dervish garrisons ; his power 
 extended as far as Karkoj, and he levied taxes on all 
 boats going north. For a long time the Khalifa had 
 let him alone, but now finding himself in possession of 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE OEEENA TRIBE. 227 
 
 such an enormous force, lie decided to attack El Merhdi, 
 more especially as at this time his audacity considerably 
 endangered the navigation of the Blue Nile, from whence 
 Omdurman drew its main supplies of corn. He therefore 
 despatched Ismail Wad el Andok up the Blue Nile, while 
 Abdullah Wad Ibrahim was sent up the White Nile. 
 
 El Merhdi, attacked thus on both sides, was powerless ; 
 he was unable to withstand the advance of the victorious 
 black troops, and he and almost all his Arabs were 
 killed. El Merhdi's head was sent to Omdurman, where 
 it was exposed for a long time on the gallows, and was 
 at last thrown into the pit in which lay the heads of 
 Bishir and those who had been slain with him. 
 
 Thus one by one did the Khalifa's enemies become 
 subdued. The vengeance wreaked on the unfortunate 
 Gehena tribe by the Dervishes is almost beyond 
 description. The property of the survivors was seized, 
 men, women, and children were dragged off to Omdurman, 
 and there, naked and helpless, they were left to starve 
 on the river bank. One would see wretched mothers of 
 three or four children, who looked just like skeletons, 
 miserably abandoned in a place utterly unknown, and 
 subject to the insults and indignities of the proud and 
 cruel Dervishes. Numbers of them, especially children, 
 died of starvation, whilst those who still had sufficient 
 strength would wander about begging their bread ; if 
 any one had money enough he would buy a waterskin, 
 and would go half a mile to the river, fill it, carry it 
 back and sell it in the market for a quarter of a piastre ; 
 thus they eked out a miserable existence. Men who 
 but lately had ridden on good horses and had owned 
 hundreds of camels were reduced to this mode of 
 gaining their livelihood, whilst poor women could be 
 seen, with babies at their breasts, toiling under the 
 heavy weight of a filled waterskin towards the market- 
 place ; then they had no rest, for in the evening they 
 had to grind the dhurra and make a sort of pap which 
 the poor little mouths of their infants could hardly 
 masticate ; they had but one meal in the twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 It was impossible not to be struck by the mother s 
 love of these poor people for their offspring, and at the 
 same time to feel bitterly incensed against the Khalifa 
 and his cruel followers who could thus intentionally 
 inflict on people of their own race such untold cruelties. 
 Thousands of Gehena camels were brought to Omdur- 
 man and sold at low prices ; thus was the wealth of 
 their country utterly destroyed, and now the terrible 
 famine, which was so soon to fall upon the land, was 
 close at hand. 
 
 In the meantime Abdullah was considering with his 
 advisers the desirability of permitting war to break out 
 with Abyssinia. The great power of which he now felt 
 himself possessed inclined him to war, and of course the 
 majority of his emirs, whose sole desire was to pander 
 to his will, agreed with him. Then news reached Yunis 
 that Eas Adal was making gigantic preparations ; this 
 finally decided Abdullah to wage war, and with this 
 object in view, he despatched his faithful Abu Anga to 
 conduct the operations. 
 
 The three Khalifas, Abu Anga's brother Abdel Maula, 
 who commanded the Jehadieh in Omdurman, and 
 several other important people embarked on the steamer 
 and proceeded to the east bank, where Abdullah himself 
 led off the troops. For some days before, every boat 
 had been requisitioned for transport, and these were 
 now laden with provisions for the army ; but what with 
 overloading and the strength of the current, several 
 foundered and numbers of persons were drowned ; 
 however, this was of little consequence, for human life 
 is of small value among the Dervishes. 
 
 The troops advanced in divisions along the banks of 
 the Nile, and before finally taking leave of them the 
 Khalifa addressed Abu Anga and his emirs, urging them 
 to be ever united, and to keep always before them the 
 rewards which would be theirs on their return, promising 
 them the divine help of the Mahdi and a certainty of 
 victory. 
 
 This speech was delivered in such an impressive 
 manner that there w T ere few dry eyes amongst these 
 
THE BATTLE OF DADE A SIN. 
 
 229 
 
 hardy warriors, and the Khalifa himself was by no 
 means ignorant of the gravity of the step he had now 
 taken, for Abyssinia was looked upon as even a more 
 powerful country than Egypt. Abu Anga followed his 
 troops in a steamer as far as Abu Haraz, near which the 
 Khor Eahad joins the Nile, and which during the winter 
 is quite full and navigable almost up to Galabat. 
 
 Some time before, Abdullah Wad Ibrahim and Ismail 
 Wad el Andok had been sent to collect people in the 
 Gezireh ; they now joined Abu Anga, whose entire 
 force numbered 81,000 men. After a short halt at 
 Galabat, Abu Anga advanced into Abyssinian territory, 
 leaving Wad Ali in Galabat. Making forced marches, 
 the troops made their way over hills and across valleys, 
 through the most rugged country. Numbers died of 
 exhaustion, but still they continued to move on ; they 
 met with no opposition, the villages through which 
 they passed were deserted, and wherever they went 
 they found provisions in abundance. This magnificent 
 country was a source of intense astonishment to the 
 Dervishes. 
 
 Meanwhile Kas Adal had collected his forces in the 
 great plain of Dabra Sin, some six days' journey from 
 Galabat, and here he patiently awaited Abu Anga s 
 advance. As the Dervishes approached, numbers of the 
 Gezireh troops who could not keep up with the force 
 lagged behind, and were invariably killed or mutilated 
 by the Abyssinians. 
 
 Abu Anga, on arrival on the plain, formed up in 
 battle-array, and putting himself in the centre of a 
 square composed of his best troops, he advanced on 
 the Abyssinian camp, which was much extended, and 
 stretched as far as the eye could reach. 
 
 The Abyssinians now attacked in wild disorder ; they 
 fought with the courage of lions, for their religion and 
 fatherland, against the hated Moslems who had dared 
 to enter their country. The horsemen especially fought 
 with the most reckless bravery ; but Abu Anga's blacks 
 here as elsewhere showed their sterling fighting qualities ; 
 they mowed down the masses of Abyssinians in thousands 
 
230 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAE DPS CAMP. 
 
 with their well-aimed fire, whilst the latter were vainly 
 endeavouring to break through their solid ranks ; and 
 soon Abu Anga's victory was assured. He had conquered 
 through his good discipline, the arrangement of his 
 troops, and the galling fire of the Kemingtons, and 
 now the rest of the fight was merely a massacre, which 
 was continued until the troops were quite tired out. 
 Most of Kas Adal's principal chiefs had fallen, and 
 amongst the captives was one of his sons, who was well 
 cared for and sent to Galabat. 
 
 The entire camp, with its countless tents, donkeys, 
 and mules, fell into the hands of the Mahdiists. The 
 captured animals were in such quantities that the victors 
 could not possibly carry them off, and in consequence 
 they either hamstrung them or cut their throats. 
 Amongst the other things captured were two guns. 
 
 The road to Gondar, the former capital of Abyssinia, 
 was now clear, and Abu Anga advanced towards it, 
 hoping that he would secure great quantities of treasure. 
 It was a march of only thirty miles from the battle- 
 field, and was soon reached ; sacked, plundered, and 
 reduced to ashes ; the churches were pillaged and 
 then burnt ; priests were thrown down from the roof 
 and killed ; the population massacred, and women and 
 children dragged in hundreds into slavery. 
 
 Abu Anga only stayed a short time in Gondar, the 
 change of climate had already caused the death of a 
 number of his troops, and, laden with booty, he returned 
 to Galabat, which he reached at the end of December. 
 
 Meanwhile there was great anxiety in Omdurman. 
 Abdullah could not conceal his alarm, for it was well 
 known that the Abyssinian army was very powerful. 
 Abu Anga had crossed the border thirty days before, and 
 still no news reached Abdullah : those who did not wish 
 the Dervishes well, rejoiced at the thought that a great 
 part of the army must have been destroyed, and the 
 anxiety so told on Abdullah, that he was seen to visibly 
 age in this momentous time. Besides, there was the 
 prophecy of Mohammed, who had forbidden his followers 
 to make war against the Abyssinians, unless the latter 
 
RETURN OF THE VICTORIOUS DERVISHES. 231 
 
 first provoked it. Abu Angas expedition was in direct 
 disobedience to this order, and it was thought that he 
 must suffer defeat as a punishment, and it was urged 
 that if Abu Anga returned in safety, then the Prophet 
 Mohammed must be a liar as well as the Mahdi. 
 
 At length the arrival of twelve heads which Abu 
 Anga had sent to Galabat proved conclusively that a 
 great victory had been won, and now the news of the 
 destruction of Gondar and the return of Abu Anga's 
 victorious troops was indeed a welcome relief to the ter- 
 rible suspense. 
 
 This news was followed up soon afterwards by the 
 arrival of numbers of women and children, and quantities 
 of loot. Several of these miserable captives had died 
 on the journey, and those who had not been already 
 sold, had their ears cut off, and were sent to the beit el 
 mal. 
 
 Abdullah, without the smallest shame, went himself to 
 the beit el mal, and chose all the best-looking girls for 
 his harem, and each of the principal men of his house- 
 hold received an Abyssinian girl as a present. 
 
 Abu Anga received great praise at the hands of the 
 Khalifa, and many verses were made in his honour. 
 Shortly before the victor's arrival in Omdurman, criers 
 were sent out to say that he should no longer be called 
 Abu Anga, but Sidi Hamdan, and Abdullah himself 
 went out to meet the conqueror, and shed tears of joy 
 on seeing him. The booty included thirty thousand 
 Maria Theresa dollars, of which Khalifa Abdullah at 
 once took sole possession. 
 
232 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA ED PS CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XI Y. 
 
 KING JOHN OF ABYSSINIA KILLED IN BATTLE 
 
 Destruction of the Kababish tribe and death of Saleh Bey — Events 
 in Darfur — Revolt of Abu Gamaizeh — His death and destruction 
 of his army — Rabeh Zubeir — King Theodore's son visits Omdur- 
 man — The conspiracy of " Sayidna Isa " — Death of Abu Anga 
 — King John of Abyssinia attacks Galabat — Success of 
 Abyssinians, but the king killed — Victory turned to defeat — 
 The king's head sent to Omdunnan. 
 
 Let us now leave Abyssinia for a moment, and turn to 
 the course of events in other parts of the country. The 
 most powerful and determined opponent to Mahdiism 
 was Saleh Bey Fadlallah Wad Salem, the brother of 
 Sheikh Tome of the Kababish, who had been executed 
 in El Obeid. This tribe has enormous quantities of 
 camels and sheep, and occupied the desert between 
 Dongola and Kordofan ; they formerly paid taxes to the 
 extent of 100,000 dollars a year to Government. They 
 did all the carrying trade between Dongola and Kor- 
 dofan. It will be remembered that, during the siege of 
 El Obeid, Saleh Bey had come to the Mahdi's camp ; but 
 had left it quite suddenly, and thenceforth had become 
 one of the Mahdi's bitterest enemies. 
 
 In 1884 he had given considerable assistance in 
 camels to the English expedition, and had been in con- 
 stant conflict himself with the Dervishes. 
 
 When Khalifa Abdullah had consolidated his authority 
 he determined to rid himself of this rebel. Saleh Bey 
 was at that time weak, for many of his tribe had joined 
 the Mahdiist ranks, and had fought against him. He 
 learnt that Abdullah intended to strike a serious blow to 
 his power, he therefore appealed to the Egyptian Govern- 
 ment for help, and sent fifty of his slaves to Wadi 
 
DEATH OF SALER BEY, OF TEE KABABISTI. 233 
 
 Haifa ; the Government granted them two hundred 
 Remington rifles, forty boxes of ammunition, and £200 
 in cash. 
 
 Neufeld, a German merchant, joined Saleh's men on 
 their return to Kordofan, intending, if possible, to re- 
 open a trade with the Arab sheikhs in gum and ostrich 
 feathers. 
 
 Nejumi, who was then at Dongola, having learnt 
 through spies of their departure, occupied the wells of 
 Selima on the Arbain road, through which the Kababish 
 would probably pass. Fifteen days after leaving Haifa 
 the little caravan arrived at the oasis, only to be received 
 by Dervish bullets. Most of them were killed, and a 
 few, including Neufeld, were taken captive to Dongola ; 
 there they were beheaded, with the exception of Neu- 
 feld, who was sent on to Omdurman, where he arrived 
 on the 1st of March, 1887. 
 
 The capture of the caravan and arms was a great blow 
 to Saleh, and now Abdullah no longer delayed to carry 
 out his intentions. He despatched the Emirs Greger 
 Hamed and Wad Nubawi, of the Beni Jerrar, against 
 him. In the first fight Saleh was successful ; but lost 
 his brother and a number of men. After this, a number 
 of Dar Homr Arabs, who had formerly been allied to 
 him, now deserted to the other side, and with the 
 Dervishes occupied the wells of Mahbas. This being 
 the only water in the neighbourhood, there was now 
 nothing left but to fight, and Saleh and his men per- 
 formed prodigies of valour, killing great numbers of 
 the Dervishes ; but he was hampered by numerous 
 camp-followers, women and children, whom it was 
 impossible to defend ; and at length, seeing his third 
 brother fall before his eyes, he dismounted from his 
 horse, sat on his " fur " (sheep's skin), and waited to 
 receive his death-blow, which was dealt by one of 
 Greger's relatives, between whom and Saleh a blood 
 feud existed ; the latter having killed both Greger's 
 father and uncle. 
 
 Another account relates that Greger had severely 
 wounded Saleh in the head with his axe, but Saleh 
 
234 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE 31 A ED PS CAMP. 
 
 plunging his sword through Greger's body, they both 
 fell from their horses, and died together. This fight 
 took place on the 17th of May, 1887, and by Saleh's 
 death Abdullah succeeded in ridding himself of the 
 enemy he most feared. Wad Adam was despatched 
 with Saleh's head to Omdurman, where it hung on the 
 gallows for a month, and where I myself saw it. 
 
 After Saleh's death the Kababish were dealt with in 
 the most cruel manner ; several of them were brought to 
 El Obeid as prisoners, where they were executed. On 
 one occasion Wad Adam had one hundred of them 
 hanged together, and then threw their bodies into a 
 w T ell. The same evening groans were heard from the 
 well, and it was found that one of the victims was still 
 alive ; he was taken out and allowed to live. The camels 
 and sheep of this wealthy tribe were all brought to the 
 beit el mal at Omdurman. Most of the she-camels were 
 killed and sold for about two dollars apiece. In this 
 way the Dervishes ruined the possibility of breeding, 
 and destroyed the prosperity and well-being of the 
 country. 
 
 The once powerful Kababish tribe has now almost 
 disappeared, and is seldom even mentioned. Abdullah 
 having thus vanquished his last enemy, now seriously 
 set to work to mature his plans for the conquest of 
 Egypt. 
 
 But before entering on this part of my story, it may 
 be as well to give a brief historical sketch of Darfur, 
 and the recent events which had occurred there. 
 
 Darfur had, for the last four centuries, been governed 
 by its native sultans, who had gradually extended their 
 authority into Kordofan, and it was here that they 
 first came into contact with the Egyptian Government. 
 Mohammed Ali had sent his son Ismail Pasha to take 
 possession of the Sudan, and whilst he was engaged in 
 subduing the petty kings of Shendi and Halfaya, his 
 general, Ahmed Bey Defterdar, had advanced from Don- 
 gola into Kordofan. This province was then adminis- 
 tered by a Magdum appointed by Sultan Musallem, of 
 Darfur, who, hearing of the advance of the " Turks," 
 
EVENTS IN DARFUB. 
 
 235 
 
 collected a large force, and awaited the invaders at 
 Bara, Spies had told him that it would be impossible 
 to fight the Turks, as they used fire ; but the Magdum 
 laughed at the idea, and said he had no fear of fire. 
 Moreover, to prove his word, he had an immense 
 quantity of thorns and brushwood collected, which he 
 set fire to, and then ordered his cavalry to dash through 
 it ; these bold and fearless riders did so, and received 
 no great harm. Thus did he impress his followers that 
 they need have no fear of the Turks ; but the good man 
 had no notion of firearms and what they were. He met 
 the attack of the Turks in the most heroic manner ; but 
 he and most of his followers fell, and the province 
 became an Egyptian possession, though no steps were 
 taken to establish a government there. 
 
 It was not until August 1874, that the bold slave- 
 hunter Zubeir Pasha attacked and took the ancient 
 kingdom of Shakka, and thus did Ismail Pasha extend 
 the Egyptian authority over Darfur. 
 
 Erom that date the country knew no peace ; there 
 was a constant series of little wars. Slatin had fought 
 no less than twenty-seven battles. Then after the 
 defeat of Hicks Pasha came the Dervishes, and Zogal 
 became Emir of Darfur, residing at El Fasher ; but 
 his rule was not peaceful. The Sultan Dudbenga 
 was fought, overcome, and sent to Omdurman a prisoner 
 in 1884 ; thence he was sent to Galabat, where he died. 
 After this, Zogal was left undisturbed, and succeeded 
 in accumulating a considerable amount of riches ; but 
 when the Mahdi died, Zogal, as we have seen, was sum- 
 moned to Omdurman, and left Darfur in the hands of 
 Sultan Yusef, Dudbenga's son ; this sultan was entirely 
 submissive to the Khalifa ; and when Sheikh Madibbo, 
 of the Eizighat tribe, revolted against Karamallah, the 
 Dervish Emir of Bahr el Ghazal, and fled to Jebel Marra, 
 Sultan Yusef took him prisoner, and sent him back to 
 Karamallah, who passed him on to Abu Anga, by whom 
 he was decapitated in El Obeid. 
 
 But Abdullah did not wish Darfur to continue in this 
 semi-independent state ; he therefore instructed Kara- 
 
236 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDFS CAMP. 
 
 mallah to raid the country from Dara. Yusef sent word, 
 begging that their respective boundaries might be 
 adhered to, but Karamallah only raided the more. In 
 self-defence Yusef sent out his army, and thus a war 
 broke out, which was just what Abdullah wanted. 
 Yusef allied himself with Sultan Said, of Jebel Marra, 
 and their combined forces defeated Ketenbur, who had 
 been sent by Karamallah in command of a force. 
 
 In consequence of this disaster, Abdullah despatched 
 his uncle, Osman Wad Adam (nick-named "Gami"), 
 with a strong force to Shakka, where he joined Kara- 
 mallah. Yusef, fearing that he had been betrayed, sent 
 a very strong force, and in the month of December a 
 great battle took place, in which the Furs were almost 
 annihilated, and it is said that Karamallah's brother, 
 Kerkesawi, killed so many men with his sword that his 
 right arm became bent. 
 
 Darfur once a prey to the bloodthirsty Dervishes, 
 Osman Wad Adam continued his victorious march to 
 El Fasher. Sultans Yusef and Zayid then fled to Jebel 
 Marra, and sought the assistance of Sultan Jabrallah. 
 Osman sent troops in pursuit. Yusef detached himself 
 from Jabrallah and fled again, while Jabrallah betrayed 
 and murdered the brave Zayid and sent his head to Osman. 
 Shortly afterwards Yusef was captured, brought to El 
 Fasher, and there decapitated. The heads of both these 
 sultans eventually reached Omdurman, and were hung 
 up beside the Abyssinian heads, where I saw them in 
 January 1888. 
 
 After this the captor of Zayid returned to El Fasher, 
 whilst Jabrallah, anticipating a great reward for his 
 treacherous conduct, was sent with his five sons to see 
 the Khalifa in Omdurman. He was allowed his liberty 
 for a time, but having once attempted to escape, he and 
 his sons were thrown into chains ; four of the latter 
 died in prison, and just before I escaped I saw the 
 unfortunate Jabrallah and his surviving son in a pitiable 
 state in the streets of Omdurman. 
 
 For the second time Darfur had now become a Dervish 
 province, under the direction of Osman Wad Adam. 
 
REVOLT OF ABU GEMAIZEII. 
 
 237 
 
 The Khalifa believed that all opposition was over, and 
 that he had nothing to fear from that direction. Indeed, 
 the majority of the inhabitants had been killed, and the 
 few surviving sheikhs had taken refuge in the Dar Tama 
 and Masalit districts ; but they did not remain inactive ; 
 there were constant meetings, in which they discussed 
 how they should rid themselves of these " enemies of 
 Islam," as they called the Dervishes. 
 
 The Masalit people are savage and cruel to a degree ; 
 they are in the habit of making waterskins out of the 
 skins of their slain enemies. Slatin Bey told me that 
 when in Darfur he had two of these skins — of a male 
 and a female— which he had kept as curios. Some of 
 the Darfur sheikhs had gone as far as to apply to the 
 Sultan of Borgo for help, but he had refused to interfere 
 in any way with Mahdieh. Then a man suddenly ap- 
 peared amongst the Masalit about whose origin little 
 was known ; he represented himself as the arch-enemy 
 of the hated Dervishes, who, under the guise of Moham- 
 medanism, robbed, plundered, ravished, and murdered 
 all they could lay their hands on. 
 
 Such influence did this flki, or religious teacher, gain 
 over the superstitious masses of the west that some said 
 he must be the true Mahdi ; others said he was the 
 fourth Khalifa (Osman) ; then again many said he was 
 the celebrated Sheikh es Senussi, the great religious 
 head of all the North African tribes, and whose influence 
 has extended far into Central Africa. Several asserted 
 that he was merely a delegate from the great Senussi. 
 
 This religious reformer and adventurer styled himself 
 " Abu Gemaizeh " (Gemaizeh is the Arabic name for the 
 sycamore fig-tree), because it was said that the shade of 
 this tree always accompanied him. At Omdurman all 
 sorts of extraordinary stories were current about his 
 supernatural gifts. Some said that he had the power of 
 miraculously increasing food ; an ordinary plate-full he 
 would make sufficient for hundreds of people ; others 
 said that they had seen him produce milk from his 
 finger-tips, and it was said that he could produce, in a 
 moment, all sorts of things pleasant to the palate. He 
 
238 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP 
 
 could raise a palm-tree out of barren ground, which, in 
 the space of an hour, would become covered with fruit. 
 In his sermons and letters he reproached the Khalifa for 
 having oppressed and slaughtered Moslems, and having 
 taken their wives for himself — a crime only committed 
 by the " unbelievers " — and with God's help, he declared 
 his intention of coming to Omdurman to annihilate 
 " God's enemies," as he called the Dervishes. 
 
 The sayings and doings of this extraordinary being 
 attracted great attention throughout the entire Sudan. 
 The Mahdi had first appeared in the west, and now an 
 anti-Mahdi had sprung up from the west. Immense 
 numbers of adherents flocked to his standard. Not only 
 did the Furs, thirsting for vengeance, join him, but 
 people from Bornu, Borgo, and Wadai collected around 
 him. 
 
 Osman Wad Adam despatched a force against him, 
 which was annihilated, and he now begged the Khalifa 
 to send him reinforcements. In answer to this appeal a 
 number of Beni Jerrar Arabs were sent to him, but these 
 also were destroyed almost to a man. These two im- 
 portant victories increased Abu Gemaizeh's prestige 
 enormously, and when Abdullah saw that the oppressed 
 Sudanese were secretly rejoicing at his discomfiture, he 
 himself began to tremble for his authority. 
 
 A third expedition, despatched by Osman, met with a 
 similar fate to the other two, and now the Khalifa vented 
 his wrath on his unsuccessful lieutenant. In October 
 1888, he wrote to him to retire at once to El Fasher, 
 to confine himself entirely to defensive operations, 
 and on no account to attack the enemy. There was 
 great excitement in Omdurman, where the importance 
 of Abu Gemaizeh's victories had been enormously ex- 
 aggerated. It was even said that Osman had been 
 killed, El Fasher captured, and Kordofan on the point 
 of being invaded. Then came the news that El Obeid 
 had been captured, and now the rejoicings at the Khalifa's 
 defeat were an open secret. But these highly-coloured 
 rumours were merely the outcome of an intense desire 
 and longing on the part of the wretched inhabitants of 
 
THE COLLAPSE OF THE SO-CALLED SENUSSI REVOLT. 239 
 
 the Sudan, groaning under the Dervish yoke, to see 
 themselves once more free from the tyrannical oppres- 
 sion which their own short-sighted conduct had brought 
 upon themselves. 
 
 Abu Gemaizeh had, it is true, been very successful. 
 He had three times defeated Osman, who was now 
 besieged in El Fasher, and in great want of food. All 
 Darfur had sided with Abu Gemaizeh, and the Dervishes 
 were almost powerless ; but in the zenith of his success 
 the great religious sheikh was suddenly struck down by 
 small-pox, and died at Kebkebieh in February 1889. 
 His death caused many of his adherents to quit the 
 cause, and his successor — who, had he not attacked El 
 Fasher, might have succeeded in compassing the down- 
 fall of Osman, who was then entirely cut off and in great 
 straits — felt that he must do something to keep his 
 army together. But his force was hampered by a large 
 number of women, children, and camp followers. He 
 was deficient in firearms, whilst Osman was well sup- 
 plied with rifles and ammunition, and his Shaggieh 
 troops fought magnificently. 
 
 The final action took place under the walls of El 
 Fasher, on the 22nd of February, 1889, and resulted in 
 the death of the leader and the massacre of thousands of 
 his followers. This was the death-blow to the move- 
 ment, and is an example of how easily Moslems are 
 imposed upon by religious adventurers. Numbers of 
 those who had joined and left Mahdiism, thoroughly con- 
 vinced of its fraud and deception, had unhesitatingly 
 allied themselves to this new religious movement, which 
 they inspired with almost greater enthusiasm than that 
 they had just quitted. The collapse of this new delusion 
 was therefore comparatively greater. The heads of Abu 
 Gemaizeh and a number of his important leaders were 
 sent to Omdurman, where they found a place on the 
 gallows, and were subsequently relegated to the pit in 
 which lay the whitening skulls of Merhdi,the Abyssinians, 
 and the mutinous blacks. 
 
 Osman's victory delighted the Khalifa even more 
 than Abu Anga's success in Abyssinia, because he had 
 
240 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIWTS CAMP. 
 
 always considered Darfur a place of refuge, to which he 
 had a secure line of retreat in case of attack from the 
 north. 
 
 The victorious Osman now vented his wrath on the 
 tribes who had supported Abu Gemaizeh's movement. 
 The Beni Helba tribe especially fell under his merciless 
 hand, and was almost exterminated ; but the country 
 took some time to recover its normal state, and, in con- 
 sequence, the Khalifa had to forego the pleasure of 
 summoning Osman to Omdurman, and loading him with 
 benefits as he had done to Abu Anga. However, he had 
 a special house built for him near the mosque, and 
 prepared to do him all honour when his presence could 
 be spared from Darfur. 
 
 But this was not to be. The successful Osman fell 
 ill, and died shortly afterwards at El Fasher. He was 
 succeeded by the Khalifa's brother Mahmud Wad Ahmed, 
 who was also accompanied by the kadi Suleiman el 
 Hejazi. This latter individual was deported to Darfur 
 because he had had a disagreement with the Khalifa's 
 principal spy, Hajji Zubeir. 
 
 Mahmud was ordered, on his arrival at El Fasher, to 
 send to Omdurman all the money found in the late 
 Osman's safe, and to take over all his horses, wives, &c, 
 and keep them for himself. He left Omdurman with a 
 large number of followers, and travelling via El Obeid 
 at length reached his province. Here he found the 
 country desolate ; during the recent wars all cultivation 
 had lapsed, a terrible famine had set in, and he was 
 unable to find food for his troops. On reporting this to 
 the Khalifa, he received orders to retire to Nahut in 
 Kordofan, which he did, but his black soldiers disliked 
 the change, and conspired together to kill Mahmud and 
 desert back to Darfur. They attempted to carry out 
 this project one night, but failing to secure the ammuni- 
 tion, which was essential to the success of their under- 
 taking, they deserted from the camp, about 1,000 strong, 
 and set off to join Rabeh Zubeir. 
 
 This Rabeh had been originally brought up in Zubeir 
 Pasha's family, had shown military ability, and at the 
 
BAB EH ZUBE1B AND THE F1K1. 
 
 241 
 
 time of the suppression of the revolt in Bahr el Ghazal 
 by Gessi Pasha commanded with Suleiman (Zubeir's sod) 
 the supposed rebel army. On Suleiman's capture and 
 death, Rabeh fled with the remnants of the force towards 
 Bornu, and after a host of strange adventures and 
 constant fights with the kingdoms of Borgo, Wadai, &c. , 
 he succeeded in establishing himself in an independent 
 position on the banks of the Share river which empties 
 into Lake Chad. Here he has collected a considerable 
 force, and appears to have at last established friendly 
 relations with his neighbours. The Khalifa has fre- 
 quently sent messages to him to return to Omdurman, 
 where he would be most honourably received, but Rabeh 
 has persistently refused. 
 
 Osman, when at El Fasher, also communicated with 
 him in the same sense ; but Rabeh, who had a shrewd 
 idea of the Khalifa's intentions, summoned to his aid 
 a Fiki who had been in Omdurman, and who quite under- 
 stood Abdullah's character. On Rabeh telling the Fiki 
 of his message from Osman, the Fiki asked that a cock 
 should be given him, and he proceeded deliberately to 
 pull out the feathers of its wings. He then bound its 
 legs together, and plucked it completely ; and last of all 
 cut its head off The Fiki said not a word, but Rabeh 
 thoroughly understood the moral of the proceeding, and 
 came to the wise conclusion to stay where he was. The 
 last news is that a portion of his force has re-entered 
 Dar Fertit, the country to the north-west of Bahr el 
 Ghazal. 
 
 As for Mahmud, after the disturbance at Xahut, he 
 retired on El Obeid in 1890, and left Darfur to its fate. 
 All that portion of it bordering on Kordofan is entirely 
 depopulated. Herds of elephants roam the plains as 
 far as El Fasher. There is continual internecine warfare, 
 which is still further reducing the population, and 
 creating a wilderness of this once populous district. 
 
 Let us now revert to the operations against Abyssinia. 
 In consequence of Abu Anga's victory over Ras Adal, 
 the tribes on the" north-western borders of Abyssinia, 
 and who are known as Makada, embraced Mahdiism ; 
 
 R 
 
242 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 and it was at this time that Todros Kasa, the son of the 
 Todros Kasa (King Theodore), who had been vanquished 
 by the British at Magdala, suddenly appeared at Galabat, 
 and ottered his services to the Dervishes to fight against 
 his own countrymen. He was at once sent on to Omdur- 
 man , where he was received with great pomp by Khalifa 
 Abdullah, who promised to place him on the throne of 
 Abyssinia, and in return for this promise Todros agreed 
 that all the Abyssinians should turn Moslems, and should 
 pay the Khalifa an annual tribute. 
 
 Before going further, it may be as well to explain briefly 
 who this Todros was. He was the second son of the 
 King Theodore who had been subdued by the English 
 army. The eldest son had been taken to England, 
 where he died. At that time the Todros of whom I 
 speak was a mere child, and had been concealed by his 
 relatives from King John, who wanted to kill him. 
 When he grew up he wandered about Abyssinia, and 
 happened to be in the neighbourhood of Galabat when 
 Abu Anga made his successful descent on Abyssinia. It 
 at once occurred to Todros that an alliance with the 
 Dervishes might secure him his father's throne, and we 
 have seen how successfully he had deceived the Khalifa, 
 who implicitly believed in his good faith. 
 
 Todros had two children of twelve and fourteen years 
 of age, who always accompanied him when he went 
 about in Omdurman, and he always carried a red 
 umbrella, which made him the laughing-stock of the 
 place. He did not speak Arabic, and all intercourse with 
 him had to be through an interpreter. 
 
 Amongst the female slaves taken by Abu Anga were 
 two girls, who accidentally came into the possession of 
 one of my friends. These girls were related to Todros, 
 and when he heard of them, he at once bought their 
 release, and eventually took them with him to Galabat. 
 Vs e used often to talk to him, as he was not in the least 
 afraid, and told us of his real projects and intentions. 
 Suddenly Abu Anga, without any previous warning, set 
 oft" for Galabat, no one knew why, and it was generally 
 supposed that some very important information had 
 
KINO JOHN WRITES TO ABDULLAH. 
 
 reached the Khalifa. Abu Anga took Todros Kasa 
 with him. 
 
 Before leaving, Abu Anga asked the Khalifa to whom 
 he should refer in case of his (the Khalifa's) death. 
 Abdullah replied to his brother Yakub, and from this it 
 was generally understood that he intended to retain the 
 succession in his own family. 
 
 ABYSSINIAN DANCING GIRLS. 
 
 Shortly after Abu Anga's departure, the Khalifa 
 received a small note in Amharic, written on parchment, 
 from King John. Two of the Abyssinians in Omdurman 
 interpreted it to the Khalifa, and it was to the effect that 
 he (John) was prepared to make a reasonable treaty of 
 peace with the Khalifa ; basing his argument on the fact 
 
 R 2 
 
244 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI'S CAMP. 
 
 that they all — both Sudanese and Abyssinians — had a 
 common descent through their mutual forefather Ham, 
 and that, being neighbours, they should rather combine 
 to fight against their common enemies, who were the 
 Europeans, and whose power was always extending. 
 To this the Khalifa replied that if he would become a 
 Moslem, they would become good friends ; but if he 
 refused to do this, he (the Khalifa) felt obliged to brand 
 him as the enemy of God and His Prophet, and that he 
 had no other course open but to exterminate him. 
 
 On Abu Anga's arrival at Galabat, the most violent 
 jealousy sprang up between him and Yunis. The latter 
 separated his camp from Abu Anga's, and lost no 
 opportunity of showing his hatred and envy of the 
 " slave " (as he called him), who had so successfully 
 combated the Abyssinians. Even on the usual Friday 
 review, in spite of Abu Anga having been appointed to 
 the supreme command, Yunis always drilled his men 
 separately from the rest. This Abu Anga reported to 
 the Khalifa, who at once instructed Yunis to place 
 himself under him in every respect. 
 
 Meanwhile a conspiracy was brewing amongst the 
 emirs in the camp of Yunis. One of the ugliest types 
 of Takruris that have ever been seen took to calling 
 himself " Sayidna Isa " (" Our Master Jesus "). Yunis 
 and his emirs believed in him, although he subsequently 
 betrayed him. It is impossible to understand how it 
 is that these fanatical people could believe in the 
 nonsense told them by Isa ; yet, if he heard that any 
 one disbelieved in him, he would at once have him 
 summoned, and there, in the presence of four witnesses, 
 he would convert him. He asserted that he was the 
 Messiah foretold by the Mahdi who should wrest the 
 power from the Khalifa. Indeed the day was actu- 
 ally fixed w T hen it was decided to kill Abu Anga and 
 proclaim Isa publicly ; but Yunis betrayed the con- 
 spiracy to Abu Anga, and after afternoon prayers on 
 the following Friday he summoned the sixteen mutinous 
 emirs and threw them into chains ; he then wrote to 
 the Khalifa asking his instructions. The latter des- 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF " SAY ID N A ISA." 245 
 
 patched some judges to Galabat, who were told to 
 instruct these deluded people in the right way. They 
 were tried one after the other ; but none of them would 
 deny their belief in Isa ; then they threatened to kill 
 them ; but Isa laughed, and said he was immortal. At 
 length the judges, seeing; that further talking was 
 useless, condemned Isa to death, and in a few minutes 
 he was dangling on the gallows. Even this was not 
 proof enough for the sixteen deluded emirs, who still 
 believed he was not dead, and so one by one they 
 were hanged, and their heads sent to Omdurman, 
 where they also remained on the gallows for a month 
 and were then relegated to the pit, Yunis was 
 summoned to Omdurman, and for some time was quite 
 out of favour. 
 
 Thus did Khalifa Abdullah score success after success 
 over his enemies, and there is little doubt that, had 
 Abu Anga failed to act as quickly and decidedly as he 
 did, Isa's rapidly-increasing power might have become 
 a serious menace to the Khalifa's authority. There is 
 no doubt that these sixteen emirs had been instigated 
 by Yunis to revolt against the Khalifa and put him at 
 the head of the movement ; they knew perfectly well 
 that Isa was a mere fraud and deception ; but I do 
 not think it is possible ever to start a movement on 
 a large scale in a Moslem country unless it is based 
 on some religious grounds. The Mahdi only succeeded 
 by working up the fanaticism of his own countrymen. 
 Such motives as liberty, freedom, and the love of the 
 fatherland are entirely unknown factors in the com- 
 position of feelings which go towards creating a national 
 movement amongst Moslems. 
 
 Abu Anga, who was now growing old and fat, did 
 not live long after the events just described. He was 
 attacked by typhus, which at that time was prevalent 
 at Galabat, and in a few days this great warrior, who 
 had shed such quantities of blood, was dead. His 
 soldiers mourned him bitterly, and his name is still 
 held amongst them in affectionate remembrance ; they 
 loved him because he himself had been a slave, and 
 
246 TEN TEAMS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDrS CAMP. 
 
 knew how to discriminate between severity and kind- 
 ness. He was one of the best emirs of Mahdieh, and 
 of an infinitely more generous nature than Wad En 
 Nejumi or others. Once a poor woman came to him 
 and complained that a soldier had forcibly taken her 
 milk, which was all she had to live upon. Abu Anga 
 sent for the soldier and asked him if the woman's 
 complaint was true ; the thief denied it most emphati- 
 cally and abused the woman unmercifully. Abu Anga 
 was almost convinced that he was speaking the 
 truth ; but the woman still persisted in the most 
 violent manner that the man had drunk the milk. 
 After a moment's thought Abu Anga gave the follow- 
 ing judgment : " The man's stomach to be ripped open, 
 and if no milk is discovered, the woman will be exe- 
 cuted." The woman accepted this judgment with 
 delight, while the unfortunate man had to undergo 
 this terrible operation. The milk was found in his 
 stomach, and Abu Anga made good to the -woman her 
 loss. Thus did he maintain discipline amongst his 
 men, and as long as he commanded in Galabat there 
 was no fear. In battle his cruelty knew no bounds, 
 and the most horrible atrocities were perpetrated by 
 his men, especially in Abyssinia, His death was deeply 
 felt by the Khalifa, and with reason, for he was not 
 only a brave and capable leader, but he was absolutely 
 honest ; any other man in his place would have, long 
 before, abused his power. He was buried in Galabat 
 in 1888, and his men have canonized him as a saint. 
 
 When dying, Abu Anga nominated Wad Ali as his 
 successor, until the Khalifa's orders should be received ; 
 but very soon after his death there was discontent 
 amongst the men and want of harmony amongst the 
 emirs, with whom Wad Ali was by no means a 
 favourite. These dissensions reached the Khalifa's 
 ears, and he despatched the Kadi Ahmed, in whom he 
 placed great reliance, to Galabat, with instructions to 
 do all he could to put down discord, and to nominate 
 some one as leader who was popular with all ranks. 
 After several meetings, the Kadi at length succeeded 
 
KING JOHN ADVANCES ON GALABAT. 247 
 
 in quieting the people, and it was agreed, by common 
 consent, to nominate Zeki Tummal as Abu Anga's suc- 
 cessor. This appointment was subsequently confirmed 
 by the Khalifa. 
 
 The Galabat army was now made into four divisions 
 — Zeki Tummal commanded the first division, and was 
 also Commander-in-chief of the whole ; Abdallah 
 Ibrahim, Xur Angara, and Mahmud Wad Ali com- 
 
 7 O 7 
 
 manded the other divisions. In addition to these four 
 great emirs there were also other well-known men in 
 the Galabat force — such as Sheikh Abu Tagalla, 
 Faragallah (Gordon's old commandant of Omdurman 
 Fort), Omar AVad Elias Pasha, Sheikh Xuri, of the 
 Bederieh tribe, Ismail Wad el Andok, and others. 
 The immense zariba was now further fortified and 
 strengthened. 
 
 There were already rumours that King John was 
 making preparations to take Galabat, after which it 
 was said he would advance on Omdurman and utterly 
 destroy Mahdiism. King John was accompanied by 
 all his most important chiefs — Eas Adal, Eas Aria 
 Salasseh, Eas Michael, Eas Mariana, Eas Alula, Saleh 
 Shanga, and several others. In all, the army numbered 
 some 150,000, of whom 20,000 were horsemen. 
 
 This news caused the greatest alarm in Galabat and 
 Omdurman ; but it also had the effect of making us 
 indulge in pleasant dreams of release. Zeki Tummal 
 took counsel with his emirs whether it would be better 
 to await the enemy's arrival in the zariba or whether it 
 would be advisable to advance and fight in the open. 
 Kadi Ahmed urged that it would be better to stay in the 
 zariba, and his advice was adopted ; there is little doubt 
 this was the wisest course to take, as the Abyssinian 
 cavalry would undoubtedly have struck confusion into 
 their ranks. Zeki's force now numbered 85,000 men, 
 and was well disposed in the zariba to resist attack. 
 Criers went through the market-place summoning all 
 people to leave their business and take up arms 
 for the defence of the town ; messengers were also 
 sent to the Khalifa to beg his blessing — in fact, great 
 
248 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDVS CAMP. 
 
 fear prevailed. Spies reported that the enemy were 
 as numerous as the sand, that their numbers stretched 
 beyond the horizon, and that when they moved such 
 clouds of dust arose that the sun was quite obscured. 
 
 This news created almost a panic in Omdurman ; 
 besides, there is an old prophecy that the Abyssinians 
 should come to Khartum ; that their horses should 
 wade knee-deep in blood, and that the King should 
 tether his horse to the solitary tree on the White Nile 
 near Khartum. 
 
 At the end of February the King quitted Gondar, 
 and marched out to make holy war against the most 
 bitter enemy to Christianity. When near Galabat he 
 sent word to Zeki to say he was coming, lest it should 
 be said that he had " come secretly as a thief." Numbers 
 of women had also joined the Abyssinian army ; they 
 were, for the most part, the wives and concubines of 
 the soldiers, and many others had fled from their 
 parents to follow their lovers to battle. 
 
 On Saturday, the 9th of March, 1889, the King 
 began his attack on Galabat. Such clouds of dust 
 were raised that it was almost impossible to see any- 
 thing. The zariba was stormed ; some attempted to 
 drag away the thorn bushes, others tried to set fire to 
 it, whilst the Dervishes opened a terrific fire on the 
 masses. Some Takruris, who had deserted Zeki's camp, 
 reported that the part of the zariba held by Wad Ali 
 was the weakest, and, in consequence, the Abyssinians 
 made a supreme effort to break in at that point. 
 
 The din and noise was beyond description. At 
 length, after a very hard fight, the Abyssinians 
 succeeded in forcing an entry, and then their masses 
 rolled in like a great storm stream, carrying everything 
 before them. The thousands of Dervish women within 
 now raised terrible cries as the enemy approached, killing 
 and destroying all in their path ; they set fire to the 
 straw huts ; the clin of the firing, the shouts and 
 screams of the men and women, mingled with the 
 crackling and wild rush of the flames, were terrible 
 beyond description. Already the Abyssinians had 
 
VICTORY TURNED TO DEFEAT. 
 
 249 
 
 taken possession of the beit el mal, and had occupied 
 the house in which Abu Anga's harem lived, and now 
 they were searching for his body, which they wanted to 
 pull out of the ground and throw into the flames, in 
 revenue for the burning of Gondar. 
 
 The strength of the Mahdiists was now almost ex- 
 hausted, ammunition was running short, and it was 
 thought the fight was nearly over, when suddenly the 
 news spread amongst the Abyssinians that their King- 
 had been struck by a bullet. This was the signal for a 
 general retreat : everyone seized all the booty he could 
 lay his hands upon, and soon the zariba was evacuated ; 
 several of the women were carried off as captives, 
 including Abu Anga's harem, and the Abyssinians then 
 made for the river Atbara. 
 
 Now was the time for the Dervishes to reverse their 
 defeat ; they had suffered very heavily, Wad Ali's division 
 had been almost annihilated ; but they lost no time in 
 cutting off some of the Abyssinians' heads and sending 
 them at once to Omdurman, with the information that 
 they had gained a great victory, for Kadi Ahmed well 
 knew how anxious was the Khalifa, and how fearful that 
 defeat should overtake his forces. 
 
 The Dervishes thought the Abyssinians would renew 
 their attack the next day, but to their surprise no one 
 appeared ; then spies were sent out to discover their 
 whereabouts, and they brought back information that 
 the Abyssinian force w T as now in full retreat towards 
 the Atbara. This information decided Zeki to pursue, 
 and on the 11th of March the Dervish force came up 
 with a large portion of the Abyssinian army encamped 
 on the river bank ; a battle ensued, in which the 
 Abyssinians lost heavily and fled precipitately, leaving 
 the dead body of King John in the hands of the 
 Dervishes. It was discovered carefully packed in a 
 long box and sealed with wax ; at first it was thought 
 to contain treasure, but on opening it the odour of 
 decay left little doubt that the body they had attempted 
 to embalm was none other than that of the unfortu- 
 nate John, and this was confirmed by the Abyssinian 
 
250 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAMDFS CAMP. 
 
 prisoners. The King's head was cut off and sent to 
 Omdurman. 
 
 Here the wildest excitement prevailed, the Khalifa 
 Abdullah ordered the oreat war-drums to be beaten and 
 the onbeia to be sounded. A large review took place. 
 The Abyssinian heads were paraded and said to be those 
 of Eas Alula, Eas Mariam, and Saleh Shanga ; but this 
 was not true. However, the Khalifa's delight knew no 
 bounds, and our sorrow was proportionately great. 
 Once more our cherished hopes had been dashed to the 
 ground, and it seemed as if all chance of escape was now 
 quite at an end. 
 
 The heads were put upon the gallows, and left no 
 doubt that a great victory had been won, then three 
 days afterwards came the news that the King had been 
 killed. Fixed high up on a camel's back, John's head 
 was paraded up and down through the market-place, 
 preceded by a herald shouting out that the mighty 
 Negus had been slain, and that now was a time for 
 festivity and rejoicing. The Khalifa was quite in- 
 toxicated by his success. He publicly exposed the 
 articles captured with the King's body, amongst which 
 was the throne from which the cross had been removed ; 
 this was afterwards replaced in Omdurman and retained 
 in the beit el mal. 
 
 A wonderful copy of the New Testament had also 
 been taken ; it was written on parchment in Amharic 
 language, was profusely illustrated and illuminated, 
 and bound in a triple leather cover ; then there was a 
 gold watch marked " Crosdi, Paris," which showed the 
 day of the week and the month of the year ; a telescope, 
 and also an original letter from Her Majesty Queen 
 Victoria to King John, dated November 1887. I myself 
 read this letter, in which the Queen inquired after 
 King John's health, and asked him how he and his 
 family were ; that England having occupied Egypt had 
 become a near neighbour to Abyssinia, and that it was 
 Her Majesty's earnest wish to continue to live on 
 terms of peace and friendship with the Negus. The 
 letter concluded with good wishes for the King's health, 
 
THE KHALIFA AT THE ZENITH OF HIS POWER. 251 
 
 happiness, and long life, and was signed by Lord 
 Salisbury. Amongst other things I also saw the King's 
 tent and a number of richly jewelled crosses. 
 
 On the same day of its arrival, the Khalifa ordered 
 the King's head to be sewn in a piece of leather and 
 sent it on to Dongola, from whence it was to be sent on 
 to Wadi Haifa as a warning to the Khedive and the 
 English that a like fate would await them if they did 
 not at once submit. 
 
 It now seemed that the Khalifa was at the very 
 zenith of his power. There in a dirty pit near the 
 market-place lay the decaying heads of all his principal 
 enemies, the Sultan Yusef, Abu Gemaizeh, the Abys- 
 sinians, Sayidna Isa, all huddled up together in a heap, 
 and I could not help reflecting deeply on all these 
 strange events every time I passed that pit. Gradually 
 the skin and hair dropped off, leaving only the bare 
 white skulls, deep eye-holes, and grinning teeth, and 
 yet these were the skulls of crowned heads, prophets, 
 and patriarchs gathered together in a narrow pit from 
 far-distant countries — a solemn evidence indeed of the 
 far-reaching power of Mahdiism. Passers-by struck them 
 with their sticks, and yet for what thousands of lives 
 had these now empty brain-pans been responsible, which 
 lay rotting on far-distant battlefields — proof in truth of 
 God's judgment on the Sudan ! 
 
 Abdullah now thought himself master of the whole 
 world. In his moments of wildest enthusiasm he had 
 never dreamt of gaining such a tremendous victory over 
 the Abyssinians, and yet another such victory would 
 have almost destroyed his power ; he had lost thousands 
 of his best warriors, and the women and cattle captured 
 could never compensate him for such a loss. Of course 
 Zeki and his emirs did not always adhere to the truth 
 in writing to the Khalifa, nor was the latter anxious 
 they should do so — indeed, it would have been tanta- 
 mount to a crime on Zeki's part to report that the 
 Galabat garrison was weak ; had he done so, and even 
 if he had been the Khalifa's own relative, he would 
 probably have been relegated to prison. It would have 
 
252 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 been treason to have said anything which would detract 
 from the Khalifa's idea of his own power, and he was 
 surrounded by wretched flatterers and trimmers who 
 w^ere the last to tell him the truth. 
 
 But all these wars and disturbances had now almost 
 completely ruined the country, and then came the ter- 
 rible famine, which lasted almost a year and brought 
 untold sufferings on the people. The Khalifa, however, 
 was blind to all this misery and distress. His only 
 idea was self-aggrandisement, and he did not realize 
 that hunger was likely to prove by far the worst 
 and most dangerous enemy with which Mahdieh had 
 to cope ; but this he eventually learnt by bitter 
 experience. 
 
 After the death of King John there was a certain 
 amount of intercourse between the Dervishes and Abys- 
 sinians, and not a few of the latter used to come to 
 Galabat and promise to lead Zeki to where the late 
 king's treasures had been hidden ; but this they probably 
 did with the intention of trying to draw him into an 
 ambush. It was eventually hunger which compelled 
 Zeki to take some active measures. He despatched 
 Abdullah Ibrahim into Abyssinia with several thousand 
 men, and a few words respecting the career of this emir 
 may not be amiss. 
 
 He was a nephew of Ahmed Bey Dafallah, of Kor- 
 dofan, and had come to notice during the siege of El 
 Obeid. Whenever he saw any cattle near the town he 
 was always on the watch with his slaves, and generally 
 succeeded in making a successful sortie, capturing them 
 and brin^ins them into the fort. It was said that on 
 one occasion, when the Mahdi was approaching El 
 Obeid, Ibrahim left the fort and made straight for him, 
 intending to kill him, but was twice w T ounded by his 
 revolver ; he how T ever succeeded in returning to the 
 fort, and after its fall the Mahdi, already greatly im- 
 pressed by his bravery, pardoned him, and placed him 
 in command of a division under Abu Anga. He accom- 
 panied his chief in all his numerous fights, and displayed 
 even greater bravery in fighting for the Mahdieh than 
 
ABDULLAH WAD IBRAHIM. 
 
 253 
 
 he did in fighting for the Government. Had he only 
 been a Baggara he would undoubtedly have succeeded 
 Abu Anga in command. 
 
 This Abdullah now penetrated Abyssinia ; for a 
 long time nothing was heard of him, and it was thought 
 he must have been annihilated ; but at length he re- 
 turned to Galabat, having lost a large portion of his 
 force. The actual events which happened in this expe- 
 dition are wrapped in obscurity, and it is more than 
 probable that it fared badly. 
 
 After the King's death Abyssinia became a prey to civil 
 and internecine war, which left the inhabitants no time to 
 revenge themselves for the death of their King. The 
 Dervishes, too, were quite exhausted, and had to combat 
 a terrible famine, which swept them off in thousands. 
 This famine induced the sensible emirs at Galabat, such 
 as Abderrahman Wad Abu Degel, to enter into commer- 
 cial relations with Abyssinia, which have continued 
 uninterrupted up to the present time. 
 
254 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DEFEAT OF NEJUMI AT TOSKI, AND OF OSMAN DIGNA AT 
 
 TOKAR. 
 
 The Khalifa's intentions regarding Egypt — Wad en Nejumi 
 despatched north — Various operations on the Egyptian frontier 
 — Battle of Toski — Defeat and death of Nejnmi — Subsequent 
 events in Dongola — Osman Digna's operations against Sawakin 
 ■ — Is defeated at Tokar — Emin Pasha and events in Equatoria — 
 Eecent events in Uganda and Unyoro. 
 
 Having briefly considered the Khalifa's operations 
 within the Sudan, let us now turn and follow his move- 
 ments and intentions regarding Egypt. Ever since the 
 annihilation of Hicks Pasha's expedition the conquest 
 of Egypt had been the dream of the Mahdi's life. Those 
 of his followers who had seen Egypt described it in the 
 most glowing terms to the Sudanese, whose cupidity 
 was fully aroused. The immense wealth in Cairo, the 
 lovely women in the harems, had excited their most 
 ardent desires. 
 
 The Mahdi himself had decided on the Khedive's 
 palace of Abdin as his place of residence, whence it was 
 his intention to proceed to Syria, and after conquering 
 it, to advance on Mecca. He had prophesied that the 
 conquest of Egypt should be carried out by Khalifa 
 Sherif's flag, and he himself had done all in his power to 
 incite the Egyptians to revolt. He wrote numbers of 
 letters to the leading sheikhs and principal people in 
 Cairo, and had he not died, there is no doubt his influence 
 would have permeated, in no small degree, into Egypt. 
 Several people in Egypt believed in him as the true 
 Mahdi, and besides, he was now the ruler of hundreds of 
 thousands of people. With his death belief in Mahdiism 
 began to decline. His successor, it is true, was a man 
 
CONQUEST OF EGYPT CONTEMPLATED. 
 
 255 
 
 of boundless energy, and had just as ambitious ideas as 
 his predecessor in regard to the conquest of Egypt, but 
 circumstances had entirely altered. 
 
 The Mahdi's death and the Khalifa's accession had 
 caused Mahdiism to break up into two distinct parties, 
 viz. the Baggara Arabs, who called themselves the 
 Arabs of the Sudan, and the '[ Aulad Belad," or country 
 
 AN ARAB SHEIKH OF UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 people, such as the Danagla, Barabra, Jaalin, and other 
 tribes on the White Nile. This division in Mahdieh 
 considerably weakened it. Wad En Nejumi and his 
 emirs belonged to the section opposed to the Khalifa, 
 and who would like to have freed themselves from 
 his control ; in consequence Abdullah always arranged 
 
256 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 that a Baggara emir should be attached to Nejumi, to 
 keep him informed of all the latter's doings. 
 
 The Mahdi had laid down the plan for invading 
 Egypt, which should be by combined movements from 
 Don sola towards Haifa, and from Abu Hamed towards 
 
 o . 
 
 Korosko ; and accordingly, when the English evacuated 
 Dongola in June 1885, Mohammed el Kheir, the con- 
 queror of Berber, together with Abdel Majid, at once 
 took possession of the province, and the first action 
 which took place between these latter and the British 
 and Egyptian troops occurred in December the same 
 year at Giniss. El Kheir was defeated, and fixed his 
 advanced camp at Kerma. 
 
 The fall of Sennar enabled the Khalifa to send for- 
 ward more troops for his operations against Egypt, and 
 the Mahdi's prophecy that the conquest of Egypt was to 
 be carried out by Sherif s flag, entirely fell in with his 
 own arrangements, for he entrusted the command of the 
 advanced force to Wad En Nejumi, who belonged to 
 Sherif s raya (flag), and thus succeeded in keeping this 
 powerful emir, whom he regarded with great fear and 
 jealousy, as far away from him as possible.* 
 
 Nejumi set out from Omdurman in November 1885, 
 and marching along the river bank to Berber, robbed 
 and pillaged as if he were advancing through an enemy's 
 country. He seized the goods of merchants at Berber, 
 giving them receipts signed to the effect that they should 
 receive payment when he had taken Assuan. He cap- 
 tured two Egyptian spies, one of whom he decapitated, 
 and the other had his hand and foot cut off. During 
 his stay at Berber he robbed and pillaged in all direc- 
 tions, and used to boast of his approaching conquest of 
 Egypt. He stopped all trade with the north, and drove 
 on the entire population towards Dongola. 
 
 It was not, however, until the end of November 1886, 
 
 * It was the knowledge of this fact that caused General Sir F. 
 Grenfell, in his letter written to Nejumi, calling on him to surrender 
 just prior to the action of Toski, to say, " I know that you personally 
 have been the victim of a base jealousy imposed upon you by the 
 false Khalifa." — Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan, p. 418. 
 
THE DEB VIS EES OCCUPY S A HE AS. 
 
 257 
 
 that he reached Dongola, and there he began to orga- 
 nize his fighting force, which was continually increased 
 by reinforcements sent from Omdurman. 
 
 Early in 1887 four messengers were despatched with 
 letters to Her Majesty the Queen of England, His 
 Majesty the Sultan of Turkey, and His Highness the 
 Khedive. These envoys were permitted to come to 
 Cairo, and to personally deliver their letters ; but when 
 they were opened, perused, and found only to contain a 
 summons from the Khalifa to adopt Mahdiism, and 
 submit to him, or the recipients would suffer the same 
 fate as Gordon and Hicks, the messengers were at once 
 sent back without any reply being given to them, and 
 this was considered by Abdullah to be the greatest 
 insult that could have been offered to him. 
 
 The Dervish advanced-guards continued to creep on 
 towards the Egyptian Frontier, whilst Hassan Khalifa, 
 the nephew of the former Mudir of Berber, occupied the 
 desert wells, and made several incursions on the river to 
 the north and south of Korosko. Mounted on drome- 
 daries, these bold raiders made sudden descents on 
 defenceless villages, carried off quantities of booty, and 
 then disappeared into the desert. 
 
 At this time the Egyptians had retired to Wadi Haifa, 
 and the Dervishes had occupied Sarras, a little to the 
 south, from whence they constantly harassed the Egyp- 
 tian outposts. A variety of circumstances, however, 
 occurred to prevent Khalifa Abdullah from carrying out 
 his projects against Egypt. The revolt in Darfur, the 
 Abyssinian war, internal dissensions, all contributed to 
 impede the despatch of troops north. Besides, the 
 Dervish garrison in Dongola had already done much to 
 destroy the well-being and prosperity of the province ; 
 they plundered the inhabitants, who, in their turn, be- 
 came averse to the Dervish occupation ; continued war- 
 fare had produced a famine ; numbers died of small-pox. 
 
 Bahr el Karrar in 1888 occupied the wells of Haimar 
 and Ongat, and from here was able to annoy the inhabi- 
 tants on the Nile between Assuan and Korosko. He 
 raided the village of Kalabsheh, some fifty miles south 
 
258 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA TIDES CAMP. 
 
 of Assuan, killed the Egyptian police guards, and carried 
 off their officer a captive to Omdurman. All this time 
 there was a great deal of talk in the capital about the 
 conquest of Egypt, but we never received any very 
 decisive news. The captured officer was paraded through 
 the streets in triumph, and was then brought before the 
 Khalifa, who received him kindly, and questioned him 
 very fully about Egypt ; but he quite understood what 
 sort of replies to make to the Khalifa's questions, 
 and only told him what he knew would please ; so 
 he was well treated, set at liberty, and now lives in 
 Omdurman. 
 
 From time to time the Khalifa despatched reinforce- 
 ments to Dongola which never returned, and this was 
 the reason of the main road leading north out of 
 Omdurman being called " Darb Esh Shuhada" ("The 
 Martyrs' Road "). 
 
 The Egyptian Government had now confined itself to 
 the defence of its own frontiers. In June 1888, Bishir 
 Bey, a subsidized Government sheikh, turned Bahr 
 Karrar out of Haimar ; but on the other hand, the 
 Sarras Dervishes made a sudden descent on the Dabarosa 
 bazaar, killed a number of merchants, and escaped 
 before the troops from Haifa could intercept them. 
 Meanwhile, there was not much harmony between the 
 big emirs. Nejumi and his followers were jealous of 
 the masterful Baggaras, and it was only with the greatest 
 reluctance that they brought themselves to show any 
 respect to the Emir Mussaid of the Baggara Habbanieh, 
 who had been sent to Dongola by the Khalifa to watch 
 and report on Nejumi's doings. 
 
 The Baggaras hated Nejumi to such an extent that 
 one of their number attempted to poison him ; but he 
 recovered after a long illness, though he never entirely 
 got the poison out of his system. It is said that his 
 eyesight was alw T ays bad afterwards. This constant 
 bickering between the Baggara and Nejumi crippled his 
 energy. Formerly he had been greatly feared by them, 
 but now his own people were annoyed that he showed 
 so much deference to the Khalifa and his emirs. As 
 
THE ATTACK ON K 110 11 MUSA. 
 
 259 
 
 for the Khalifa, lie was thoroughly exasperated by 
 Nejumi's indolence, and summoned him to Omdurman. 
 
 During his absence from the province, a deserter from 
 the Egyptian side led the Dervishes into the fort at 
 Khor Musa, within five miles of Haifa, where they 
 killed some of the garrison, but were unable to take the 
 
 BISHIR BEY, SHEIKH OF THE ABABDEH ARABS. 
 
 whole fort. Colonel Wodehouse having been informed 
 of their attack, at once sent out help, and the Dervishes 
 were surprised and annihilated. 
 
 Towards the end of 1888 Nejumi was in Dongola 
 again. The Khalifa had threatened to throw him into 
 
 s 2 
 
200 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 chains unless he showed more energy in his operations 
 against Egypt. He had already exhibited his dis- 
 pleasure by imprisoning Sheikh Idris and Makin Wad en 
 Nur, who had shown a reluctance to go forward, for they 
 had made up their minds that a successful attack on 
 Egypt was an impossibility. They could not even 
 capture Wacli Haifa. The desert roads were next to 
 impassable owing to want of water, whilst the river 
 was in the hands of the enemy, who had numbers of 
 steamers, and could prevent any Dervish advance by 
 water. All these difficulties were quite apparent to 
 Nejumi and his emirs ; but so self-confident was the 
 Khalifa, that he could not believe there was any great 
 difficulty in conquering Egypt ; added to this, several 
 sheikhs of Upper Egypt had assured him that when the 
 Dervishes advanced they would be joined by the entire 
 population. 
 
 Thus the Khalifa insisted, and Nejumi could not do 
 otherwise than obey. He had already transferred to 
 Dongola the entire Batahin tribe, which had showed a 
 mutinous spirit, and early in 1889 he sent a further 
 detachment, consisting of thirty flags, composed for the 
 most part of Gehena Arabs, who are not warlike, and 
 were most averse to fighting in the Dervish cause. Thus, 
 like lambs to the slaughter, were these unwilling tribes 
 driven forward to battle. 
 
 When the revolt in Darfur had been suppressed, and 
 Abyssinia had been humbled, the Khalifa turned his 
 attention more earnestly than ever to the invasion of 
 Egypt. He despatched Yunis ed Dekeim to Dongola, 
 and on his arrival, Nejumi was to begin his advance 
 north. 
 
 Nejumi was now nominated Commander-in-chief, and 
 being one of the Mahdi's most determined and fanatical 
 emirs, he had given him the title of "Emir el Umara" 
 ("The Emir of emirs"). He had under his command 
 several brave emirs, such as Abdel Halim, Makin en Nur, 
 Wad Gubara, Sheikh Idris, Osman Azrak, and several 
 others. But the fighting conditions of these Dervishes 
 had considerably changed during the last few years 
 
/ 
 
 NEJUMFS CHANCES OF SUCCESS. 261 
 
 The Ansar no longer fought for Mahdieh. All those 
 promises of joys in paradise were no longer believed in, 
 for by dying the Mahdi had proved himself to be false, 
 and so were all his prophecies. They did not fight to 
 obtain booty, for long experience had shown them that 
 the booty was exclusively appropriated by the Khalifa 
 and his emirs. It was now fear of the Khalifa's anger 
 which drove them to fight, and numbers of them deserted 
 when a favourable opportunity occurred for them to do so. 
 
 Not only were all these feelings at work in Nejumi's 
 force, but also the conditions of the country in which he 
 was operating were very different from those in which 
 he had won all his early victories. Then he knew every 
 path, almost every tree. It was his own country ; the 
 inhabitants were of his own race ; volunteers flocked 
 to his standards. He always largely exceeded his 
 enemies in point of numbers ; but now it was all entirely 
 different. He knew nothing of the country through 
 which he had to march ; enormous difficulties blocked 
 his every movement. Even had the population of 
 Upper Egypt been desirous of joining him, they were 
 much too carefully looked after by the troops and the 
 Government to be able to do so. An enormous desert 
 separated him from the position he desired to reach, 
 and the result was that his force — just as Hieks's force 
 had done — suffered greatly from want of water. As 
 usual he was accompanied by numbers of women and 
 children, and sometimes even five dollars would not 
 purchase a drink of water. 
 
 Abdullah showed his mistrust of the men by per- 
 mitting their wives and families to accompany them, 
 for he thought that they could not well run away, 
 leaving their wives and children behind, and therefore 
 they would have to fight ; but this great crowd of 
 women and children hampered Nejumi's movements 
 enormously, and still further increased the want which 
 already prevailed in the Dervish camp. When in 
 Dongola, the Gehenas were suffering so terribly from 
 famine that they stole the Dervishes' sheepskins, on 
 which they prayed, and ate them. 
 
262 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 It was madness to i attempt to invade Egypt with such 
 a force as Nejumi then had. made up of almost every tribe 
 and nationality, all huddled together, and yet absolutely 
 wanting in cohesion. Then the enemy which they were 
 going to fight was of an entirely different stamp to 
 the one they had overcome in the Sudan. The Egyp- 
 tian was not the same as in the old days. The army 
 was now composed of well-trained battalions under 
 English officers ; and it is not out of place here to 
 remark that the occupation of Egypt by England was 
 a heavy blow to the Khalifa and his followers. Often 
 have I heard him say, " If the English would only 
 evacuate Egypt, I should very soon take possession 
 of it." 
 
 Thus did Nejumi set out from Dongola with his force. 
 At Sarras a parade was held, and some 14,000 souls 
 counted ; but of these nearly half were women and 
 children. His intention was to avoid Haifa, and inarch 
 direct on Bimban, as the inhabitants of that place had 
 promised to join him ; but in the village of Argin, he 
 was attacked and defeated by Colonel Wodehouse. Here 
 Nejumi lost about 1,000 men, amongst whom were 
 several emirs, including Sheikh Idris and Abdel Kader 
 Guru, besides many more wounded. On account of this 
 victory, Wodehouse Pasha was known in the Sudan as 
 " the vanquisher of Wad Nejumi." 
 
 But, in spite of his defeat, Nejumi still continued his 
 advance, although the only food he had for his force 
 was camels' and donkeys' meat, and his troops were 
 more dead than alive. He was obliged to make his 
 cavalry into a rear-guard to prevent desertion, but 
 still large numbers succeeded in joining the Egyptian 
 troops. 
 
 The Sirdar, General Grenfell Pasha, wrote a letter to 
 Nejumi, in which he showed him that he understood the 
 wretched state his troops had come to, and urging him 
 not to expose uselessly the lives of so many of his people ; 
 but take the wise course and surrender. Nejumi, how- 
 ever, boldly replied that if Grenfell Pasha would adopt 
 Mahdiism he would guarantee him happiness and con- 
 
SHEIKM ABDEL HAD I IMPRISONED. 
 
 263 
 
 ttentmekit/, otherwise lie would sweep him and his fcroops 
 off the face of the earth. 
 
 Only one of the two messengers who had been sent 
 with General Grenfell's letter returned with this reply ; 
 the other — an Arab named Abdel Hadi — was sent on 
 to ( )mdurman bearing the General's letter to the Khalifa, 
 who was also informed by Nejumi, that Abdel Hadi had 
 originally been on the Dervish side at Abu Hamed, but 
 had deserted over to the " Turks." * On his arrival, Ab- 
 dullah questioned him closely regarding the latest news 
 of Nejumi and the condition of the opposing armies. 
 Abdel Hadi replied that the " Turks " were very strong, 
 and that it was probable that Nejumi would be defeated 
 For this saying, he was thrown into prison for months, 
 and would have starved to death had not Neufeld, who 
 was with him in prison, given him some help ; he was 
 eventually released through the intermediary of Hajji 
 Saad, and permitted to return to Abu Hamed, whence 
 he escaped back to Egypt. 
 
 Meanwhile Nejumi still continued his advance ; he 
 could not and would not submit. On the one hand he 
 was of far too proud a nature to submit to the hated 
 Egyptian troops ; and on the other, his fear of the 
 Khalifa added to his natural obstinacy. At Toski his 
 advance was arrested by General Grenfell at the head 
 of the Egyptian troops, and he had no other course open 
 but to fight. He was utterly defeated, himself and 
 most of his emirs killed, whilst a mass of men, women 
 and children fell into the hands of the Egyptian force. 
 
 This battle took place on the 3rd of August, 1889 ; 
 by it the annihilation of Hicks Pasha's expedition was 
 avenged, and the project of invading Egypt, which had 
 been maturing for the last three years, entirely col- 
 lapsed. The news of this defeat caused great commo- 
 tion in Omdurman ; it was at first rumoured that every 
 one had been killed ; and the Khalifa w T as in despair. 
 
 * It must be remembered that with the Arabs of the Sudan the 
 term " Turk " is a synonym for the hated oppressor of whatever 
 nationality. The British troops, even, were confounded under the 
 same appellation. 
 
2(34 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 He hated the Europeans and Egyptians, and though we, 
 in our hearts, were rejoiced at the news, we suffered no 
 small anxiety as well, for we thought it quite possible 
 that the Khalifa would appease his wrath to some 
 extent by venting his annoyance on us. It was, indeed, 
 a most crushing blow for him and his followers. 
 
 The Emirs Hassan en Nejumi — a relative of Wad 
 
 WAD EN NEJUMI. 
 
 From a photograph of a drawing made by an Egyptian officer of the 
 great Emir, as he lay dead on the field of Toslci. 
 
 Nejumi — and Siwar ed Dahab, who had escaped from 
 the massacre, returned with all speed to Dongola, and 
 thence to Omdurman. They reported that it was mad- 
 ness of Nejumi to have attempted what he did ; that 
 all his emirs were opposed to it, and that they had 
 told Nejumi that they were sure, if the Khalifa were 
 
DEFEAT AND DEATH OF NEJUMI. 
 
 205 
 
 fully informed of all the circumstances, he would never 
 have permitted him to advance. As hVwas, famine, want of 
 water, and the unseasonable time of the year, ought to 
 have been sufficient reasons for postponing the expedi- 
 tion ; but Nejumi turned a deaf ear to all their protests, 
 he feared the Khalifa ; his plundering and cruelties cried 
 to heaven for vengeance, and the instruments of that 
 vengeance appeared in the persons of General Grenfell 
 and Colonel Wodehouse. 
 
 Saleh Bey, the son of Hussein Pasha Khalifa, and a 
 subsidized sheikh of the Egyptian Government, drove 
 his nephew out of Murat, advanced almost to Abu 
 Hamed. and we fondly hoped that the Government 
 would at least advance to Dongola, which is the key of 
 the Sudan ; but we were again doomed to disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 And now Mahdiism was far too exhausted to make 
 any further attempts on Egypt. The province of Don- 
 gola had been utterly ruined, and Yunis's ill-treatment 
 of the inhabitants was beyond description. Complaints 
 of his evil deeds eventually reached the Khalifa's ears, 
 and fearing that the inhabitants might be induced to 
 join the " Turks," he relieved Yunis of his appointment, 
 and replaced him by Zogal, who, in spite of his former 
 fall from power, was known to be a just man, and the 
 Khalifa trusted to him to restore the confidence of the 
 people. Yet the Khalifa did not entirely trust Zogal, 
 and still left Mussaid to watch him, he also sent 
 another Baggara called Arabi with three hundred troops 
 to observe his doings. 
 
 Dongola now became a hotbed of spying and cross- 
 spying. Matters became so serious that it seemed a 
 fight between the rival parties was imminent, and every 
 post brought letters from either section, accusing the 
 other of malpractices. The Khalifa therefore summoned 
 these two emirs — Mussaid and Arabi — to Dongola, and 
 on their arrival they reported that it was Zogal's in- 
 tention to deliver up the province to the Egyptian 
 Government. Thereupon the Khalifa recalled Zogal, 
 and replaced him by Yunis. 
 
266 TEH TEAMS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 Zogal, on his arrival in Omdurman, was well received, 
 and did not hesitate to refute the misstatements of the 
 emirs ; but he was not believed, and was thrown into 
 chains, where he remains to this day. Zogal's only 
 fault is, that he is a Dongolawi, and a relative of the 
 Mahdi, whilst his opponents are all Baggaras, who are 
 the governing party, and therefore he is not likely to 
 receive any pity from them. 
 
 Besides Wad en Nejumi and Abu Anga, there yet re- 
 mained one of the greatest of the Mahdi's old emirs. I 
 mean Osman Digna, to whom I referred in the early 
 pages of this work. He had been sent to the Eastern 
 Sudan after the fall of El Obeid, and in July 1883, had 
 taken up a position near Sawakin. The Mahdi had given 
 him proclamations to distribute to all the tribes in the 
 neighbourhood of Kassala and Sawakin, ordering them to 
 rise against the Government. The summons was obeyed, 
 and by the end of 1883 Osman Digna was in possession 
 of all the principal posts in the vicinity. The most im- 
 portant work which Osman Digna performed for the 
 Mahdi was cutting the communication between Sawakin 
 and Berber, and thus blocking the shortest and best 
 road into the Sudan. Fully alive to the importance of 
 this route, the Government made repeated attempts to 
 re-open it, but Osman, with his dauntless Hadendoas, 
 caused every effort to fail. 
 
 On the 3rd of February, General Baker Pasha made 
 a vain attempt, but was cut to pieces at El Teb, losing 
 over two thousand men and all his arms and ammuni- 
 tion. After Baker's defeat, the English made another 
 effort, and after General Graham had defeated Osman 
 Digna at both Teb and Tamai, the proposal was made 
 to open the road to Berber, and thus relieve Gordon, 
 then besieged in Khartum ; but it was thought impos- 
 sible to fight Osman Digna's hordes, and to overcome 
 
 ill 
 
 the difficulties of the desert, so the idea w^as abandoned. 
 
 For seven long years Osman Digna continued alter- 
 nately to harass and besiege Sawakin ; but gradually 
 numbers of the local Arabs— notably the Amarar — fell 
 away from his cause, and intertribal conflicts ensued. 
 
EVENTS AT SAW AKIN. 
 
 267 
 
 When almost quite deserted, Osman Digna came to 
 Omdurman. In January 1887, he returned via Gedaref 
 and Kassala, where he collected some four thousand 
 men, eventually occupied Handub, and again besieged 
 Sawakin. He also defeated the Amarar, and killed over 
 seven hundred of them. 
 
 Kitchener Pasha, the Governor-General of the Eed 
 Sea Littoral, was severely wounded during his attack 
 on Handub ; in March of the same year Abu Girgeh 
 arrived with a force from Kassala, and thus Osman 
 became almost as powerful as ever. He continued to 
 harass Sawakin, and to devastate the neighbouring 
 country. It was useless for him to attempt to take 
 the town, he therefore received the Khalifa's orders to 
 establish himself at Tokar in January 1889, and at 
 the same time he was permitted to open commercial 
 relations with Sawakin. A small post was established at 
 Handub, and Dervish merchants were actually permitted 
 to enter the town and purchase goods. 
 
 These commercial relations existed for about two 
 years between Sawakin and the Dervishes, and, as a 
 famine prevailed at Tokar, the enemy drew most of 
 their supplies through the port of Trinkitat. Suddenly 
 news reached Omdurman to the effect that the gates 
 of Sawakin had been closed, and all traffic stopped 
 between Tokar and Handub. In consequence the famine 
 increased, and merchants arriving in Omdurman said 
 that no doubt it was the intention of the Government 
 to attack Osman Digna very soon. 
 
 The wealthiest of these merchants w T as a certain Omar 
 Kisha, w T ho had smuggled quantities of lead and powder 
 through Sawakin. The news they brought was soon con- 
 firmed, and in February 1891, Handub w r as occupied. 
 In March a message was received from Zogal, in 
 Dongola, to the effect that a salute had been fired at 
 Haifa to announce the occupation of Tokar by the 
 Government, and the complete defeat of Osman Digna. 
 This news created almost a panic in Omdurman, and 
 what made it worse was the uncertainty, for no news 
 had been received either through Berber or Kassala. It 
 
268 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE 31 AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 was not until eight days later that a Shukrieh Arab 
 arrived from Kassala, and said that he had heard much 
 talk about the defeat at Tokar, but the fate of Osman 
 Digna was uncertain, some said that he had been killed, 
 others, seriously wounded. A month afterwards letters 
 arrived from Osman himself confirming the news of the 
 defeat. This caused great consternation, and the Khalifa 
 at once assembled a council. 
 
 It was said that an Egyptian expedition had already 
 reached Berber, and every day it was thought news 
 would arrive of the capture of Dongola. It was decided 
 to make a camp at Metemmeh. The whole of Omclur- 
 man was secretly rejoicing at the approaching downfall 
 of the Khalifa, but again we were all doomed to the 
 most bitter disappointment. News came from Berber 
 that the " Turks " had no intention of advancing further, 
 and were content to have occupied Tokar, where they 
 had built a fort and securely established themselves. 
 But, though thus temporarily relieved, the loss of 
 Tokar was a very severe blow to the Khalifa, as the 
 Government was now in immediate contact with the 
 tribes on the Sawakin-Berber road, and the way was 
 clear. 
 
 On the last Muled (the anniversary of the Prophet's 
 birth) Osman Digna arrived at Omdurman, accompanied 
 by a few followers. During his flight from Tokar 
 towards Kassala his followers had nothing to eat but 
 wild figs, and many had starved. The Khalifa received 
 Osman very coldly, and reproached him for his defeat ; 
 he afterwards sent him to cultivate on the Atbara, where 
 he now lives at a place called Adaramab. 
 
 Of all the opponents to Government, Osman Digna 
 was perhaps the most bitter ; he had done great things 
 at Sawakin, Kassala, and on the Abyssinian frontier, but 
 by his ruthless cruelty he had alienated the Arabs from 
 his cause. In his present seclusion he has, probably, 
 occasion to think of all his evil and bloodthirsty deeds, 
 which have ended in the ruin of his country and the 
 death of his followers. Almost all the Arabs who 
 espoused his cause with so much zeal are now dead, 
 
EVENTS IN EQUATOR I A. 
 
 269 
 
 and his present humiliation is a fitting reward for his 
 blind adherence to a false and ruthless tyrant. 
 
 Scarcity of money in the beit et mal at Omdurman 
 was the main reason for the despatch of an expedition 
 up the White Nile. Since 1885 Emin had not been 
 disturbed by the Dervishes, and Karamallah had long 
 since retired to Bahr el Ghazal, from whence no news 
 had been received of him for years. 
 
 There was no Dervish post south of Fashoda, which 
 was the market to which the blacks brought their 
 cattle for sale. The negro tribes all along the White 
 Nile had been left quite undisturbed by the Dervishes, 
 but now it occurred to the Khalifa to send an expedition 
 to collect ivory and slaves and to subdue Emin Pasha. 
 Omar Saleh was appointed to command, and was given 
 three steamers and a number of sailing vessels ; he was 
 also the bearer of a letter to Emin informing him of 
 the various events which had occurred in the Sudan, 
 and calling on him to surrender to Omar. To add 
 weight to his letter, he also ordered the Syrian Stambuli 
 to write in a similar sense ; also some of the Copts in 
 Omdurman were ordered to write to the Copts who were 
 known to be in Emin's service. 
 
 Omar Saleh left Omdurman in July 1888, and a 
 whole year passed without any information of his move- 
 ments reaching Omdurman ; it was thought that Emin 
 must have annihilated the expedition and captured the 
 steamers. The Khalifa became restless, but at length 
 one of the steamers returned, laden with ivory and 
 slaves. 
 
 We were all naturally most anxious to hear about 
 Emin, and the ' men who brought the despatches in- 
 formed us that they had arrived at Kegaf in October ; 
 this place they took by storm, and had sent down to 
 Omdurman one of the clerks they had taken prisoner 
 there. As to Emin, they stated that he and an 
 Englishman (we thought this Englishman must be the 
 intrepid Stanley) had been put in chains by the mutinous 
 soldiers, because the Englishman wanted to bring 
 Emin to Egypt, as the Khedive had sent him there for 
 
270 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY TN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 that purpose. Omar Saleh had seized this opportunity 
 to take possession of the province, but he had been 
 driven back by the mutineers; this last news was not 
 told the Khalifa, but we heard it in confidence. Omar 
 had begged the Khalifa to send back the steamer with- 
 
 A NATIVE WOMAN OF MAKARAKA, THE WIFE OF OX E OF EMIN 
 PASHA'S OFFICERS, WHO REACHED EGYPT FROM UGANDA IN 
 JUNE 1802. 
 
 out delay, and in consequence it went south again a few 
 days afterwards. 
 
 A long time after this another steamer arrived from 
 Ecjuatoria, but it brought no important information. 
 
REFUGEES FROM UGANDA. 
 
 271 
 
 It seemed that Erain had left the provinces, that on his 
 departure the country had fallen into a state of anarchy, 
 and that the blacks had massacred all the Arabs. The 
 Khalifa despatched two emirs, Hasib and Elias Wad 
 Kanuua. to Regaf in the steamer ; and as it was reported 
 that the Dervishes there suffered a great deal from the 
 climate, lie decided to make it a place of exile, and 
 afterwards sent only bad characters there. 
 
 In 1891 the Emir Hasib arrived in Omdurman ; he 
 came as a fugitive, and reported that he was with two 
 of the steamers which had been sent to a place two days' 
 journey from Kegaf to collect ivory ; they made a zariba, 
 and one steamer was already loaded up when they were 
 suddenly attacked by the blacks, who killed everyone in 
 the zariba, and he had retreated with the remaining 
 empty steamer, but the other had fallen into the enemy's 
 hands. 
 
 Some of the blacks who came to Omdurman with 
 Hasib said that they had heard Emin had returned to 
 the province and had stirred up the blacks to revolt 
 against the Dervishes ; but Hasib was of a different 
 opinion, and believed the attack to have been purely a 
 local affair.* 
 
 Khalifa Abdullah now felt some alarm for the safety 
 
 * The arrival of a portion of the old Equatoria garrison in Cairo 
 in June 1S92, who had travelled under the a?gis of the Imperial 
 British East Africa Company through Uganda to Mombasa, throws 
 further light on the present situation in Equatoria. They state 
 that after Stanley's departure from Kavalli's, Selim Bey (Emm's 
 old commandant), who had been despatched north to collect the 
 garrison, finding that Stanley had gone, settled down with a small 
 number of men in his old camp at Kavalli's, while the rebel officer, 
 Fadl Maula Bey, with the bulk of the garrison, remained in the 
 neighbourhood of Wadelai. This place was eventually attacked by 
 the Dervishes, who were driven off, but most of the garrison, feeling 
 that they could not trust Fadl Maula, who was known to have been 
 in communication with the Dervishes, deserted to Sjlim Bey. Emin 
 had come to Kavalli's in April 1891, but on stating that he was in 
 German employ had been joined by only a few of his old garrison, 
 and had not attempted to re-enter his o'd province. Shortly after 
 Emin's departure, Captain Lugard had arrived, and had taken the 
 entire force into Uganda and Unyoro, where he had established 
 some military posts. — P. R. W. 
 
272 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA II DPS CAMP. 
 
 of his posts at Lado and Regaf, more particularly as he 
 was now at war with the Shilluks, and his post at 
 Fashoda was hemmed in by this warlike tribe ; he 
 therefore despatched another steamer south to obtain 
 more information, but the Dervishes he wished to send 
 refused to go, and had to be dragged on board in 
 chains. 
 
 In my opinion the Khalifa will have some difficulty 
 in retaining his posts on the White Nile. When I left 
 Omdurman, the head of the Shilluk King was hanging 
 on the gallows, and his brave people revolted against 
 this act of treachery which had deprived them of their 
 chief. The revolt had assumed large proportions, and 
 the Emir Zeki had been despatched to Fashoda from 
 Galabat, and had been heavily pressed by the infuriated 
 blacks. 
 
( 273 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FAMINE AT OMDURMAN 1888-1889. 
 
 OhfwaMer describes Omdurrnan — The Mahdi's tomb, and bow it 
 was built — Pilgrimage to Mecca forbidden — A description of 
 the great mosque — The Khalifa's palace — The markets — The 
 population — The Khalifa's tyrannical rule — The terrible famine 
 of 1888-1889 — Awful scenes and sufferings — The plague of 
 locusts. 
 
 In this chapter I propose to give a description of the 
 great Mahdi capital of the Sudan. 1 have already given 
 a brief account of the place as I found it on my arrival 
 from Kordofan in 1886, but now the city is vastly 
 increased in size. 
 
 When Khalifa Abdullah had quite consolidated his 
 authority within the Sudan, and was contemplating the 
 invasion of Egypt, it also occurred to him to define the 
 limits of his kingdom, and establish an hereditary 
 succession in his family. Indeed his only reason for 
 carrying on his rule under the guise of Mahdiism was 
 his fear that a change of name might involve him in 
 difficulties, but nevertheless he adhered strictly to his 
 intentions, with the result that now nothing of Mahdiism 
 remains but the name. He has adopted many of the 
 old Government systems of administration, and were it 
 not that he feared he might lose his new kingdom, I 
 believe that he Would not be averse to substituting the 
 Sultan's for the Mahdi's name. 
 
 It is now thoroughly understood that the Khalifa's 
 authority is no longer based entirely on religious 
 principles as in the case of the Mahdi : he has sub- 
 stituted for it — if not in name, at any rate in fact — 
 the system of " molk," or temporary authority. He 
 has abolished almost all the Mahdi's decrees. His 
 
 T 
 
274 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 predecessor had substituted for the gallows the system 
 of decapitation for death-sentences, but the Khalifa has 
 reinstituted the gallows, his reason for doing this was 
 to make the mode of execution more alarming to the 
 Sudanese, for whom he considers decapitation a too 
 painless death. 
 
 He has changed the name of his followers. The 
 Mahdi had decreed that the Foggara (or " poor " as the 
 Dervishes first called themselves) should take the name 
 of Asyad (i.e. masters), and this system of nomenclature 
 was partially adhered to up to the date of his death ; 
 but the Khalifa thought the name Foggara very de- 
 rogatory to the spirit of his rule, and therefore ordered 
 that this name should be abolished and substituted by 
 " Ansar ed Din " (i.e. auxiliaries or helpers in the cause 
 of religion) ; it was also permitted to be called the Habib 
 or Sahib el Mahdi (i.e. the friend or disciple of the 
 Mahdi), consequently the women are known as Habiba 
 — a play on words which has given rise to much joking 
 on the part of the men. It took only a few days to 
 cause the name of Fakir to be completely forgotten, 
 and now Ansar for the men and Ansariat for the 
 women have been adopted throughout the Sudan. 
 
 The Khalifa also abolished the name Fiki, which is 
 given to religious teachers. There is a Sudan proverb 
 which runs, " El Fiki yefik ed Din " (i.e. " The Fiki 
 analyses religion "), and the Khalifa knew well how 
 these fikis imposed on the minds of the people, how 
 they wrote amulets for preservation against the evil- 
 eye, - witchcraft, diseases, and ill-luck ; how they 
 pretended to be able to give women the means of 
 taking; revenge on their husbands whose love had 
 grown cold, and help those who desired to secure 
 the sole affection of their husbands. Abdullah well 
 knew how credulous were the Sudanese in such matters ; 
 already the Mahcli had given the strictest injunctions 
 that the practice of writing amulets was to be dis- 
 continued, and now the Khalifa was even more severe ; 
 he decreed that any fiki found writing an amulet should 
 lose his right hand, but in spite of these stringent 
 
CONSTRUCTION OF THE MATIDTS TOMB. 275 
 
 measures it is almost impossible to eradicate the 
 people's belief in these superstitions ; the Khalifa 
 himself has openly declared that he has not the 
 smallest belief in witchcraft, amulets, &c, and that 
 God, who is alone the Judge of right and wrong, has 
 alone the power to reward or punish. However, he is a 
 believer in the power of the evil-eye, and will never 
 permit a one-eyed man in his presence, as it is said 
 the one eye that is good can do great damage. 
 
 The Khalifa, like the Mahdi, is bent on the destruc- 
 tion of the old towns, so as to further wrap in oblivion 
 the former Government rule. Thus old Berber has 
 been long since deserted, and a new Berber has been 
 built just to the north of the old town. Of course 
 Omdurman — the Dervish Khartum — is by far the most 
 important of all the towns ; and being the place of the 
 death and burial of the Mahdi, it is quite right that it 
 should be the capital of the kingdom which he founded. 
 Just as Medina is one of the most holy places of Islam, 
 so is it considered advisable to raise Omdurman to a 
 similar position. 
 
 By far the most important and conspicuous structure 
 in Omdurman is the Mahdi's tomb ; and in spite of the 
 Khalifa's divergence from his Master's views, still he 
 considers it politic to show that he is grateful to his 
 benefactor. His desire was to build a tomb which 
 should excel everything between Omdurman and Alex- 
 andria. It is said that the dome can be seen three days' 
 journey from Omdurman, but on this point I am not 
 prepared to give an opinion, as I never went beyond 
 Khartum. From here, of course, the dome, rising high 
 above the miserable mud hovels and straw huts, is a 
 most conspicuous object, and it is certainly the tallest 
 of all the buildings in the Sudan. 
 
 Abdullah spared no expense in erecting this structure. 
 He first ordered the plans to be drawn out, and selected 
 that of the engineer Ismail, who was the architect of 
 the Sidi Hassan dome at Kassala. Omar, the former 
 Government architect, was lent to Ismail to assist him. 
 Laying the foundation stone was a great spectacle, and 
 
 T 2 
 
276 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 was celebrated with general rejoicing and festivity. 
 Enormous crowds collected to witness the ceremony. 
 Several people were crushed to death, and were looked 
 upon as fortunate to have died on such a day. 
 
 The work of construction was now vigorously taken 
 in hand. Khartum supplied the materials. Thousands 
 of people were sent there, and the work of destruction 
 went on apace. Walls were pulled down in order to 
 procure the burnt bricks, which were sent across to 
 Omdurman. The corner stones of Government house 
 were pulled out and used as the corner stones of the 
 dome. The woodwork was made by carpenter Mo- 
 hammed Bornawi. The masons were for the most part 
 Egyptians who had learnt their trade in the construc- 
 tion of the Mission house and church in Khartum ; and 
 by them the Dervish workmen were instructed how to 
 break down walls without destroying the bricks. The 
 foreman of works was in the habit of secretly chewing 
 tobacco, and one day he rather unguardedly put a piece 
 into his mouth ; but he had been observed by some of 
 the Dervishes, who fell upon him, knocked him down, 
 and would have torn him to pieces had not Wad Adlan 
 interposed and taken him off to the steamer, where he 
 concealed him. 
 
 In the eyes of the Dervishes it was an unpardonable 
 crime to chew the forbidden weed whilst working at the 
 dome of the Mahdi's tomb. Most of the Dervishes 
 worked without pay — " Fi shan Allah " (" For the sake 
 of God "), as they say. A small quantity of dhurra was 
 allowed them ; but the masons received pay. Lime was 
 obtained from Omdurman itself. 
 
 In order to push forward the work, Khalifa Abdullah, 
 accompanied by the two other Khalifas, and all the 
 emirs and judges, went to the river bank and assisted 
 to carry the stones to the dome. Of course the whole 
 town followed them. Abdullah put a great stone on 
 his shoulder and marched off with it. The others all 
 followed his example ; and in this way it took no time 
 to bring up all the stones required. The Khalifa 
 promised the Mahdi's blessing to all who assisted in 
 
ADORNMENT OF THE TOMB. 
 
 277 
 
 this work ; and he solemnly assured the labourers that 
 they should be possessors of as many palaces in paradise 
 as stones which they carried to the dome. The women 
 carried the water required for the work. The tomb is 
 built much in the same style as all Mohammedan domes 
 erected to the memory of some holy sheikh. 
 
 Several of the domes in the Sudan are made of clay ; 
 but the Khalifa had determined that the Mahdi's dome 
 should be the grandest in the Sudan. The mud hut in 
 which the Mahdi had died was pulled down, and a 
 square structure about thirty feet high built round the 
 spot, with large windows. Above this superstruc- 
 ture rose the dome some eighty feet above the ground. 
 The foundations were laid very deep, and the walls 
 were immensely thick. On the four corners of the 
 superstructure, and just where the dome begins, are 
 four round balls supported on four small pillars. On 
 the summit of the dome are three large balls, the centre 
 one being the largest ; and above these again is a 
 gigantic gilt spear-head resting on the balls. 
 
 The doorway is really a work of art which does credit 
 to Sudanese labour. It is painted in bright colours, 
 and was made in the arsenal at Khartum ; and when it 
 was finished, Yakub, the Khalifa's brother, himself went 
 to fetch it, and rewarded handsomely the men entrusted 
 with the work. The outside walls of the building are 
 white. At first they attempted to paint the tomb with 
 oil-colours ; but as they were not properly prepared, 
 the paint soon peeled off when it was dry, and so they 
 had to be content with simple whitewash. The fanatics 
 said that there had been some evil Christian substance 
 mixed with the paint, which prevented it sticking ; and 
 by its falling off, it proved that it was not acceptable to 
 the Mahdi. 
 
 The large windows admit a quantity of light into the 
 tomb, which is decorated inside with the most glaring 
 colours. The actual grave is not situated quite in the 
 centre of the building, and is covered by a painted 
 wooden catafalque. To reduce the glare, the windows 
 are well curtained. Every night, and all through the 
 
278 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDFS CAMP. 
 
 night, quantities of candles are kept burning ; and it is 
 impossible not to be impressed with the solemnity of 
 the tomb. The walls are so thick that the tropical sun 
 cannot penetrate, and there is always a cool refreshing 
 breeze inside. The rich perfumes with which the tomb 
 is being continually sprinkled fill the air with the most 
 agreeable odours. The surrounding wall, which marks 
 the limits of the Mahdi's original enclosure, is so high 
 as to conceal the superstructure on which the dome 
 rests. 
 
 This tomb means to the Sudan Moslems what the 
 Kaba at Mecca means to the thousands of pilgrims 
 who visit it ; but pilgrimage is not enjoined to the 
 Mahdi's tomb. To come to Omdurman is quite 
 sufficient without being obliged to go through various 
 ceremonies. Omdurman is detested in the Sudan ; and 
 no one who is not obliged to live there would stay for a 
 day longer than he could help ; and the farther people 
 can distance themselves from it, the better they like it. 
 
 Since the Mahdi appeared, pilgrimage to Mecca 
 ceased, because, while he was alive, a visit to him was 
 supposed to supply all its advantages. And when he 
 died, a visit to his tomb was supposed to confer even 
 greater benefits than the pilgrimage to Mecca. Several 
 of the Fallata, who, came from distant parts of Bornu, 
 Wadai, &c, were stopped at Omdurman when on their 
 way to Mecca. 
 
 - Thus have the Sudanese become schismatic to the 
 orthodox Moslem religion, asserting that those who do 
 not believe in the Mahdi, even though they be Moslems, 
 are unbelievers. Now, of course, all these ideas have 
 quite disappeared, and all true friends of Islam in the 
 Sudan bitterly deplore the present state of affairs. 
 Several people used to say to us, " Our position is a 
 most miserable one ! You Christians have nothing to 
 reproach yourselves with on the score of religion, but 
 with us Moslems such a state of affairs as the present is 
 too dreadful to contemplate, and we know no rest." A 
 great number of people now repeat, in the privacy of 
 their own homes, the daily prayers, although they have 
 
THE GREAT MOSQUE OF OMDUliMAN. 279 
 
 gone all through them in the mosque ; but as they do 
 not believe in the Mahdi, they consider the prayers said 
 in his mosque to be valueless. 
 
 Quantities of women visit the Mahdi's tomb ; for, 
 though most of them no longer believe in him as the 
 Mahdi, they still look upon him, on account of his great 
 victories, as a saint to whom God has given a great 
 position in the other world because of his holiness. 
 But, after all, these ideas are held for the most part by 
 his enormous circle of relations, whose motives are 
 always somewhat interested. 
 
 Khalifa Abdullah did not, however, confine himself only 
 to beautifying the Mahdi's tomb. Being now the sole 
 monarch, he desired also to beautify his own residence. 
 It will be remembered how, with Wad Adlan's assistance, 
 he had organized the beit el mal. Now, close to the 
 Mahdi's tomb, was the great mosque — not a mosque in 
 its usual sense, but an immense yard, which would hold 
 upwards of 70,000 men extended in long rows of 1,000. 
 It was roofed in by enormous mats, held up on in- 
 numerable forked sticks, which gave it the appearance 
 of a forest. This " rukuba," or kneeling-place, was 
 capable of holding 30,000 men, wdiose murmuring 
 sounded like distant thunder. At first the great en- 
 closing wall was made of mud ; but afterwards Khalifa 
 Abdullah had it pulled down, and a good wall made of 
 burnt bricks and lime. 
 
 The mihrab, or niche, marking the direction of Mecca, 
 in which the Mahdi repeated prayers, is situated a little 
 to the east of the centre, and is square in shape with 
 mud walls, and a gable roof, made of iron plates from 
 the Khartum arsenal ; gates open in the walls on the 
 north, south, east, and west. The mihrab is entered 
 from the west, but is well protected by branches of trees, 
 so as to prevent the Ansar from crowding up too close. 
 The floor is sprinkled with fine sand ; the Khalifa repeats 
 prayers in the big mosque on Friday at noon ; but he 
 says daily prayers in the rukuba, in which there is a 
 whitewashed platform about six feet high, on which he 
 stands. 
 
280 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 Close to the rukuba is a square building with thatched 
 gable roof supported by two pillars. This is open on 
 three sides, but surrounded by well-carved and painted 
 wooden railings : in this there is a seat about three feet 
 high, in which the Khalifa sits when he addresses the 
 Ansar. As one leaves the east gate of the rukuba, the 
 Khalifa's palace gate is visible, being built quite close 
 to the mosque. 
 
 The Khalifa's palace is known as the " Bab," just as 
 the Sultan's palace is known as the Bab Ali, or Porte. 
 This palace contains a number of different divisions, all 
 built of mud besmeared with red sand. Just within 
 the great gate is the only two-storied house in Omdur- 
 man, which the Khalifa has purposely built in order to 
 overlook the whole town, and from here he can see as 
 far as Kererri to the north, and as far as Omdurman fort 
 to the south. Gordon's ruined palace in Khartum is 
 also visible. Near the great gate, and close to the 
 outside wall of the mosque, is a building surrounded by 
 wooden railings, in which the judge sits and carries on 
 his court. 
 
 The Khalifa is very fond of going about to different 
 parts of the town, accompanied by crowds of people, 
 and as he found the narrow streets impeded his progress, 
 and detracted from his splendour, he ordered his engineer 
 Omar to construct broad straight roads to all the 
 principal places. This necessitated the removal of 
 thousands of mud huts, which were immediately de- 
 molished ; but I never heard that the proprietors 
 received any indemnity for the losses they sustained. 
 A broad road now leads from the north gate of the 
 mosque to the Hejira (or place from which expeditions 
 start) near the Khor Shambat. This road, as I pre- 
 viously mentioned, is called " the Martyr's Road." The 
 second large road leads from the west gate of the 
 mosque to the Arda (or parade place), and is known as 
 the " Darb el Arda." A third main road leads to the 
 southern Hejira, whence expeditions leave for Kordofan, 
 Darfur, &c. 
 
 In addition to these main roads are innumerable 
 
THE "BEIT EL A MAN A," Oil ARSENAL. 281 
 
 winding streets and lanes, to traverse which a guide is 
 absolutely necessary. The great Mahdi's dome forms 
 an excellent landmark. 
 
 The Khalifa pays the most special attention to the 
 requisites necessary for war, and for this purpose he has 
 had a laro-e building constructed a little to the south 
 
 o o 
 
 of the mosque, consisting of a large hall supported 
 by pillars, and built of burnt bricks. This is known as 
 the " beit el amana," and it is subdivided into various 
 compartments, in which are stored powder, ammunition, 
 guns, rifles, and other implements of war. This building 
 is entered through a large vaulted gate, and no other 
 houses are allowed to be built near it. It is surrounded 
 by a high wall, and is carefully guarded night and day 
 by detachments of soldiers. Within the yard the flags 
 are all firmly planted in the ground, and present the 
 appearance of a small forest of staves. The great black 
 flao; of the Khalifa Abdullah towers high above them 
 all. Near the flag yard is a small two-storied building, 
 in which the war-drums are stored, and they are pur- 
 posely pub high up so that they may be heard from a 
 greater distance. In front of the beit el amana is a 
 large open square connected with the mosque by one of 
 the main roads. 
 
 Besides his palace, Abdullah possesses a number of 
 other houses, which he visits from time to time. Of these 
 one is situated close to the bank of the White Nile, and 
 its roof is ornamented with two gigantic hippopotamus 
 heads. He has another house at the beit el mal, from 
 which he can easily reach the river, and embark on 
 one of his steamers to visit his Eastern Hejira, whence 
 expeditions start' for the Gezireh, or for Abyssinia. 
 And, lastly, he possesses a large house on the Arda, or 
 parade ground, and at the northern Hejira. In all these 
 houses he keeps up a large establishment of women. 
 
 Omdurman is built almost entirely of mud, the straw 
 huts or tokuls have disappeared. Every house-owner 
 surrounds his yard with a wall, in order to keep out 
 thieves and spies with which the city abounds. It is 
 not permitted to build good houses, as they might prove 
 
282 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 a temptation to their owners to hide money. Whenever 
 a man is known to be well off, or prosperous, he is 
 almost certain to have his wealth taken from him. 
 
 One of the most important places in Omdurman is the 
 market, to which a broad road leads from the mosque. 
 It is a place full of life, abounding in buyers and sellers, 
 as well as idlers, who come to tattle and pick up any 
 news they can. The proof that Mahdieh is not con- 
 sidered to be a durable regime is evident from the 
 feverish anxiety of everyone to hear the latest news, and 
 the market is the rendezvous for all news-seekers. Here 
 are collected merchants from Kordofan and the Gezireh, 
 from Berber, Dongola, and Sawakin, all earnestly 
 occupied in learning each other's news. 
 
 It is impossible to give an idea of the wild rumours 
 which are continually flying hither and thither. It is 
 equally impossible to separate the false news from the 
 true. On this account the market is looked upon by 
 the Khalifa with the utmost distrust, and he would 
 readily abolish it if he thought it was possible to do so. 
 It consists of a strange medley of shops and stalls, 
 workshops and straw huts. Khalifa Ali Wad Helu has 
 been put in charge of the place, he has apportioned 
 special quarters for each variety of goods, and the 
 different marts are now separated off in lines. 
 
 At night all goods, working tools, &c, are removed, 
 as it would never be safe to leave them there, so that in 
 the daytime the market is the very life of Omdurman, 
 while at night it is absolutely empty and deserted. 
 Since-, however, Wad Helu has taken it in hand, small 
 brick huts have been run up in which some merchants 
 lock up their goods, and leave them in charge of care- 
 takers. Cloth dealers, druggists, greengrocers, salt and 
 meat vendors, all have their special quarters now, as 
 well as gold- and silversmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, 
 tailors, and barbers. There are also special quarters for 
 public eating-houses, coffee-shops, firewood vendors, 
 builders, and shoemakers. 
 
 The women have their own separate divisions, and 
 for the last few years men have been forbidden to have 
 
THE INHABITANTS OF OMDURMAN. 
 
 283 
 
 any dealings with them. For the settlement of quarrels 
 and disputes which frequently occur in the market, there 
 is a special market court, presided over by a judge, and 
 all delinquents are interned in a large zariba quite open 
 to the sun's burning rays. Close to the zariba are three 
 sets of gallows, besides two others in different parts of 
 the town. The gallows are erected close to the market, 
 in the hope that if the executions are seen by the masses, 
 it will have a deterrent effect on crime. 
 
 The inhabitants of Omdurman are a conglomeration 
 of every race and nationality in the Sudan : Fellata, 
 Takruris, natives of Bornu, Wadai, Borgo, and Darfur ; 
 Sudanese from the Sawakin districts, and from Massawah ; 
 niggers as black as ebony, down to a light chocolate 
 colour, Niam Niam and Mombuttu cannibals, Bazeh, 
 Dinka, Shilluk, Kara, Janghe, Nuba, Berta, and Masalit ; 
 Arabs of every tribe — Baggara, Eizeghat, Taisha, 
 Homr, Howazma, Miserieh, Kababish, Habbanieh, Deg- 
 heim, Kenana, Gowameh, Bederieh, Beni Jerrar, Ge- 
 hena, inhabitants of Beni Shangul, and of Gezireh, 
 Shukrieh, Batahin, Hadarba, Hadendoa, Barabra, Jaalin, 
 Danagla, Egyptians, Abyssinians, Turks, Mecca Arabs, 
 Syrians, Indians, Europeans, Jews ; and all these 
 various nationalities have their own quarters, and marry 
 into their own tribes and sections. Arabic is the uni- 
 versal language, and all free inhabitants of the Sudan 
 speak it or corrupt dialects of it. 
 
 The Danagla, Barabra, and Hadendoa have their 
 own special languages ; but being derived from Arabic, 
 they are called " rotan," as if Arabic were the only 
 original language in the world — the language of Adam 
 and Eve, and the language of paradise. Arabic is not 
 compulsory, so the blacks still talk in their local 
 dialects. 
 
 The population of Omdurman amounts to about one 
 hundred and fifty thousand persons ; but it is by no 
 means fixed, for during the winter numbers quit the 
 town and go off into the Kordofan or Gezireh districts 
 to cultivate. But when the Khalifa orders a general 
 assembly, the numbers of course increase considerably. 
 
284 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 In 1888 the city was perhaps larger than at any other 
 time, for in that year the Khalifa ordered all the inhabi- 
 tants of the Gezireh to come and live in Omdurman. 
 The reason for this was never exactly known, but it was 
 thought he feared a revolt on the part of the Ashraf. 
 
 All the principal towns and villages on the Blue Nile 
 as far south as Karkoj have been destroyed, such as 
 Kemlin, Messalamieh, Wad Medina, Abu Haraz, Wad 
 el Abbas and Rufaa ; the inhabitants of all these towns, 
 men, women, and children, under great fatigue, had to 
 come to Omdurman, where they settled in the north of 
 the town near Khor Shambat. 
 
 All these severe measures quite alienated the people 
 from the Khalifa ; wives were furious with their husbands 
 for having so abjectly submitted to his yoke, and 
 it was now quite plain that they feared him greatly. 
 One word from him was sufficient to make them pull 
 down their houses, pack up their goods, load them on 
 camels, donkeys, and mules, and transport them to hated 
 and dreaded Omdurman. How they longed for the 
 Government they had so bitterly abused. " Alf turba 
 wala rial tulba " ("Thousands of graves are better than 
 a dollar tax ") had been their watchword in the beginning 
 of the revolt ; it had proved true with a vengeance, and 
 how bitterly they repented of their folly when it was 
 too late ! Khalifa Abdullah now gripped them in the 
 palm of his hand, and the utter disunion and discord 
 which he created between tribes and nationalities, made 
 all hope of future liberty and freedom quite out of the 
 question. 
 
 Those who detested Mahdiism prior to 1888 had much 
 greater cause to do so in 1889 and 1890 ; the first of 
 these years brought a terrible famine on the land, and 
 in 1890, though the actual period of want had passed 
 away, everything was excessively dear. 
 
 The 1888 harvest had turned out badly ; during the 
 summer of that year the Khalifa had issued stringent 
 orders that no one should keep more than one ardeb of 
 dhurra in his own house, under penalty of severe punish- 
 ment ; all over and above that amount was ordered to be 
 
BEGINNING OF THE FAMINE. 
 
 285 
 
 brought to the landing-stage at Omdurman ; and as 
 there were but few transport animals to carry the 
 dhurra into the town, their owners charged exorbitant 
 rates for its carriage, consequently large stores of it lay 
 on the bank, and quantities were stolen. 
 
 Soon the price per ardeb rose from twelve to twenty 
 dollars, and latterly to sixty dollars. Even the most 
 aged people, in the whole course of their existence, had 
 never seen such a famine as now fell on the land. 
 Continual wars had prevented cultivation, and want of 
 rain into the bargain were the main causes of this 
 terrible calamity. In 1878, when there was a scarcity 
 of rain, the price of dhurra never exceeded sixteen 
 dollars the ardeb, now the price was almost four times 
 as great. The supplies of corn received from Fashoda 
 alone saved Omdurman from absolute starvation. The 
 supplies from the Blue Nile were quite exhausted. Up 
 to 1889, Fashoda continued the supply mart ; the native 
 cultivators receiving in exchange glass beads, pieces of 
 copper, iron, cowries, and old Medjidie dollars ; and in 
 return for all this, the Khalifa despatched Zeki Tummal 
 and an army from Galabat, who treacherously murdered 
 their king, and fought these people who had actually 
 saved him and his capital from the jaws of death ! 
 
 The dhurra thus imported to Omdurman by the mer- 
 chants was unloaded there under the strictest watch, 
 and was sold to the Baggaras only at six dollars the 
 ardeb, under absolute compulsion, whilst the other 
 tribes had to purchase it at ten times that amount. 
 This called forth the bitterest complaints against the 
 Khalifa's injustice. 
 
 The awful scenes enacted by the starving inhabitants in 
 the market-place at Omdurman are beyond description. 
 People flocked from Berber, Kassala, Galabat, and 
 Karkoj, thinking that the distress would be less there 
 than it was in the provinces ; but here they were quite 
 mistaken. As one walked along, one could count fifty 
 dead bodies lying in the streets, and this quite irrespec- 
 fcive of those who died in their own homes. 
 
 In the provision market the sellers stood over their 
 
286 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDPS CAMP. ' 
 
 goods with big sticks in their hands, to turn away the 
 poor wretched skeletons who, with eyes deeply sunk in 
 the back of their heads, would cast wistful glances at 
 the food which was denied them. Sometimes twenty or 
 thirty of these miserable starving people would join 
 together, and, regardless of the blows showered upon 
 them, which covered their bodies with wounds and 
 bruises, they would wildly attack the sellers, madly 
 seize whatever they could lay their hands upon, and 
 swallow it on the spot, begrimed with dust, and probably 
 besmeared with their own blood. 
 
 Others would sneak about like wild beasts, their 
 loins covered with the merest rag, and if they saw 
 anyone alone carrying eatables, they would pounce 
 down on him like tigers, content even to seize a 
 handful. These were called " Khatafin " (i.e. snatchers, 
 or birds of prey), and at first they were fairly successful 
 in their sudden attacks ; but gradually people under- 
 stood what to be prepared for, and the wretched 
 creatures would be beaten off with sticks : hunger 
 seemed to make them insensible to pain. 
 
 One could see hundreds of these starving people 
 wandering about, mere bags of skin and bone, and 
 almost shapeless ; they would eat anything, no matter 
 how repulsive. The skins of the camels which had been 
 killed after the defeat of the Kababish and Gehena, and 
 which had been used as coverings for the roofs of the 
 houses, were now taken down, roasted, and eaten in 
 that condition. 
 
 Perhaps the most horrible scenes occurred at the 
 places where animals were slaughtered. Hundreds of 
 starving men and women would be seen standing 
 around with cups or gourds in their hands, ready to 
 catch the blood before it fell, and then, as the animal 
 would be writhing on the ground in its death-agony, 
 they would fall upon it to catch the blood as it flowed 
 out of its wound, whilst a crowd would be seen 
 struggling on the ground for the few drops which had 
 escaped and become mixed up with the dust and sand ; 
 these struggles generally ended in fights, in which the 
 
THE " KUA T A FIN" OR SNA TCT1EJIS. 
 
 287 
 
 receptacles were broken, and the people besmeared with 
 their contents, which added to the grim ghastliness of 
 this dreadful sight. No power on earth could have 
 restrained these poor sufferers — the pangs of hunger 
 had driven them mad. 
 
 Although famine swept off hundreds, still people 
 poured in from the provinces. Male camels and 
 bullocks had become scarce, and the females were now 
 slaughtered without mercy, even should they be with 
 young. Old bones of animals were ground to powder 
 and made into a sort of bread, which was eaten with 
 avidity ; even the decaying carcases of donkeys were 
 consumed in this terrible struggle for food. 
 
 But in all this wretched misery the Khalifa showed 
 no mercy, pity, or a desire to relieve these terrible 
 sufferings. He took good care that his Baggaras should 
 be fed, but for the others he cared not a jot. Hunger 
 certainly had the effect of bringing to the front all 
 manner of inventive genius ; as it was now no longer 
 possible to rob and steal, the khatafin decided to let the 
 sellers alone, provided they would not hinder them in 
 their attempts to get what they could out of the 
 buyers. 
 
 Omdurman was full of strangers who had no notion 
 of the existence of the " khatafin," and would carelessly 
 go to market to buy their food ; but no sooner had they 
 placed their money in the shopman's hands than the 
 " khatafin," with wild yells, would seize the money in a 
 trice, and leave the purchaser standing with empty 
 hands. Naturally, the shopmen would not deliver to 
 them the goods, the price of which had been stolen by 
 the " khatafin." 
 
 One could fill a book with the thousands of strange 
 episodes which occurred during this awful famine. 
 Children, deserted by their mothers — poor, wretched, 
 starving little things — would beg in the most pitiful, 
 heart-breaking way for alms. Beggars would follow 
 one about till late at night, and would stand about 
 one's house ; they would beg for hours even for a grain 
 of food. A poor naked little boy one day broke into 
 
288 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 our house, crying, " Gian Gowi ! " ("I'm very hungry!") 
 The tone in which it was said, the wistful, sunken eyes, 
 and the wretched condition of the boy, could not but 
 excite our pity, though hundreds of beggars had been 
 turned away before he came ; we fed him, and he 
 survived the terrible year of famine, but he had for- 
 gotten his name, so we always called him " Gian 
 Gowi." Often did I see poor little skeletons of infants 
 trying to get nourishment from their dead mother's 
 breasts. 
 
 The following instance will give the reader some 
 insight into the horrors of this famine. One day a 
 poor woman came to me with three starving children ; 
 she carried one in each arm, while the eldest cluno; 
 to her skirt, the whole four looked like wandering 
 skeletons. With a voice of agonised supplication, which 
 could come from a mother only, she earnestly begged 
 me to take the boy and feed him, and that if he 
 survived he could remain for ever my slave. Here was 
 a poor mother who preferred to see her child a slave 
 than to look on whilst he died of starvation before her 
 eyes. This touched me to the very heart, but I could 
 not accept the offer, for I had scarcely enough food for 
 myself, so I dismissed her with a handful of dhurra. 
 
 The next day the mother came with one child less, 
 and the third day she came with one child only ; and 
 at last she came alone, saying that she was now going 
 to follow her three loved children. After that I never 
 saw her again. If grief did not kill her, hunger must 
 certainly have claimed her as a victim. 
 
 One day a girl presented herself before the judge of 
 the market court, and reported that her mother had 
 roasted her little brother and eaten him, and that now 
 she had run away, as she was afraid she might suffer 
 the same fate. The Kadi at once sent some soldiers 
 with the girl to seize the unnatural mother ; they 
 found a poor half-starved woman with an ear and a 
 piece of a leg. She was taken before the Kadi, and 
 took a solemn oath that the only child she ever had 
 was the girl ; she was immediately interned in the 
 
TERRIBLE SCENES AND SUFFERINGS. 
 
 289 
 
 zariba, and the matter reported to the Grand Kadi, 
 who ordered the leg and ear to be exposed on the 
 gallows. Even the savage blacks, who were har- 
 dened by constant warfare, were impressed with the 
 horror of the poor woman's action, and crowded 
 round the zariba to gaze at her ; but it was soon dis- 
 covered that the wretched creature was raving mad, so 
 the Khalifa pardoned her, but she died a few days 
 afterwards. 
 
 It was never safe for children to appear in the streets 
 at night, or they would certainly have been seized by 
 the starving people. One evening I heard a cry at my 
 door, and myself and several neighbours at once ran 
 out to see what was the matter. AVe saw a man 
 dragging a boy away : we at once gave chase, and the 
 man dropped the boy and fled ; he intended to have 
 a good meal off the boy that night. 
 
 During the famine several sold themselves or their 
 children into slavery ; but when it was all over, the 
 Khalifa ordered all such to be set free without re- 
 muneration to their masters. 
 
 Dervishes, who had heaped insults on the Turks 
 during the siege of El Obeid for eating donkeys, and 
 other unclean animals, were now feeling Heaven's 
 vengeance, for not only did they eat unclean animals, 
 but their own children as well. There were so many 
 dead bodies about that it was not possible to bury 
 them all. At first they used to bury them within the 
 city, but the Khalifa put a stop to this, and they were 
 then taken out to the north-west side, and up to this 
 day, if anyone walks in that direction he will find the 
 plain scattered with innumerable skulls and human 
 bones, which lie there glistening in the sun, as white as 
 snow ; the driving sand and burning sun have polished 
 them like glass. 
 
 How many dead bodies were carried away by the 
 Nile, God only knows ; if people thought of it I do not 
 think they would ever eat any more fish, for the fish 
 must have had a surfeit of human flesh. The scent of 
 the dead bodies brought hyenas everywhere, and they 
 
 u 
 
290 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUD PS CAMP. 
 
 became so bold that they would come almost up to my 
 door. As for the vultures, their name was legion, but 
 even they with the help of the hyenas were unable to 
 consume all the bodies. 
 
 Let us leave Omdurman for a moment and trace the 
 course of the famine in the provinces. In Dongola and 
 Berber the price of dhurra rose to one hundred dollars 
 an ardeb. 
 
 The entire districts between Omdurman and Berber 
 had become depopulated. In a hut might be found a 
 man, his wife and children all lying dead on their 
 angaribs. Even in the salt districts near Shencli, almost 
 the entire population had died of hunger. In Kassala 
 and Galabat matters were even worse ; here the price of 
 an ardeb had gone up to two hundred and fifty dollars, 
 and even for this enormous price it was almost impos- 
 sible to get it, for there was really none in the country. 
 The great Shukrieh tribe had eaten almost all their 
 camels, and its numbers had dwindled from forty 
 thousand to four thousand souls. 
 
 The large tribe of Wad Zayid (the Debaineh) in the 
 neighbourhood of Gedaref, who for his opposition to 
 Mahdiism had been thrown into prison in Omdurman, 
 had become almost extinct. The population of Kassala, 
 Galabat, and Gedaref had dwindled almost to nothing. 
 Zeki Tummal, to obtain food for his troops, had merci- 
 lessly robbed the corn merchants and compelled them 
 to give up their very last supplies ; he left them with- 
 out even a handful. 
 
 Around Galabat the hyenas became so bold that they 
 would sneak into the villages almost before the sun was 
 down and drag off the wretched half-dead people. Out 
 of Zeki's force of eighty-seven thousand souls before 
 the famine there remained, after it was over, only ten 
 thousand, including women and children. Karkoj and 
 Sennar, which were generally called the granaries of the 
 Sudan, were desolated by famine. It was, indeed, 
 Heaven's terrible retribution on a people who had 
 practised untold cruelties and shed rivers of innocent 
 blood. 
 
THE TLA G UE OF LOCUSTS. 
 
 291 
 
 So great was the distress that it became a general 
 saying that any one who did not die in 1889 would 
 never die ; and this year, corresponding to the year 
 1306 Moslem era, will remain engraven for ever on the 
 minds of those who went through the famine in the 
 Sudan and had the good fortune to survive it. 
 
 AVhea the first supplies of the new harvest reached the 
 market, there was the most heartfelt joy throughout the 
 country, and every one congratulated his neighbour on 
 the termination of their distress ; but even the new 
 harvest was not good, and dhurra did not go below 
 twenty-four dollars the ardeb. The locusts did much 
 harm to the harvest, and this plague has devastated the 
 land now for nearly four years. 
 
 There are two sorts of locusts, the yellow and the 
 bright red, and they have infested the whole country from 
 Kordofan to Dongola and to Tokar. They came in such 
 swarms that at times the sun was obscured ; on one 
 occasion they passed through Omdurman, and took from 
 two to three hours to do so. The rushing sound they 
 made alarmed the people greatly, and wherever they es- 
 tablished themselves they left the place completely bare. 
 They demolished the hard palm leaves so completely that 
 it seemed as if they had been cut with a pair of scissors ; 
 even the bark of the trees they did not spare. Where- 
 ever they settle they look like a big cloud, which com- 
 pletely covers streets, roofs, and walls. Sudanese, as a 
 rule, sleep out of doors, so that their beds were covered 
 as well, and as soon as one swarm was driven off another 
 settled. 
 
 Locusts are considered by the Sudanese as a great 
 delicacy, and when well roasted in butter they taste like 
 fried fish ; the locusts generally came between June and 
 September, just when the harvest is ripening or the new 
 crops sprouting after the rains. There is no attempt 
 made to destroy their eggs. Another plague was mice : 
 these little animals, which are of a reddish colour, came 
 in such quantities as to drive the cultivators to despair. 
 No sooner was the seed in the ground than the mice 
 had rooted it up and eaten it. Often the fields had 
 
 u 2 
 
292 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAEDPS CAMP. 
 
 to be planted two and three times over ; and then when 
 a heavy rain came the mice would all be drowned, and 
 as the water subsided the ground would be covered with 
 the dead bodies of these little animals. 
 
 It seemed as if the entire Sudan lay under a curse. 
 The people knew it too, and looked upon it as God's 
 righteous judgment on them for the evil deeds they 
 had been prompted to do at the instigation of a wicked 
 and false Mahdi. 
 
( 293 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE KHALIFA AND HIS GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The Khalifa's system of government — His household — An outline of 
 his character — His system of prayers in the mosque — His visions 
 and dreams — 'His espionage system — His household troops — ■ 
 His great activity and circumspection — The great Friday review 
 described— The emigration of the Baggara and western tribes to 
 Omdurman — The flight of Sheikh Ghazali — Management of 
 the beit el mal — System of taxation. 
 
 This chapter I propose to devote to a brief description 
 of Khalifa Abdullah and his system of government. 
 
 Abdullah is a Baggara of dark chocolate-coloured 
 complexion, with a long and prominent nose ; he wears 
 a short beard cut according to the Moslem custom. 
 When I first saw him at the siege of El Obeid he was 
 very thin, but now he is extremely stout, and his skin 
 hangs in great folds underneath his eyes ; he has a 
 strong clear voice, and though well instructed in Arabic, 
 he cannot conceal his Baggara dialect and accent. 
 
 His dress consists of the usual Dervish jibbeh and 
 drawers, he also wears sandals, and over his jibbeh, 
 which is generally reeking with grease and fat, he wears 
 a tob or light cotton cloth ; on his head is the usual 
 Mecca takia, round which a turban is bound. 
 
 As regards food, the Khalifa is more moderate and 
 simple than the Mahdi ; he still adheres to his native 
 dishes — asida (a sort of polenta), eaten with milk or 
 meat, over which a strong sauce full of spices and 
 pepper is poured. Sometimes he eats roasted chicken 
 and drinks quantities of milk and sugar, especially 
 camels' milk, to which all Baggaras are devoted. He 
 has no fixed hours for food, but eats whenever he feels 
 
294 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 so inclined ; and it is perfectly astonishing the amount 
 of food which a Sudanese can consume at a sitting. 
 
 Like his master the Mahdi and all important persons 
 in the Sudan, the Khalifa is much addicted to harem 
 life. Shortly after he had established himself as 
 supreme ruler, he thought to surround himself with all 
 the pomp and splendour of a Sudanese Sultan, of which 
 the most important item is a very extensive harem. 
 As the Mahdi had done before, so did he take to him- 
 self numbers of wives. AVherever a pretty woman is to 
 be found, he at once gets information about her from his 
 spies, and she is immediately brought to the harem. 
 
 Each of his wives has her own house, kitchen, and 
 slaves quite apart from the rest, consequently the 
 expenditure of his household is considerable. His first 
 wife is head of all the other wives, who now number 
 one hundred and fifty. She is a Baggara woman, and 
 is waited on by numbers of eunuchs, who were formerly 
 in the service of the Turkish and Egyptian pashas ; and 
 although the making of eunuchs is strictly prohibited 
 by Mahdi law, nevertheless the Khalifa secretly employs 
 numbers of persons who arrange to supply eunuchs 
 when required. 
 
 The chief eunuch is a certain Abdel Gayum, who is 
 head of the entire household. He has under his orders 
 numbers of female slaves, who grind dhurra and prepare 
 the food ; it is estimated that three ardebs of dhurra a 
 day are consumed in the Khalifa's household. 
 
 Abdullah is endowed by nature with a good con- 
 stitution, but his irregular mode of life has gone far 
 to destroy it. Twice he has had severe attacks which 
 have all but killed him ; on both occasions he was 
 delirious, and his body became enormously distended. 
 The last time he was ill all hope of his recovery had 
 been given up, and the doctor who was attending him, 
 and had given him a purgative, was on the point of 
 being beheaded, when at the last moment the medicine 
 took effect, and was the happy means of saving the lives 
 of both the Khalifa and his doctor. 
 
 The Khalifa's illnesses are always kept secret, so that 
 
SKETCH OF THE KHALIFA'S CHARACTER. 
 
 295 
 
 whenever he fails to attend prayers, it is generally 
 thought that he is sick. Fifteen davs after the last crisis, 
 and when all danger was over, Abdullah summoned the 
 other two Khalifas and the judges to show them that 
 he had recovered, whereupon Khalifa Ali at once offered 
 up a prayer of thanksgiving, though, if his real feelings 
 had been analysed, it would have been found that he 
 was anything but thankful. After leaving Abdullah, 
 the Khalifas announced to the people in the mosque 
 that he had been very dangerously ill, but that God in 
 His mercy had spared him. 
 
 This news was the signal for a wild shout of delight, 
 which reached the Khalifa's ears and pleased him not a 
 little. Eight days afterwards he appeared for the first 
 time in the mosque, then the rejoicings knew no 
 bounds, and the shouts were heard miles off; all the 
 emirs congratulated him on his recovery, and the air 
 resounded with the cries of " Allah etawil Omrak ! " 
 (" May God prolong your life ! ") All this flattery pleased 
 the Khalifa immensely, and this eye-service is a particu- 
 larly highly-developed characteristic of the Sudanese. 
 
 And now a few words as to the Khalifa's character : 
 he is an intensely vain and proud man, very cruel and 
 quick-tempered. Occasionally his ideas are good, but 
 he is surrounded by so many fanatics that his ideas, 
 however good they may be, generally die almost before 
 they are born. He is of a most distrustful nature, 
 because he knows he is surrounded by enemies — thus 
 he is a curious mixture of resolution and inconstancy. 
 He listens eagerly to calumnies, and delights in hearing 
 evil spoken of other people ; this causes his decisions to 
 be changeable and capricious ; he is guided a good deal 
 by what low slanderers tell him, but they have to watch 
 his temper very closely, and have become great adepts 
 at humouring him. He is fearful and jealous of his 
 authority, and the very smallest infringement of it is 
 looked upon as a most serious crime and punished 
 accordingly. He has surrounded himself with spies, 
 who pander to his jealous and tyrannical nature. 
 
 These spies are everywhere, they get into private 
 
29G TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDFS CAMP. 
 
 houses, attend every meeting, and often start a dis- 
 cussion against the Khalifa and against Mahdiism, 
 merely to draw the unwary into a trap and make them 
 divulge their real feelings and opinions. He is told 
 about the most trivial thing, and sometimes during his 
 speeches and sermons he will give way to the wildest 
 denunciation of his unfavourable critics. He knows 
 perfectly well that he is hated, but he will never allow 
 it to be said openly ; for, though he cares little whether 
 he is liked or disliked, he does not wish anything to 
 intervene between him and his authority. 
 
 The Khalifa adheres most strictly to the prescribed 
 forms of prayer ; every day he attends five times in 
 the mosque and enforces the presence of all the prin- 
 cipal emirs. He does not like the Ansar to get into 
 comfortable and luxurious modes of life, but insists on 
 their always being hardened and in readiness to with- 
 stand the fatigues of war ; all prayers end with the 
 " fatha," * after which is an invocation for the victory of 
 religion, the long life of the Khalifa, and the continual 
 success of his arms ; then follows a prayer calling down 
 God's vengeance on unbelievers and those who have 
 erred from the paths of Mahdiism, and asking that 
 their wives and children may be given as 'booty to the 
 true believers ; at the end of the prayers the whole 
 congregation joins in a loud "Amen." 
 
 After afternoon and evening prayers, the Khalifa 
 generally holds short political conversations, in which 
 the affairs of the empire and of the capital are dis- 
 cussed ; he receives his emirs and gives them instruc- 
 tions ; he frequently gives discourses from the place in 
 which he repeats prayers, and sometimes turns and 
 addresses in the most benevolent manner those who are 
 gathered around him with heads bent in obedient 
 submission. If he bears any one a grudge, he never 
 attempts to conceal it, but refers to it in the most open 
 manner in the mosque, when the culprit generally 
 
 * The first chapter in the Kuran ; it is held in great veneration 
 by Mohammedans, and is used by them very much as the Paternoster 
 is recited by Roman Catholics. 
 
PUNISHMENT OF ABSENTEES FROM THE MOSQUE. 297 
 
 comes hurriedly forward, throws himself at his feet, 
 and implores forgiveness : if he fails to do this, he is 
 generally threatened with imprisonment. 
 
 The mosque is at the same time both barracks and 
 prison, for here he teaches his followers humbleness, 
 obedience, and submission. He frequently repeats his 
 orders that all should be most punctual in their atten- 
 dance at the mosque, and if, when the appointed hour 
 comes, people are found in the streets, they are in- 
 variably flogged and carried off to the zariba. This is 
 the way the Khalifa tests the obedience of his people, 
 and assures himself that they are at all times ready to 
 obey his smallest behest. 
 
 The highest punishment possible for an absentee is 
 that he shall attend regularly at the mosque five times 
 a day for eighteen months, under a police guard, who is 
 as a rule a Baggara, and who never lets him out of his 
 sight. A man under such a sentence may, if he have 
 money, pay a fine or bribe his guard ; but if he cannot 
 do this he must attend, no matter how far off his house 
 may be. Some unfortunate people who live a long way 
 off spend their whole day in going backwards and 
 forwards between their dwellings and the mosque. The 
 emirs even, if they neglect this order, are very severely 
 dealt with. This enforced attendance at prayers has 
 greatly added to the unpopularity of the Khalifa, for 
 work is being continually interrupted, and all real feel- 
 ings of religion are subverted. 
 
 Formerly every important emir and fiki had his own 
 rukuba, in which he prayed with his own people ; but 
 the Khalifa put a stop to this, fearing that all such 
 meetings w^ould ■ have a tendency to conspiracy and 
 mutiny. He himself is much more a supporter of 
 authority than of religion, but he induces the former 
 through the latter. Personally, he cares little for reli- 
 gion. All his absurd dreams and imaginary visions only 
 make him a laughing-stock of the people, and he is 
 considered by the orthodox Moslems to be an absolute 
 heretic. 
 
 On one occasion, when his spies reported to him that 
 
298 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAI7DFS CAMP. 
 
 he was very unpopular, and that it was the general 
 wish that he should die, he withdrew for three days. 
 This considerably alarmed the people, for they had no 
 notion what form of revenge he might not be preparing 
 for them. At the end of this period he reappeared, 
 and from his place in the mosque he announced as 
 follows : — 
 
 " I have been taken in the spirit to the third heaven, 
 where I beheld the Mahdi, the Prophet Elias, and Jesus 
 Christ ; when I saluted the Mahdi, he introduced me 
 at once to the two prophets ; the Prophet Elias had a 
 very ruddy and sunburnt appearance, and took me 
 very roughly by the hand ; but the Prophet Jesus 
 was white and soft as wool. These two prophets were 
 pleased to know me, and I represented to the Mahdi 
 that I had no desire to quit this pleasant heaven ; I 
 begged him, therefore, to send some one to rule my 
 people instead of me, as I was tired and exhausted by 
 trying to govern people who did not care for me ; but 
 the Mahdi told me not to lose heart, and that he would 
 give me power to please all ; the Mahdi also told me 
 that he was quite satisfied with my ruling. He after- 
 wards took me into the presence of God, who also 
 showed pleasure at knowing the Khalifa of the Mahdi." 
 
 All true Moslems who heard this extraordinary tissue 
 of lies were very angry that he should dare to take 
 God's name in vain in this way, and thoroughly under- 
 stood his reasons for having such absurd and blasphemous 
 pretensions. 
 
 On another occasion he was told that the two 
 Khalifas were very dissatisfied with his arbitrary ruling, 
 and resented being excluded from a share in the 
 government of the country. This induced another 
 vision, in which he declared that the Mahdi had told 
 him he should live eight years more, after which the 
 Prophet Jesus would appear. In this way he gave 
 them to understand that they had not much hope of 
 being given any authority ; but this vision appeared to 
 have exactly the opposite effect on the Khalifas, who 
 became more clamorous than ever. He therefore in- 
 
SKETCH OF THE KHALIFA'S DAILY LIFE. 299 
 
 structed his " vision secretary " to withdraw this vision 
 from circulation, and added that should any one ever be 
 heard talking on this subject again, he would be 
 punished by the loss of a hand and a foot. And then 
 he tried to justify his action by declaring that it was 
 the fault of his secretaries, who had put an entirely 
 different construction on the vision to what he had 
 intended, and indeed to what he had actually seen ! 
 
 After noonday prayers he ordered extracts to be 
 read from the book dealing with the early wars of 
 Islam. This was quite a new departure. To keep any 
 book on religion or religious history, it was necessary, 
 in the first instance, to obtain the Khalifa's permission ; 
 and indeed it was very difficult to keep any such books 
 safe from the wild fanaticism of the Dervishes. It was 
 the Mahdi's intention to destroy, as far as possible, 
 everything which would serve to remind his people of 
 the old days, so that they should believe the more 
 readily in his revelations only. 
 
 The Khalifa will not accept written petitions, as he 
 himself cannot read. If any one has a complaint to 
 make, he must call out, as the Khalifa enters the 
 mosque for prayers, " Khalifat el Mahdi ! " or " Sidi ! " 
 or he may cry out, " Ya Sidi ana mazlum ! " (" Master, 
 I am oppressed ! ") Abdullah then listens to what he 
 has to say, and decides the matter. Whether the 
 decision be favourable or not to the complainant, he 
 must be satisfied with it. 
 
 Gifts and alms are frequently besought of the Khalifa, 
 chiefly because he is not of such a benevolent nature as 
 the Mahdi, and moreover, he has less to dispose of than 
 his predecessor. ' 
 
 If the Khalifa does not at once dispose of a case that 
 is brought before him, it is a sure sign that he has no 
 intention of giving a decision on it, and woe to him 
 who dares to again bring forward the question ! 
 Abdullah gets very angry if he is interrupted when 
 speaking. The various expressions of content, restless- 
 ness, and revenge are so clearly portrayed on his face 
 that one seldom mistakes the frame of mind he is in at 
 
300 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAUDES CAME. 
 
 any particular time, though he often vainly tries to 
 conceal his actual feelings. 
 
 There are some people in Omdurman who make the 
 expressions of the Khalifa's face their study, and are 
 wonderful adepts at knowing what is passing in his 
 mind. They listen attentively to every word he says, 
 and their estimates of his moods go the round of their 
 friends, but are often rather distorted in course of 
 transmission. These thought-readers assign causes to 
 his various moods, which they put down to a variety of 
 reasons, such as ill-health, a disaster, or a quarrel with 
 one of his many wives. All these reports spread at 
 once throughout the country, and one would think that 
 the people had nothing else to do but to discuss the 
 Khalifa and every incident of his daily life. And 
 perhaps this is not to be wondered at, since he exercises 
 so indiscriminately the powers of life and death. One 
 word from the Khalifa is able to rouse up the energies 
 of all those spies whose special duty it is to report the 
 smokers and marissa-drinkers. The liberal payment to 
 them of bribes by these law-breakers occasionally serves 
 to make them neglect their duties ; but should the 
 Khalifa wish to replenish the waning supplies of the 
 beit el mal, the reporting of a few delinquents rapidly 
 fills the exchequer again. 
 
 The Khalifa is a man of great activity, and personally 
 directs all important matters. He receives reports on 
 the most trivial affairs, and is always overwhelmed with 
 business. This, however, helps to keep him in health, 
 and prevents him leading a life of sensual ease to 
 which his inclinations undoubtedly tend. He has 
 nothing but his activity to thank for the fact that he is 
 still alive, though during the last few years he has 
 greatly deteriorated in this respect, consequent on his 
 indulging more than usual his uxorious appetites. 
 
 After morning prayers he generally takes a short sleep, 
 and during the remainder of the day he is busy with 
 the affairs of State. Posts are continually coming and 
 going ; and the telegraph having been destroyed, a 
 camel postal service has been organised, but is exclu- 
 
THE KHALIFA'S BODY-GUARD. 
 
 301 
 
 sively used for official letters. Any one who wishes to 
 send private letters must do so through the intermediary 
 of merchants and travellers. 
 
 After the day's work is over, the Khalifa delights in 
 gossiping till late in the night, surrounded by his emirs 
 and judges. Sometimes just before midnight he will 
 again enter the mosque, and will summon the poets to sing 
 his praises. He delights in music, and keeps a number 
 of l)ar Fertit and Niam Niam singers, who accompany 
 themselves on the rubaba (a sort of native guitar), and 
 their strange and weird melodies delight the Khalifa's 
 soul. These native musicians have a sort of school of 
 music, in which they practise all day ; but they never 
 seem to learn anything new. 
 
 Abdullah is by no means a ruler in name only. His 
 palace is crowded with male and female servants, slaves, 
 eunuchs, and young boys, who continually wait upon 
 him, and carry after him the inevitable "ibrik." One 
 slave is especially told off to carry the " farwa" or sheep- 
 skin to the mosque. The other servants are called 
 mulazimin, and act rather in the capacity of spies than 
 personal attendants. A good or bad word from them 
 has no small weight with the Khalifa. Of course they 
 are all submission to their master ; and if they have 
 been brought up in the Khalifa's service, when the time 
 comes he permits them to marry, and gives them a 
 horse as well — the two things they long for most. The 
 Khalifa has also his special barber, who is a slave ; and 
 his master of the horse, who is an immensely tall Dinka. 
 He has also a sort of giant slave who lifts him on and 
 off his horse. His life-guards consist of 500 black 
 slaves armed with Eemington rifles, who always accom- 
 pany the Khalifa whenever he rides out. They wear a 
 very short jibbeh — not unlike a soldier's tunic — and 
 short knickerbockers. Amongst them are about 100 
 Taisha and Homr Arabs, whose special duty is to 
 prevent any one approaching the Khalifa's person. To 
 further add to his prestige, he has also appointed an 
 honourable council, composed of all the principal sheikhs 
 of the great Sudan tribes. 
 
302 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 His mulazimin el bab, or " household cavalry," are 
 obliged to be in continual attendance at the great gate 
 of the palace, and never quit their posts until Abdullah 
 has retired for the night. He occasionally selects one 
 or two of their principal officers to despatch on important 
 missions into the provinces. The household cavalry 
 rank next to the judges in the mosque precedence. If 
 any man seek employment, he must attend at the 
 mosque at prayer-time and humbly make known his 
 request to the Khalifa ; and if he wishes to succeed, he 
 must not be sparing in the lavishness of the compli- 
 ments with wdiich he prefaces his demand. The Khalifa 
 is specially open to such eye-service, and always selects 
 for his servants persons who possess this qualification in 
 a marked degree. 
 
 The business affairs of State are conducted by an 
 army of clerks, of whom the most influential are Fauzi, 
 Muntasser, Abu el Gharem, and Ahmed ; these are all 
 men who possess a good knowledge of Arabic, and know 
 something of history and the Moslem laws ; they read 
 all incoming letters to the Khalifa, and answer them in 
 accordance with his directions ; one of these clerks is 
 his special seal-bearer ; all letters are supposed to be 
 strictly confidential, as well as the deliberations and 
 discussions of the council. If he ever mentions a matter 
 in public, in which he conveys blame or censure, then it 
 is understood that this is merely a warning ; if he 
 wishes to inflict punishment, then the culprit is seized 
 unawares, and the chastisement or imprisonment in- 
 flicted without further ado ; thus does he bring the men 
 of the Sudan low before him, and tramples on their 
 necks. 
 
 Abdullah specially delights in a display of mag- 
 nificence ; whenever large expeditions start from any 
 of the hejiras, he generally proceeds there in the after- 
 noon, returning in the evening. Latterly he has made 
 fewer of these excursions, as much work and an irregular 
 life are beginning to tell upon him. He never announces 
 beforehand what he intends to do, but just before noon- 
 day prayers the onbeia is sounded, and a herald shouts 
 
"KHALIFAT EL MAIIDI YEBKAB: 
 
 303 
 
 " Khalifat el Mahdi yerkab " (" The Khalifa of the Mahdi 
 is about to ride out ") ; then everyone who owns a horse 
 prepares to mount and accompany him. The horses in 
 Omdurman have become so accustomed to the sound 
 that whenever they hear the onbeia they begin to neigh 
 and prance, as if rejoicing in the honour of being allowed 
 to join the Khalifa's ride. 
 
 Immediately after prayers the giant slave puts him 
 on his horse, and as he proceeds, hundreds of horse- 
 men and thousands of men on foot follow him shouting 
 and showing all the signs of joy. He always carries a 
 large spear, and is little different from other riders. 
 These latter do not march quietly behind, but con- 
 tinually dash forward in groups of four and eight, their 
 spears poised to strike, then suddenly pull up and re- 
 enter the ranks ; this "fantasia " delights the mob, who 
 shout the most violent applause. 
 
 During these excursions the Khalifa observes care- 
 fully all that is going on around him and what the 
 people are doing. On one occasion, when he rode to 
 the beit el mal and was surveying the mighty river, a 
 woman wearing man's clothes was brought to him from 
 a ship close by. In reply to the Khalifa's question 
 what she was doing, she said she was preparing the 
 crew's food ; he then asked if she was married, and she 
 said no, thereupon he began joking and presented her 
 to Wad Adlan ; but the latter, seeing that she was 
 neither young nor pretty, readily answered that he was 
 already possessor of the four lawful wives. The Khalifa 
 could not of course violate the law, so he summoned 
 the captain of the ship and insisted on him marrying 
 this old creature on the spot ; he also casually remarked 
 that the sailors had a noggara (copper drum) on board, 
 and he immediately gave a general order that no drums 
 were to be allowed on board boats. 
 
 ( )n another occasion he noticed a very thick cloud of 
 smoke, and on inquiry he found that it came from a 
 soap manufactory ; he therefore immediately issued 
 orders that the soap monopoly rested with the beit el 
 malj and that any other manufactory was prohibited. 
 
304 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 In this way he deprived numbers of people of a means 
 of livelihood. 
 
 One day he remarked a large heap of sewage in the 
 centre of the town, which spread a most foul odour all 
 around ; this was the cause of the Khalifa himself 
 stating in the mosque that if, when he inspected the 
 town three days hence, he found any refuse, the tres- 
 passers should be very severely punished. 
 
 Everyone now became directly responsible for the 
 cleanliness of his own dwelling and its vicinity, and 
 this order had a most excellent effect ; it was further 
 enforced by the presence of horsemen, who took good 
 care to see that the instructions were carefully carried 
 out. The Khalifa also went so far as to order that if 
 any impurity should be found in the public streets, the 
 owner of the defiled place should carry it away himself 
 with his own hands to the appointed place. This was a 
 cause of great delight to the street-arabs, who heaped 
 insults on the disgraced individual by shouting after 
 him " Shalhu ! " ("He has taken it away ! ") But as it 
 was with the Mahdi, so it is with the Khalifa — at first 
 orders are obeyed with the greatest alacrity, and then 
 people get as careless as ever. Omdurman at the 
 present time is by no means a particularly clean or 
 sanitary town. 
 
 The occasions on which the Khalifa appears in the 
 greatest splendour are when he rides to parade. In 
 accordance with the Mahdi's orders, these reviews have 
 always taken place on Fridays, no matter what the 
 weather may be, rain, sunshine, or sandstorm. The 
 review, or " Arda," as it is called, is a religious cere- 
 mony, and those who take part in it are supposed to 
 obtain special blessings and advantages. The Mahdi 
 of course wanted to keep up the martial spirit of his 
 followers, and therefore he based his reviews on religious 
 grounds. Sometimes Khalifa Abdullah is absent from 
 these parades, in which case his brother Yakub takes 
 his place. 
 
 On parade days the great war-drums begin beating 
 two hours before sunrise, and the slaves whose duty it 
 
BEATING THE WAll-DRUMS. 805 
 
 is to beat them have two varieties of cadence, whilst a 
 small drum beaten in quick time completes the call to 
 
 A TROPHY OF ARMS, BANNERS AND DRUMS CAPTURED FROM THE 
 
 DERVISHES. 
 
 arms. The people apply all sorts of expressions to the 
 beating in quick time, such as " Nakelkum " or " Xak- 
 
 x 
 
306 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 tulkuni'' ("We will eat you up," or ""We will kill 
 ) r ou i.e. their enemies. In the stillness of the night 
 these drums are heard a very long way off, and in the 
 terrible times of the Mahdi wars their weird and 
 monotonous roll created a most sad and depressing 
 effect on me. 
 
 Immediately after morning prayers the leaders pro- 
 ceed to the flag yard, each takes his flag, and they all 
 stand in line in the open space in front of the beit el 
 amana. 
 
 The flags of the Khalifas Abdullah and Ali Wad 
 Helu are kept quite apart. Khalifa Sherif seldom goes 
 out, and keeps himself as much as possible from appear- 
 ing anywhere in public with Abdullah, with whom he is 
 on very bad terms, because he has been deprived of all 
 authority. 
 
 The four drum-beaters stand in front of the flags, and 
 gradually the followers all collect round their respective 
 leaders. As soon as the sun rises they begin shouting, 
 and then march to the parade ground. Arrived here, 
 the flags are all placed in line. The horsemen follow 
 Yakub or any other person whom the Khalifa may 
 delegate. 
 
 The Ansar are drawn up in a long line facing east- 
 wards, and all the people immediately rush to get into 
 the various divisions to which they belong. Then the 
 onbei'a sounds to indicate that the great master himself 
 is arriving ; this is the signal for all those who have 
 stayed behind, attempting to shirk parade, to rush 
 helter-skelter to the ranks, as the Khalifa gets very 
 angry unless the review is well attended. He is 
 generally mounted on a very good camel led by Wad 
 Beshir ; he sits with drawn sword, and moves very 
 slowly, surrounded by his black life-guards formed in 
 square. 
 
 The four onbei'a-blowers march just in front, and take 
 it in turns to sound the great elephant's tusk. Behind 
 the Khalifa folloAv the mulazimin riding. Arrived on 
 parade he first inspects the whole line, and occasionally 
 performs some cavalry manoeuvres in the hills which 
 
THE KHALIFA'S GRAND REVIEWS. 
 
 307 
 
 stretch towards Kererri. These hills are supposed to 
 be the abode of the Jinns,* who are said to be the 
 Khalifat auxiliaries in battle, and he frequently 
 indulges in visions, retiring into a small hut, while the 
 Ansar have to stand outside waiting for hours in the 
 
 o 
 
 burning sun. 
 
 At length he gives the signal to march off ; again the 
 Hags unite in two groups, followed by the shouting 
 1 >ervishes. The horsemen keep dashing round the 
 flanks to see that no one goes away. All must march 
 back to the beit el amana, where they await the 
 Khalifa's arrival to be dismissed. 
 
 The orders respecting the arms and equipment to be 
 carried by the Ansar on parade are all strictly adhered 
 to ; everyone must carry at least three spears, i.e. one 
 large and two small ones ; also a sword, which is slung 
 round the shoulder, and a girth as well ; anyone appear- 
 ing deficient of any of these articles is flogged. 
 
 At large festivals the reviews are most imposing. 
 .Mouths before, orders are sent in all directions for the 
 Ansar to assemble. On these occasions there are 
 generally about 1,000 horsemen. The Khalifa, wearing 
 a suit of mail armour and a helmet, is generally mounted 
 on a good charger, and is surrounded by some 200 
 horsemen, also clad in mail, wearing helmets and 
 greaves ; the horses also wear brass head-armour lined 
 with thickly-quilted stuffs, which are intended to protect 
 from sword-cuts. 
 
 The riders wear thick red turbans, which they wind 
 round the helmet, and then tie tightly under the chin, 
 thus leaving only very little of their face exposed ; 
 they also wear red girdles, which they throw over their 
 shoulders. The combination of red with the dark Baggara 
 complexion is peculiarly effective, and gives them a 
 most martial appearance. The red turban and girdle 
 are entirely the Khalifa's idea. At first the horses were 
 
 * Jinn is the Arabic equivalent for genii, in the existence of whom 
 the Mohammedans are believers, and by whom they are divided into 
 " believers " and " unbelievers." The Mahdi always asserted that in 
 buttle thousands of Jinns fought on the side of the Dervishes. 
 
308 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA1WTS CAMP. 
 
 riot shod, but recently A bdullah ordered some thousands 
 of horse-slioes to be made in the arsenal. 
 
 The wild excitement and confusion prevailing on 
 these occasions can readily be understood. The guns 
 are all brought out, arms distributed amongst the 
 Ansar, and the shouting and j elling is endless ; crowds 
 of horsemen dash hither and thither at a wild gallop, 
 raising clouds of dust. 
 
 Horses and horsemanship are a great delight to the 
 Sudanese ; the best breeds are from Dongola and 
 Abyssinia. At one time there were quantities in Darfur, 
 and there was no difficulty in raising 4,000 of them, 
 but since Mahdiism has fallen on the land the numbers 
 have greatly decreased. Every horse-owner is entitled 
 to half an ardeb of dhurra from the beit el mal. 
 
 The reviews which I have just described tend to keep 
 alive enthusiasm, and also to intimidate those who are 
 secretly opposed to the Khalifa, and whom the sight of 
 .such numbers of foot- and horsemen cannot fail to 
 impress. The best riders are the Khalifa's own 
 countrymen — the Baggaras — who are brought up on 
 horses from their early childhood. The Khalifa has 
 craftily arranged that all horses remain in the hands 
 of the Baggaras. At first not many of this tribe 
 joined the Mahdi, they preferred to remain in their own 
 happy hunting-grounds, rearing horses, and living in 
 unfettered liberty in their great plains and forests, and 
 in consequence the Arabs nicknamed them " Arab el 
 Shedera " (Arabs of the forests), but when the Khalifa 
 succeeded to supreme power, he thought that his 
 authority would be considerably strengthened by col- 
 lecting his own countrymen around him. 
 
 After conquering Sultan Yusef, of Darfur, the Khalifa 
 ordered Osman Wad Adam to gather his own country- 
 men — the Taisha — nearer Omdurman. The youthful 
 Osman gave to those wild nomads a most glo wing- 
 account of the magnificent countries near the Nile, 
 and of the Khalifa's enormous power and authority, 
 and to prove the truth of what he said, he showed 
 them all sorts of glittering dollars, and various kinds of 
 
EMIGBA TION OF THE TATS HA ARABS. 
 
 309 
 
 dot lis ; nor did he rest until he at last persuaded them 
 to leave their homes. 
 
 They set out with all their movable property — 
 women, children, and flocks — all bound for Omdurman ; 
 they plundered the inhabitants of the various countries 
 through which they passed, and forcibly seized their 
 camels for transport. The Bar Hameda tribe alone, 
 through whose country they passed, lost 4,000 camels. 
 When they reached El Obeid, a special tax was levied 
 for their maintenance, but, quite regardless of this, they 
 broke into the houses, and laid hands on all thev could 
 find. 
 
 From El Obeid they passed on to Tayara and Shaft, 
 whence the Khalifa had them conveyed in steamers to 
 Omdurman. There were, in all, 7,000 warriors, exclusive 
 of women and children ; their a n ival in Omdurman 
 was viewed with a certain amount of alarm, and not 
 without reason. As the Arnauts and the Bashi Bazuks 
 were utilized by the Government in the old days, so 
 were the Taisha to be now utilised under the Khalifa's 
 rule ; he favoured them in every possible way, the 
 beit el mal was made responsible for their maintenance 
 and pay. After they had partially settled down, and 
 some had been given the richest patches on the Nile 
 banks, as well as several of the islands, the others 
 were then removed to Berber, Abu Hamed, Dongola, 
 and the Gezireh. 
 
 In all these places they very soon made themselves 
 masters of the situation, and the Khalifa gave them the 
 most important Government posts to hll ; but notwith- 
 standing all this favoured treatment, still they were 
 not content: the more they had, the more they 
 wanted. Upwards of 4,000 of them deserted from 
 Omdurman, to proceed to their own country ; but they 
 were overtaken, and, as an example to the remainder, 
 the right hand and left foot of three of them were cut 
 off, though it was with the greatest reluctance that he 
 ever punished his own countrymen in this way. Two 
 hundred of the deserters were put in prison, where 
 some of them died in a few days : the horrors of this 
 
310 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 prison so impressed these wild children of the desert, 
 that to this day they tremble at the thought of it. 
 
 The sheikh of the Taisha was a man named Ghazali, 
 who was by no means happy in his new position; and 
 though he was well received by Abdullah, still he could 
 not brook the feeling of being under the authority of a 
 man who at one time had been one of his lowest menials. 
 It was reported to the Khalifa that he w T as discontented, 
 he was therefore summoned before him, and addressed 
 as follows :■ — 
 
 " When you were sheikh in your own country, were 
 we not obliged to kiss your hand, and show you all 
 reverence and respect ? Yes : and it was quire right to 
 do so. But now God has placed me over you as your 
 master, then why do you now refuse to give me the 
 same honour and respect which you required of your 
 own subjects when you were in a similar position ? " 
 
 Ghazali made no reply, but then and there decided 
 to run away. This showed a spirit of independence 
 which had been dead amongst the Arabs for centuries, 
 and to find it we have to go back to the time of Saladin. 
 Sheikh Ghazali was a man who knew no fear, and he 
 confided his plans to his wife and daughter, and they 
 — far from deterring him — rather encouraged him to 
 carry it out. His wife saddled his horse, and urged 
 him rather to die than to submit to a position so far 
 beneath him. 
 
 Ghazali, accompanied by two of his relatives, mounted 
 his horse in the middle of the night ; without shedding 
 a tear, hio wife bade him farewell, and wished him all 
 success in his undertaking. In order to put his enemies 
 off his track, he at first went in a northerly direction 
 till just below Kererri, then turned south-west, and 
 made for Kordofan. But Ghazali made a fatal mistake 
 in using horses for such an enterprise, for, winter being 
 over, there was a scarcity of water in the desert ; it 
 would have been far better had he used camels. 
 
 The poor man had to pay dearly for his error. 
 Scarcely was he out of Omdurman than one of his own 
 tribesmen reported his flight to the Khalifa, who 
 
RECAPTURE OF SHEIKH 0IIAZAL1. 
 
 311 
 
 became very angry, cursed the Taisha for their in- 
 gratitude, and ordered the fugitives to be pursued at 
 once. They searched the desert around Omdurman in 
 every direction, and, thinking they must have taken 
 camels, thev did not at first take anv notice of the 
 horses' tracks, but eventually they decided to follow up 
 the latter, and were soon convinced that they were on 
 the fugitives' heels. 
 
 Some distance after leaving Kererri, they came up 
 with the horses which Ghazali and his companions, ow- 
 ing to their fatigue, had abandoned, and had continued 
 their flight on foot. The pursuers were now two days 
 distant from Omdurman, and were on the point of 
 giving up the chase, when they heard a shot fired 
 from a thickly-wooded khor. It was Ghazali, who, 
 suffering greatly from thirst, had separated from his 
 companions in search of water ; he had been digging 
 about in the sand, and, discovering the longed-for 
 liquid, he had fired a shot to let his companions know 
 he had been successful. 
 
 This shot was his betrayer ; the pursuers rushed to 
 the spot, surrounded him, and although he killed 
 and wounded several, he was overpowered and fell 
 riddled with bullets. His head was cut off, for the 
 Khalifa had given orders that on no account was he to 
 be brought back alive. His two relations submitted, 
 and were subsequently pardoned by the Khalifa, who 
 is always more lenient to his own tribesmen than 
 to others. Ghazali s head was brought to Omdurman, 
 and thrown amongst the heap of " unbelievers' " heads. 
 
 There is no doubt that if Ghazali had succeeded in 
 regaining his own country, he would have become a 
 dangerous rival to Abdullah. Most of the Taisha in- 
 finitely prefer the liberty of their native forests to 
 holding high posts in Omdurman, and would have 
 rejoined Ghazali in large numbers. 
 
 One of the most important measures taken by the 
 Khalifa to get all power into his own hands was his 
 attempt to gain possession of all firearms. He had over 
 and over again given orders that any one found with a 
 
ol2 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IX THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 gun would be punished by the loss of a hand and a foot, 
 and, of course, the natural result was that every one 
 feared to deliver up his gun, dreading the punishment 
 which would inevitably follow. This plan having 
 failed, the Khalifa then ordered two Jew merchants to 
 buy up all firearms for the beit el mal, and the people 
 having no fear of Jews freely sold them. 
 
 In this way about 1,000 Remington rifles were 
 secured : in a like manner the Khalifa got possession of 
 the coats of mail ; but, as may well be imagined, the 
 dews did not make much profit out of the business. 
 They were put into chains for eight months, and had to 
 pay back a considerable sum of money as well. 
 
 Thus did the Khalifa gradually concentrate all power in 
 himself. The emin beit el mal is obliged to give him a 
 daily statement showing all revenue and expenditure ; 
 the Sheikh es Suk (or sheikh of the market) has to 
 render a daily report of everything that has taken place 
 in the market, and the chief judge must keep the Khalifa 
 fully informed of all important cases which come under 
 his notice. The Khalifa reserves to himself the powers 
 of life and death, although the judge passes the sentence. 
 
 Every province has a governor or emir, i.e. Dongola, 
 Berber, Galabat, Karkoj, Gezireh, Fashoda, Kordofan, 
 Lado, and Jebel Eegaf. All these emirs are Baggara, 
 and have several emirs under their commands. Each 
 emir has his own beit el mal, and has the power of 
 appointing his own emin beit el mal and kadi (judge). 
 The emir is the supreme civil and military governor of 
 his province, and is entirely responsible for its adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 The beit el mal at Omdurman is known as the " Beit 
 el mal el Umum," and the head of it gives orders direct 
 to all his provincial assistants. Each emir is obliged 
 to report all events of importance to the Khalifa, they 
 are frequently summoned to Omdurman to give an 
 account of their administration, and to take the 
 Khalifa's instructions. 
 
 Abdullah watches most carefully all events in frontier 
 provinces, such as Dongola, Berber, &c, and spies, dis- 
 
THE BEIT EL MA L AND TAXATION. 
 
 3ir> 
 
 guised as merchants, are continually sent to Egypt to 
 get the Arabic newspapers, which are always read to 
 the Khalifa by his secretaries. An emir should never 
 pay a visit to Omdurman empty-handed, or he is likely 
 to fall into serious disgrace. 
 
 In addition to the emirs are the omala (tax-gatherers), 
 who visit the provinces annually and collect the ushr 
 (one-tenth) and the zeka (alms for the poor, two and 
 a -half per cent.). These appointments are let to the 
 holders at an enormous rate — several thousand dollars a 
 year. The omala have to cover all their own expenses, 
 which they do, and get a very considerable profit besides. 
 
 It is therefore apparent that the inhabitants are 
 grievously oppressed. The emirs and omala act in the 
 most arbitrary manner in their own provinces ; their 
 will is absolute, and horrible systems of cruelty prevail 
 everywhere. One of the omala, Wad Hamdu Allah, by 
 way of extorting money from a man, bound his hands 
 so tightly behind his back that when released they 
 remained quite powerless. The poor man w T ent to 
 Omdurman to seek redress, and the Khalifa, on the 
 principle of " an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,"' 
 ordered that the amil's hands should be cut off, or that 
 he should pay the injured man a sum of money. The 
 man, of course, chose the latter, as the cutting off of 
 his oppressor's hands could not have done him any 
 practical good ; so he received 200 dollars compensation 
 and four slaves. But this is an exceptional case ; as a 
 rule these cruelties seldom reach the Khalifa's ears, and 
 if the instigator of the crime is a Baggara it is never 
 noticed. 
 
 The Khalifa's brother Yakubis his principal supporter, 
 lb' and Abdullah are not of the same mother, and 
 Yakub is a few years the senior ; he has a somewhat 
 lighter complexion, but if possible he is even more 
 cruel than his brother, and is in charge of the harem. 
 Tlie two brothers work entirely together, and Abdullah, 
 being satisfied with Yakub's integrity, gives him the 
 fullest liberty. Orders given by Yakub are carried out 
 with the same alacrity as it they were given by 
 
;U4 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 Abdullah. He receives every clay from the emin beit 
 el mal all surplus cash, and moreover has charge of 
 spare leather, sacking, &c, with which to supply the 
 wants of the Baggaras. It is said that Yakub is already 
 possessor of great stores of wealth. 
 
 Thus do the brothers, Abdullah and Yakub, hold the 
 entire Sudan in the most cruel bondage, whilst the 
 inhabitants are harassed by the merciless Baggaras, who 
 have made themselves the ruthless masters of the whole 
 country. 
 
( 315 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A CHAPTER OF HORRORS. 
 
 The revolt of the Batahin tribe — Revolt suppressed with appalling 
 cruelty — Wholesale executions — Method of hanging — Punish- 
 ment by mutilation — The execution of Abdel Xiir — Trade with 
 Egypt— Wad Adlan, the emin beit el mal — His imprisonment 
 and death. 
 
 Another example of the Khalifa's cruel and merci- 
 less treatment of all who oppose him is shown by the 
 manner in which he dealt with the Batahin tribe. 
 
 This small but warlike tribe inhabits the right bank 
 of the Blue Nile near its confluence with the White, and 
 extends as far as Rufaa ; also portions of this tribe are 
 found scattered in the Gezireh. They are the most 
 daring robbers, and, mounted on swift camels, they lie in 
 ambush awaiting caravans and merchants, whom they 
 generally kill and make off with their goods. Bruce, in 
 his ' Travels,' remarks that the wooded country around 
 Omdurman was their favourite haunt. They were the 
 staunchest adherents of the Sheikh el Obeid, whom 
 Gordon's " fighting pasha," Mohammed Ali, had so 
 severely defeated. 
 
 During the massacre in Khartum the Batahin were 
 most cruel and pitiless, and for their evil deeds God's 
 just vengeance overtook them before long. Abdul- 
 lah had sent an emir with a few soldiers to collect the 
 ushr tax, but the wild Batahin, whose own system was 
 to rob and plunder the poor, leaving them not even 
 the wherewithal to live, resisted the emir and his men, 
 and forced them to flee their country. When this news 
 reached the Khalifa, he was infuriated, and determined 
 to deal in the harshest possible manner with this 
 rebellious tribe. He therefore despatched the emir 
 Abdel Baki with a considerable force, with instructions 
 
316 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY J\ THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 to seize every Batahin he could find, put him in chains, 
 and bring him to Omdurman. 
 
 o 
 
 This tribe was now hunted down over the whole 
 country, and Abdel Baki succeeded in securing a few 
 hundred of them, as well as Taher Wad Sheikh el 
 
REVOLT OF THE BA TA II IN ARABS. 
 
 317 
 
 Obeid, who had been instigating them, and these were 
 all brought to the capital. The influential El Obeid 
 family had taken a very prominent part in the siege 
 of Khartum, but after the Mahdi's death they had 
 become discontented and were not on good terms with 
 the Khalifa ; Taher had, therefore, been ordered to 
 leave Rufaa and settle in Umdurman. 
 
 On reaching Khojali, which is just opposite to 
 ( hndurman on the other bank, he wrote to the Khalifa 
 to say that his father, who since his death had been 
 revered as a saint in the Gezireh on account of his 
 holiness, and who had received innumerable presents 
 on account of his power in preserving the lives of 
 infants, had appeared to him in a dream, telling him 
 to stay at Khojali and make that the headquarters of the 
 family ; he was not, therefore, able to come to Omdurman. 
 Taher showed his sagacity in refusing to comply with 
 the order ; but Abdullah, whose earnest desire it was 
 to abolish the " saints M of the Sudan, agreed to give 
 Taher twenty-four hours to decide whether he would 
 come to Omdurman or not, so there was nothing for it 
 but to go. However, after a time he was permitted 
 to return to Rufaa, leaving his family as hostages in 
 ( hndurman. This is the Khalifa's usual mode of acting 
 with all influential persons whom he suspects of dis- 
 loyal t\ . 
 
 But to return to the Batahin. Most of them died of 
 starvation and ill-treatment, sixty-nine were taken to 
 the square opposite the beit el amana, where they were 
 kept under a soldiers' guard whilst the Khalifa held a 
 consultation regarding their fate. Xo decision was 
 come to for some time, and this was because more 
 gallows were being prepared. Hitherto there was only 
 one, now there were three near the " court " zariba — two 
 at the south end of the market-place, and one at the 
 west end ; all were provided with camel-hair ropes. 
 
 Early the following morning the war-drums were 
 beaten, the onbe'ia sounded, and eighteen Batahin 
 were executed, three on each gallows. Such executions 
 have always a great attraction for the Sudanese. The 
 
318 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIlDrS CAMP. 
 
 eighteen men were all brought up to the gallows with 
 their hands tied behind their backs. Without a sound 
 or even a change of expression, they gave themselves 
 up to their fate, or, as the Moslem says, they gave 
 themselves up to " El Mektub " (i.e. "to that which is 
 written "), for it is supposed that God writes down in 
 a book the birth, experiences, and death of everyone, 
 which things cannot be changed. 
 
 Below the gallows is an angarib, on which the 
 condemned stands, while an immensely tall Dinka 
 called Brin gi puts the noose round the man's head, 
 pulls it tight, fastens it to the gallows, and then draw T s 
 away the angarib ; and in this way the whole eighteen 
 were soon swinging in the air, whilst the assembled 
 masses sent up shout after shout of exultation. 
 
 It was a most horrible sight. The poor creatures 
 wore only a miserable cloth round their loins ; they 
 had had nothing to eat for some days, and presented 
 a most wretched condition as the wind blew their 
 emaciated bodies backwards and forwards. All were 
 powerful young men, and the bystanders — as is always 
 the way with the Dervishes — vituperated them freely, 
 accusing them of every description of wanton cruelty, 
 whereas it is more than probable that all these just 
 executed were entirely innocent, and were expiating 
 the crimes of those who had been fortunate enough 
 to escape. AVhen all contortions were over, the bodies 
 were untied to make room for the remainder, w T ho had 
 been quietly gazing at the fate of their brothers which 
 was so soon to be theirs. 
 
 On this occasion — as it had often happened before — 
 the cord broke under the last man's weight ; but Bringi 
 was very quick, he lost no time in joining the ends and 
 completed his brutal work. The impressions which all 
 those dreadful scenes left on niy mind can never be 
 obliterated. But if the fate of the eighteen was cruel, 
 the fate of the remaining fifty-one was even worse. 
 
 The Khalifa now 7 rode out accompanied by the 
 cavalry and thousands of spearmen, and taking the 
 wretched Batahin with them they marched towards 
 
WHOLESALE MUTILATION. 
 
 319 
 
 the parade ground. Every now and then on the way 
 he ordered one of them to be decapitated, and in this 
 wav twenty-four more were killed ; there were now 
 only twenty-seven left, and on arriving on the ground 
 he sent for the butchers to cut off their hands and feet ; 
 soon there was a heap of these bleeding members, whilst 
 the bodies of the poor Batahin lay writhing on the 
 ground, beads of anguish pouring from their brows ; 
 yet not a cry did they utter ; most of them died in a 
 very short time. Even the most stony hearts were 
 touched on beholding this terrible spectacle, but no one 
 dared show it — in fact everyone tried to force a laugh 
 or a jeer, because the Khalifa himself revelled in scenes 
 of useless bloodshed and cruelty, while in truth the 
 whole population of Omdurman secretly lamented it. 
 
 The bodies hung on the gallows for a day, so that 
 everyone might see them, whilst the mothers and 
 sisters of those who had been mutilated on the parade 
 ground begged the Khalifa's permission to go 10 the 
 spot and see if any of their relatives were still alive ; 
 they were allowed to go, and there they found a few 
 still living ; they dressed their bleeding limbs and 
 carried them on their backs to the market-place, where 
 they begged food for them. 
 
 Never shall I forget the face of one poor woman. 
 With tearless eyes she bore her mutilated son in her 
 arms, and it would be hard to say which of the two 
 was suffering more — the mother or the son — the latter 
 lifting up his mutilated right arm while he rested his 
 mutilated left leg on his right to prevent anything 
 striking the wounded stump. 
 
 It was indeed a shocking and pitiful sight. Several 
 of the survivors of Khartum would pass by these 
 wretched people, and staring at their wounds would 
 shout out, " Have you forgotten Khartum ? " Long 
 after this I used to see these poor creatures dragging 
 themselves about in the market-place begging for alms. 
 
 Soon after this the Khalifa pardoned the Batahin, 
 and sent Ahmed Wad el Bedri to try to persuade them 
 to come and settle in Omdurman; eventually they 
 
320 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AH DPS CAMP. 
 
 formed part of Xejumi's force, and were almost all killed 
 at Toski. Thus did God's vengeance overtake them for 
 their untold cruelties during the massacre in Khartum. 
 It is said that the Khalifa has repented of his wanton 
 slaughter of this tribe. 
 
 After this, fear took possession of even the bravest, 
 and no further attempts at resistance were made ; dis- 
 content was everywhere rife, not in Omdurman only, 
 but throughout the provinces, and even the Baggara, 
 who were favoured in every way, and given every 
 possible advantage, longed to return to their own 
 country. 
 
 It is usual, when the day's work is done, for neigh- 
 bours to collect together in the lovely moonlight nio-hts, 
 for which the Sudan is so famed, and talk over matters. 
 The conversation always turns to politics ; the latest 
 news from all directions is eagerly discussed, and often 
 the most unlikely and impossible stories are credited. 
 The fact is that the people long for freedom, and their 
 smallest hopes become exaggerated into not only pos- 
 sibilities, but certainties. The proverb, " El gharkan 
 yemsik fi shaaru " (i.e. " The drowning man catches at 
 a straw " — literally, a hair), is being continually exem- 
 plified. Talk also turns much on what the Khalifa said 
 and did, what he intends to do, what has taken place 
 in the last council, &c. But the Khalifa, fearing that all 
 these conversations might lead to conspiracies, ordered 
 them to be discontinued. But nevertheless they are 
 still carried on secretly. 
 
 Near the market-place there lived a certain fiki named 
 Abdel Nur (i.e. the slave of light — that is to say, the 
 slave of the light of the Prophet ; though, when the 
 Copts are called, by this name, the reference is to the 
 light of the Kedeemer). The fiki's neighbours used to 
 assemble in his house every evening, and of course 
 the conversation always turned on Mahdiism, and the 
 Khalifa was abused freely. Abdel Nur would talk more 
 excitedly than the rest, and used to say that the Sudan 
 no longer formed part of Islam, that both the Khalifa 
 and the Mahdi were unbelievers, and this he proved by 
 
EXECUTION OF ABB EI j NUB. 
 
 321 
 
 quotations from the sacred books. All this was reported 
 by a spy to the Khalifa, who at once despatched a 
 company of soldiers by whom the unsuspecting party 
 were suddenly surrounded and carried off to prison. 
 
 Early the following morning Abdel Nur was brought 
 before the judges, who asked him if he had really spoken 
 against Mahdiism. Seeing that he was now lost, he 
 thought this a good opportunity, in the presence of 
 such a large audience, to prove his assertion ; he 
 declared that the true Mahdi should not die in Omdur- 
 man, and that true Mahdiism would not be confined to 
 the Sudan alone ; that the people having been once 
 deceived, the paths of wickedness should be avoided, 
 the paths of truth followed, and the oppression of the 
 Moslems abandoned once and for all. 
 
 The judges, who in their own hearts were convinced 
 of the truth of Abdel Nur's assertions, were unable to 
 browbeat him, whilst all those who listened had little 
 doubt in their own minds of the truth of the statements 
 of this outspoken man, but fear of the Khalifa inter- 
 vened to stop them from admitting their convictions. 
 One of the judges at length stood up, and, desiring to 
 make an end of this dangerous and humiliating position, 
 said to Abdel Nur : " We are with the Prophet, the 
 Mahdi, and his Khalifa ; are you with us or not ? " 
 The fiki replied, " I am not with you," whereupon the 
 Khalifa sentenced him to death, and at ten o'clock the 
 same morning his body was dangling from the gallows ; 
 his friends were not executed, but were severely repri- 
 manded. 
 
 This execution was so sudden and unexpected that 
 everyone was asking what his crime could have been, but 
 the Khalifa was careful to send spies to all quarters to 
 spread false reports about him, to the effect that he was 
 an unbeliever and a magician ; these spies were also 
 told to ascertain exactly what the people said, but the 
 latter knew they were being watched, so they said 
 nothing and retired ; the spies set fire to the tiki's 
 clothes, and the next morning reported to the Khalifa 
 that hell-fire had burnt them up. 
 
 Y 
 
322 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDTS CAMF. 
 
 But the matter was not ended here ; according to the 
 Moslem law, if an unbeliever be discovered, all his 
 neighbours within a forty yards' radius are considered 
 guilty, and their houses may be plundered and 
 destroyed. This law was carried out in the tiki's case, 
 and several families with all their goods were dragged 
 off to the beit el mal, while their homes were occupied 
 by the soldiers ; several men were threatened with the 
 gallows, and there was a good deal of disturbance in 
 the town. The Khalifa's adherents were shouting, 
 "Away with these unbelievers!" Several suspected 
 persons were seized and kept for three days in continual 
 fear of death. 
 
 On the third day several of the wives and families 
 came to the Khalifa and begged his forgiveness, throw- 
 ing dust on their heads and making every show of 
 Oriental grief. On this occasion the Khalifa thought 
 it was sufficient to thoroughly frighten them all, so on 
 the expiration of the three days he released them and 
 returned their property. He took this opportunity of 
 giving an order that it was the duty of every one to 
 report to him any fiki who was in the habit of writing 
 amulets ; spies and informers soon produced numbers 
 of such fikis, who only saved their lives by making 
 most solemn promises to the Khalifa that they would 
 never again be guilty of this disobedience of orders. 
 
 On another occasion a boat-boy was accused of having 
 said something against Mahdiism ; he was hurried before 
 the judge, confessed his crime, and was then taken off 
 to the parade-ground, where the Khalifa ordered him to 
 be beheaded. Ahmed el Talia was the executioner, but 
 he made a false stroke and only gashed the youth's 
 shoulder, but with the second blow the head was clean 
 severed from the body. 
 
 Abdullah's jealousy and alarm for the safety of his 
 kingdom now induced him to turn his attention to Wad 
 Adlan. As I have already narrated, Adlan had rendered 
 the Khalifa great services : he had put the beit el mal 
 in good order, had regulated the accounts on the old 
 Government system, and in order to increase the 
 
THE GOOD SERVICES OF WAD ADLAN. 323 
 
 revenue without having recourse to force, he had 
 persuaded him to open trade with Egypt. 
 
 It had been the Khalifa's original idea to erect a 
 sort of great wall of China between Egypt and the 
 Sudan, to prevent all ingress into his newly-acquired 
 dominions ; but Adlan was a very tactful man, and by 
 degrees he induced the Khalifa to agree to his proposal. 
 Ivory and gum were declared to be the monopoly of 
 the beit el mal. Ivory comes in small quantities from 
 Eegaf and Lado, while gum, which is purchased by the 
 beit el mal for five dollars a hundredweight, is sold out 
 by the beit el mal to merchants for twenty dollars ; the 
 beit el mal will also accept gum as payment in lieu of 
 money. A lively trade soon sprang up between Berber, 
 Sawakin, Assuan, and Korosko ; and Omdurman mer- 
 chants were allowed to come to Sawakin and purchase 
 goods ; the beit el mal made considerable profits, and 
 the people were less oppressed than before. 
 
 Thus did Adlan render a great service to the inhabi- 
 tants of the Sudan, and through his influence many of 
 the cruel measures of the Khalifa were altered. As 
 long as he was in charge of the beit el mal he was very 
 popular with all, the capital was in good hands, the 
 markets throve, and even w T hen the funds in the ex- 
 chequer were low he had no difficulty in raising loans 
 from rich merchants on payment of bills of exchange. 
 Usually a loan of 5,000 to 6,000 dollars could be raised 
 between fifteen or twenty merchants with ease, because 
 of the feeling of security which Adlan 's presence in- 
 duced. The white people also owe him a deep debt of 
 gratitude, for he gave them continuous protection. 
 
 On one occasion, when it was rumoured that the 
 Sudan was to be invaded by Egypt, the Khalifa pro- 
 posed separating all the whites and scattering them 
 amongst the Arabs in various parts of the country, but 
 Adlan impressed upon him the necessity of retaining 
 them all under his own eye in Omdurman, and thereby 
 he rendered us an immense service ; his main idea was 
 to lighten the Mahdiist yoke and relieve the oppression 
 of the people. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMI. 
 
 But this growing contentment gradually began to be 
 displeasing to Abdullah, whose main object was to 
 reduce every one to poverty and to enrich his own 
 tribe, the Baggara ; thus his and Adlan's views fre- 
 quently clashed, but Adlan was most prudent, and 
 knew when to give way. What displeased the Khalifa 
 most was to see numbers of people assembling every 
 morning outside Adlan's door waiting; for him to go to 
 the beit el mal, where they v^ould lay their complaints 
 before him. 
 
 The honour they paid and the praises they heaped 
 upon him excited the Khalifa's jealousy, and the latter 
 frequently rebuked him sharply ; but he took no notice 
 of these outbursts, and in a fit of anger he was, on 
 one occasion, thrown into chains for fourteen days. On 
 his release Adlan now thought that the Khalifa could 
 not get on without him, and began to show less sub- 
 mission to his master's will than before. This still 
 further widened the breach between him and Abdullah, 
 which was made worse by Adlan's many enemies, who 
 envied him his high position. 
 
 The Khalifa's brother Yakub was his most dangerous 
 rival, as Adlan's popularity had rather detracted from 
 his authority. He and others represented him to the 
 Khalifa as a dangerous man, who might at any moment 
 bring his influence to bear in direct opposition to the 
 Khalifa. It is therefore not to be wondered at that 
 Abdullah grew suspicious, and one day. when Adlan was 
 presenting his daily report, the Khalifa took occasion 
 to tell him that he was far from pleased with him, and 
 blamed him for his delay in sending corn to the starving 
 Dervishes in Dongola. Adlan answered : " What can I 
 do ? The people won't have Mahdiism any longer, and 
 that is why I meet with so much opposition." Some 
 say that he even said much more than this ; but the 
 Khalifa was not accustomed to be talked to in this way, 
 so he ordered Adlan to give up his sword, and the same 
 night he sent him to prison. This gave his rivals ample 
 occasion to speak against him, and Yakub insisted that 
 he should suffer death. 
 
EXECUTION OF WAD AD LAX. 
 
 325 
 
 Acllan was very heavily chained, and forbidden all 
 intercourse with the outside world. His arrest did not 
 at first create much excitement, but this was due to the 
 many false reports which were circulated regarding the 
 cause. On the following day it was announced that 
 he might have to suffer death, on the third day this 
 sentence was confirmed, and a messenger was sent to 
 Adlan to ask him if he had any choice between being 
 handed or having his hand and foot cut off. Adlan 
 chose the former. 
 
 To the beating of war-drums and the sound of the 
 onbeia, he was led, with his hands bound, to the 
 market-place. Here numbers of Baggara horsemen 
 formed a square round the scaffold, and Adlan, escorted 
 by a guard, entered the square with firm footsteps. 
 When he reached the foot of the gallows, the judge 
 called on him to repeat the Shahada or Moslem creed, 
 which lie did with a clear voice, then jumped on to the 
 angarib, adjusted the noose himself, which Bringi pulled 
 taut, and he swung into space, whilst at the same 
 instant the Bagg;aras drew their swords and flourished 
 them in the air, to signify that a like fate would surely 
 befall all the Khalifa's enemies. But orief was read on 
 every face, and never before had there been such heart- 
 felt lamentations in Omdurman. 
 
 Ibrahim Wad Adlan was a most intelligent Sudanese, 
 with black face and aquiline nose. He was about thirty- 
 five years of age. 
 
 After his body had been suspended for half-an-hour, 
 Yakub, accompanied by several others, took it down, 
 and laid it out on the angarib ; the bystanders say that 
 Yakub could not' conceal his look of half repentance, 
 half terror, as he gazed on the corpse of his victim. 
 It was wrapped in a cotton shroud, and taken to the 
 cemetery outside the city, where it was buried, Yakub 
 leading the procession. That night robbers pulled out 
 the body and stole the clothes in which it was laid, 
 leaving the corpse on the sand to be food for hyenas. 
 
 The Khalifa's reason for sending Yakub to attend 
 Adlan's funeral could not well be misunderstood, for 
 
326 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 every one knew that Yakub had been the prime insti- 
 gator in securing his condemnation ; and yet Abdullah 
 was short-sighted enough to imagine that in thus send- 
 ing his brother he might to some extent dissipate the 
 bad impression which Adlan's execution had created. 
 
 The mourning for Adlan was both general and sincere ; 
 during his whole administration he had done no harm 
 to anyone ; he had done his utmost to smooth over diffi- 
 culties and lighten oppression, and I can confidently 
 affirm that he is the only man of whom this can be said, 
 for, as a rule, Sudanese who rise to positions of power 
 and authority invariably become most cruel and 
 arbitrary. 
 
 Now what good could this execution have done for 
 Mahdiism ? No doubt the Khalifa thought to justify 
 himself in the public estimation, because Adlan was too 
 popular, but the real reason was, that the Khalifa feared 
 him, for he knew that his justice and prudence had 
 made him beloved by the people. 
 
 With the one exception that Adlan had opened com- 
 merce with Egypt, chiefly through the secret intermediary 
 of a former Khartum merchant named Abdel Majid, I 
 do not believe there was anything else against him. It 
 was said that letters had been found, purporting to 
 have been written by Adlan, in which he had begged 
 the Egyptian Government to retake possession of the 
 Sudan ; but this statement, had it been true, would 
 have been announced far and wide by the Khalifa ; this, 
 however, had not been done, and it was generally agreed 
 that it was entirely fear on the Khalifa's part which 
 prompted him to take Adlan's life. 
 
 All his property was confiscated, and his friends 
 persecuted. Some of the latter, after his death, re- 
 membered that he had told them how, when studying 
 in Cairo, an old woman had foretold that he would die 
 a violent death. For long he paid little attention to 
 this prophecy ; but during the siege of El Obeid, he 
 called it to mind, and thought it would perhaps be 
 fulfilled there. But when he eventually rose to high 
 position in Omdurman, he used to laugh at the old 
 
THE KHALIFA'S VISION. 
 
 327 
 
 woman's saying. However, during his last imprison- 
 ment, he had been firmly convinced it would come true, 
 and that was what made him so bold and firm when he 
 actually came to look death in the face. 
 
 In place of Adlan, the Khalifa nominated his relative 
 Ez Zaki, now Emir of Berber ; but he fell ill shortly 
 afterwards, and resigned. The Khalifa then appointed 
 Nur el Gereifawi (that is, a native of Gereif, near 
 Khartum). He had been in charge of the beit el mal 
 at Berber ; as Nur was an intimate friend of Adlan's, it 
 was thought that he might suffer a like fate, but he was 
 a crafty individual, and had sent the Khalifa 30,000 
 dollars, which he knew would have the desired effect. 
 
 On arrival at Omdurman he stood by the great gate 
 to see the Khalifa ; but Abdullah did not summon him 
 that evening, so he lay that night on the ground beside 
 the Khalifa's door— an act of humility which quite won 
 his heart — and the next morning Nur was officially 
 appointed Adlan's successor. In order to thoroughly 
 impress Nur with the dangers of his new situation, the 
 Khalifa announced to him that on the previous night 
 he had beheld a vision, in which he had seen hell, 
 and Ibrahim Adlan suffering untold agonies in the 
 lowest abyss, with a long chain fastened round his neck ; 
 Nur was shackled to the other end of the chain, and 
 Adlan was trying to drag him down into the abyss ; 
 but the Khalifa had unfastened the chain and released 
 him. 
 
 Thus was Nur completely overawed, and did his 
 utmost to comply with the Khalifa's and Yakub's 
 wishes. He discharged all the Copts employed in the 
 beit el mal, and replaced them by blacks. Awad, for- 
 merly head clerk of the Kassala Mudirieh, he appointed 
 as his assistant, and through his astuteness and 
 knavery he lost no opportunity of forcibly extracting 
 money from the people. 
 
328 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SOCIAL LIFE AT OMDURMAN. 
 
 System of public security and justice in Omdurman — The court of 
 small causes — Bribery and corruption — The story of the slave 
 and her mistress — How the Khalifa deals with quarrelsome 
 persons — Thieves and pickpockets — The story of Zogheir — 
 Usurers and their trade — The chief of police — Brigandage — 
 Disproportion of males to females in Omdurman — How the 
 Khalifa overcame the difficulty — Immorality — The marriage 
 ceremony. 
 
 It may be imagined that fear of the Khalifa and his 
 tyrannical rule would produce at least a feeling of 
 public security and immunity from lawlessness ; but the 
 following chapter will show that this is not the case. 
 
 In the early years of Mahdiism there was no dis- 
 cipline, and laws were entirely put aside, because the 
 whole population was at war and everyone on the move. 
 They were living on the captured wealth and prosperity 
 of the Government. At that time there were not many 
 robbers. When we were living in Kordofan we were 
 perfectly safe, and could sleep with our doors open at 
 night. No one ever thought of taking precautions 
 against thieves, though nothing would have been easier 
 than to break into our loosely-built straw huts. 
 
 After the capture of Khartum, and when Omdurman 
 became a large city, the former prosperity of the 
 country gradually began to wane, famine broke out, 
 and then public security became seriously threatened. 
 Thieves increased in such alarming numbers as to be a 
 terror to all ; and in 1888-89 they became so bad that 
 people scarcely dared to go to sleep. It is true the 
 punishment of cutting off hands and feet was freely 
 
BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION. 
 
 329 
 
 exercised ; but even this had little effect, chiefly because 
 robbery and corruption went hand in hand, and a thief 
 had no difficulty in disposing of a bribe. 
 
 As I have already narrated, the Khalifa nominated 
 his own judges, with Ahmed the Kadi el Islam as their 
 head ; a special court was also established to deal with 
 the innumerable marriage disputes which form so large 
 a part of Moslem legislation. Abdullah specially in- 
 structed his judges to consider these cases from their 
 external rather than from their internal aspect. 
 
 The usual proofs required are the evidence on oath 
 of witnesses. The witness is obliged to wash himself 
 before taking an oath, so that he may be pure. He then 
 places his right hand on the Kuran, and says, " Hakk 
 kitab Allah" ("By God's book"), following it by his 
 statement. In cases of complaints, the defendant only 
 has the right to take an oath, whereas the complainant 
 must produce witnesses. If no witnesses are forthcoming, 
 the defendant has only to take an oath, and is then 
 acquitted. 
 
 The real sense and meaning of an oath is absolutely 
 ignored. Hundreds of oaths are taken every day in the 
 market court on the smallest trifle, perhaps not ex- 
 ceeding a piastre. The falsehood of the individual 
 taking the oath is frequently quite apparent ; but 
 unless the witnesses come forward, the most flagrant 
 case will go unpunished. 
 
 It is the popular idea that if a man swears falsely on 
 the Kuran, he will immediately fall down dead. This 
 constant perjury is very clear evidence of the depth of 
 moral degradation and religious decadence which the 
 followers of the Mahdi have now reached. 
 
 In cases relating to debt, acknowledgment on the 
 part of the debtor of his liability is considered sufficient ; 
 but if this is not forthcoming, then two witnesses are 
 required. As a consequence of the widespread mistrust 
 and duplicity which exists, everything, even to the 
 smallest matter, is generally written down on paper ; 
 or a bargain may be struck in the presence of witnesses ; 
 but this is not considered a safe proceeding, owing to 
 
330 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 the prevalence of bribery. The Khalifa has given very 
 strict injunctions that all debts must be repaid, and if 
 there be a delay, the debtor is to be put in prison, and 
 brought to reason by hunger. 
 
 Let us glance for an instant into the court of justice 
 in the market-place of Omdurman, where most of the 
 small cases are tried. Here we find the sheikh es suk 
 (or sheikh of the market), together with the judge, 
 some soldiers, and (latterly only) a few Arabs, as a 
 police guard. The sheikh generally rides to the court at 
 eight o'clock every morning on a donkey. One of his 
 guards places his sheepskin on a small straw rukuba 
 (latterly this has been constructed of clay), and on this 
 the sheikh seats himself. He has the Kuran beside 
 him. 
 
 The parties in dispute arrive, and the case turns, for 
 example, on fraudulent dealing, debts, payment in false 
 coinage, &c. As there are no lawyers, each party must 
 defend himself. As a rule the Sudanese are clever and 
 astute in their conversation, and the man who can talk 
 best has already gained half the victory. The noise and 
 shouting is deafening ; and the Sudanese have a wonder- 
 ful display of sly cunning. The sheikh's last resource is 
 the Kuran. 
 
 Sometimes bystanders attempt to mediate between 
 the disputing parties, and this course generally prolongs 
 the talk and noise indefinitely, and does not often suc- 
 ceed. The usual punishment is flogging, which is 
 inflicted on the spot. Marissa-drinkers and tobacco- 
 smokers receive eighty lashes. The individual sentenced 
 has to lie prone on the ground, supporting his head with 
 his bands, while two slaves take it in turns to belabour 
 him with whips made of hippopotamus hide. The first 
 few strokes generally draw blood, but as a rule the 
 victim remains immovable, whilst the bystanders 
 applaud him for his courage. If he utters a cry or a 
 moan he is laughed at and derided. The sheikh and his 
 supporters are much addicted to bakshish, which enables 
 many a culprit to escape punishment. 
 
 Should the dispute be of a very serious nature, it is 
 
THE SLAVE AND HER MISTRESS. 
 
 331 
 
 brought before the high court at the Bab el Khalifa ; but 
 here money plays even a more important part than in 
 the smaller court. The success or failure of the case 
 depends on the ability with which the opposing mediators 
 influence the judgment ; a hint or a sign with the 
 hand is quite sufficient to make the judge understand, 
 and with marvellous astuteness he will contrive to give 
 the case an entirely new aspect, and one which, pro- 
 bably, only a few moments before he has most strongly 
 condemned, but which now he thinks it advisable, under 
 the circumstances, to adopt ; and this change of front is 
 carried out without the smallest hesitation. 
 
 I will here give an example of what is considered 
 justice in Omdurman. A female slave who had for a 
 long time had a quarrel with her mistress decided to 
 have her revenge, and the fact that her mistress was in 
 the habit of smoking and wearing jewels aided her in 
 her design. She took her lady's tobacco and cigarette 
 papers, which were generally kept hidden under ground, 
 tied them in a little bundle, ran off with them to a 
 soldier who was her relative, and who belonged to 
 Yakub's bodyguard, and reported her mistress's evil 
 doings. 
 
 Meanwhile the lady, finding that her slave had run 
 away, sent her brother-in-law in search of her. The 
 family were now thoroughly disturbed, and anticipated all 
 sorts of bad consequences. The lady's husband hastened 
 to Yakub's house, thinking that perhaps the slave might 
 have gone there, and there, sure enough, he found her, 
 surrounded by a crowd of Ansar. The latter, espying 
 Ahmed (as we may call him), surrounded him and were 
 carrying him before Yakub, when Ahmed, who did not 
 lose his head, explained to the Ansar that he had always 
 been under the impression that the Khalifa had ap- 
 pointed a judge to inquire into all such matters, and 
 that he was ready to bow to the judge's decision ; so he, 
 the female slave, and the Ansar all went to the court. 
 The slave produced from her pocket the bundle, laid it 
 before the Kadi, and then stated her complaint against 
 her mistress. 
 
332 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 Meanwhile Ahmed had met a friend, and told him 
 how that for a long time the slave had been on bad 
 terms with her mistress, and had seized this opportunity 
 for revenging herself on her, adding that she had pro- 
 bably obtained the tobacco and cigarette papers from 
 elsewhere, and had trumped up this case to harm her 
 mistress, who had never smoked in her life nor worn 
 jewels ; indeed, if they liked they might go and inspect 
 the house. 
 
 The mediator gave a sign to the judge, who at once 
 decided the case in Ahmed's favour, and ordered him to 
 go to the sheikh es suk, who had been instructed to 
 send some one to inspect his house. 
 
 It was not a difficult matter to circumvent the sheikh 
 es suk, and when they all arrived at the house, the slave 
 was called upon to show the place in which she had been 
 ordered to hide her mistress's tobacco. Without a 
 moment's hesitation the slave came forward and began 
 scraping away the earth in a corner. It was evident 
 that she had often done this before, and that the hiding- 
 place had been carefully prepared — indeed, the slave 
 found some tobacco still there which she had not noticed 
 before, and this she exultingly produced ; but at that 
 instant one of the Ansar gave her a slap on the face, 
 saying, " Look at this bint el kelb (daughter of a dog), 
 she brought some tobacco here which she purposely 
 dropped into the hole whilst she was clearing the earth 
 away." Heaped with insults by the bystanders, the 
 poor slave was dragged off to the market-place, where 
 she- received eighty lashes because she had failed to 
 prove the truth of her assertion. Such is Omdurman 
 justice. 
 
 Although this is but one amongst thousands of cases 
 of the most disgraceful corruption, still all this serves to 
 keep the slaves in order, and were it not so, there is 
 little doubt that masters would stand in constant 
 danger, and would be at the mercy of their slaves. 
 Indeed, many slaves have succeeded in getting their 
 masters into great disfavour by informing on them, 
 and this makes the masters in great fear of their slaves 
 
PUNISHMENT FOB QUABMELINQ. 
 
 333 
 
 Even if a slave has been born and brought up in his 
 master's house he cannot be trusted, and if he receive 
 some slight punishment, it is more than probable he 
 will go off and report his master as a smoker, marissa- 
 drinker, or that he has become lax in the cause of Mahdi- 
 ism ; and, as likely as not, he will be flogged, or receive 
 some worse punishment. 
 
 According to Moslem law a slave's evidence against 
 his master is considered invalid ; but this law, as well as 
 all other laws, is only applied according to the Khalifa's 
 wishes and the circumstances of the case : the same 
 remark applies to the value of evidence given under 
 torture. 
 
 Curiously enough, murders are seldom committed, and 
 when the wild nature of the Sudanese is considered, it 
 is contrary to what one would expect. Quarrels and 
 disputes are endless, but in spite of being armed, both 
 parties seem to expend their energy in violent talk- 
 ing and gesticulation. The Khalifa has given the 
 strictest orders regarding " assault and battery ; " if a 
 man hits another man, he will be liable to have his 
 hand cut off, and this order is generally unflinchingly 
 carried out, unless the condemned man be well off, and 
 he will then have his property confiscated, as the fol- 
 lowing case will show : — 
 
 A dispute once arose between a merchant named 
 Yusef Kurdi and a certain Mohammed, son of the rich 
 Ben en Naga ; both were intoxicated at the time, had 
 drawn their swords and slightly wounded each other. 
 The affair reached the Khalifa's ears ; he ordered both of 
 them to be arrested, and threatened to cut off their 
 hands ; but, as a matter of fact, he really wanted to 
 secure some of their money. Old Ben en Naga, a man 
 of ninety years of age, threw himself at the Khalifa's 
 feet and begged that his son's punishment might be 
 altered, and after a few days' confinement and continued 
 threats, the Khalifa was at length graciously pleased to 
 commute the sentence into confiscation of property. 
 Yusef Kurdi paid 6,000 dollars and Ben en Naga's son 
 5,000 dollars, while both of them were kept in prison 
 
334 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 for many months to expiate their hasty step. With 
 no less energy did the Khalifa deal with thieves and 
 swindlers. 
 
 There are various classes of thieves : there are the 
 pickpockets, whose field of labour lies principally in the 
 markets, the small bazaars, and landing-places. They 
 are principally Khartum people or Egyptians, and their 
 feats of dexterity are marvellous. The removal and 
 cutting out of purses and money-bags is for them a 
 quite simple operation, and is generally performed when 
 people are engaged in a violent dispute. The thief has 
 generally a confederate with whom he works. They 
 will sit in the crowded ferry-boats, and whilst one of 
 them attracts the attention of his fellow-passengers by 
 singing or telling an exciting story, the accomplice is 
 busily engaged in pocket-picking ; or sometimes one of 
 them will begin rocking the boat whilst the other takes 
 advantage of the passengers' alarm by robbing them. 
 They hover about all day long in the market, watching 
 their opportunities to steal both from purchasers and 
 vendors. Stolen goods are sold to a particular set of 
 men who are in league with the thieves, and the money 
 obtained is quickly squandered. The art of pocket- 
 picking has become quite a science, and so skilful are 
 they that detection is almost impossible. The stolen 
 goods are passed on so readily from hand to hand that 
 even if the original thief is caught the person robbed 
 will probably never secure what he has lost. Over and 
 over again thieves are apprehended in flagrante, but 
 when brought up before the judge, no trace of the 
 stolen article is ever found. Frequently the judge does 
 not fail to get his share of thieves' profits ; so that the 
 latter have every inducement to continue their nefarious 
 practices. 
 
 But far more dangerous than the pickpockets are the 
 housebreakers. Of the latter there is a regularly orga- 
 nized body, of whom the chief is known as the Sheikh 
 el Haramieh. The band is made up of strong and bold 
 slaves, who are experts at breaking through walls or 
 climbing over them, armed with a long knife, with which 
 
THIEVES AND PICKPOCKETS. 
 
 335 
 
 they would not fail to stick anyone who attempted to 
 stop them. They employ women and children as spies, 
 who go about begging from house to house, and then 
 give the housebreakers full information, whereupon the 
 thieves, stripped almost naked, and armed with swords 
 and daggers, break into the house. One of them is 
 always told off to stand over the sleeping owner, and to 
 give him his quietus if he should attempt to rise, whilst 
 the others ransack the dwelling, and are off again as 
 quickly as they came, to divide the spoil. Whenever 
 the cry of " El Harami " (" Thieves ") is heard at night, 
 all sleep is banished, and a careful watch kept till 
 morning. 
 
 Formerly watch-dogs were most useful to warn against 
 housebreakers, but the Khalifa decreed that they were 
 impure animals, and forbade them to be kept. Not a 
 door i s n ow 10 be seen in the whole of Omdurman ; but 
 
 o .... ... 
 
 in spite of this injunction, the Arabs living in the desert 
 still keep them. If one of these poor animals by chance 
 strays into the town he is at once pursued by a multi- 
 tude armed with spears, shouting " Arian ! " (" Naked!") 
 and he is soon despatched. 
 
 A man called Zogheir — an Egyptian, born at Bara — 
 became quite one of the most celebrated of thieves. 
 From an early age he was brought up to steal, and became 
 most skilful. To a strong constitution he added a 
 courage which was worthy of higher things. As head 
 of a band of thieves he led many a daring undertaking, 
 and had the most wonderful knack of always escaping 
 all harm himself. On one occasion, when there were 
 scores of complaints made against him, he was sent to 
 the lock-up of the market. The sheikh es suk, who 
 was at that time rather short of money, promised to 
 release the prisoners if they could collect fifty dollars 
 amongst them. 
 
 Zogheir agreed to get the money, and was given one 
 hour's release from prison. He at once went to the 
 market, and very soon found a victim in the person of a 
 dammur (cloth) vendor, who had sold almost all his 
 goods, and sat with his purse full of money in front of 
 
336 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 him. Zoglieir seated himself down beside him, and 
 started a conversation about the cloth, which he began 
 turning over piece by piece, and with great dexterity he 
 succeeded in seizing the purse, which he secreted under 
 his jibbeh. He then went off to the judge, to whom he 
 presented the purse, in which were seventy dollars, and 
 then quietly returned to the lock-up, and told his guard 
 to again put his chains on. 
 
 The cloth merchant soon discovered the theft, rushed 
 off madly to the market court, and there represented 
 that a thief — and it could have been no one else but 
 Zogheir, for he had been sitting with him — had stolen 
 his money. The sheikh severely reprimanded the mer- 
 chant for making a false accusation, asking whether he 
 was a liar or was mad, and then, taking him off to the 
 prison, he showed him Zogheir heavily bound in chains ; 
 and after this the unfortunate merchant had to thank 
 his good fortune that he himself did not receive a 
 floggings 
 
 During the famine Zogheir drove a thriving trade. On 
 one occasion he discovered some Arabs in the market 
 who had just sold a quantity of dhurra, and were count- 
 ing out their money, which amounted to 700 dollars, 
 which they were carefully examining, to see that all 
 w T ere good. This sight made Zogheir long to get 
 the money, so he winked to his accomplice, and then 
 seated himself near the Arabs, and began asking them 
 whether he could offer them " Medjrdie " in exchange 
 for "Makbul" dollars. 
 
 AVhen the agreement was nearly concluded, Zogheir 
 took two dollars out of his pocket and gave them to one 
 of his accomplices, to buy some dates, and when the 
 man returned with the dates he began throwing: them 
 about in all directions, calling out " Karama ! Karama ! " 
 ("Alms! Alms!"). The starving beggars flocked to 
 him in crowds, and began quarrelling over the dates, 
 whilst the leather bag in which were the 700 dollars 
 suddenly disappeared. 
 
 The cries of the Arabs, searching for their lost money, 
 could scarcely be heard in the frightful din occasioned 
 
THE STORY OF ZOGHEIR, THE THIEF. 
 
 337 
 
 by the distribution of the dates, and all this time 
 Zogheir kept on condoling with the Arabs over their 
 loss, and then he seized a favourable moment to make 
 off and divide the contents of the leather bag amongst 
 his friends. At length complaints against him became 
 so numerous that he was sentenced to have his right 
 hand and left foot cut off. He submitted quite cheer- 
 fully to the operation, which is really a very simple one. 
 
 A butcher is called up, who ties the arm and foot 
 tightly with string just above the place where the cut is 
 to be made. This butcher, who has had an immensity 
 of practice, knows exactly where to cut, and it takes 
 only a very few moments to sever the hand and foot at 
 the joints. The tightly-tied string keeps the victim 
 from bleeding profusely, and in order to prevent gan- 
 grene or mortification setting in, the mutilated members 
 are at once dipped into boiling oil or fat, and are then 
 smeared over with katran (a sort of mixture of tar and 
 grease), or sesame. In the course of about two months 
 the cure is complete — that is to say, the cure of those 
 who survive the first shock ; but several succumb as 
 well. However, the enormous number of cripples in 
 ( hndurman is practical evidence that the nerves of 
 Sudanese are strong. 
 
 Zogheir survived the operation, but hardly had he 
 recovered than he began his old tricks again. He now 
 was possessor of a fine donkey, on which he rode about 
 in far better clothes than he had before, and altogether, 
 with his diminished members, his condition seemed to 
 have generally improved. But continual thefts again 
 drove him into prison, where he wore two chains on his 
 foot and two on his neck ; still he thought it beneath 
 him to take to crutches, and contented himself with 
 hopping about on one leg. He remained in prison for 
 two years, and during the whole of that time he was 
 well looked after by his friends, who supplied all his 
 wants. At last he was released, and is once more the 
 best professional thief in the Sudan. 
 
 But thieves are not all — there are swindlers as well. 
 Several people wished to give their money out to 
 
 z 
 
338 TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 interest, and of course there were numbers found ready 
 to give them what they asked. The Prophet, however, 
 forbids money to be lent out at a monthly rate of 
 interest, and the Mahdi renewed this injunction with 
 threats that an infringement of it would involve confis- 
 cation of property ; this led the swindlers to adopt a 
 variety of subterfuges. For instance, some men would 
 induce the Arabs to give them 200 to 300 dollars, with 
 which they set up a restaurant, promising the lenders 
 half profits in the concern. As long as the cook has 
 money in hand everything goes on well, and the Arab 
 will probably make daily inquiries as to the progress of 
 the business. " It is going on capitally," is the reply, 
 and the cook entertains his patron, who in turn is much 
 gratified at h.s generosity, and generally makes a very 
 excellent meal. 
 
 A careful account is kept, and prices are high. At 
 the end of the month the profits are divided, and the 
 Arab gets from say eight to fifteen dollars. The busi- 
 ness goes on perhaps for a year, the Arab is content and 
 lavish in his praises, but he is not aware that the 
 cook has paid him his share of the profits out of the 
 original money he put into the concern. At the end of 
 about a year the cook begins to complain that " es suk 
 barid " (" The market is getting cold ") — i.e. business is 
 slack, meat is dear, customers are few, and instead of 
 profit there is a distinct loss. Finding he is the only 
 customer, the Arab patron eats quickly and goes away. 
 At last the shop is closed, and the Arab, coming for his 
 money, is met with the simple answer, " There is none." 
 The case is brought before the judge, the cook hands in 
 a statement of his accounts, showing that the profit 
 amounted to 150 dollars, of which eighty were passed 
 to the credit of the patron in food, and the rest had been 
 lost owing to general depression of trade. The accounts 
 are all right, and the Arab is thoroughly puzzled as to 
 why he should have to pay so dearly for his cook's 
 proffered kindness. 
 
 Several Arabs, who have considerably less knowledge 
 of the world than the Gellabas, have lost all they 
 
EMPLOYMENT OF SLAVES AS TEIEVES. 339 
 
 possessed by these swindles. The Omdurman market 
 is, I suppose, the scene of more swindling and deception 
 than any other place of its size in the world. There is 
 no shame in being a thief or a swindler ; it is only 
 when one is found out that some shame attaches. 
 
 Several masters keep slaves for the express purpose 
 of getting them to rob and steal, and share the profits 
 with them. Slaves of this description are valuable 
 commodities, as, if they are discovered, it is generally 
 pretty certain that their master can bribe the judges ; 
 but this, of course, all depends on the relations which 
 exist between the individual and the local authorities. 
 Thus tobacco-smokers and marissa-drinkers must pay a 
 monthly sum to the sheikh es suk, which enables them to 
 carry out their lawless practices with impunity. If any 
 such individual refuse to pay, his habits are at once 
 reported, and he is severely punished, the confiscated 
 tobacco being then sold by the police. 
 
 Complaints against these evil practices, and regarding 
 the absence of public security in Omdurman, grew so 
 continuous and so serious, that at length the Khalifa 
 was obliged to interfere, and the following case brought 
 the matter to a head. A drunken slave had shot one of 
 his fellow slaves. In accordance with the law, the 
 master is permitted to take the offending slave's life ; 
 but he forgave him, because he did not wish to lose two 
 slaves at once. 
 
 When the Khalifa heard of the case, he at once 
 ordered the slave to be executed. After this, every one 
 came and told him about the smokers and marissa- 
 drinkers ; and then and there he appointed a certain 
 W ad er Keis, also named Hussein Wad ed Dayim, as 
 sheikh of the market'. 
 
 This man, who had been formerly Mamur of the 
 Berber police, succeeded in making himself feared by 
 the thieves. He openly told the Khalifa that it would 
 never do to treat thieves according to the law, and that 
 only the strongest and most energetic measures would 
 effect the breaking up of the band. 
 
 The Khalifa agreed ; and at once the new chief of 
 
 z 2 
 
340 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 police seized all the well-known thieves and put them 
 in chains. They were then bastinadoed, and forced to 
 confess what they had stolen, to whom the goods had 
 been sold, and their value. And thus they got to 
 know the names of almost all the thieves in the 
 town. 
 
 These measures created a great sensation in Omdur- 
 man, for it was found that several people in high places 
 were implicated, and they were convicted. The thieves, 
 too, seized this opportunity for extorting hush-money ; 
 but Wad er Reis soon re-established public security. 
 To increase the supervision, he divided the market into 
 quarters, over which he appointed sub-sheikhs (known 
 as sheikh el hara), who were responsible, with the 
 assistance of the inhabitants of the quarter, for preserv- 
 ing security at night. Numbers of marissa-drinkers 
 were apprehended, and a large quantity of confiscated 
 tobacco was publicly burnt in the market-place. All 
 the principal thieves were transported to the convict- 
 station at Regaf, a course which the Khalifa thought 
 preferable to mutilation of the hand and foot. 
 
 Just about this time an Egyptian convict, who had 
 escaped from Sawakin, arrived in Omdurman. He had 
 been convicted of false coining in Egypt, and had been 
 sentenced to ten years penal servitude at Sawakin. 
 While in the prison there, he and a companion had 
 come to an agreement with the soldier guarding them, 
 and all three had escaped and set off for Berber. The 
 soldier and the other man had died on the journey, and 
 the survivor, having reached Omdurman, begged to be 
 presented to the Khalifa ; but Abdullah thought it 
 beneath his dignity to interview an escaped convict. 
 He was therefore transferred at once to the steamer 
 bound for Regaf with all the thieves and other exiles, 
 whilst the Khalifa was heard to remark that anyone 
 who came from Egypt was invariably a criminal or 
 dishonest man. 
 
 The new posts of sheikh el hara were unpaid, and 
 as the holders had to live, they were forced to make 
 money by unfair means. This led to the old tobacco 
 
IMMORALITY. 
 
 341 
 
 and marissa abuse, so that matters soon drifted back 
 into much the same condition as before. 
 
 The caravan roads into the interior are fairly safe, 
 but merchants always prefer to travel in parties of 
 twenty to thirty ; though, as a matter of fact, the 
 Baggara garrisons at the various posts are a much 
 greater source of danger to the merchants than are the 
 thieves and brigands. These Ba^oara wring money 
 out of the merchants, and steal their goods ; but if the 
 caravan is large, they are afraid to do anything which 
 may lead to reprisals. The Khalifa has, however, done 
 much to improve public security in the provinces, 
 and punishes severely when cases are brought to his 
 notice. 
 
 The state of public morality in the Sudan is very 
 bad, and in Omdurman it could not well be worse. 
 Before the Mahdi appeared, matters were bad enough. 
 Almost all the large towns, such as Khartum, Messala- 
 mieh, Metemmeh, and El Obeid — especially the latter — 
 were hotbeds of immorality of the very worst de- 
 scription. 
 
 The Mahdi was utterly opposed to all these evil 
 habits, and during his life matters greatly improved ; 
 but this was due rather to the fact that the whole 
 country was under arms, and that the towns were 
 practically deserted. Besides, punishment for such 
 crimes was ungrudgingly given, and the stoppage of 
 marissa-drinking also tended to lessen the evils. 
 Marriage ceremonies were simplified and made less 
 expensive, and a distinct advance in public morality 
 was apparent. 
 
 But when the principal fighting was over, and the 
 victorious emirs gave themselves over to a life of 
 luxury and debauchery, when idle town life took the 
 place of religious campaigns, when houses were built of 
 mud and bricks instead of rough straw huts, and when 
 the Mahdi died, then immorality broke forth with the 
 redoubled violence of long compression, and the state 
 of affairs became infinitely worse than it had ever been 
 in the old Government days. I refer especially to 
 
342 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 Omdurman. Constant warfare had greatly diminished 
 the male population. ( Imdurman was full of women 
 who had neither husbands nor male relations ; and this 
 is the real cause of the evil state of affairs. 
 
 Matters reached such a pitch in 1888 that the Khalifa 
 issued an order that every unmarried woman must be 
 provided with a husband within three days, or she 
 would be handed over to a Baggara as a slave or 
 concubine. In consequence of this order, for the space 
 of three days the whole town was continuously occu- 
 pied in marriage ceremonies. Men seized this oppor- 
 tunity of taking women whom they would never, 
 under other circumstances, have been allowed to marry ; 
 and of course these forced marriages could not be of 
 long duration — in a month or two most of the couples 
 were separated. 
 
 Another cause which tended towards immorality was 
 the fact that numbers of men had been sent off to 
 far-distant parts of the country on expeditions, un- 
 accompanied by their wives, most of whom were left in 
 Omdurman for years ; and it is hardly to be wondered 
 at if in time they began to forget their husbands and 
 to form unlawful connections, in which the Khalifa had 
 frequently to interfere. 
 
 On one occasion upwards of eighty women, whose 
 infidelity to their husbands was unquestionable, were 
 put in prison, and a council held to consider what 
 should be done to them. It was decided to make an 
 example of one, and the victim selected was an 
 unfortunate who had borne two illegitimate children. 
 The poor creature was led into the women's quarter of 
 the market, and there she was lowered into a grave 
 with her last child tied to her bosom, and both stoned 
 to death by a cruel and hard-hearted crowd, who 
 seemed to take a fiendish delight in this inhuman piece 
 of work. 
 
 This, however, was the only execution of the sort 
 which took place during Mahdiism. The other women 
 were released ; but the only effect of the above example 
 was to induce women to take criminal means to rid 
 
THE M All II I AGE CEREMONY. 
 
 343 
 
 themselves of these evidences of illicit connection ; and 
 the open sale of abortive medicines only tended to 
 further increase the moral decadence of the people. 
 One can truthfully say that feelings of horror and 
 shame scarcely exist in the Sudan. From slaves of all 
 ages and sexes, to the little child of six years old, all 
 are instructed in the very worst forms of immorality ; 
 but on this painful and disgusting subject I will say no 
 more. 
 
 Gradually the simple marriage laws introduced by 
 the Mahdi gave place to the old former customs. For 
 example, the Emir of Berber, Abdel Majid, married the 
 daughter of Abderrahman Bey Ben en Naga, and received 
 from her father 2,000 grammes of gold. The marriage 
 ceremony, which was celebrated with dancing and 
 sinking;, lasted about a month ; but when the Khalifa 
 heard of it, he had the emir imprisoned for some months, 
 declared the marriage dissolved, sent the bride back to 
 her father, and forbade him to let the bridegroom ever 
 take her a^ain. 
 
 But the Sudanese have a passion for such ceremonies 
 involving dancing and singing, and will never be 
 restrained by any of these new laws. The women wear 
 jewellery as before ; they dance, sing, and prepare mar- 
 issa ; games of chance too are quite in vogue ; but of 
 course everything is carried on secretly. From time to 
 time the Khalifa raises his voice against it, and then 
 for a few days everything stops ; but it soon breaks out 
 again, and goes on just as before. 
 
 The festivals consequent on the termination of 
 Ramadan, on Bairam, on the occasion of births, circum- 
 cisions, &c, are not carried out with any degree of their 
 former brilliance. Perhaps a meat meal is given, and 
 visits paid two or three times in the year. The old 
 days of rejoicing have vanished, all is anguish and fear, 
 no man's life and property are secure ; every one has 
 perforce to break the laws, which are most of them quite 
 impracticable, and at the same time are in constant fear 
 of spies, who are everywhere. There is no security Justice, 
 or liberty ; and happiness and content are unknown. 
 
344 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE KHALIFA'S TKEATMEXT OF THE WHITE CAPTIVES. 
 
 Description of the prison, or " Saier " — The " Abu Haggar " — The 
 imprisonment of Charles Neufeld — Terrible sufferings of the 
 prisoners — Domenico Polinari — The danger of corresponding 
 with the European prisoners— Xeufeld threatened with death — 
 He is given charge of the saltpetre pits — The fate of Sheikh 
 Khalil, the Egyptian envoy — The Khalifa's treatment of the 
 " Whites "—Exile to the White Nile. 
 
 In the preceding pages frequent reference lias been 
 made to the prison. This is an institution of so much 
 importance in connection with Mahdiism that it merits 
 a description in detail. 
 
 " Saier ! " In the Sudan the bare mention of this 
 word causes a shudder. The ordinary word for prison 
 is " siggen," but Saier is really a contraction for beit es 
 Saier {i.e. the house of the Saier). Saier is the name of 
 a terrible individual of the Gowameh tribe of Kordofan, 
 who has been gaoler since the early days of the Mahdi, 
 and his name has become the synonym of the horrible 
 place of which he is the guardian. 
 
 A curious story is told about his name which is said 
 to be true. The Gowameh women are not renowned for 
 moral virtue, and when Saier was born his mother was 
 asked whose son he was ; she was unable to say, and when 
 brought before the authorities and again questioned, she 
 replied that it was " Saier " {i.e. it was the custom of 
 her country) ; the boy was therefore called Saier, and 
 the name clung to him. 
 
 Up to the time of the fall of Khartum, the prison had 
 been merely a large zariba, and it was only after the 
 Mahdi's death that a wall, built by the prisoners them- 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRISON. 
 
 345 
 
 selves, took the place of the thorn hedge. It is situated 
 on the river bank, and consists of a large yard, in the 
 centre of which is a building made of mud, straw, and 
 stones, known as " abu haggar " (or the stone hut), with 
 small square openings for a window and a door ; near 
 the hut is a well. In one corner are the cells, which are 
 scarcely large enough to contain a man, and which had 
 been built by Charles Neufeld. 
 
 The ordinary prisoners are not kept apart, but lie 
 under the shade of the wall during the day, and at night 
 they are packed, some into the abu haggar and some 
 left to lie about in the yard. A few of the w T ell-off 
 prisoners, who are in for long terms of imprisonment, 
 have been allowed to build little huts for themselves. 
 And just behind the gate is a small sun-dried brick 
 building, which belonged to Wad Gazuli, late sub-Mudir 
 of Khartum, who deserted to the Mahdi before Gordon's 
 arrival ; this hut is only big enough for two people, and 
 so low that it is impossible to stand upright in it. 
 
 It is considered a very great favour to be given a 
 hut of this description — a favour which is only conferred 
 on very privileged prisoners ; it is, moreover, very 
 expensive, but it has this merit, that the occupier can at 
 any rate live separately. There are only three huts of 
 this description in the prison. 
 
 Prisoners are not allowed to use mattresses, but the 
 owner of a hut can have a small platform slightly raised 
 from the ground, on which he is allowed to sleep. The 
 ordinary prisoners generally lie on their sheepskins or 
 on mats stretched on the Ground. 
 
 All prisoners are in chains, the number of which 
 depends on the nature of the crime committed. The 
 chains, called makias, consist of large iron rings forged 
 to the ankles, and joined by one and sometimes two 
 thick iron bars. The whole thing is very cumbersome 
 and heavy, and most tiring to walk with. To lighten 
 this difficulty, the prisoners generally attach a piece of 
 string to the chains, with which they lift them up as 
 they walk. If the connecting bar is tw r elve inches long 
 walking is greatly facilitated. Prisoners who have 
 
340 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAI1DPS CAMP. 
 
 fallen under the Khalifas special displeasure are 
 generally laden with four makias, which make it almost 
 impossible to rise ; besides these, a long heavy chain is 
 fastened round the neck, and to prevent the skin being 
 chafed, leather stocks can be bought of the prison 
 warders. Close to the prison gate is a large anvil and 
 several hammers ; the foot is placed in the open ring, 
 the ends of which are so tightly hammered together that 
 it is quite impossible to withdraw the foot ; the anvil is 
 in such constant use every day that it is almost worn out. 
 
 Prisoners have to arrange for their own food ; if they 
 have any relations or friends they are generally supplied 
 by them, or if they have any money they can buy their 
 own food from hawkers who are permitted to come 
 into the prison. But woe to the unfortunate prisoner 
 who has neither relations nor friends — he must inevitably 
 die of starvation. 
 
 At night, as I have remarked, the prisoners are 
 locked up in the stone hut, and sometimes the Saier 
 crowds it up to such an extent that the inmates are 
 almost suffocated or crushed to death. When he is in 
 want of money he does this, for a man will give any- 
 thing to be released from this awful black hole, in which 
 he packs them like sardines in a box and then closes 
 the door. The walls of the hut become heated during 
 the day, so that within the temperature is like an oven. 
 A little air gets in through the small opening, but the 
 pestiferous atmosphere caused by scores of perspiring 
 human beings tightly huddled together is beyond 
 measure unbearable. Several may be suffering from 
 various illnesses, but there is no possibility of getting 
 out once the door is closed. These horrible scenes can, 
 however, be better imagined than described ; suffice 
 it to say that the noise and quarrelling amongst the 
 prisoners, occasioned by the revolting operations which go 
 on, is generally quelled by the guards coming in with 
 whips, with which they lay about them roundly, and 
 then go out and close the door again. 
 
 Sleep is almost quite out of the question, for there is 
 no room to stretch out the legs, the heat is unbearable ; 
 
CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS. 
 
 317 
 
 scorpions abound, and every now and then a yell shows 
 that some unfortunate individual has been stung ; but 
 no one takes any notice. Cases of heat apoplexy often 
 occur, and deaths on this account are frequent. AVhen a 
 person falls down in a fit, the only remark passed is, " ed 
 dam darabu " (" The blood has beaten him "). Thus, in 
 utter anguish and misery, the night is dragged through. 
 The moment the 'door is opened a rush is made for the 
 open air, the dead are dragged out, their chains knocked 
 off, and then they are buried. 
 
 Prisoners who have special permission to sleep outside 
 are all chained together to prevent flight, and are 
 guarded by numbers of soldiers. The slightest show of 
 resistance on the part of a prisoner is punished by 
 flogging. Unless the Khalifa gives special orders to 
 the contrary, prisoners are allowed to receive visits 
 from their friends and relatives. There are no fixed 
 periods of imprisonment, except in the case of smokers 
 and marissa-drinkers, the usual punishment for them 
 being confiscation of property, eighty lashes, and forty 
 days imprisonment ; but latterly a fine, estimated at 
 the value of their property, is levied instead of com- 
 plete confiscation ; the two other portions of the sen- 
 tence are, however, always inflicted. 
 
 Prisoners are generally divided into three classes : 
 the first class comprise those who are sentenced by the 
 chief of the beit el mal, and although there is a special 
 prison for offenders against the beit el mal, all serious 
 cases are brought to the Saier. 
 
 Second-class prisoners are those undergoing sentences 
 of the judges ; both these classes hope for release whenever 
 a sufficiently influential person will pay a sum of money 
 for them, which sum must also be accompanied by a 
 certificate from the Saier that they have been conducting 
 themselves properly during their stay in prison. 
 
 The third class are those on whom the vials of the 
 Khalifa's wrath have been poured out ; their crimes are 
 for the most part political, and all mediation in their 
 cases is quite useless, no one, not even the judge, is allowed 
 to say a good word for them to the Khalifa. It is only 
 
318 TEN YEA US' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAME. 
 
 wjien his wrath is somewhat abated that it may occur 
 to himself to make inquiries about them, and then, 
 perhaps, he may consider recommendations for their 
 release ; but the Saier's opinion goes for much more 
 than any other person's, and therefore it is a great point 
 to secure this individual's favour and get into his good 
 graces. One bad word from the Saier can do an infinity 
 of harm, and may indefinitely postpone a release which 
 has been on the point of being made. 
 
 The Saier thoroughly understands how to work his 
 influence, for he benefits considerably by his exercise of 
 power ; he receives no pay, and therefore he is entirely 
 dependent on what he can make out of the prisoners. 
 The richer his victims, the more pleased he is, for he 
 knows he can wring money out of them freely. Once a 
 month the judge or his representative goes with a clerk 
 to the Saier and makes a list of all the prisoners, show- 
 ing how long each prisoner has been in confinement. 
 On these occasions numbers of the inmates throw them- 
 selves at the feet of the judges and beg to be released 
 because they are starving. This list is shown by the 
 judge to the Khalifa, and Charles Neuf eld's name 
 always appears at the top. Abdullah goes through the 
 list, makes careful inquiries about the prisoners, some 
 are released and others passed over in silence, a sign 
 which bodes them no good. 
 
 The Saier has seen and heard not a few of the mis- 
 fortunes of both Sudanese and Europeans. The first 
 Europeans he knew were Slatin Bey and Lupton Bey. 
 Gustav Klootz was put into chains in Abu Girgeh's 
 camp. During the siege of Khartum it was thought 
 the Europeans might attempt to escape to Gordon, 
 they were therefore put in chains ; both Slatin and 
 Lupton spent upwards of ten months in chains under 
 the Saier ; they suffered dreadfully from hunger and 
 ill-treatment, and were frequently threatened with 
 death. After the fall of Khartum they were released, 
 and were told by the Khalifa that they should feel 
 thankful to have been in prison, otherwise they would 
 undoubtedly have shared Gordon's fate. 
 
DOMENICO POLINAIil. 
 
 349 
 
 One of our Mission brothers, Domenico Polinari, was 
 also kept in prison for six months ; he was imprisoned 
 the same day that I arrived from Kordofan. 
 
 After the fall of Khartum, Polinari's brother had 
 been working as gardener in the Mission grounds, 
 under his new master, the Khalifa Sherif. The former 
 gardener, a Dongolawi, had been dismissed for dis- 
 honesty, and before he left, Sherif ordered him to be 
 carefully examined, as it was thought he might have 
 taken some of his master's property. Polinari, who was 
 a most conscientious man, and had never even taken 
 a lemon without his master's permission, carried out the 
 search most carefully, and succeeded in getting back 
 quantities of things the thief had made away with. 
 For a time the thief said nothing, but soon his innate 
 Danagla astuteness came to his assistance, and he 
 concocted a plan to revenge himself on Polinari, and 
 again become chief gardener. 
 
 The war material, just as it had been left by Gordon 
 in the Mission house, was still there, and it happened 
 that one day some powder was stolen. In spite of the 
 most careful inquiries, it was impossible to trace the 
 thief, and now the ex-gardener began to throw out 
 hints that Polinari was implicated in the theft. A 
 certain Hajji Zubeir was entrusted with the inquiry. 
 Polinari's hut was overhauled, but nothing found in it ; 
 his honesty was so well known that no one would 
 credit any evil reports or slander against him. But 
 the ex-gardener was not to be put off. Having failed 
 in his first accusation, he now began to spread reports 
 that Polinari drank liquor and chewed tobacco, and in 
 proof of this he produced a large glass bottle and some 
 dried herbs ; there were some fresh dates in the bottle, 
 with which Polinari intended making vinegar, which the 
 gardener insisted was liquor ; the dried vegetable was 
 a sort of cabbage which Polinari intended cooking for 
 his food, but this the Dongolawi asserted to be tobacco. 
 
 The unfortunate Polinari was obliged to walk through 
 Omdurman with the bottle on his head, followed by 
 an insulting and disorderly crowd, until he came before 
 
350 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 the judge. Kadi Ahmed, who was well known for his 
 partiality to Europeans, at once recognised that this 
 was all a trumped-up slander, and was anxious to 
 release Polinari ; but Hajji Zubeir, who had still great 
 influence with the Khalifa, and instigated by the ex- 
 gardener, sent him off to the Saier. Every other day 
 we used to send him some bread and dates, but the 
 slave to whom the food had been consigned never 
 delivered it, as we afterwards discovered, and had it not 
 been that two of the sheikhs, who were fellow-prisoners 
 with him, had given him some of their food, he must 
 have died of starvation. 
 
 Amongst the many Sudanese who have at various 
 times been inmates of the Saier, may be mentioned the 
 aged sheikh of the Shukrieh, who had been most loyal 
 to Gordon, Awad el Kerim Abu Sin — he died in prison : 
 Wad Zaicl, of the Debaineh tribe, had been kept in 
 prison four years ; then there were Ahmed Wad 
 Suleiman, who had been the Mahdi's chief of the beit el 
 mal ; Saleh Pasha Wad el Mek, one of Gordon's 
 principal officers ; the Ashraf Sayid Abdel Kader and 
 Sayid Abdel Kerim ; Wad Adlan we have already 
 referred to ; Jabrallah, Sultan of Darfur, and his five 
 sons, most of whom died ; Wad en Nejumi ; Sheikh 
 Iclris ; Makin Wad en Nur, and many others. 
 
 When the Khalifa's tribe, the Taisha, first arrived, 
 they plundered the market, and Abdullah threw 
 200 of them into prison, " to teach them," he said, 
 "the right way." Every night fifty of them were 
 driven into the stone hut, which was, indeed, a terrible 
 change from their forests and plains. Every day 
 several died of typhus fever, and now the mere mention 
 of Saier makes them tremble ; even their head sheikh, 
 El Ghazali, whose misfortunes I have already narrated, 
 spent some months in prison before he made his un- 
 successful attempt to escape. 
 
 Yasin, a Jaali, who had fallen into the hands of the 
 English at Toski, and who was subsequently released, 
 and given a letter to take to the Khalifa from the 
 Egyptian Government, had to pay dearly for saying 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF TWO ADABDEIJ ARABS. 
 
 351 
 
 to Abdullah that they could not fight against the 
 English. 
 
 Another of the captives taken at Toski, but who also 
 returned to Omdurman, was much more crafty in his 
 interview with the Khalifa ; this individual related that, 
 when in Cairo, an old monk had said to him, " Is not the 
 Khalifa of the Mahdi called Abdullah ? " to which he 
 replied, " Yes ; it is so." " Is he not slightly lame ? " 
 •• Yes." " Is he not marked with small-pox ? " " Yes." 
 Then the monk said, "Do you see this book? It 
 contains the history of the Mahdi and his successor, 
 and it is stated in it that Khalifa Abdullah shall 
 conquer Egypt, Syria, and Mecca." The Khalifa was 
 so delighted with the story that, turning round to his 
 people, he said, " You see the Christians know perfectly 
 well that Mahdiism is not false." The wily author of 
 the story was then given a present of money. 
 
 Occasionally the Saier treats his prisoners very 
 cruelly. Two jfikis who were suspected of being un- 
 believers were given 1,000 lashes each ; one died on the 
 spot, and the other a few days afterwards. Occasion- 
 ally he relieves the monotony by giving his prisoners 
 400 lashes, which is not considered an out-of-the way 
 punishment. 
 
 On one occasion, two Ababdeh Arabs coming from 
 Korosko as merchants, were discovered south of 
 Metemmeh with rifles in parts, carefully concealed in 
 bales of cloth ; letters were also found on them. They 
 were at once considered to be spies, and taken before 
 the Khalifa. As soon as it was rumoured that Arabs 
 carrying letters for the Europeans had been caught, 
 a friend came to me at once, and told me that the 
 letters were sure to be addressed to me. This threw 
 me into a fever of anguish and alarm ; I was made 
 a prisoner, and spent that night in the greatest terror. 
 The Khalifa had warned us most distinctly not to 
 correspond with Egypt, and threatened to imprison us 
 if a letter should ever be discovered. 
 
 On this occasion I had every reason to be alarmed, 
 for I had already had a similar experience. After 
 
352 TEN YE All S' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 Father Bonomi had escaped, he sent a Kababish Arab 
 to Kordofan to try arid secure my escape. The Arab 
 remained with Sheikh Saleh Bey, and did not, to my 
 knowledge, ever come to El Obeid. "When Saleh was 
 killed in 1887, they found amongst his papers a letter 
 from Father Bonomi to me, advising me to trust the 
 Aral), who would not fail to guide me safely to Haifa. 
 This letter was brought, with the other correspondence, to 
 the Khalifa, and was translated to him : he was furious, 
 and had not my guardian angel protected me, I must 
 have been relegated to prison. 
 
 Arabic letters are less dangerous, for they are read 
 out to the Khalifa by his secretary, but he is always 
 mistrustful that European letters are correctly trans- 
 lated. How I had longed for letters, even a word from 
 the outside world, or from my relations or friends ; but 
 now in my captivity how earnestly I prayed that no 
 letter for me should be found amongst those brought 
 by the Arabs ! 
 
 As soon as it was daylight I went out in search of 
 news, and to my delight was told that the letters were 
 in Arabic and were not for me, but for some one whom 
 I knew very well. The contents of the letters were 
 quite harmless, merely an interchange of compliments 
 between families in Cairo and Omdurman, and news of 
 a wedding which had taken place in Cairo. However, 
 the two men who brought the letters were in no little 
 fear, thinking they w^ould certainly be executed ; but 
 the Khalifa had thoroughly mastered their contents, 
 and though it was evening, he mounted his big white 
 horse,. in which position he usually made his important 
 speeches to the Ansar, and he told them that letters had 
 been captured which had come from Egypt and were 
 addressed to the " Ansar el Gudad " [i.e. the " new 
 Ansar," or inhabitants of Khartum and the Blue Nile, 
 in contra-distinction to the " Ansar el Gudum," or old 
 Ansar of Kordofan, who were the original adherents of 
 the Mahdi) ; that he did not intend to mention the 
 names of the persons to whom the letters w T ere addressed, 
 but he was sure they would spend a sleepless night. 
 
AN ASPIRANT FOR THE CHAIR OF KHALIFA OSMAN. 353 
 
 The next morning the two Arabs were sent to the 
 Saier, but their lives were spared. A few days later I 
 went to see Neufeld in prison and inquired about the 
 Arabs. I saw them both chained, and when they saw 
 me they at once asked me for something, addressing 
 me as Baladieh [i.e. one of their own countrymen), as 
 they took me for an Egyptian ; and then they told me 
 in strict secrecy that they had come with the intention 
 of securing the flight of two persons — one Mankarius 
 Gottas, who had died in Galabat, and the other a 
 resident in Berber, by whose imprudence they had been 
 betrayed ; these unfortunate men had had nothing to 
 eat for three days, so I gave them a few piastres which 
 I had brought for Neufeld, and as I did not dare to 
 stay longer with them I begged Zogheir to look after 
 them. 
 
 Fifteen days afterwards I returned and found the 
 poor men stretched out dead under the wall, they had 
 died of starvation, and the guards had just come to 
 knock off their chains and carry their bodies out of the 
 yard. The sight of these two Ababdehs filled my 
 heart with sadness ; there they lay, nothing but a mass 
 of skin and bone ; they had come to help poor captives 
 to escape, and this was their own miserable end. This, 
 indeed, was a warning to me to act with increased 
 prudence and caution. 
 
 An Egyptian, born in the Sudan, was also sent to the 
 Saier for a few months for declaring that he was the 
 fourth Khalifa — i.e. the Khalifa Osman. One day this 
 individual had presented himself to the Khalifa and 
 begged to be heard for a few moments as he wished to 
 tell him of a dream he had had. It is quite an ordinary 
 occurrence for the Ansar to relate dreams flattering to 
 the Khalifa, in the hope of getting some bakshish. 
 
 Thus did our Khalifa Osman relate that in his dream 
 or vision he had beheld the Mahdi, who told him to 
 declare himself the fourth Khalifa, and therefore he 
 begged that Abdullah would confirm him as such and 
 permit him to take his share of authority with the 
 other Khalifas ; he also begged that all the honour due 
 
 2 A 
 
35i TEN TEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 to him as Khalifa Osman should be forthwith paid to 
 him. 
 
 This poor madman paid dearly for his dream. 
 Abdullah merely made a sign to one of his body-guard, 
 
 CHARLES NEUFELD. 
 
 on which he was hurried off to the Saier, where he 
 received fifty lashes twice a day, and was eventually 
 obliged to confess that the devil had tempted him to 
 strive after this position. 
 
 Charles Neufeld remained in the prison longer than 
 
CAPTURE OF CHARLES NEUFELD. 
 
 355 
 
 any one else. I have narrated in a previous chapter 
 how he had daringly joined Saleh's people with the 
 intention of establishing commercial relations with the 
 Arabs, and how he was entrapped by the Dervishes 
 at the oasis of Selimeh. This good man knew nothing 
 of the Sudan and nothing about Mahdiism, and it was 
 just at this time that the Khalifa had made up his 
 mind to crush Saleh and his Kababish. 
 
 On the 7th of March, Neufeld arrived in Omdurman 
 — a prisoner under a strong escort. News spread like 
 wildfire that an English pasha had been captured, and 
 this caused a great stir in the capital. The Khalifa 
 considered him a most important capture, and Neufeld 
 was ushered into the presence of the three Khalifas and 
 two Europeans, who were entrusted with the examina- 
 tion of his papers. Neufeld spoke Arabic, and was 
 quite fearless. His papers showed that he was a 
 Prussian and had studied in the Leipzig University. 
 All the documents were most carefully translated to the 
 Khalifa, as it was most important to assure him that 
 Neufeld was not an Englishman, as otherwise it would 
 have gone very hardly with him. There was one letter, 
 however, in English, which, if it had been truthfully 
 translated, would have probably got him into great 
 danger. 
 
 After the preliminary examination, Abdullah's mind 
 seemed to have been put at rest, for he delivered from 
 his high seat a long speech to the inquisitive Ansar 
 regarding this great English pasha, who he said had 
 come to the Sudan with arms and ammunition, intending 
 to seize Kordofan and fight against Mahdiism, but 
 fortunately the brave troops of Wad en Nejumi had 
 met him near Dongola, killed his soldiers, and captured 
 him. 
 
 It was the Khalifa's habit to exaggerate facts and 
 thereby encourage the Ansar ; he also made out his 
 capture was a most important event, for hitherto they 
 had not succeeded in taking even one of the hated 
 English. Poor Neufeld was therefore thrown into 
 chains and carefully guarded by soldiers ; during the 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 whole of that night a fanatical Dinka negress, who 
 used to dress in men's clothes and wear a sword, 
 shrieked continuously at him, " Allah hu akbar alal 
 kufar 1 " (" God's power is most great over the unbe- 
 lievers.") 
 
 It was decided that Neufeld was to he hanged the 
 next morning. Very early the Khalifa sent orders that 
 the great drum should be beaten, while the blast of the 
 huge onbeia close to Neufeld's ears almost made him 
 fall down from fright. The slaves made game of him 
 as if he were a monkey ; but he still kept up courage 
 and answered all these insults with a manly spirit ; the 
 rope had been fixed on to the scaffold, and already 
 crowds of people were collected to see the Englishman 
 executed. But the condemned man had not yet arrived, 
 for the Khalifa's final decision had not been taken. 
 Hitherto he had never executed a white man in this 
 open way, and he delayed, because he was still uncertain 
 about his being a Prussian. Had Neufeld been an 
 Englishman, there is not the smallest doubt he would 
 have been killed. 
 
 At length Abdullah made up his mind not to kill 
 him, but he determined to frighten him ; about mid- 
 day, therefore, Neufeld was taken to the market-place 
 escorted by horsemen ; the crowd raised a yell of 
 delight when he appeared, but Neufeld fearlessly walked 
 on, and on reaching the gallows he jumped on to the 
 angarib and bent his head so that Bringi might adjust 
 the rope round his neck. Just at the last moment the 
 judge stepped forward and said that the Khalifa had 
 been graciously pleased to repeal the sentence of execu- 
 tion, and Neufeld was, therefore, again removed to the 
 lock-up. 
 
 Three days later he was laden with three heavy 
 chains, put on to a camel, and led through all the 
 streets of Omdurman, so that every one might see him. 
 He was also taken to a review where the Khalifa asked 
 him if the Turks possessed as many troops as he now 
 saw before him, to which Neufeld replied that the 
 Khalifa's troops were more numerous, but that they 
 
NEUFELD' S MISERY IN PRISON. 
 
 357 
 
 were not so well drilled in exercises and movements as 
 the Turks were. 
 
 This answer did not please the Khalifa ; and in order 
 to make him take an interest in the Mahdi and his 
 Khalifa, he was taken over to Khartum and was there 
 shown the Mission building, which the Mahdi had seized ; 
 he was then taken back to the prison, where he remained 
 four years. He was frequently attacked with typhus 
 fever, dysentery, and other ailments, and was terribly 
 stung by scorpions ; had not the Europeans in Omdur- 
 man supported him he must have starved to death. 
 
 The depth of misery to which poor Neufeld was 
 reduced may be readily understood when it is known 
 that he spent a whole year in the stone hut, and it was 
 not until he had completed two years in prison that, 
 through the intermediary of a friend, he was allowed to 
 build a little cell for himself in one of the corners of the 
 yard, where he could sleep away from the other prisoners. 
 This little building was about twelve feet square and 
 very low, and here poor Neufeld used to sit all day long ; 
 his jibbeh was very dirty and swarming with insects, 
 which allowed him little rest at night, and in despair he 
 used to get one of his companions in adversity to rub him 
 with wet sand, which made his skin less irritable ; some 
 sympathizing Arabs told him to soak crushed cloves in 
 water and then rub his body with the paste ; this 
 Neufeld found a capital remedy, though it made his 
 skin smart a great deal at first. Neufeld's kindness of 
 heart soon won over his guards, and often they allowed 
 him to remain undisturbed in his little hut for the night 
 instead of dragging- him off to the stone hut. 
 
 One evening, hearing that the Saier was in a bad 
 humour, he told his guards that he wanted to spend that 
 night in the stone hut ; but the soldiers assured him that 
 the moment they knew there was to be an inspection 
 they would at once let him know. So Neufeld settled 
 himself to sleep in his cell, when suddenly, about mid- 
 night, one of his guards awoke him, saying, " Get up 
 quickly ! the Saier has sworn he will give any one he 
 finds outside the stone hut 100 lashes." 
 
358 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDTS CAMP. 
 
 Neufeld got up as quickly as possible and made his 
 way to the hut, but the chains prevented him from 
 moving rapidly, and when he got to the door he could 
 not turn the key ; just at that moment the Saier came 
 into the yard, and seeing him, ordered him to be given 
 100 lashes on the spot ; but the soldiers refused to obey 
 — one said he had fever, and the other said that he had 
 been flogging people all day and was too tired. The 
 Saier was therefore obliged to call slaves from his own 
 house, who administered the 100 lashes, and left poor 
 Neufeld covered with deep scores all over his body. 
 
 In 1889 Neufeld obtained a new companion in 
 adversity in the person of a Bohemian baker, who had 
 been employed with some Greeks at Haifa. One day, 
 in a state of semi-intoxication, the baker had left Haifa 
 with nothing but his violin, intending to go to Sawakin ; 
 but he lost his way in the desert, was overcome by 
 thirst, and wandered towards the Nile, which he at 
 length reached. Quite ignorant of the direction in 
 which he was going, he struck out towards the south, 
 and fell in with a patrol of Dervishes, by whom he was 
 passed on to Omdurman. 
 
 On his arrival the Khalifa sent him to prison, where 
 he remained two years. Neufeld shared his every 
 mouthful with him ; but during the famine he suffered 
 dreadfully from want. At length, through the inter- 
 mediary of the mukudclum in charge of the Europeans, 
 he was released ; but a few months afterwards he made 
 off to the Gezireh. The mukudclum, who had guaranteed 
 him with his head, sent several camelmen in search of 
 him ;• but there was no trace to be found of him. After 
 a time it was reported that he had died of starvation at 
 Eufaa on the Blue Nile, and this information greatly 
 relieved the Khalifa's mind. 
 
 As for Neufeld, we did our utmost to obtain his 
 release ; but the Khalifa would not hear of it ; moreover, 
 false reports were circulated about him. Some people 
 who came from Dongola said that Neufeld, in disguise, 
 had been sent by the Egyptian Government to find out 
 whether the Mudir — Mustafa Yawer — was still loyal or 
 
XEUFELD WORKS THE SALTPETRE PITS. 
 
 359 
 
 had thrown in his lot with the Dervishes ; but in reality 
 it was Kitchener Pasha who had been entrusted with 
 this mission. 
 
 On another occasion an Arabic newspaper, printed in 
 Cairo, w r as brought to him, containing a paragraph to 
 the effect that an English officer had been captured by 
 the Dervishes in Dongola. This amazed the Khalifa 
 greatly, for at once he believed that he had been deceived 
 and that Xeufeld was actually an Englishman. Being, in 
 truth, a mere savage and an ignorant man, he believed 
 that all news in a newspaper must be true, and blamed 
 himself for not having executed Xeufeld in the first 
 instance ; he ordered him, however, to be more heavily 
 chained than before. 
 
 Others again spread rumours abroad that Xeufeld had 
 come with the intention of aiding Slatin to escape — new T s 
 which enraged the Khalifa perhaps more than anything 
 else. Thus did Xeufeld spend four years in prison, and 
 his release seemed hopeless ; but we left no stone un- 
 turned. We secured the good-will of all the most 
 influential people in Omdurman, including even the Cm 
 el Muminin (Mother of the Faithful — i.e. the Mahdi's 
 widow) and the Sherifa Sitt Xefisa (the daughter of Sidi 
 Hassan el Morghani), who petitioned very earnestly for 
 his release ; but the Khalifa would listen to no one. 
 
 AY hen powder was scarce in Omdurman, some one 
 suggested, at one of the Khalifa's councils, that it would 
 be much better to make the unbelievers work for religion 
 instead of remaining all day long idle in the Saier, and 
 that Xeufeld ought to undertake the saltpetre refinery. 
 The Khalifa said, " Do what you think right — I am 
 content." And on the same day Xeufeld was sent to 
 Halfaieh in search of saltpetre ; he found some, and a 
 month later was moved to Khartum, where he is now 
 working in the old Mission-house with an Egyptian 
 assistant named Said. He still wears one chain on the 
 feet, which, from constant rubbing, has become as bright 
 as silver, while there are great black marks round his 
 ankles. In Khartum he is allowed greater liberty than 
 lie had in Omdurman. 
 
360 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 In 1891 a Jewish merchant came from Massawa to 
 Kassala, where the Emir Abu Girgeh was then com- 
 manding. The latter was in favour of opening commercial 
 relations by means of Jews, and permitting non-Mussul- 
 man dealers to come and sell their goods at Kassala, or 
 let them go on further into the country. When, there- 
 fore, the Jew had disposed of his goods, he went, on 
 Abu Girgeh's advice, to Omdurman. On being presented, 
 the Khalifa summoned another Jew, named Passioni, 
 whom he made responsible for the new arrival. But, as 
 usual, the voice of slander was not silent ; it was 
 whispered that he was an Italian spy, and that it would 
 have been better to have him under surveillance. He 
 had scarcely left the Khalifa's presence, when he was 
 recalled and sent to the Saier, there to be " educated as 
 a true Ansar." 
 
 The fate of Olivier Pain and the experiences of 
 Neufeld and this Jew are sufficient evidence to prove 
 the utter uselessness of attempting to personally enter 
 into commercial relations with the present ruler of the 
 Sudan. Any one who comes to Omdurman need expect 
 nothing but chains, the most terrible form of imprison- 
 ment, insults and ignominy from the Sudanese. 
 
 A still worse fate befell Sheikh Khalil, who was sent 
 from Egypt to the Sudan on a special mission to the 
 Khalifa. In company with an Ababdeh sheikh, he arrived 
 at Abu Hamed, where Zogal was at the time. The 
 latter being accurately informed of the nature of his 
 mission, allowed the two messengers to travel without 
 escort to Omdurman, and on the journey Khalil had 
 opportunities of speaking to the people, and ascertaining 
 how they were disposed to the Egyptian Government. 
 He saw with his own eyes the devastation wrought by 
 the Dervishes and by famine in all the towns and villages 
 along the Nile. For some days before he actually 
 reached Omdurman, we heard of his approach, which 
 occasioned no small stir in the place. Some people 
 thought he was bringing proposals of peace, which, if 
 refused by the Khalifa, would oblige the Egyptian 
 Government to a sain advance into the Sudan ; rumours 
 
ARRIVAL OF SHEIKH KHALIL. 
 
 361 
 
 of all sorts were rife, but there was no possible means 
 of knowing the truth. 
 
 Late one evening Khalil arrived, dressed as an Egyp- 
 tian, with a long flowing abayeh (mantle). He was 
 taken before Yakub, to whom he made over his letter, 
 and was then taken before the Khalifa, to whom, it is 
 said, he freely spoke his mind. That same evening he 
 was sent under escort to Kererri, where he was put into 
 a hut under a strong guard, but he was not chained. 
 He was supplied with meat, butter, corn and sugar, and 
 a female slave was placed at his disposal by the Khalifa, 
 who had purposely sent him out of Omdurman to prevent 
 him conversing with anyone, and to keep all information 
 regarding his mission quite secret.* In this way the 
 Khalifa thought he would give him a different impression 
 of Mahdiism, while Hajji Zubeir was told off as inter- 
 mediary between Khalil and Abdullah. 
 
 It was generally believed that Khalil had blamed the 
 Khalifa for his ill-treatment and oppression of the 
 Moslems, and had shown him how his rule was ruining 
 the Sudan. He had begged him to abandon the evil 
 of Mahdiism and return to the true orthodox religion. 
 Whilst in confinement at Kererri he was frequently 
 threatened with death. No one knew what his mission 
 could be, and the Khalifa knew how to guard it secretly, 
 so that gradually people began to forget all about him, 
 and great was the surprise when one day Khalil and his 
 companion appeared riding on mules at the great parade 
 held during the Bairam festival. 
 
 The Khalifa brought Khalil here to show him how 
 immense was his power and authority, and just before 
 the parade was concluded Abdullah and all the cavalry 
 galloped up to him, surrounded him, and asked whether 
 
 * Khalil had been entrusted with a few lines of a purely non- 
 political nature, politely asking the Khalifa to return to the bearer 
 any clothes, papers, ftp., belonging to the late General Gordon, which 
 his family were very desirous of procuring. He was also given lists 
 of all prisoners captured at Toski, showing how they were disposed of 
 in Egypt, and a remark was added that when peace and tranquillity 
 were restored between the two countries, they would be permitted to 
 return, but in the meantime they were well cared for.— F. R. \V. 
 
3'52 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 lie would not rather stay in the shadow of the Mahdi's 
 dome than return to Egypt. Khalil, who had now been 
 for upwards of five months in confinement, and thinking 
 that he should never be allowed to leave, and at the same 
 time longing to be allowed to return and report to the 
 Government all he had seen, replied diplomatically that 
 having once been in the light he had no wish to return 
 to darkness. 
 
 This reply delighted the Khalifa, who ordered him to 
 be set free, and at prayers in the mosque on that day 
 he satin the centre of the long line of Ansar just behind 
 the Khalifa. 
 
 It is the custom at festivals for all European pri- 
 soners, Greeks, Syrians, Jews, &c, to go and offer the 
 Khalifa their good wishes. When they arrived on this 
 occasion the Khalifa ordered them to be seated around 
 him — he does not allow them to kiss his hand, as he 
 might thereby become contaminated with their impurity ; 
 he usually makes a speech, pointing out the punish- 
 ments which may fall upon them ; but this time he was 
 particularly gracious, asked how they were all getting 
 on, and if they had met with ill-treatment or injustice 
 at the hands of anyone. He gave them to understand 
 that they must look on him as their protector, and that 
 should they die their children would become their heirs, 
 and that if a family had no children, the property 
 would be sold and divided amongst the other prisoners. 
 
 This kindly speech was a great surprise to us all ; but 
 the astute Khalifa only wanted to show Khalil how 
 well he treated his prisoners. It is possible, also, that 
 Khalil had observed to him how badly we really were 
 treated, but this is only surmise on my part. Abdullah's 
 kindly speech, however, did us much good, for of course 
 all he says goes the round of the whole town, and when 
 the people knew that we had been well received, they 
 showed us much greater kindness and respect. If, on 
 the other hand, the Khalifa ever imputes a word of blame 
 to any of us, the reaction on the people is immediate, 
 and we are at once insulted and maltreated. It is 
 always said that " the whites " — which is the name by 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF SHEIKH KIIALIL. 3()3 
 
 which we are known in the Sudan — " live under the 
 shadow of the sword." 
 
 The Khalifa then asked Khalil's companion if he 
 wished to return or stay where he was. The man 
 replied that he was a messenger, pure and simple, and 
 that as such " he should return to him who sent him," 
 and on the same day the Khalifa gave him permission 
 to depart. 
 
 But now evil reports w T ere spread abroad regarding 
 KhaliL It was said that he was a great friend of Mus- 
 tafa Yawer, the ex-Mudir of Dongola, and that it was 
 mainly through his influence that he prevented him 
 adopting Mahdiism ; it was also said that he w r as the 
 chief of the spies sent by the English, and a bitter 
 enemy to the Mahdi. It was imprudent under such 
 circumstances of Khalil to go as an envov to Omdurman. 
 He had given his services to the Government for this 
 purpose, and he bravely adhered to it ; but he was w^ell 
 known to the inhabitants of Dono-ola and Dar Shagoieh, 
 and it was quite certain that the Khalifa would never 
 permit such a man to return to Egypt. Even in 
 Omdurman he would not allow him to be at large. 
 
 Tw t o days later the judges were assembled to consider 
 Khalil's case : false witnesses came forward who asserted 
 that they had seen Khalil worshipping the sun and fre- 
 quently turning towards the west at prayers, and all 
 sorts of stories were trumped up to induce the Khalifa 
 to put Khalil in chains. 
 
 The pliable judges condemned the sheikh, and he was 
 relegated to the Saier. Neufeld had to give up his cell, 
 which was made over to Khalil. None of the prisoners 
 w T ere allowed to speak to him — thus w T as the poor man 
 left without a friend or acquaintance to help him ; every- 
 one shunned him as if he were the victim of some foul 
 disease. Erom the earliest days of Mahdiism it was 
 always the fate of those who fell in favour to be deserted 
 by all, and this was more especially the case with all 
 those on whom the Khalifa's wrath fell. Thus everyone 
 — fearing for his own life —avoids all intercourse with 
 such prisoners. 
 
364 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 When Khalil had expended the little money he pos- 
 sessed, he sold his sword, sheepskin, and clothes, and 
 bought bread — such bread too ! — even Sudanese, who 
 are accustomed to eat all sorts of stuff, could only eat 
 prison bread when hunger had made them like ravenous 
 wolves ; but Khalil had come from Egypt and its flesh- 
 pots, and the Sudan bread made him ill. 
 
 At length he had no more money to buy even bread, 
 and then he suffered the pangs of hunger. For a month 
 before his death his beard had grown quite white, and 
 he himself had become like a skeleton. His wretched- 
 ness and loneliness brought on sickness, and he died a 
 miserable death. It occurred on a Friday whilst the 
 Khalifa was attending a review, and Abdullah acci- 
 dentally fell from his horse on that day, but was caught 
 before he reached the ground. This was considered a 
 very bad omen by the people, who thought that Khalil 
 had been unjustly condemned. They believed it pointed 
 to the overthrow of the Khalifa's rule, and he himself 
 was very much disturbed. 
 
 The disloyal Ababdehs of Hassan Khalifa were also 
 locked up in the Saier. Hassan was a nephew of the 
 former Muclir of Berber, had been for a long time emir 
 of Abu Hamed, and during Nejumi's advance on Egypt 
 had occupied the wells of Murat. It was said that when 
 there, he had acted in a most reprehensible manner, and 
 had wrung quantities of money out of the merchants. 
 It was also said that when Saleh Bey advanced from 
 Korosko on Murat, he came to an arrangement with 
 him— for he was not a Mahdiist at heart — and had 
 retired on Abu Hamed without attempting to fight. 
 
 All sorts of reports about him reached the Khalifa's 
 ears, but he refused to believe them. When, however, 
 a certain Abadi named Karrar, one of the Khalifa's 
 spies, who had been captured by Saleh at Murat, for 
 having letters in his possession for the sheikhs in 
 Egypt, and had been kept in prison for some months, 
 was released and returned to Omdurman, the Khalifa 
 then became convinced of Hassan Khalifa's disloyalty ; 
 he sent four of his mulazimin to Abu Hamed, arrested 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF HASSAN KHALIFA. 
 
 365 
 
 him and liis people, and confiscated all their property. 
 About forty men were thrown into chains, dragged to 
 Omdurman and there relegated to the Saier ; several 
 died of typhus, and the remainder, after two years' 
 imprisonment, were sent as exiles to Fashoda, except 
 Hassan, who still remains in prison at Omdurman. 
 
 Near the Saier is another small prison for females, 
 but there are not so many of them. 
 
366 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 LUPTON BEY AXD THE AMMUNITION. 
 
 The Khalifa's powder and ammunition begin to fail — Lupton Bey 
 makes fulminate — Unsuccessful attempts to make powder — 
 Yusef Pertekachi at last succeeds — The explosion in the powder 
 factory. 
 
 As a result of constant warfare and the careless ex- 
 penditure of ammunition, the want of it now began to 
 Ito sensibly felt by the Khalifa, and it eventually be- 
 came an all-important question. The principal want 
 was caps for the Eemington cartridges, for, though 
 there were quantities of empty cases there was scarcely 
 any fulminate left. 
 
 Many a starving Egyptian began to try and invent 
 some substance which would act as fulminate ; there 
 were still a few books on chemistry to be found, but all 
 attempts failed to produce satisfactory results. At last, 
 a certain Hassan Zeki, who had formerly been a doctor 
 in Khartum, invented the substance required. The 
 Khalifa told off Lupton Bey, who at that time was 
 living in the most abject poverty, as his assistant. 
 
 The first trials of the new fulminate were made in 
 the presence of Yakub, and were most successful ; the 
 invention proved of the greatest use to the Khalifa. 
 The unfortunate Lupton Bey died on the 8th of May, 
 1888, and Hassan Zeki continued the work. Within a 
 comparatively short time he prepared a very large 
 number of caps. Abdullah had a special laboratory 
 made, and employed a number of boys as cartridge 
 fillers. It was principally owing to this invention that 
 the Khalifa was enabled to conduct his successful 
 campaigns against Abyssinia. 
 
KAMAL ED DIN, THE INDIAN. 
 
 367 
 
 And now another difficulty arose — this was the 
 scarcity of powder ; numbers of persons presented 
 themselves as prepared to make this commodity. An 
 Indian, named Kamal ed Din, came forward amongst 
 others ; he had come from India to join the Mahdi, 
 passed himself off as a doctor and proudly called him- 
 self " Physician-in-chief to the Khalifa." He had a 
 ready tongue, and soon acquired respect and wealth ; he 
 painted his beard red with henna.* He had immense 
 powers of persuasion, and thereby obtained a concession 
 from Abdullah to make powder. He demanded that a 
 special laboratory should be built for him in Khartum, 
 so as to be quite out of observation, and he asked for a 
 quantity of money for the purchase of the chemicals he 
 required. 
 
 The laboratory was built in the course of a month in 
 the old corn store in Khartum, and the work was 
 taken in hand. The Indian declared that it was most 
 necessary to obtain phosphorus, and therefore he had 
 all the bones and skulls of the people who had been 
 massacred in Khartum, collected, and these he pounded 
 in mortars into very fine flour, much to the annoyance 
 of people who objected to this desecration of the dead. 
 
 Every now and then he applied for more money from 
 the beit el mal, which was supplied to him at once, and 
 now he began to work quite alone and in secret ; he 
 put the bone flour in earthenware vessels, poured water 
 on it, and then sealed the vessels hermetically ; he now 
 declared that to prepare the chemical substance only, 
 another month was necessary. He therefore stopped 
 work and lived at his ease. At the expiration of the 
 month he secretly opened the vessels ; no one had a 
 notion what he was going to do with the bone-paste, 
 but he affirmed that so far everything was most success- 
 ful, and invited the head of the beit el mal, as well as 
 several emirs, to be present at the trial of the powder. 
 
 The emirs came and sat in a circle round a furnace 
 
 * This worthy was taken prisoner by the Egyptian troops at the 
 capture of Tokar in February 1891. 
 
363 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 which slaves were blowing up with bellows ; then the 
 Indian produced the vessel, asked the emirs to take 
 some of the substance and throw it into the fire. This 
 they did, and it exploded with a loud report, which 
 greatly astonished the spectators, one of whom then 
 and there, knelt down and offered up a prayer of 
 thanksgiving for the success of the invention. 
 
 The emirs accompanied Kama! ed Din to Omdur- 
 man in triumph, where he also gave proof of the 
 excellence of his powder in the presence of the Khalifa. 
 Abdullah was wild with joy, and presented the inventor 
 with 200 dollars and a concubine. The Indian now 
 returned to Khartum with profuse promises that he 
 would supply several hundredweight of the new powder 
 in the course of a month. 
 
 But soon people began to talk of him as being a 
 cheat and a deceiver ; a month passed and the powder 
 was not delivered ; the head of the beit el mal became 
 anxious, and reported the matter to the Khalifa, who at 
 once sent his brother Yakub and "Wad Adlan to make 
 inquiries on the spot ; they went, and it was very 
 evident that the Indian had been duping them all the 
 time. He was brought before the Khalifa, and, strange 
 to say, was not punished. Abdullah merely remarked 
 that he was a poor foreigner, and, of course, had to do 
 his best to make a living. It is a curious thing that 
 Abdullah has a much greater insight into the ways of 
 foreigners than most natives. 
 
 A certain mukuddum, however, of the Jaalin tribe 
 did not get off so easily. In the days of the Govern- 
 ment he had practised an extensive fraud in Khartum, 
 and also in Sennar as an alchemist, and now he came 
 forward to offer his services for the manufacture of lead. 
 At first he had been occupied in making gold, but now 
 to the Khalifa lead was even more precious than gold, 
 and the want of it was causing him grave appre- 
 hension. 
 
 The mukuddum's offer was accepted, he received 
 presents from the beit el mal, where he was given a 
 special place in which to carry on his work, and 
 
THE ATTEMPT TO MAKE LEAD. 
 
 369 
 
 numbers of slaves were placed at his disposal ; he was 
 given all the money he required to purchase various 
 things in connection with the manufacture, and which 
 he asserted were absolutely essential. Four slaves were 
 told off to keep up an enormous furnace, whilst the 
 mukuddum, his head and shoulders swathed in a great 
 mantle, beat the ground madly with a long whip in 
 order to call the Jinns to his assistance. His curious 
 antics greatly astonished the people, and he soon be- 
 came the principal topic of conversation in Omdurman. 
 After fourteen days an enormous lump of lead was 
 drawn out from the furnace, and his reputation was made. 
 
 The Sudanese are great believers in alchemy ; and it 
 was thought that the preparation of one of the ingre- 
 dients required the greatest secrecy. The mukuddum, 
 therefore, worked fully on the superstitious nature of 
 the people, and a thick cloud of foul-smelling smoke 
 was seen continually issuing from his mysterious and 
 dark laboratory. The lead was at once sent to the 
 Khalifa, who appeared thoroughly convinced of the 
 miraculous power of the maker, and indeed had the 
 piece brought into the mosque to expose it publicly. 
 The sycophants of course told him that this was an un- 
 deniable miracle on the part of the Mahdi, who had 
 been the means of supplying the precious metal to his 
 successor through this mukuddum. 
 
 The manufacturer was now in high favour, the 
 Khalifa pressed him to continue the work, and supplied 
 him liberally with money and female slaves. One of 
 the Europeans had urged him to desist, telling him that 
 it was quite impossible to manufacture lead ; but the 
 mukuddum answered him three times in the most solemn 
 manner : "Do you thinK that you know the knowledge 
 of God ? " and then went on with his work. From time to 
 time he continued to send pieces of lead to the Khalifa, 
 but his supply only lasted a few months ; the more 
 sensible people began to talk, they urged that if he 
 could make one piece of lead, he could also make 
 several hundred-weight. The voice of the detractors 
 grew stronger, the Khalifa's suspicions were aroused, 
 
 2 B 
 
o70 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDPS CAMP. 
 
 and the mukuddum was summoned into his presence. 
 He asked him in the most kind manner if it was a 
 fact that he really knew how to make lead, or if he 
 was only attempting to deceive ; if the latter — and he 
 confessed to it — then he might receive forgiveness. 
 
 But this kindly warning was entirely without effect ; 
 the mukuddum boldly answered that he did know how 
 to make lead, and moreover abused his detractors, 
 calling them enemies of Mahdiism, who hated the 
 Khalifa, and did not wish him to be possessor of 
 the precious metal. He added that, if given sufficient 
 time, he would prove his enemies to be liars. The 
 Khalifa permitted him to continue his work a little 
 longer ; but the results were still the same, and he was 
 again summoned before Abdullah, who now threatened 
 to cut off his hand and foot unless he confessed that he 
 had been practising a fraud ; but still the mukuddum 
 persisted in his denial, and the Khalifa ordered three 
 chains to be forged for his feet, and had him sent back 
 to his laboratory under a strong escort ; he was to be 
 permitted to work for three days longer. 
 
 He now redoubled his antics, making the dust whirl 
 in clouds about him, and crying on the spirits to aid 
 him. He put a few pounds of substance into the fire — 
 all that was left of his lead-scrapings — but this time 
 the spirits left him in the lurch. Bathed in perspira- 
 tion, he anxiously raked about the coals ; but there was 
 no lead to be seen. He begged and prayed for more 
 time, which was granted. But at length one of his slaves 
 let out the secret ; he said that the mukuddum used to 
 purchase in the market the lead bullets which had 
 been dug out of Khartum, he filed them into thin 
 shavings, mixed them with some concoction, and threw 
 them into the furnace ; the melted lead was then 
 drawn off and allowed to cool. On the last occasion he 
 had failed, and now his fraud was fully exposed ; the 
 Khalifa ordered his hand and foot to be cut off, " not," 
 he said, " so much for the fraud, as for the continual 
 denials." The operation was carried out, but the mu- 
 kuddum died eight days afterwards of tetanus. 
 
PER TEKA CIII MAKES GUNPOWDER. 
 
 371 
 
 The failures of this man and of the Indian to manu- 
 facture powder and lead did not deter others from 
 continuing their experiments, and amongst the latter 
 was a Greek named Yusef Pertekachi, who continued 
 working on with the most dogged determination. He 
 had tried every plan to gain a livelihood ; but whatever 
 he put his hand to, it seemed to fail, and he was soon 
 deeply involved in debt. In his desperate position he 
 determined to study the manufacture of gunpowder. 
 For a whole year he continued his experiments, and in 
 his case the truth of the proverb, " Necessity is the 
 mother of invention," was fully exemplified ; he suc- 
 ceeded in making fairly good powder. 
 
 The experiences of the Indian and the mukuddum 
 pointed to extreme caution ; he did not, therefore, tell 
 Adlan, who he thought would not believe him, but 
 after his death he applied to Yakub. 
 
 Yakub is a man whom even the leaders of Mahdiism 
 find a difficulty in approaching, and poor Pertekachi tried 
 for months before he obtained a hearing ; but at length 
 he was attended to, and the various trials and experi- 
 ments of the new powder, both in guns and Remington 
 rifles, proved most satisfactory. 
 
 Pertekachi at once rose in favour in the eyes of Ab- 
 dullah and Yakub, and was soon comparatively well off. 
 The Khalifa ordered a bottle of the powder to be placed 
 in the Antik Khana, on which was written : " Powder 
 invented by the Osta (Master) Pertekachi." 
 
 At first Pertekachi set to work to improve the 
 damaged powder, of which there were quantities of 
 old barrels taken out of the Government magazines, 
 but, having been left in damp places, it had become 
 crusted. For several months he continued his work, to 
 the complete satisfaction of Abdullah, but the poor 
 man was soon to come to a terrible end. 
 
 On the 26th of January, 1891, Pertekachi as usual 
 went to the market-place at an early hour to have a 
 chat with the other Europeans. He happened to say : 
 " To-day is the anniversary of the fall of Khartum 
 — Gordon's day — a black day ! " In the Sudan it is the 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 custom to call a day on which a misfortune has occurred 
 " Yom aswad" (a black day). And to the survivors 
 of Khartum, the 26th of January is always looked 
 upon as a day of grief and sorrow ; several people 
 give alms for the rest of the souls of their murdered 
 friends. 
 
 Pertekachi had intended to go and look at the new 
 house he had just built ; but being the 26th of January, 
 he would not go to it, and decided to go to the beit el 
 mal instead, where he had some work to do. He found 
 the workmen busy opening one of the barrels of damaged 
 powder, and after taking a cup of coffee, he went to 
 help them, as they seemed to be in difficulty. He had 
 scarcely reached the spot when — owing to a sudden 
 blow or shock, or clumsiness on the part of the work- 
 men — the powder blew up with a most terrific explosion 
 whicH shook the whole town, and terrified the in- 
 habitants, who rushed wildly about in all directions to 
 see what had occurred. I happened at the time to be 
 sitting at my loom, and at once ran up to the roof of 
 my house, and there, in the direction of the beit el mal, 
 I saw a column of thick smoke ascending. 
 
 My first thought w 7 as for poor Yusef. I hastened to 
 the beit el mal, which was half an hour's walk from 
 my hut, and found crowds going in the same direction. 
 The Khalifa himself appeared on the scene, he came 
 riding along on a donkey, with only one or two men. 
 His first question was, " Osta Yusef fi ? " ("Is the 
 Master Yusef alive?") " Taish enta ! " ("May you 
 live ! ") was the reply. These are the words in which 
 Arabs always announce a death. 
 
 A poor Egyptian woman, whose only son was em- 
 ployed as Pertekaehi's clerk and had been killed, was 
 weeping and w T ailing in the most heart-rending way 
 — her husband and another son had been murdered 
 in Khartum — and now wild with grief she was cursing 
 the Mahdi, through whom her dear ones had been 
 brought to an untimely end. Some of the Ansar ap- 
 proached, and threatened to beat her with a whip if she 
 did not stop. But she shouted at them, "Kill me as 
 
EXPLOSION IN THE EO WD ELI- FA CTOll Y. 
 
 373 
 
 well ! Why should 1 live any longer ? You have killed 
 my dear ones — may God kill you ! T 
 
 The Khalifa, who was standing near, rebuked his 
 officious followers, saying : " Let her weep, she is 
 ' maharuka ' " (i.e. consumed with the pain of affliction). 
 He did not stay long at the scene of the accident, but 
 went away very sadly. 
 
 All Pertekachi's fellow-countrymen hastened to the 
 spot. Of the large square house built of rough sun- 
 dried bricks, only the four Avails were left standing ; the 
 wooden roof had been blown to pieces, and it was no 
 small difficulty to collect the shattered remains of 
 those who had been victimized. A pair of legs were 
 found fifty yards away, a head was found half buried 
 in the wall ; there was not a hand to be found any- 
 where. 
 
 Another Greek had been killed with Pertekachi, 
 named Yusef Angeli. His head and feet had disappeared, 
 and his body was so shattered as to be almost un- 
 recognizable ; he had been in chains, and his foot makia 
 was found fixed in his le^. Poor Angeli had led a miser- 
 able life in Omdurman ; he had neither home nor friends, 
 and had lived in the market as a Greek hawker. Towards 
 the end of 1890 he had been sent by another Greek to 
 Berber, to try and recover a debt for him. This mission 
 was to be carried out in secret, for Europeans are strictly 
 forbidden to leave Omdurman, and the mukuddum in 
 charge is obliged at once to report any absentees. 
 
 But Angeli was a man of no account, and could easily 
 have gone to Berber and back without 'anyone being any 
 the wiser. A Syrian, however, who bore a grudge to 
 the Greeks, hearing that Angeli had left, went secretly 
 to the Khalifa, but as he was at that time staying at his 
 house in the northern hejira, he saw Yakub instead ; he 
 said that, in accordance with the orders of the Khalifa 
 el Mahdi, he had to report that Yusef had deserted to 
 Berber in a sailing boat, Yakub at once informed the 
 Khalifa, who imagined that it was I who had deserted 
 (my Arabic name being Yusef), and at once ordered 
 Nut el Gereifawi, head of the beit el mal, to send camel- 
 
374 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 men in pursuit. The latter was eventually very annoyed 
 when they found out which Yusef it was, for he would 
 not have thought it worth while to send after Angeli. 
 The pursuers, however, had gone, and found Angeli in 
 the market at Berber ; they secured him and brought 
 him back to Omdurman. 
 
 Pertekachi, who was a countryman of Angeli's, had 
 begged that he might be spared, and had obtained a 
 promise from Yakub that he should come to no harm. 
 He was brought before the Khalifa, and said that he was 
 very poor, and had only gone to Berber to recover a 
 debt, in proof of which statement he produced the man's 
 written receipt for the money ; but when the camel-men 
 who had captured Yusef were asked whether they found 
 any letters on him, they denied it, and in consequence 
 Yusef had been sent to the lock-up in the beit el mal. 
 This was only a very special favour, for the regime here 
 is not so severe as in the Saier, and prisoners confined 
 in this place generally obtain a speedy release. 
 
 Angeli had to thank no one but Pertekachi for this 
 lenient treatment, and his benefactor did not cease 
 begging until he procured the Khalifa's permission for 
 him to work at the powder factory at a fixed monthly 
 rate of pay ; but he had still to wear one makia, and 
 this Pertekachi was arranging to have removed when 
 the terrible catastrophe occurred — he had only been 
 working for three days altogether in the factory. There 
 were, of course, slanderers found, who affirmed that 
 Angeli used to smoke cigarettes, and had purposely set 
 fire to the powder in revenge for his captivity, but this 
 time the Khalifa would not listen to them. He merely 
 said it is u Amr Allah" ("God's will"), and added that 
 he was sure Yusef would never have deliberately tried 
 to destroy his own and his countryman's life. The 
 force of the explosion had driven the iron into Yusef 's 
 leg, and it was impossible to take it off ; we therefore 
 collected all that remained of the two poor fellows and 
 buried them. 
 
 The Khalifa's enemies secretly rejoiced over his mis- 
 fortune about the powder, for now, they thought, there 
 
REMOVAL OF POWDER-FACTORY TO TUTI. 375 
 
 will be no one to make it ; but one of Pertekachi's 
 labourers, who had learnt the manufacture from his 
 master, replaced him as head of the factory. After the 
 catastrophe the factory was removed to Tuti Island, 
 where a large yard was built, around which the necessary 
 workshops were constructed. 
 
37b* TEN YEABS* CAPTIVITY IN TEE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE IN THE MAHDl's KINGDOM. 
 
 Remarks on the agriculture and commerce of the Mahdiist kingdom 
 — A sandstorm in Omdurman — The paucity of cattle — System 
 of taxation on imports — Provincial beit el mals — Local manu- 
 factures — Slavery and the slave-markets — Torture of slaves. 
 
 In the following chapter I propose to make a few re- 
 marks on the agriculture, commerce, and business of the 
 Mahdiist kingdom. The greater part of the Sudanese 
 live by agriculture and cattle-breeding. Agriculture 
 goes on most of the year ; the lands are sown during the 
 tropical rains. The winter is called the " kharif," and in 
 Omdurman begins in July and lasts till the end of 
 September. During this period there are three or four 
 very heavy falls of rain, usually at night, and occasionally 
 during the day there are heavy storms, which are at 
 times very grand. 
 
 These outbursts are preceded by great sultriness, the 
 whole ground is hot, everything is burning, even in the 
 shade one dare not touch metal ; then in the east a 
 cloud of dust arises, which indicates the coming storm ; 
 the clouds bank up with astonishing rapidity, and now 
 it is time for people to make the best of their way home 
 as quickly as they can. The dust-clouds, lighted up by 
 the evening sun, show the exact direction of the storm ; 
 some are of an inky black, others gray, and in the 
 distance they can be seen dashing up against one an- 
 other, and forming, as it were, a series of hills and 
 valleys ; yet there is scarcely a leaf moving, and all 
 nature seems hushed. 
 
 Then the storm-clouds seem to touch the earth, there 
 
STORMS IN OMDURMAN. 
 
 377 
 
 is a sudden rustling of the leaves ; the distant houses 
 are lost in obscurity, and now it is time to shut oneself 
 up in one's house. In a few minutes day has been 
 turned into night, the wind howls round the house, 
 windows and doors creak and rattle, till one begins to 
 think in another moment the house will fall about one's 
 ears. Lights are used, for now it is blacker than the 
 darkest night ; the fine dust penetrates everywhere and 
 covers everything ; the heat is overpowering, one per- 
 spires at every pore, and the dust cakes on one's face 
 and hands, giving one the feeling of being intensely 
 begrimed and dirty ; but there is nothing for it but to 
 wait patiently for the return of daylight, when one rises 
 with one's eyes and mouth full of dust, and nothing but 
 a complete bath makes one feel in any degree clean 
 again. These sand-storms are generally followed by 
 heavy showers, which completely lay the dust. 
 
 A tropical thunderstorm is also full of solemn gran- 
 deur — deafening peals of thunder and howling wind, 
 followed by a veritable deluge, which seems to trans- 
 form the country into a lake in a few minutes. 
 
 These sudden storms are a source of no small danger 
 to Omdurman, especially in the quarter where the 
 mosque and market are situated. Here there is no 
 outlet for the water, which overflows into the yards and 
 houses, and melts the mud-built walls like sugar. 
 During the first year or two of Omdurman's existence, 
 and before the people had much experience, several of 
 the huts collapsed during a storm, burying the in- 
 habitants in their ruins. The intense obscurity which 
 always accompanies these deluges adds still more to the 
 general alarm. However, after about two days the 
 whole town becomes dry again ; the hot sun and thirsty 
 earth soon absorb all the moisture, and one would 
 scarcely know that rain had fallen. 
 
 Generally about a month before the rains begin, and 
 when the Khalifa permits it, the people leave the town 
 in crowds and repair to the fields, which they set to 
 work to clear. After the famine year of 1889 the 
 Khalifa did everything in his power to induce the 
 
378 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAI1DPS CAMP. 
 
 people to turn their attention to agriculture. Plentiful 
 rain and hard work produced excellent crops in 1890. 
 Dhurra, dukhn, cotton, sesame, onions, and various 
 sorts of beans are grown. 
 
 The operation of sowing requires little time or trouble ; 
 the fields are cleared of all the stumps, roots, &c, of 
 the preceding harvest, which are burnt, then every one 
 raises a small bank of earth around his ground, so as to 
 retain the water and enable the earth to become 
 thoroughly saturated. This measure is specially neces- 
 sary in the Gezireh, where the clay soil does not absorb 
 quickly, whilst in the sandy plains of Kordofan it is 
 exactly the reverse. 
 
 As soon as the parched ground has absorbed the first 
 rains, sowing is begun without delay ; the soil is turned 
 over with iron or wooden hoes, and the seed thrown down. 
 Weeds spring up in great profusion, and it requires 
 endless trouble to prevent their choking the young 
 growth. Dhurra ripens in about two months, dukhn in 
 three. The fine quality, such as Shilluk dhurra, takes 
 six months to come to maturity. The gathered corn is 
 threshed, and then stored in holes in the ground, where 
 it can be kept without deteriorating for upwards of ten 
 years. 
 
 Along the Nile, sowing and reaping goes on the whole 
 year through. Water is drawn up by the sakiehs, or 
 water-wheels, and distributed over the fields. After 
 the wars, numbers of these water-wheels which had 
 been destroyed, were reconstructed. Now there are a 
 great number in working order, and the banks are 
 covered with green. All work is done with the iron or 
 wooden hoe, and the plough is not used at all. The 
 only plough I ever saw in the Sudan was one worked 
 by an Egyptian in Khartum, and it caused no small 
 astonishment amongst the natives. Wheat and maize 
 — or, as it is called in the Sudan, "Aish er rif" 
 (Egyptian bread) — ripens in forty days. 
 
 In Kordofan quantities of broad beans are grown, as 
 well as sesame, sugar-cane, cotton, onions, garlic, 
 bamiahs, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and water- 
 
PAUCITY OF CATTLE. 
 
 379 
 
 melons ; while Indian figs, pomegranates, lemons, 
 oranges, citrons, bananas, and grapes are grown in 
 profusion in the Khartum gardens. Date-palms are 
 plentiful on the Blue Nile and further south ; but it is 
 not possible to dry them, for they at once become full 
 of insects. Rain often spoils the date harvest. 
 
 Besides agriculture and cattle-breeding, the Sudanese 
 may be called a thoroughly pastoral nation. During 
 the long wars against the Government, as well as in the 
 internal disturbances, the camels and oxen were almost 
 exterminated; and in 1889 a cattle plague still further 
 reduced the numbers. 
 
 When Fashoda was occupied, quantities of cows were 
 taken from the Shilluks and sent either to Gezireh or 
 on to the Berber market, in order to try and stimulate 
 breeding. There are quantities of goats and sheep, as 
 only a comparatively small number of these have been 
 killed ; but the greatest loss has been in camels, and it 
 is not so easy to replenish the country in this respect. 
 There are still a considerable number of donkeys, which 
 are used both for riding and as pack-animals. A good 
 donkey will fetch from forty to two hundred dollars. 
 
 The Sudanese are born traders and dealers ; it is 
 almost a passion with them, and they like the travelling 
 which trade involves. Of course the flourishing com- 
 merce of the old days has been quite destroyed. The 
 import of goods to the Sudan from the north and east 
 was formerly in the hands of one merchant. The 
 Berber- Sawakin and Berber-Korosko roads were opened 
 through Wad Adlan, and the re-occupation of Tokar by 
 Egypt has done a great deal to help commerce. Wad 
 Adlan's successor, Nur Gereifawi, established the ushr 
 (or one-tenth tax) on all important goods, in addition to 
 the " zeka," or two and a-half per cent., which was 
 formerly the only tax levied. 
 
 This increase in taxation has rather impaired than 
 improved trade, but it is still fairly brisk. However, 
 the "ushr" was levied twice, in both Omdurman and 
 Berber, so that the beit el mal obtained twenty-two and 
 a-half per cent, profit on all imported goods. This 
 
380 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 exorbitant taxation led to goods being smuggled into 
 the town by night. In spite of every precaution being 
 taken, smuggling still continued ; and at last it was 
 decided that all merchants should have their goods 
 stamped at the beit el mal. 
 
 This stamp bears the words, " Ushr beit el mal el 
 umum" ("The tenth — general beit el mal"), and no 
 goods are allowed to be sold unless they are thus 
 marked. The head of the beit el mal himself also went 
 to the market and personally stamped all the private 
 goods of merchants ; and in this way the fraud was 
 stopped. A merchant selling unstamped goods would 
 have all his property confiscated. 
 
 All went well for a time ; but soon it was discovered 
 that false stamps were in use. This led to another 
 inspection of all goods in the market, and the confisca- 
 tion of a considerable quantity of property, an operation 
 which caused business to be suspended for about eight 
 days. 
 
 Large quantities of printed cotton stuffs are imported ; 
 also perfumes ; medicines, cloves, rice, sugar, and dried 
 fruits. The home-trade is, of course, much brisker than 
 imported trade, and consists for the most part of 
 provision dealing. Dongola and Dar Shaggieh supply 
 Omdurman with dates ; Berber sends salt, mats and 
 baskets made of palm leaves ; from Kordofan comes 
 gum, sesame, and dukhn ; the Gezireh exports dhurra, 
 dammur, and cotton ; Karkoj supplies sesame and a 
 small quantity of gold. Omdurman is thus the great 
 wholesale and retail mart, which in turn supplies the 
 provinces. Here the whole population — men, women, 
 and children from eight years of age — are all dealers. 
 
 The older women have their own quarter of the 
 market, in which they sell oil, grease, pearls, vegetables, 
 drugs, dhurra, and dates. Young women are not 
 allowed to go to the market ; but they send their slaves, 
 who take charge of the goods. The latter are obliged 
 to render full accounts when they return in the evening ; 
 and woe to the unfortunate slave who makes a mistake 
 in his calculations ! Quantities of vegetables a™ grown 
 
EVEttY-DAY LIFE IN OMDURMAN. 
 
 381 
 
 in the gardens in Khartum, Buri, and Gereif, and are 
 brought to Omdurman for sale. The Bae^ara women 
 are naturally good dealers, and have now secured almost 
 the entire custom. 
 
 In the early days of Mahdiism everyone lived in the 
 most simple way, and dressed even more simply. The 
 staple article of food is dhurra, which is merely boiled, 
 made into a cake and eaten. Bread, which is generally 
 known as " kesra,"' is eaten with a sauce which is 
 usually made of pounded bamiehs boiled with red 
 pepper and salt. Sometimes beans are used instead of 
 bamiehs. Meat is scarce, but a meat sauce boiled in 
 milk and mixed with pounded dried fish is a favourite 
 dish. Quantities of fish are obtained from the Xile, 
 and tortoises, which sometimes take the place of meat, are 
 not uncommon. But whilst the rich live in comparative 
 luxury, the poor people exist in the greatest want and 
 misery. 
 
 Good clothing is seldom considered ; the richer a 
 man is, the dirtier will his dress be. This is, of course, 
 meant to blind the eyes of inquisitive slanderers. The 
 Baggara chiefs have no reason to conceal anything ; but 
 it must be quite apparent to all that a form of govern- 
 ment which preaches a continual despising of the good 
 things of this life is not likely to promote any of the 
 higher comforts of civilization. 
 
 In matters, however, regarding war and the prepara- 
 tions required for a jehad, it is entirely different. 
 Blacksmiths are always busy forging spears and knives ; 
 and in this description of work the results are remark- 
 able. Saddlers make every description of leather 
 ornament for horse and camel decoration ; tanners 
 prepare the leather, and dye it red or black ; tailors 
 now make much better jibbehs than before ; the patches 
 are generally made of good cloth, and the best garments 
 are now valued at about sixteen dollars each. The 
 women spin the cotton, and the men weave the 
 dammur from it. The best dammur comes from Berber 
 and Metemmeh. The Darfur women are also famed 
 for their good and even spinning; but Abyssinian 
 
382 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDPS CAMP. 
 
 dammur is generally considered better than any of 
 Sudan manufacture. 
 
 Tin-smiths make drinking cups and tin receptacles of 
 various sorts for household use. Cooking-pots are 
 made of copper. Jewellers make gold and silver 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 SLAVE-GIRL FROM EQUATORIA. 
 
 filigree work for the ladies ; but this work is not nearly 
 as good as it used to be in the days of the Egyptian 
 Government. All these various trades are carried on in 
 the market. 
 
 Mahdiism has re-established the slave trade, which is 
 now in full vigour, and almost all those slaves who were 
 
SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE-MARKETS. 
 
 383 
 
 liberated in the Government days have been sold again 
 as slaves. Wherever there is a beit el mal there is also 
 a slave-market. The largest is, of course, in Omdurman, 
 to which all captured slaves are sent. The beit el mal 
 sells the slaves by auction. Well-grown male slaves 
 are generally taken into the army. 
 
 Close to the beit el mal is the female slave-market, 
 where generally fifty or sixty women of various ages 
 are to be found. The slave-dealers are for the most 
 part Egyptians. The slaves are arranged in lines under 
 the open sky ; their bodies are generally well bathed in 
 oil to preserve the gloss of their skin. Intending pur- 
 chasers make the most careful and minute examination, 
 and the price varies from twenty to a hundred dollars. 
 
 Young females are kept apart from the rest, as they 
 are generally selected as concubines, and as such they 
 are subjected to a most critical scrutiny ; the shape of 
 their hands and feet, and the form of their mouth, nose, 
 ears and teeth are all carefully noted. Black are pre- 
 ferable to copper-coloured slaves, and the latter colour 
 necessitates a considerable reduction in price. 
 
 Young male slaves are sold at from thirty to sixty 
 dollars each, and these have generally to learn a trade. 
 Purchasers ask all sorts of searching questions as to 
 whether they have good moral qualities, are likely to 
 run away, &c, &c. The salesman must produce a cer- 
 tificate showing the tribe, a full descriptive return, and 
 the legal authority entitling to ownership. 
 
 During the early days of Mahdiism the slave trade 
 received an enormous impetus, more especially subse- 
 quent to the capture of Bahr el Ghazal and the occu- 
 pation of Darfur. . After Gessi Pasha's victory over 
 Xubeir Pasha's son and the dispersion of the slave- 
 dealers, several of the latter fled into the interior, where 
 pursuit was impossible ; then followed the era of liberty 
 under the Mahdi's banner, the slave-dealers emerged 
 from their hiding-places, and, with quantities of slaves, 
 proceeded to Omdurman. 
 
 When at El Obeid I often saw as many as 500 of 
 them marching along to the sound of music. Slaves 
 
384 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 were dragged from Darfur, bound together with leather 
 thongs round their necks in batches of thirty. Abu 
 Anga brought thousands of them from the Nuba hills. 
 The only districts untouched hitherto were those in the 
 vicinity of the White Nile, but quite recently the garri- 
 sons of Fashoda, Eegaf, and Lado have been busily 
 engaged in this human traffic ; these blacks, however, 
 who during the intervals of peace had been gradually 
 recovering their strength, now determined to resist the 
 Dervish authority, which was not very strong in those 
 far-distant districts. It would have been a great thing 
 if the Dervishes could have been turned out of Lado 
 and Eegaf. The Abyssinian campaigns also brought 
 quantities of slaves to Omdurman, but these are little 
 fitted for hard work, and are employed for the most 
 part in grinding corn, carrying water, and as concu- 
 bines. 
 
 Slave-hunting, too, is not carried on in the same way 
 as it used to be. The Khalifa is too knowing to send 
 large raiding expeditions for slaves into the distant 
 provinces, as he fears they might possibly become inde- 
 pendent and turn upon him ; besides, private individuals 
 are no longer permitted to be in possession of firearms. 
 
 Blacks captured in the Khalifa's various wars are sold 
 as slaves, and, while the free Mussulman tribes have 
 been greatly weakened and reduced in numbers by war 
 and famine, the blacks have, on the other hand, been 
 growing both in numbers and in strength. There is 
 abundant proof of this in the great difficulties which the 
 Dervish force at Fashoda is now experiencing, being 
 scarcely strong enough to quit their steamers and sailing 
 boats. The inhabitants of Jebel Nuba are once more 
 almost independent, and now the Der\ ishes do not dare 
 even to go to the foot of the hills. The withdrawal 
 also of the various Baggara tribes from the neighbour- 
 hood of Shakka, &c, to Omdurman has rid the local 
 blacks of their hated presence in their country. 
 
 The once notorious Jaalin and Danagla slave-hunters 
 are now beginning to experience in a degree what a 
 slave's life is, and, indeed, it almost seems as if the 
 
TREATMENT OF DOMESTIC SLAVES. 
 
 385 
 
 Khalifa Abdullah was an instrument of Heaven's ven- 
 geance on those bloodthirsty and ruthless slave-hunters. 
 
 The lot of a slave is indeed a miserable one. He is 
 looked upon as an animal created, as the Sudanese say, 
 to make the life of Moslems easy ; he must do all the 
 hard work, both in the household and in the field. It 
 is the idea of the Sudanese, that if a slave gets suf- 
 ficient food he always becomes proud and unmanageable. 
 His dress consists merely of a rag tied round his loins : 
 whatever money he may make by his work is the pro- 
 perty of his master. 
 
 The female slaves carry water and grind corn, in 
 return they are continually blamed and cursed ; any 
 disobedience or dishonesty is punished by flogging, or 
 their bodies are gashed with razors, salt being rubbed 
 into the wounds, and, lest they should have any cause 
 to forget, their half-healed cuts are often ripped open 
 again and salt rubbed in afresh. 
 
 In the treatment of their slaves women are more 
 cruel than men, more especially if jealousy is the cause 
 of their anger. Woe to the unfortunate female slave 
 who shows any love for her master ! She suffers a 
 species of torture which it would be impossible for me 
 to describe here, and what wonder is it that in despair 
 they often fly from their masters and mistresses ? 
 
 Yet it is only by this harsh treatment that slaves 
 can be made obedient ; it is a very true saying that 
 a person who is forcibly deprived of liberty can only 
 be brought into subjection by force. Slaves under 
 Mahdiist regime have so many different ways of re- 
 venging themselves on their masters that they never 
 fail to seize an opportunity when it is offered. 
 
 The immorality of slaves is quite beyond description ; 
 but it cannot be the fault of the unfortunate creatures 
 themselves, for in their own savage homes it is not so. 
 They learn all the vices of their masters, and, indeed, 
 are forced to participate in them or submit to a flogging ; 
 consequently, disease of the most loathsome kind is 
 everywhere prevalent, and to be free from it is thought 
 to be the mark of a poor creature. In many cases 
 
 2 c 
 
386 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIWPS CAMP. 
 
 which have come within my own knowledge, the off- 
 spring of such people die young, putrid by disease ; of 
 fifteen children of one father, thirteen died in five years. 
 At first the Baggara were not infected to any large 
 extent, but contact with the inhabitants of the Nile 
 valley has communicated the pest, which is now T eating 
 into the constitutions of this, the most powerful and 
 warlike tribe in the Sudan.* 
 
 Export of slaves to Egypt and the Red Sea is for- 
 bidden, because the Khalifa fears that the English may 
 intercept them and make soldiers of them ; but a certain 
 number of female slaves are still smuggled through. 
 By the re-occupation of Tokar the Red Sea route, which 
 had been extensively used, was closed to the Dervishes. 
 It is permissible to give male and female slaves papers 
 of freedom, but the custom is never practised. If a 
 female slave bear a child to her master she cannot be 
 sold, and after her master's death she becomes a free 
 woman ; if she bear a child to a freed man, who is not a 
 black, her position remains unaltered, and the child 
 grows up a slave, because it is considered to be illegiti- 
 mate. 
 
 (Jmdurman is full of slaves ; even in the poorest 
 houses one female slave at least will be found. Hard 
 work and ill-treatment ages them very rapidly. Many 
 of them long for their native homes and detest slavery, 
 but the great majority of them submit without a murmur 
 to their wretched fate. 
 
 * The disease lies dormant in the summer, but acquires virulence 
 with cold weather. The medicines used are iodide of potassium 
 and sarsajarilla. 
 
( 3«7 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE BAGGARA MASTERS OF THE SUDAN. 
 
 Relations between Abdullah and the rival Khalifas — Mahdiisni 
 practically dead — The Khalifa's son, Osman — His marriage to 
 Yakub's daughter — His intentions regarding the succession — - 
 The Baggara and the Aulad-Belad — The Baggara masters of 
 the Sudan — Examples of their tyranny — Emigration of the 
 Rizighat tribe — Hostility between the Khalifa's and the late 
 Mahdi's households — The Ashraf conspiracy — Witchcraft — The 
 dispute between the Khalifas — Riots in Omdurman — The 
 Mahdi's widows. 
 
 I propose to devote this chapter to a brief outline of the 
 relations which exist between the ruling powers in 
 Omdurman, and a description of the present situation 
 in the Sudan. The overthrow of Nejumi at Toski, the 
 destruction of Abu An era's immense armv during his 
 constant campaigns in Abyssinia, the year of famine in 
 1889, and finally the capture of Tokar and total defeat 
 of Osman Digna in February 1891, have all tended 
 largely towards the diminution of Khalifa Abdullah's 
 power. 
 
 Whilst the operations against Abyssinia and Egypt 
 were being carried on, the provinces in the interior of 
 the Sudan were slowly recovering from the terrible 
 strain through which they had passed. Dongola, 
 Kassala, and Darfur suffered most. The depredations 
 of Nejumi's wild Dervishes had entirely desolated the 
 once fertile province of Dongola, and is it any wonder 
 that its wretched inhabitants should cast longing eyes 
 towards wealthy and prosperous Egypt ? 
 
 But the cunning Khalifa was quite capable of coping 
 with this revulsion of feeling on the part of the inhabit- 
 ants, who wore now thoroughly tired of Mahdiism, and 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 who were undoubtedly desirous that the rule of the 
 Government should again be extended to them. He 
 decided to change the policy of oppression, and to 
 establish a milder rule. For this purpose he had a con- 
 venient vision, in which he affirmed that he had been 
 instructed to appoint Zogal as emir of the province. 
 
 This man, it will be remembered, was a native of 
 Dongola, an uncle of the late Mahdi ; had been a 
 Government official in Darfur, and had more liberal and 
 enlightened views than most of the Dervish leaders. 
 The Khalifa thought — and thought rightly — that he 
 alone would be able to re-establish contentment in 
 Dongola. Thither Zogal proceeded, accompanied by an 
 enormous family, and under his mild and just rule the 
 province rapidly recovered. 
 
 The Sudan, as a whole, has considerable recuperative 
 power, and, in spite of the Khalifa's senseless rule, would 
 soon recover if placed under good subordinate governors. 
 The desolation in Darfur, however, had been more 
 widespread ; there was not enough cultivation even to 
 supply the wants of the garrison required for its occupa- 
 tion ; it Avas therefore abandoned, but the Khalifa is 
 still very anxious to re-occupy it when he can. 
 
 Abdullah employed himself, during the period of rest 
 and cessation from war, in consolidating his power, and 
 from the various means which he employs it is quite 
 evident that his intentions are to establish an empire 
 for himself, his family, and his Baggaras ; he proceeded, 
 however, in this task with prudence and caution. 
 
 It is natural that the struggle for mastery between 
 the spiritual authority represented by the religious side 
 of Mahdiism, and the temporal authority of the Khalifa, 
 should constantly clash and lead to a state of insecurity 
 and uncertainty throughout the Sudan. What the 
 inhabitants desire is that the Khalifa should tell them 
 the truth plainly ; let him abolish Mahdiism, which 
 exists merely in name, and let him proclaim himself 
 Sultan of the Sudan. He has the power and authority 
 sufficient to do this, but he fears that it might give his 
 enemies anoOi.e*' arm which might be turned against 
 
THE KHALIFA'S SON, OSMAN. 
 
 389 
 
 him ; he therefore advances very slowly with the project 
 on which his mind is bent. 
 
 From the wav in which his eldest son Osman is being- 
 brought up, it is evident that Abdullah seeks to estab- 
 lish an hereditary succession. This youth was, until 
 recently, of a most overbearing disposition. Whenever 
 he saw anything he wanted, he insisted on its being 
 given to him. Jf he saw someone riding a good donkey, 
 he would order the rider to dismount, and would 
 deliberately cut the poor animal's throat ; but in spite 
 of these foolish and cruel acts, his favour was much 
 sought after, and many a present did he receive from 
 people who looked for a favourable means of bringing 
 their demands before the Khalifa ; but the latter 
 eventually became exasperated by his son's conduct. 
 He rebuked him openly in the mosque, forbade every- 
 one, under pain of severe punishment, to give him a 
 present of any sort, and he made him over to a tutor 
 with a few Taisha mulazimin. 
 
 This strict recj'une has already done the boy good. 
 He is now about eighteen vears of a^e. It was said 
 that the Khalifa's brother Yakub was very jealous of 
 his nephew, for he had looked on himself as Abdullah's 
 successor ; but, to flatter Yakub and curb his jealousy, 
 the Khalifa expressed a wish that Osman should be 
 betrothed to his daughter. This proposition was most 
 acceptable to Yakub ; and further, the Khalifa arranged 
 that his daughter should be married to the Mahdi's son. 
 
 (Treat were the preparations for these princely wed- 
 dings, which were carried out with a splendour entirely 
 at variance with the late Mahdi's laws. The betrothal 
 ceremony was accompanied by dancing and merry- 
 making in both the Mahdi's and the Khalifa's house- 
 holds, and the air reeked with perfumes. All the 
 principal merchants and emirs gave rich presents in the 
 shape of brides' dresses and varieties of costly perfumes ; 
 nor were gold and silver ornaments and velvet missing. 
 The goldsmiths have invented a new form of jewellery, 
 which has been named " the Khalifa's stirrups." These 
 ornaments, although absolutely opposed to Mahdi laws, 
 
390 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDVS CAMP. 
 
 are extensively worn in both households. Hundred- 
 weights of sugar were brought to Yakub's house, besides 
 dhurra, wheat, butter, oxen, and fat-tailed sheep, which 
 latter are valued at from twenty to thirty dollars a head. 
 
 It is usual for the bridegroom, or the bridegroom's 
 lather, to offer presents of provisions to the bride, as 
 well as clothes and ornaments, which are all handed 
 over to her with great ceremony on an appointed day. 
 Then there is the festival of " tefail," to which women 
 only are admitted, after which comes " henna day," 
 when the hands and feet of the bride are dyed red with 
 henna. All these ceremonies are accompanied by ban- 
 quets, dancing, and singing. Every evening Yakub 
 entertained hundreds of the Ansar with rich food, and 
 distributed several ardebs of dates. 
 
 On the occasion of the " dakhul " the bride is taken 
 to the bridegroom's house late in the evening ; for seven 
 days afterwards they receive the congratulations of their 
 friends, and then the ceremony and festival are ended. 
 
 From the pomp and ceremony with which the Khalifa 
 surrounded his son's wedding, it is evident to all who 
 thought about the matter that he had secret intentions. 
 After the wedding he had a princely house built for his 
 son, in the place known as Abu Anga's yard, near the 
 mosque ; this he quite disfigured by building houses all 
 around it, which are considered the best in the town. 
 When the palace was completed, the " heir apparent," 
 who had hitherto been living with his father, moved 
 into it with great ceremony. The Khalifa gave alms in 
 a most liberal manner, so that his son's residence might 
 be blessed. 
 
 Sayid Osman already takes part in the conduct of 
 affairs, and opens and reads the letters to the clerks. 
 Almost every morning he rides round with the 
 Governor on his inspections, but he does not live 
 much amongst the people. The Khalifa has changed 
 his name into Sheikh Ed Din Sayid Osman, and now 
 he is generally known as Sheikh Ed Din only ; he quite 
 understands the role he has to play. He is a lover 
 of good food, and rejoices in the little specialities which 
 
ABDULLAH S INTENTIONS REWARDING SUCCESSION 391 
 
 the merchants bring from Sawakin and Egypt, such as 
 kamar ed din, dried figs, raisins, and all sorts of cakes 
 and biscuits, which are brought in abundance to 
 Yakub's house. The Khalifa treats him with marked 
 respect, occasionally hands over the command of the 
 parade to him, and the soldiers always present arms 
 to him. 
 
 From the above it is quite evident that Abdullah 
 wishes to secure the succession to his son. This is 
 perfectly understood by the people, who make no secret 
 of it. The Khalifa's plan is to go slowly but surely. 
 He wants to secure the ascendency of the Baggara over 
 the Jaalin, Danagla, Barabra, and other smaller tribes 
 of the Sudan. 
 
 Until the appearance of the Mahdi, the Baggara 
 were, perhaps, the most despised of all the Arab tribes. 
 The " Aulad-belad," as the Jaalin, Danagla, and Barabra 
 are called, had become more civilized in virtue of their 
 geographical position, and are far more crafty by nature 
 than the Baggara ; they despised the latter, and under 
 the leadership of Zubeir Pasha, they defeated the great 
 tribes in the neighbourhood of Shakka, and it is these 
 same Baggara who are now their masters. 
 
 All the Mahdi's early victories had been gained by 
 the Aulad-belad, who held the Baggaras in much the 
 same contempt as they did the Fellahin of Egypt. They 
 are cunning, corrupt, and utterly untrustworthy, and 
 from the beginning have practised far more cruelty 
 than the others. Even now they are still the Khalifa's 
 spies and advisers — indeed, he was brought up entirely 
 in their school, but has now completely turned the 
 tables on them. - The intertribal discord and mutual 
 distrust which prevails amongst the Aulad-belad only 
 tend to further the ends the Khalifa has in view. 
 Wherever craft and subtlety are required, thither he 
 despatches them, in the full assurance that as long as 
 they are engaged in finding out the misdeeds of their 
 own countrymen he will be well and loyally served by 
 them. 
 
 When the Baggara arc sent to search a house in 
 
392 TEN YEARS* CAPTIVITY IN THE MAEDPS CAMP. 
 
 which it is supposed marissa-drinking or smoking is 
 going on, they are almost certain to find out nothing ; 
 but with the Aulad-belad it is exactly the reverse ; they 
 poke into the walls and tap the ground to hear if there 
 is any hollowness in the sound ; they search every 
 corner most thoroughly, and seldom leave empty-handed ; 
 but the Baggaras have now got the upper hand, and the 
 Aulad-belad must bow down before them. In spite of 
 this, however, they manage to deceive their new 
 masters, and in all matters where cunning is required 
 they are far superior to them. 
 
 It is only right that the Baggara, who have been 
 brought up in the forests and plains, and who are far 
 more simple-minded, honest individuals, should rule the 
 corrupt Aulad-belad ; their emigration to Omdurman 
 and their submission to the Khalifa's rule has had the 
 advantage of taming them, and their advances in 
 civilization are quite astounding. Being now possessed 
 of power and money, they have begun to build better 
 houses, to wear cleaner clothing, and to occasionally 
 wash their jibbehs, which were reeking and besmeared 
 with oil and fat ; the Khalifa has done much to improve 
 their manners and customs in this respect. Their west- 
 country Arabic dialect has greatly improved ; now the 
 two opposition parties can thoroughly understand each 
 other, and the Aulad-belad no longer make a laughing- 
 stock of their western brethren. 
 
 The Khalifa's policy is to weaken the power of the 
 Aulad-belad and to strengthen the Baggaras. Just as 
 a good father watches his children, so does Abdullah 
 watch for every opportunity to further these ends by a 
 clever combination of leniency and severity. He 
 frequently blames his own countrymen for their want 
 of gratitude to their benefactor, who has heaped favours 
 upon them at the expense of the Aulad-belad. On one 
 occasion he cursed the day on which he had brought 
 them to Omdurman, calling it a " black day ; " but, in 
 point of fact, he is not really serious when he upbraids 
 them, he rather does it to satisfy the complainers, and 
 he takes every opportunity of sending the Aulad-belad 
 
THE BAGGARA AND THE AULAD-BELAD. 39o 
 
 as far away from headquarters as possible, so as to 
 strengthen his central authority by the presence of 
 Baggaras only. 
 
 I have already narrated how in the famine year he 
 made the Baggaras pay only six dollars for an ardeb of 
 dhurra, whilst everyone else had to pay sixty dollars 
 for the same quantity ; thus the Baggara suffered no 
 hardships and want during that terrible time. They do 
 not like dhurra as well as dukhn, which is more 
 nourishing, and which they grind in wooden mortars. 
 During that period of awful want, when hundreds of 
 natives were dving of starvation in the streets, these 
 great strong Baggaras were eating to their hearts' con- 
 
 © © ©O © 
 
 tent, completely regardless of all the suffering creatures 
 around them. 
 
 The revenue of the beit el mal is expended almost 
 entirely on the Baggaras ; all the fertile islands in the 
 neighbourhood, and the best-cultivated portions of the 
 Nile banks as far as Berber, have been made over to 
 them, whilst the original owners of the soil have been 
 turned out without a piastre's compensation ; they are, 
 therefore, owners of all the best lands, and serve as a 
 foreign garrison in occupation of a conquered country. 
 
 Woe to the native who happens to have a Baggara as 
 his neighbour ! His cattle are robbed, and he must 
 share the product of the fields with his overbearing 
 master ; wherever they go the Baggaras take their 
 horses with them, which must be fed and cared for at 
 the expense of the local inhabitants ; complaints against 
 Baggaras are not taken the slightest notice of, or — as it 
 more often happens — the complainant receives a heavy 
 punishment for having ventured to make a statement 
 which is invariably construed as untrue and incorrect. 
 Thus these bold tribesmen have every inducement to 
 become more and more truculent the further removed 
 they are from the Khalifa's supervision. I will cite an 
 example. 
 
 A rich native of the Gezireh had a dispute with a 
 Baggara, and struck his oppressor a blow with a stick 
 in self-defence. Fate decreed that the Baggara should 
 
394 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IS THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 die twenty-eight days afterwards, but his death was 
 not caused by the blow ; the other Baggaras, however, 
 seized the opportunity of demanding blood-money, and 
 if refused they threatened to report the matter to the 
 Khalifa. The stupid native was actually intimidated 
 into giving the Baggara 10,000 dollars, and the matter 
 was declared to be ended; but somehow it came to 
 Yakub's ears, and learning that the supposed murderer 
 was a verv rich man, he advised the friends of the 
 deceased Baggara not to accept blood-money, but to 
 insist on the native's death. This was agreed to. The 
 poor man was arrested, dragged to Omdurman, and 
 hanged ; whilst his property, consisting of a number of 
 goats and 30,000 dollars, was confiscated. 
 
 Not content with this, the Khalifa also ordered that 
 the seven villages in the neighbourhood should be 
 burnt, on the plea that the inhabitants had made 
 common cause with the murderer in resisting lawfully 
 constituted authority ; and it was only when the inhabi- 
 tants of these villages went en masse to the Khalifa, 
 begging to be spared, that he at length acceded to their 
 request. 
 
 AVhen it was found that the revenue of the beit el 
 mal was insufficient to provide for the rapidly-increasing 
 Baggara population. Abdullah ordered half the produce 
 of the Gezireh lands to be given to the beit el mal, 
 the other half being retained by the owners. This was 
 published as a solemn decree, and all judges enjoined to 
 see that it was properly carried out. Ibrahim Nui\ the 
 son of Nur Gereifawi, was sent with a body of soldiers 
 and T>aggara to assist in carrying out the order in the 
 Gezireh, and he gained an unenviable notoriety for the 
 ruthless severity with which he enforced his authority. 
 
 In accordance with the Khalifa's instructions, out of 
 every hundred ardebs he seized a half, and on the 
 remaining half he levied the " ushr " and " zeka " taxes, 
 so that eventually the unfortunate cultivator retained 
 only thirty-seven and a half per cent, of his original 
 quantity ; besides, lie was made responsible for the 
 transport to the river of the sixty-two and a-half per 
 
WAD EL BEDRI AND THE TAISHA. 
 
 cent. Frequently the fields were far distant from the 
 river, which involved hiring camels to carrv the grain, so 
 that finally the owner was probably left with absolutely 
 nothing. In this way Ibrahim gathered upwards of 
 60,000 ardebs from the Blue and White Niles. 
 
 Ibrahim gained the title of the " Gordon of the 
 ( rezireh " from the extraordinarily rapid way in which he 
 moved from one village to the other and gave his 
 instructions. 
 
 Here is another proof of the Khalifa's injustice when 
 dealing in matters concerning his own countrymen. 
 About two days' journey from Omdurman up the White 
 Nile are certain very highly-cultivated districts, and it 
 occurred to the Khalifa to send there the Taisha who 
 were not then employed, so that they might cultivate 
 and at the same time remain in touch with him. He 
 therefore sent a certain Sheikh Wad el Bedri to select 
 the most favoured spots in which the Taisha were to 
 settle. 
 
 When the inhabitants of these districts learnt what 
 was intended, they begged and prayed Wad el Bedri to 
 avert this terrible calamity which threatened them, 
 assuring him that if he would assist them they would 
 do anything he wanted, short of having the Baggara as 
 settlers in their country ; this request they accompanied 
 with a good round sum of money. 
 
 Bedri then returned to Omdurman, waited on the 
 Khalifa with a most beaming countenance, and reported 
 that the inhabitants of the White Nile were very pleased 
 that the Khalifa of the Mahdi* had been graciously 
 pleased to think of sending the Taisha to their country ; 
 but at the same time they most humbly begged to 
 submit to him that possibly the Taisha might find it a 
 trouble to move so far with their families and followers. 
 If, therefore, the Khalifat el Mahdi should, in his great 
 wisdom, deem it advisable, they were quite ready to 
 
 * Abdullah does not like being addressed as Khalifa only, but if 
 he be approached as Khalifat el Mahdi, and if the words " aleh es 
 Balam " ("on whom be peace") be added— a term which is only used 
 when speaking of the Prophet— he is even more gratified. 
 
'MK) TEX YEARS' CAPTIVITY IX THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 send to their masters everything they required, and so 
 spare them the toil of making this extended emigration. 
 
 Abdullah seemed delighted with this proposal, praised 
 Sheikh W ad el Bedri for his services, and agreed that 
 his suggestion should be carried out. The sheikh ap- 
 pealed to his countrymen, and in one year collected over 
 20,000 ardebs of dhurra, besides a quantity of money, 
 which was distributed amongst the Taisha, who from 
 that day looked on him as one of their best friends. 
 
 There is among the Baggara a curious ejaculation of 
 " Hai ! hai ! " constantly interspersed throughout their 
 conversation. The Sudani feels far more terror at this 
 sound than he ever felt at the sight of the Egyptian 
 officials' red tarbush. 
 
 All high posts are in the Baggaras' hands, or rather 
 in the hands of the Khalifa's nearest relatives. The 
 emirs of Kordofan, Regaf, Fashoda, Galabat, Kassala, 
 and Berber, are all Abdullah's relatives. Dongola was 
 the only place of importance not confided to a Baggara, 
 but now Zo^al has fallen in favour and has been re- 
 placed by the Baggari Yunis. Some of the subordinate 
 posts are, however, still in the hands of the Aulad- 
 belad, but, gradually, as the Baggaras become capable 
 of carrying out the duties, they will replace the natives. 
 
 Not content with having brought the Taisha, Homr, 
 and Habbanieh Arabs from the west to the Nile, he has 
 still further weakened the Aulad-belad by obliging the 
 powerful Rizighat tribe to emigrate from their country, 
 south of Darfur, to Omdurman. Their young Sheikh 
 Musa — son of Madibbo, who had been killed by Abu 
 Anga at El Obeid — was entrusted with this mission, and 
 he marched through Kordofan with some 30,000 souls, 
 besides quantities of horses and cattle ; his vanguard 
 had reached Shatt on the AVhite Nile just at the time 
 that I effected my escape. 
 
 The Khalifa had appointed a committee under the 
 notorious Hajji Zubeir to organize a great reception for 
 the new arrivals, and had made a long speech in the 
 mosque calling on everyone to come forward liberally 
 with gifts for their brethren. He urged that alms 
 
EMIGRATION OF TEE R1ZIGHAT Tin HE. 
 
 397 
 
 should not be stinted, but that clothes, corn, and all 
 sorts of provisions would be gratefully accepted, even to 
 the " fartaga " (or smallest copper which is coined). 
 
 Every emir was instructed to let his followers know 
 of the Khalifa's wishes ; he was to collect the gifts and 
 hand them over to the committee. If the gifts were 
 considered too small they were returned with a strong 
 hint that it would be advisable to increase them. 
 .Merchants were especially called upon to give largely, 
 and if they failed to comply they invariably incurred 
 his displeasure. 
 
 The list of gifts was scrutinised by the Khalifa daily, 
 and his favours apportioned in accordance with what he 
 found there. He was careful not to allow the rich to 
 give sparingly ; for instance, Kadi Ahmed presented 
 200 ardebs of dhurra, 100 complete suits of clothes, 
 consisting of 100 takias, 100 turbans, 100 jibbehs, 100 
 pairs of drawers, 100 leather girths, and 100 pairs of 
 sandals ; still Abdullah was not satisfied and asked why 
 he had not given any money, and immediately the Kadi, 
 terrified at the Khalifa s displeasure, laid a considerable 
 sum at Hajji Zubeir's feet. 
 
 The merchant Omar Kesha, who had acquired much 
 wealth, had on one occasion been deprived of 30,000 
 dollars by the Khalifa on the plea that much money was 
 apt to take his mind off heavenly considerations. Two 
 years later a similar sum was again taken from him. 
 On the occasion of the arrival of the Rizighat, however, 
 he presented a camel-load of sugar, a camel-load of 
 white muslin, and another of indigo-dyed calico, besides 
 a quantity of kamar ed din, 50 ardebs of dhurra, a 
 camel-load of dammur, and a completely-equipped war- 
 horse with its attendant. 
 
 Wealthy men offer lavish gifts, in the hope of im- 
 munity from plunder, and Omar Kesha, in addition to 
 his generosity on this occasion, does not fail to 
 frequently offer valuable gifts to Yakub. As for the 
 Khalifa, he is perfectly aware that with one word he 
 can, with absolute right, demand anything and every- 
 thing he requires, for had not the Sudanese solemnly 
 
398 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IX THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 pledged their property, their children, and their own 
 lives to the cause of the Mahdi and his successor ? 
 
 While in Kordofan the Mahdi had professed that he 
 was virtually the owner of all property, but that he left 
 it in the hands of its original tenants that they might 
 administer it until he should require it ; and now no 
 
 A BAGGARA WOMAX. 
 
 stone is left unturned to enforce his theory of the true 
 ownership. The Khalifa directs his special attention 
 to the merchants, who, he supposes, make large profits 
 out of commerce and trade. 
 
 Hitherto the Baggaras have had nothing to do with 
 external commerce, they never go to Sawakin or to 
 Egypt. All trade with the outside world is conducted 
 
BAGOARA APTITUDE FOR TRADE. 
 
 390 
 
 by Hadarba, Jaalin, Danagla, and Barabra merchants, 
 also on the southern frontier of Egypt by Ababdeh and 
 Ivciiuz people ; but in Omdurman itself the Baggaras, 
 and especially the women, take a large share in the 
 retail business. Although they have scarcely ever 
 owned a piastre in their lives, the shining dollar has 
 excited the most inordinate cupidity amongst them. 
 They are very quick to learn, and already surpass the 
 Aulad-belad in many branches of trade ; this fact has 
 delighted the Khalifa, and he encourages it to the 
 fullest extent. 
 
 The continuous support which the Khalifa gives to 
 his own compatriots at the expense of the rest of his 
 subjects not unnaturally irritates the latter, and out of 
 their oppression a species of courage has sprung. The 
 Khalifa Sherif bitterly resents being debarred from all 
 share in the government of the country. He is highly 
 favoured amongst the late Mahdi's widows, and the 
 Ashraf look to him as their head. 
 
 Abdullah, however, employs every means to lower 
 his position and diminish the respect in which he is held 
 by the Ashraf, whose loose mode of life he never loses 
 an opportunity of exposing. For instance, Ahmed 
 Sharh's second son had a concubine to whom he was 
 much devoted, and who used to saddle his horse for 
 him herself ; but in secret she was not always faithful 
 to her master, and when one day he returned to find 
 her absent, he revenged himself on her return by 
 hanging her with his own hands. When this outrage 
 came to the Khalifa's ears, he ordered the perpetrator 
 to be imprisoned and all his property confiscated, 
 whereas, according to Mahdi law. a master has complete 
 power to deal as he likes with his own slaves. An< t ler 
 of Ahmed Sharfi's sons was discovered to be leading a 
 very immoral life, and lie was exiled up the White Nile. 
 
 Another similar and even worse discovery, of which 
 the principal agent was one of the Mahdi's near rela- 
 tives, gave Abdullah an opportunity of openly accusing 
 the Ashraf of leading lives which did not entitle them 
 bo the smallest respect : and having established this tact, 
 
400 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI'S CAMP. 
 
 he set to work in the most public manner to show them 
 every mark of disrespect. 
 
 The Mahdi's uncle, Sayid Abdel Kader, a very proud 
 man, who prior to the Mahdi's appearance had gained a 
 livelihood by doctoring donkeys, thought, under the 
 altered circumstances, that his profession was not a 
 very honourable one ; he therefore took to doctoring 
 human beings with the aid of a few old Arabic books 
 on medicine which he possessed. He made no secret of 
 his dislike of Abdullah, and openly deplored the decay 
 of true Mahdiism ; he never attended at the mosque, 
 and studiously avoided the Khalifa on every occasion. 
 Abdullah, however, was fully alive to the situation, 
 Sayid' s every step was dogged by spies, and at length, 
 when his impudence got beyond all bounds, the Khalifa 
 suddenly summoned him to the mosque, and addressed 
 him publicly as follows — " Why should you not come 
 to the mosque twice a-week and greet me occasionally ? " 
 The Sayid replied proudly, " I worship God and pray to 
 Him daily in my house." 
 
 This speech greatly annoyed the Khalifa, who replied, 
 " Pray in your house ; but I shall cut off the hand 
 and foot of everyone who associates with you, whether 
 in your house or out of it, and I shall send to your 
 house to have all these Arabic books removed ; you can 
 then pray to God without distraction." Suiting the ac- 
 tion to the word, he at once had the Say id's books 
 seized and burnt. After this Abdel Kader thought 
 it as well to pray five times a-day in the Mahdi's 
 mosque. 
 
 Thus the breach between the Mahdi's and the Khalifa's 
 households is widening daily ; the former are continually 
 holding secret meetings and consultations, of which the 
 latter takes good care to be fully apprized. 
 
 Another individual — a certain Ismail el Kheir — who 
 had been one of the Mahdi's most fanatical adherents, 
 but who, after the Mahdi's death, had shown a tendency 
 to side with the Khalifa Sherif and to be unfriendly to 
 Khalifa Abdullah, was one day suddenly ordered to be 
 ready to start for Regaf in half an hour. It was 
 
SUSPICIONS <>F A CONSPIRACY. 
 
 401 
 
 rumoured that Abdullah had discovered he had been 
 attending the secret meetings of the Ashraf. 
 
 I will cite yet another case. A certain Wad el Banna, 
 a good man and a well-educated Moslem, had the 
 Khalifa's special permission to retain a number of his- 
 torical works on Islam, which he frequently read to him 
 and the Ansar after prayers in the mosque. Being in 
 high favour, and a great personal friend, the Khalifa 
 sent him late one night a very beautiful female slave ; 
 but when she arrived at the house, Wad el Banna was 
 nowhere to be found, and it was discovered that he 
 was with the Khalifa Sherif. The next morning Ab- 
 dullah announced that he deserved to be hanged ; but 
 as he had been very fond of him, he forgave him for 
 the Mahdi's sake ; but ordered all the books to be 
 burnt, and that he should be transported to Regaf. 
 Just as the steamer was about to sail with Wad el 
 Banna on board, the Khalifa recalled and pardoned 
 him. 
 
 There was now little doubt that the Ashraf were 
 forming a conspiracy ; the immediate result of this 
 discovery was the sudden arrest and imprisonment of 
 Zogal, which caused no small stir. Then followed the 
 arrest of Fadl Maula (afterwards known as Abdel Maula), 
 which created still more excitement. Fadl Maula was 
 the late Abu Anga's brother, and commanded the black 
 troops in Omdurman. He was a man of great influence, 
 not only on account of his brother's reputation, but he 
 had also performed a number of valuable services for 
 the Khalifa, notably at the time of the dispute regard- 
 ing the Mahdi's successor. He lived near Gordon's fort 
 of Omdurman, enjoyed a high position, and acquired a 
 large number of the most handsome women in the 
 Sudan for his harem. 
 
 These ladies lived in the highest luxury. He built 
 good houses for them, and in the evening he had a 
 band of Fertit blacks, who played before them on a 
 variety of instruments. He was perhaps of all the 
 emirs the most favoured. He had no scruples in going 
 round his men's quarters, picking out the gooddooking 
 
 2 D 
 
402 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN TEE MABDTS CAMP. 
 
 women and sending them to his harem ; but this 
 debauched and extravagant mode of living soon brought 
 its reward, and he became affected by a sort of leprosy 
 which seemed to have touched his brain. He became 
 violent, and had to be put in chains. He lay for 
 months in this condition, and no medicine was given to 
 him to ease his pain. 
 
 At length a fiki was summoned who declared the dis- 
 ease to be the result of witchcraft, and he volunteered to 
 find out by whom this evil had been practised on him. 
 One of Abdel Maula's wives was a young girl of great 
 beauty, who was preferred to all the rest, and who lived 
 with her mother. Love, however, soon grew cold, and 
 he became enamoured of another of his wives ; but the 
 mother of the cast-off girl determined to be revenged, 
 and to aid her in her object, she sought the assistance 
 of a fiki, who gave her a number of amulets, for which 
 she paid him well. These bits of paper she placed 
 under the iron platter on which Abdel Maula's bread 
 was baked, and gradually he grew worse and worse in 
 health. At length the papers were discovered, and 
 everyone was convinced that his illness had been caused 
 by witchcraft. The woman was tried, found guilty, 
 and had her hand and foot cut off. Abdel Maula did 
 not recover for many months, and the unfortunate 
 woman had been sacrificed to the fiki's deception. 
 
 The people are still very credulous, and it is im- 
 possible to make them give up their belief in these 
 superstitious fikis. Once, out of pure curiosity, I quite 
 convinced myself that this supposed witchcraft was a 
 mere deception on the part of a clever fiki. Abu Anga's 
 death and Abdel Maula's illness greatly affected the 
 latter's influence, besides he was looked upon with jealous 
 eyes by the Taisha. His overbearing manner to Yakub, 
 which made the latter his sworn enemy, also contributed 
 to his downfall. Detractors were not wanting who 
 declared that he appropriated the dhurra issued by the 
 beit el mal for his troops. The Khalifa therefore 
 ordered his property to be confiscated, and reduced the 
 number of his wives from thirty-one to three, Irritated 
 
ANGRY DISCUSSION IN SHARFFS HOUSE. 403 
 
 beyond measure at this treatment, he openly abused 
 the Khalifa and Yakub ; but was thrown into chains 
 and delivered over to the tender mercies of the Saier. 
 
 The upshot of a meeting of the three Khalifas and 
 the Kadi in Ahmed SharfTs house, still further widened 
 the breach. Sharfi is known as the " Gidd el Ashraf " 
 (or grandfather of the Ashraf), because his daughter was 
 the Mahdi's mother — Abdullah himself generally ad- 
 dresses him as " Gidd,'' and, by way of a joke, his 
 house is known as the " Mudirieh," because it is a large 
 square yard with numbers of small rooms ranged 
 around the inside walls in which the numerous wives 
 dwell. 
 
 Sharfi is an astute and crafty old man ; he sees per- 
 fectly well that, under existing circumstances, it is 
 quite useless to try and overturn the present Baggara 
 authority. He flatters the Khalifa in the most ob- 
 sequious manner, constantly gives him presents, and 
 has even gone as far as to give up associating with 
 the Mahdi's household, lest suspicion should rest upon 
 him. 
 
 But to return. The four met one evening, the great 
 gate was closed, the mulazim kept guard outside, while 
 within the discussion waxed hot. Khalifa Sherif re- 
 proached Abdullah bitterly for non-adherence to the 
 Mahdi's precepts. He accused him of oppressing the 
 people, and governing without the co-operation of 
 himself and Ali Wad Helu. He urged that the pro- 
 ceeds of the beit el mal were reserved exclusively for 
 him and his Baggaras; that he had built good houses 
 for himself and his emirs, whilst the Mahdi's household 
 continued to live .in a zariba ; that his brother Yakub 
 had considerably more authority than either of the two 
 Khalifas ; that the Mahdi's wives were living in absolute 
 want whilst the Baggaras had every luxury ; in short, 
 he accused Abdullah of having made Mahdiism into an 
 entirely worldly and temporal power, instead of up- 
 holding the religious precepts on which it had been 
 founded. These unreserved expressions led to a fierce 
 dispute, swords were on the point of being drawn, when 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AH DPS CAMP. 
 
 Ahmed Sharfi and the Kadi with tears implored them 
 to stop quarrelling. 
 
 It was now past midnight, and Yakub, alarmed at 
 Abdullah's absence, arrived with a party of soldiers and 
 several Baggaras at the great gate, and began rapping 
 violently with their spears ; they shouted, " Let our 
 Khalifa out ! " The noise outside had an instantaneous 
 effect on the disputants within. Abdullah solemnly 
 swore on the Kuran that he would act entirely on the 
 advice of his colleagues in the matter, and with that 
 assurance the stormy meeting broke up. His appear- 
 ance at the gate was hailed with delight, and he was 
 conducted home with rejoicing. 
 
 But in spite of these events there was no real recon- 
 ciliation. * Sherif continued to agitate secretly, whilst 
 the Mahdi's wives, who looked upon him as their pro- 
 tector solemnly appointed by the Mahdi, added fuel to 
 the fire. • They had some cause for discontent. After the 
 Mahdi's death they were taken little notice of ; Abdullah 
 did not trouble himself about their wants and had it not 
 been for Ahmed Sharfi, they must have starved. Being 
 the Mahdi's widows, they were not allowed to marry 
 again, and were not even permitted to move beyond the 
 palace precincts. 
 
 This enforced confinement so irritated these good 
 women that they decided to go en masse to the Khalifa, 
 and demand either their liberty or that they should be 
 well treated. Ahmed Sharfi, learning of their resolution, 
 did all in his power to quiet them, and promised that 
 he would intercede with the Khalifa for them. This he 
 did, and Abdullah feigned complete surprise, said he 
 had been under the impression that they had been 
 supplied from the beit el mal with all they required, 
 and that he himself had repeatedly given orders to 
 Nur Gereifawi to that effect. This was a fact, but — as 
 it frequently happens — Yakub had taken it upon him- 
 self to give counter-orders ; the blame was, of course, 
 laid on Gereifawi, who was ordered to at once issue 600 
 dollars to the widows, half in clothes and half in cash, 
 and so these noble ladies were for the time being satisfied. 
 
KHALIFA SIIERIF DECIDES TO RESIST. 
 
 405 
 
 About a mouth after the meeting I have just 
 described the smouldering fire broke out with renewed 
 vigour. About two days before the actual climax, I 
 was told in the greatest secrecy by a friend, that in a 
 few days a rupture must occur, that Khalifas Sherif 
 and Ali Wad Helu, as well as the principal Aulad-belad 
 emirs, had solemnly sworn on the Kuran either to 
 overturn Khalifa Abdullah, or die in the attempt, I 
 could scarcely credit this news, for Sherif was a young 
 and inexperienced man, and had hitherto given no 
 proof of any special ability which would induce the 
 confidence of others ; he appeared to me as a man 
 utterly absorbed in a life of sensual pleasure. But the 
 following dav mv friend again told me that his first 
 information was quite correct; however, I persisted in 
 saying that I would not believe it till I saw it. So 
 well had the secret been kept, that the Aulad-belad 
 merchants were unconcernedly taking their goods away 
 from the market as usual, and the Khalifa and his 
 household knew nothing of it, for one of my friends, 
 who lived close to the palace, declared to me that the 
 whole matter was pure invention. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 24th of November, 1891, a rumour 
 suddenly spread through the town that Sherif had 
 decided to resist. The market was at once closed, and 
 people went to their homes as quickly as possible. 
 The whole place was in a state of alarm and excitement. 
 Baggaras seized the opportunity to plunder and rob, 
 and I could not learn the actual circumstances which 
 led to the outbreak, as all that day I remained in my 
 hut, and the following day I made my escape. 
 
 Some said that the people had risen because the 
 Khalifa intended to execute Zogal ; others, that Ab- 
 dullah had secretly intended to proclaim his son as his 
 successor, but that Sherif had violently opposed the 
 idea. Possibly it may have been that the Khalifa — on 
 the principle of weakening the power of the Aulad-belad 
 — had ordered that an expedition of 3,000 of them, 
 under the command of Wad el Ireik, should proceed to 
 Kassala to fight against the Italians : besides, Abdullah 
 
406 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 had the intention of sending Karamallah — the capturer 
 of Lupton Bey — and his brother Kerkesawi, with a 
 force to Bahr el Ghazal, and it was thought that these 
 two most deliberate attempts to get the Aulad-belad out 
 of Omdurman had been the real cause of the outbreak. 
 
 Tuesday passed without disturbance, but every one 
 was prepared for Wednesday. On that day the Khalifa 
 ordered that everyone should stand to his flag, and that 
 all the Ansar should attend at the mosque. But the 
 whole affair turned out to be a ridiculous farce. Khalifa 
 Sherif with a few Danagla had barricaded himself in 
 the Mahdi's zariba ; he had altogether about fifty 
 .Remington rifles. How could he attempt resistance 
 with a feeble force of this description ? He had acted 
 most imprudently ; still, in secret, the Aulad-belad 
 would all have liked to support him, but not one of 
 them had the courage to come forward, though there 
 were a very large number of them in Omdurman. The 
 Mahdi's widows, however, showed far more determina- 
 tion. They dressed themselves in jibbehs, armed them- 
 selves with swords, and, forming a compact little body, 
 they swore rather to die than submit. 
 
 In accordance with the Khalifa's orders, the palace, 
 the mosque, and the road between the Mahdi's dome 
 and the mosque, were all occupied by the Ansar on 
 Wednesday, whilst the black troops completely sur- 
 rounded the mosque. Yakub was made responsible for 
 distributing ammunition. Possibly Sherif may have 
 thought that the Aulad-belad would have joined him, 
 but not one of them dared to leave the ranks. 
 Numerous horsemen wearing coats of mail and helmets 
 were entertaining the crowds by their furious galloping, 
 and in Abdullah's entire force there w T as general re- 
 joicing. At about 10 a.m. Sherif opened fire, and 
 seventeen Baggaras fell ; the blacks returned the fire, 
 and killed seven of Sherif s men. Abdullah would not 
 allow the Ansar to fire, and it was with the greatest 
 difficulty that he succeeded in holding back the wild 
 Bao^aras. 
 
 The few shots that had been fired startled the whole 
 
THE RECONCILIATION. 
 
 407 
 
 of Omdurman ; everyone went to his house and armed 
 himself as best he could. Meanwhile the Baggara 
 horsemen had left the actual scene of action, and were 
 now scattered about the town looting, robbing, breaking 
 into houses, wounding people, and seizing women, slaves, 
 ornaments, &c. When Abdullah heard of this, he lost 
 no time in sending Yakub's horsemen to keep order ; but 
 many of the robbers made off with their booty. In the 
 even ins: it was rumoured that a reconciliation had been 
 effected. Khalifa Helu, Ahmed Sharfi, and Sayid el 
 Mek had been the mediators. Sharfi had attempted to 
 explain to the Mahdi's widows that all resistance was 
 useless, but they tore his jibbeh, and drove him off. 
 
 On Thursday the Khalifas all met under the Mahdi's 
 dome, and there Abdullah, with tears in his eyes, 
 solemnly swore to accede to all his opponent's wishes, 
 which were that he should receive one-third of the 
 army, one-third of the arms and of the beit el mal 
 revenue, and that, moreover, he should take part in all 
 meetings and deliberations. It was quite apparent that 
 Abdullah never seriously intended to fulfil these con- 
 ditions. He could have instantly suppressed the out- 
 break had he wished to do so, but he wanted to show 
 that he still greatly honoured and respected the Mahdi's 
 family. 
 
 At noon the mulazimin marched through the town, 
 heralds announced that tranquillity had been restored, 
 and that people should return to their daily avocations. 
 On Friday the usual review took place, but none of the 
 notables were present, and most of the troops continued 
 in occupation of the mosque and palace. On Saturday 
 there was another alarm, for Sherif had declined to 
 hand over his arms, but that evening his submission 
 was publicly announced. I did not hear the details, 
 for on Sunday, the 29th of November, 1891, I quitted 
 Omdurman in the dead of night. 
 
40S TEN YEAB& CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR THE FLIGHT. 
 
 Ohrwalder forms plans for escape — The fate of other Europeans 
 attempting to fly — Stricter surveillance — Ohrwalder's means of 
 livelihood — Letters from Cairo — The faithful Ahmed Hassan 
 discloses his plan — Archbishop Sogaro — Miseries of captivity in 
 Omdurman — Death of Sister Concetta Corsi — Preparations for 
 flight. 
 
 The reader will readily understand that all this time I 
 had not lost sight of the object which had been next 
 my heart, which was to regain my liberty and escape 
 from my miserable surroundings. 
 
 When I quitted El Obeid, I then thought that, once 
 in Omdurman, escape would not be so difficult, and 
 during my long journey to the Mahdi's capital this 
 thought had buoyed me up. At any rate I was one 
 step nearer attaining my wish, for at that time the 
 restrictions on Europeans were not so severe, and they 
 were permitted to trade and travel as far as Ed Darner, 
 to which place Egyptian merchants freely came and 
 went. 
 
 On my arrival in Omdurman, a Greek offered me 
 hospitality, which I gratefully accepted. I had resolved 
 to search about in the town for a trusty friend, who 
 would help me towards the attainment of my object. 
 It had occurred to me that J might accompany a Greek 
 or Syrian merchant to Darner, and from thence make 
 my escape, but unfortunately at that time I had no 
 money and little experience. I did not actually give 
 way to despair, but I could find no one ready to give 
 me the assistance I required ; they all feared the 
 Khalifa's vengeance in case of discovery. 
 
OHM W ALDER'S PREVIOUS EFFORTS TO ESCAPE. 411 
 
 I made inquiries of boatmen, with a view to going to 
 Berber on a supposed trading journey, but none of 
 them trusted me ; and, indeed, I was afterwards 
 thankful that they had not spoken of my design. 
 However, in spite of failure, I did not give up hope ; 
 and during the long days, and often sleepless nights, I 
 turned various plans over and over in my mind. On one 
 occasion Gustav Klootz and I decided to make an attempt 
 to reach Galabat, and escape thence into Abyssinia, but at 
 the last moment the plan seemed impracticable. Klootz, 
 however, set off, and without any money he begged 
 his way from place to place ; at length, utterly ex- 
 hausted, he reached Galabat, only to die a few days 
 afterwards. 
 
 I spent about eight months with the Greek, and then 
 thought it was not fair to trespass further on his 
 hospitality. Besides, it had occurred to me that in case 
 a favourable opportunity for escape arrived, he would 
 most certainly have been accused of complicity, and 
 might have suffered on my account ; I therefore built 
 a small straw hut for myself, and lived with a Mission 
 brother who had a small shop in the market. For 
 almost five months an Arab held out hopes of assisting 
 me to escape, but I eventually ascertained that he never 
 really meant to help me. For nearly two years I had 
 suffered from incessant diarrhoea, which had greatly 
 wasted my strength. 
 
 Meanwhile I had managed to send one of the Mission 
 brothers to Berber, nominally to gain a living by 
 repairing watches, but actually to find out whether 
 flight from there was possible. It took him twenty-six 
 days in a boat to reach Berber, and after staying there 
 for a time he succeeded in escaping to Sawakm, whence 
 he despatched a man with money and goods who was 
 to aid in my escape ; but the man never came, and 
 must have stolen all that had been given to him. 
 
 o 
 
 The Mission brother's escape reached the Khalifa's 
 ears, and at the same time certain Greeks petitioned 
 him that their bakery might not be pulled down when 
 the market was being repaired. The Khalifa sent for 
 
412 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 the mukuddum to inquire about the matter, and 
 casually asked about the other Greeks, and where they 
 were ? The mukuddum replied that some were ill, 
 others were travelling. This greatly annoyed the 
 Khalifa, who ordered all who were in ( )mdurman to be 
 brought before him the following dav. Finding several 
 absentees, his eyes seemed to be opened to the danger ; 
 he severely blamed the mukuddum for allowing the 
 lay-brother to escape ; said that he should have given 
 immediate information, and then turning on us he 
 threatened to cast us into the river, or cut oft" our 
 hands. His actual words were, " What prevents me 
 now from throwing you into the river, and making vou 
 food for fishes ? " He spoke against us in a most 
 vehement manner for about half an hour, and ended by 
 saying that we should not in future be permitted to 
 move one step south of Omdurman fort, or north of 
 Khor Shambat. Any Europeans known to be beyond 
 the limits of his capital, he ordered to be forcibly 
 brought back, alive or dead. This sudden change of 
 front obliged us to put aside for the time all idea of 
 escape. 
 
 A Sherif of Mecca, who had come to greet the Mahdi 
 and who had become thoroughly convinced of the false- 
 ness of his claims, expressed a desire to be allowed to 
 return ; his request was not granted, so he decided to 
 make his escape ; he bought a donkey and gaily set out 
 on his journey. On reaching Kererri, some four hours' 
 distance, he was stopped and asked where he was going ; 
 he replied that he was come to pay a visit to Sheikh el 
 Tayeb's tomb at Kererri ; but his story was not credited. 
 He was brought back to the Khalifa, who handed him 
 over to the Saier, where he died a few days afterwards. 
 
 This event made Abdullah exert a still stricter sur- 
 veillance over the " whites," and now escape became 
 more difficult than ever. Moreover, Wad en Nejumi s 
 expedition to Egypt closed the road to pilgrims, and 
 during that period flight would have been a pure im- 
 possibility. In the meantime I had to do something to 
 gain a livelihood. Lupton advised me to try soap- 
 
OIIRWALDER'S MEAXS OF LIVELIHOOD, 
 
 413 
 
 boiling ; so I went into partnership with him, changed 
 my house, and now took up my abode just beyond the 
 Greek and Syrian quarter. 
 
 I was always thinking of escape, and in consequence 
 kept a great deal to myself, seldom paid visits, and was 
 seldom called upon. Two of the Mission sisters were 
 living near me ; they earned a precarious living by 
 needlework ; but this hardly brought in enough money 
 to purchase the bare necessities of life, for several of the 
 women who had survived the Khartum massacre were 
 employed at similar work, and the competition was 
 considerable. 
 
 Poor Lupton died very suddenly, so our soap-boiling 
 plan had to be abandoned, and I had to turn my 
 thoughts to something else. It occurred to me to make 
 hooks out of telegraph wire, which the sisters sewed on 
 to purses, takias, &c, and this being a novelty was for 
 a time a fairly lucrative business : but it was lono- and 
 tedious work. Gradually the novelty wore off, and the 
 demand grew less ; provisions were expensive, and a 
 famine close at hand. All idea of mutual support had 
 come to an end, for the Greeks, Syrians, and Jews had 
 been prohibited from leaving the town, and nothing was 
 to be made out of trade in Umdurman itself. Thus my 
 condition went from bad to worse, the famine was now 
 raging, and in desperation I had to do something to 
 gain enough to keep body and soul together. 
 
 It was the fashion for the women in Umdurman to 
 wear long garments trimmed with various sorts of 
 ribbons, and it occurred to me to learn how to make 
 these ribbons ; for this purpose I acquired a small and 
 simple loom. The few men in the market, who had the 
 monopoly of this trade, regarded my acquisition with 
 great jealousy, and would not teach it to any one under 
 a less payment than forty or fifty dollars, and this sum 
 I was quite unable to raise ; however, necessity knows 
 no law, and hunger sharpens the inventive faculties. I 
 carefully unravelled a piece of ribbon and studied the 
 way it was made with the greatest attention. I had a 
 dim and hazy recollection of European looms, and, after 
 
414 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 many vain attempts, I at length succeeded in making 
 one. The work is very trying, and at first I thought 
 my back would break from the exertion ; it was only 
 with the greatest difficulty that I managed, after working 
 all day, to turn out four yards, which I sold for four 
 piastres, out of which I had to purchase the thread. 
 However, after continuous practice, I succeeded, at the 
 end of a month, in turning out sixteen yards a day. 
 But loom work should be learnt when one is young, and 
 to begin it at my age was a terrible strain on my back ; 
 still, it brought in sufficient money to keep us alive. 
 
 For seven months we lived on dhurra bread and a few 
 boiled vegetables, without oil, butter, or meat. Hard 
 work and insufficient food were telling; on our strenoth : 
 however, we were far better off than hundreds of others, 
 who were willing to work, but, finding nothing to do, 
 were obliged to starve. During all this time I never 
 once abandoned hope of escape, and again succeeded in 
 oettingr some one to take a message from me to Cairo 
 seeking advice ; but the undertaking was so beset with 
 difficulties that it seemed next to impossible. 
 
 My companions in adversity watched me closely — 
 they often volunteered to attempt an escape with the 
 sisters ; but as I was responsible for them to the 
 Khalifa, this could not be done, and the idea of myself 
 and the two sisters ever escaping alone seemed too 
 absurd to be thought of. It seemed most improbable 
 that the Government would again take possession of the 
 Sudan ; though I confess that a ray of hope was kindled 
 when Saleh Bey of Korosko suddenly arrived at Abu 
 Hamed with his Ababdehs and killed the notorious 
 Suleiman Wad Naaman, the murderer of Colonel 
 Stewart and his companions. The news of this affair 
 caused the greatest excitement in Omdurman, and we 
 really believed that the time for our release was 
 approaching ; but Saleh Bey disappeared as quickly as 
 he came. 
 
 The capture of Tokar, in February 1891, also raised 
 our hopes ; but we were again doomed to disappoint- 
 ment. In 1890 a young Ababdeh Arab had come to 
 
THE ARRIVAL OF All MED HASSAN. 
 
 415 
 
 Omdurman and had asked me to give him a letter to 
 my friends in Cairo. I did not trust him, for I had 
 written several letters which were entirely without 
 result. I had learnt by experience that the Arabs were 
 untrustworthy, and that the letters never reached those 
 for wdiom they were intended. It also occurred to me 
 that the man might be a spy, so I sent him away with 
 the answer " Neshauer " (i.e. "I shall think about it "), 
 a word very often used by the Sudanese when they wish 
 to gain time to consider a matter. 
 
 Meanwhile I made full inquiries about the man, and 
 heard nothing but good of him. Soon afterwards he 
 returned and asked me to give him a few lines of 
 greeting to my friends. I was told that the man 
 expected to get some reward if he succeeded in bringing 
 letters to the Government from the prisoners, which 
 might give them some information on the situation in 
 the Sudan. When I was thoroughly convinced as to his 
 trustworthiness, we then had a consultation, of which 
 the upshot was that I would, with his assistance, 
 attempt to escape, provided he could obtain the necessary 
 support from Cairo ; I therefore gave him a letter to our 
 Reverend Vicar Apostolic, Franz Sogaro, and commis- 
 sioned him to negotiate verbally with him. 
 
 The man's plan w^as to return when the Nile was high 
 — that is to say, almost a year later — escape in a boat or 
 on a raft, which the swift current would carry to Berber 
 in about three days, where camels would be in readiness 
 to take us across the desert to Korosko. I urged him 
 to keep these plans absolutely secret, for their disclosure 
 would bring most certain punishment on our heads, and 
 I further urged him to provide arms for the journey. 
 
 Ahmed Hassan — for that was the man's name — went 
 off, and, to tell the truth, I had little hope that he would 
 do anything more than others had done before him. 
 Besides, who could say what changes might not take 
 place in a year in Omdurman, which might entirely 
 frustrate our plans ? The sword of Damocles was for 
 ever hanging over our heads. Then might not death 
 intervene any day ? Both the sisters and myself were 
 
416 TEN CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 thoroughly debilitated by constant work and hardship, 
 and it was always possible that a slight fever might 
 extinguish the spark of life which was then burning but 
 dimly. 
 
 A few days after Ahmed's departure the whole matter 
 went quite out of our heads, and before long I was again 
 negotiating with another Arab to assist us to escape, for 
 I did not wish to leave a stone unturned. If it had 
 been a question of my flight alone, there would not have 
 been so much difficulty. As a man I could have stained 
 my naturally brown complexion, dressed in rags, and 
 begged my way along the banks of the Blue Nile to 
 Abyssinia ; but I could not leave the poor sisters behind, 
 and therefore resolved to wait patiently until a deliverer 
 should come. 
 
 Several of the merchants who had been to Egypt told 
 me that Archbishop Sogaro had often sent us money via 
 Korosko, Haifa, and Sawakin ; but the dishonest Arab's 
 had always appropriated it for themselves. In fact, 
 ever since 1884 our good Archbishop had never ceased 
 in his efforts to assist us and to make our captivity more 
 bearable. He left no stone unturned, and moved 
 Moslems, Christians, the Government, and indeed His 
 Holiness the Pope, on our behalf, and one of the 
 missionaries was maintained on the Egyptian frontier 
 with the special object of endeavouring to procure our 
 release ; they took it in turns to relieve each other, 
 and were Fathers Dominicus Vicentini, Yohann Dichtl, 
 Xavier Geyer, Alois Bonomi, Leon Henriot, and Alois 
 Specke, the last of whom died at Assuan, ^Ye had 
 many great difficulties, but perhaps the greatest was the 
 continual bad faith of the Arabs. 
 
 The transport of letters endangered the lives not only 
 of the bearers, but of the receivers as well, and any 
 letter addressed to a European would, if discovered, 
 undoubtedly end either in the intended recipient's death 
 or imprisonment for life. But Archbishop Sogaro 
 worked on with indefatigable earnestness. Early in 
 1890 he sent one of our Coptic Mission teachers, named 
 Hanna Arraga, with money and goods to the frontier, 
 
AT1MED HASSAN RETURNS TO CAIRO. 
 
 417 
 
 whence, if possible, he was to proceed to Omdurman and 
 assist us. It was thought the plan might succeed, for 
 at that time Zogal was Emir of Dongola, and he was 
 desirous of opening trade with Haifa. Hanna therefore 
 sent an Arab on to find out how matters stood, while he 
 himself remained on the frontier ; but the Arab never 
 returned. 
 
 It so happened that just at this time Zogal and the 
 two Baggara emirs sent to watch him had a violent 
 dispute, which resulted in all of them being recalled to 
 Omdurman. The Khalifa decided in favour of the 
 Baccaras, Zog-al was thrown into chains, and Abdullah's 
 nephew, Yunis, was appointed Emir of Dongola ; the 
 latter held very different views with regard to intercourse 
 with Egypt, and that is why the Arab never returned 
 to Haifa. About fifteen days, however, before I effected 
 my escape, the Arab came to Omdurman and told me 
 about the matter. His own master and son had been 
 implicated in the Dongola dispute and had been thrown 
 into chains ; that was his reason for not returning, and 
 after that I never saw him again.* 
 
 Meanwhile, Ahmed Hassan, whom I had sent to 
 Cairo with the letter, duly delivered it to Archbishop 
 Sogaro, who made a written agreement with him for 
 our release ; he also instructed Hanna to proceed from 
 Haifa to Korosko, and there hand over to Ahmed 
 Hassan the goods valued at £100. Through Arch- 
 bishop Sogaro's intermediary, Ahmed Hassan was given 
 every support by the Egyptian military authorities, who 
 presented him with £20 and gave him a free passage to 
 Korosko. On the 15th of September, 1891, he left that 
 place for Omdurman with the goods. 
 
 At Omdurman the winter had come and gone, the 
 Nile had risen to its full height and had subsided, but 
 there was no sign of Ahmed. I was not surprised, for 
 
 * The Arab undoubtedly meant well. For he wa? at the same 
 time entrusted by me with a letter to give to another European 
 prisoner, and, as I write, a reply to this letter, which was delivered 
 to him only two months ago in Omdurman, has just reached 
 Cairo.— F. R. W. 
 
 2 E 
 
4i8 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 I had long been accustomed to disappointments of this 
 sort. I merely remarked to myself that the number of 
 persons who had deceived us had been increased by 
 one, and that if a deliverer did not soon come from 
 Egypt, there was another deliverer — death — whose 
 approach was certain. The heavy work was sapping 
 our waning strength, I began to spit blood, felt severe 
 pains in my chest, and was little else than skin and 
 bone. 
 
 The poor sisters were still nearer the grave. Our 
 moral and physical sufferings during these ten long 
 years of captivity had told on us terribly ; death was 
 what we most longed for and for which we patiently 
 waited. The sad prospect of never regaining our liberty, 
 of living a life of slavery, debarred from all the advan- 
 tages and progress of the world, never again to worship 
 in our grand churches and enjoy the comforts of our 
 holy religion ; but to live and die amongst the fiery 
 rocks and sand of Omdurman, where the burning sun 
 turned dead bodies into mummies — to die and be buried 
 in slavery — the prospect of living was indeed unattrac- 
 tive, and what wonder we should long for death to free 
 us from such misery ! 
 
 After all these sufferings it was indeed hard to see 
 our will-o'-the-wisp-like hope, which we had pursued so 
 often, dissolve into nothing, and to find ourselves once 
 more the victims of a fraud and deception. How fortu- 
 nate we thought those who had been killed in battle, or 
 had died of starvation or disease ! We even envied the 
 lot of those who had been massacred in Khartum. After 
 all, the anguish of death had been but momentary, and 
 now all suffering and pain was over, while we seemed 
 to have passed through a hundred deaths, we had been 
 in his clutches over and over again ; hunger, thirst, and 
 disease had all, at one time or another, almost claimed 
 us as their victims. We had witnessed the destruction 
 of cities, the annihilation of armies, the slaughter of 
 thousands, and the ruthless massacre and bloodshed of 
 innocent people ; man's dignity trodden under foot, and 
 human life valued far below that of a sheep or a goat. 
 
DEATH OF SISTER CONCETTA CORSL 419 
 
 And after all this we must live and die forgotten and 
 unknown, our lasting resting-place a strange land, and 
 our bodies in all likelihood food for hyenas. Thus we 
 longed for death to remove us from these scenes of 
 perpetual cruelty and oppression. Our nerves had 
 become so strained that the slightest knock at the door 
 would make us start ; the sound of the great onbeia 
 made us positively tremble. Almost half the total 
 number of Europeans, Greeks, Syrians, and Jews were 
 dead, and all we hoped for was that we should soon 
 follow them. 
 
 The death of one of our sisters only increased in me 
 the desire to die as well. On the 4th of October, 1891, 
 Sister Concetta Corsi, who was in a very weak state of 
 health, was suddenly carried off by typhus. According 
 to the Sudan custom, we wound her body in a cloth, 
 tied it up in a mat (for there were no coffins to be had), 
 and carried her, almost immediately after death, to a 
 spot some six miles north of the town — the direction in 
 which her eyes in lifetime had been so often turned. 
 All the Greeks and Syrians followed, and there in the 
 stillness of the desert we laid her in the warm sand, 
 protecting her body from the ravenous hyenas by a few 
 thorns. A short prayer was offered up for her and for 
 the souls of those who had gone before ; then we turned 
 sadly back, hoping that before long we too might be 
 lying beside her. 
 
 But I felt that my life was in God's hands, and 
 comforted myself with the belief that God was dealing 
 with me as He thought best, and that I must submit 
 to His Divine will. My hut was gloomy in the 
 extreme ; for several days I did not speak to any one, 
 and when night came I threw myself down on my 
 angarib, but sleep would not come to me ; then 1 would 
 gaze up into the great vault of heaven and think that 
 this same sky was over my fatherland, from which I 
 was an exile, surrounded by suffering and sickness. 
 
 On the night of the 28th of October, 1891, Ahmed 
 Hassan quite unexpectedly made his appearance. T 
 took him to my hut, and after the usual Arabic 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 greetings, he said to me, " Here I am, are you 
 coming ? " For a moment I was speechless, I quite 
 understood what he meant ; but a thousand thoughts 
 flashed through my mind, my heart was beating 
 violently, the dangers to which my frail companions in 
 adversity would be subjected loomed before me, and 
 for a few moments I could make no reply ; then I 
 collected my wandering thoughts and said : " If I did 
 not intend to go with you I would not have sent you." 
 
 Then I began asking him all sorts of questions about 
 Cairo, and he informed me briefly that he had seen 
 Archbishop Sogaro and had made an arrangement with 
 him regarding our release ; that he had given up the 
 plan of descending to Berber by boat, and that he had 
 received £100 to purchase camels. He further told me 
 that he had not brought any letter with him. He asked 
 about the sisters, and when I told him that one had 
 died almost a month ago, he almost wept, and striking 
 his forehead with his hand, said, " Oh, that I had come 
 a month earlier ! " But I told him that I would take 
 another sister in her place. 
 
 We then set to talking earnestly about our plans ; I 
 told him to purchase at least five good camels and to 
 see that he had sufficient arms. In anticipation of 
 flight, I had a long time ago secured and carefully 
 concealed a hundred Bemington cartridges. When 
 Ahmed left the hut I began to doubt if he was really 
 sincere ; it seemed almost incredible that they should 
 have sent him from Cairo without a line or even a 
 signature on such an important undertaking. 
 
 The next day Ahmed reappeared, bringing with him 
 two Arabs whom he had engaged in the cause, one at 
 Korosko and the other at Berber. Ahmed seemed a 
 little afraid that we would not dare to undertake the 
 flight ; he told me that he had brought a letter from 
 Archbishop Sogaro, but had left it at Berber. The 
 main difficulty for the Arabs would be leaving the 
 house without being observed, but I reassured them on 
 that point. It was almost full moon at that time, so 
 it was decided to delay our departure until it should 
 
ARCIIBISHOP SOGARO'S LETTER. 
 
 421 
 
 be on the decline, and we should thus be able to 
 make our way out under cover of obscurity. I begged 
 Ahmed not to come to us any more, to avoid exciting 
 suspicion. 
 
 1 now began to make preparations. My first object 
 was to get one of the sisters, who was at that time 
 living in a Greek's house, to come to my house. This 
 was not an easy matter, for I dared not mention one 
 word about our intentions to a soul, or our plans would 
 undoubtedly have been frustrated. I therefore feigned 
 illness, and said I could no longer carry on this hard 
 work alone, so the sister was allowed to come, and, 
 quite unwittingly, the Greek gladly lent me her services. 
 She had now been with me some twenty days, so I felt 
 that the Greek could not be held responsible for her 
 disappearance, which occurred a few days later. 
 
 Ahmed gave me Archbishop Sogaro's letter, which he 
 had procured from Berber, and with intense excitement 
 I read the few lines, in which he wished me all success 
 in the undertaking. This letter encouraged me greatlv, 
 and I had now no doubt of Ahmed's sincerity. We 
 counted the days and hours preceding our departure, 
 and I could not bear to think of the trials the sisters 
 would have to undergo during the journey. I had also 
 a little black girl, whom it would have been impossible 
 for me to have left behind, as our departure would un- 
 doubtedly have been betrayed. She was named Adila, 
 and had been born in the Khartum Mission house. 
 After the fall of Khartum, she and her mother had been 
 sold as slaves and sent to Gedaref. 
 
 Amongst Abu Anga's troops was a certain Panerazio 
 Yusef, a very bright and intelligent young soldier, who 
 subsequently rose to the rank of an emir ; he had been 
 told about Adila, bought her for five dollars, and took 
 her with him when he accompanied the emir Zaki to 
 Omdurman. On his arrival he presented her to me as a 
 remembrance of former kindness ; he also gave me a 
 quantity of coffee, for which I was truly grateful. 
 
 The day of our intended departure was approaching, 
 and we looked forward to it with almost breathless 
 
422 TEN YEARS 1 CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 impatience. We had lost all appetite for food ; fear, 
 mental anguish, and the idea that we should be free, 
 kept us in a perfect fever of excitement. I could not 
 help thinking of my companions in adversity whom I 
 should be obliged to leave behind, and who might, I 
 thought, perhaps suffer after our departure. These had 
 been constantly with us for the last ten years, sharing 
 our life of pain and wretchedness, and now I could not 
 but feel pained at the thought of separation. But all 
 these feelings had to be put aside, and we had to con- 
 centrate all our thoughts on the present. I longed to 
 be off, if only to be free from this feverish anxiety 
 which was rending our very souls. Then Ahmed came 
 just the day before we were to have started, and said 
 that the Arabs with whom he had come from Korosko 
 had not yet returned, and that we must await their 
 departure before setting out. 
 
 I now began to think that our plans had been 
 frustrated. Several Egyptians, including some women, 
 had attempted to fly to Berber, whence they intended 
 making their way back to Egypt, but had been inter- 
 cepted, brought back and thrown into chains. It also 
 happened that some Greeks who had been living at 
 Gedaref, and had had their goods stolen, were also 
 brought to Omdurman and put in prison, because it 
 was thought that they had intended to escape to the 
 Italians. 
 
 All this alarmed me, and I thought it probable the 
 Khalifa would issue more stringent orders against 
 Europeans. Ahmed told me that he had had con- 
 siderable difficulty in purchasing the camels ; he did 
 not dare buy them in the market, as that would have 
 aroused suspicion ; he had also great difficulty in feeding 
 them, for it would have certainly excited comment if he 
 had collected them all in one place. He had, however, 
 managed very well. When he saw a good-looking camel, 
 towards evening he would follow it until he reached the 
 owner's house, then early the next morning he would 
 return and bargain for it ; in this way he had acquired 
 three good camels at from 120 to 150 dollars a piece, 
 
DEPARTURE DELAYED. 
 
 423 
 
 which he distributed amongst his various friends, and 
 fed them up well. Meanwhile he used occasionally to 
 come and see us, and bid us keep up a good hope in 
 spite of our enforced delay. 
 
 On the 24th of November occurred the disturbance 
 between the Khalifas which I have already narrated, 
 and this seemed a most favourable moment to escape ; 
 but Ahmed did not come, and I was wildly impatient, 
 for I could not even find out where he lived without 
 exciting suspicion. In all this confusion we were lost- 
 sight of, and I avoided going to see anyone lest I 
 should become involved in anything that was going on. 
 I had no further preparations to make, for Ahmed had 
 promised to provide everything. 
 
 At last, on Friday the 27th, he came to my hut, and 
 it was decided we should leave on Monday evening. 
 When I reproached him for not coming during the first 
 day or two of the disturbances, he said that he too had 
 thought of it, but that one of his friends had been 
 locked up for being engaged in a quarrel, and he was 
 obliged to wait until he was released. 
 
 Ahmed also told me a most important piece of news. 
 There were no riding camels in the beit el mal. All 
 had been despatched to the provinces on business con- 
 nected with quelling the disturbances. It would not, 
 therefore, be possible to pursue us at once. These dis- 
 turbances had made all the other captives think that it 
 was a favourable opportunity to fly, but, with one ex- 
 ception, none of them knew that my preparations were 
 all made and that the next day I should be gone. 
 
424 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ON CAMELS ACROSS THE GREAT NUBIAN DESERT. 
 
 Father Ohrwalder and Sisters Venturini and Chincarini escape — The 
 ride for life — The rencontre with the Dervish guard near Abu 
 Hamed — Alarm of the party — The journey across the great 
 Nubian desert — Five hundred miles on camel-back in seven 
 days — Arrival at the Egyptian outpost at Murat — Safe at last 
 — Arrival in Cairo. 
 
 On Sunday evening I went to see a friend and re- 
 turned at nine o'clock ; this happened to be the last visit 
 I was to make in Omdurman. Just as I stepped into 
 my yard, there I saw Ahmed standing before me. In 
 a few hasty words he told me to get ready as soon as 
 possible ; his friends had made a mistake and had come 
 a day earlier with the camels. The sisters and Adila 
 were all ready ; I gave Ahmed the few small things I 
 had as w T ell as my arms, and told him to take the 
 sisters to the appointed place, which was only about 
 thirty yards from the hut, whilst I went off and 
 informed the only person who was in the secret, of our 
 sudden decision to leave a day earlier. 
 
 All fear had now gone, and, almost beside myself 
 with excitement, I hastened to my friend's house and 
 knocked at the door. " Who's there ? " he asked. And 
 when he knew who it was he was greatly surprised, 
 and asked why I came so late. As some one else was 
 standing near, I said that I had been seized with a 
 violent pain, and had come to beg a few drops of 
 laudanum, and then I approached him, pressed his hand, 
 and whispered in his ear that w T e were on the point of 
 starting. 
 
 The poor man received such a start, that had he not 
 
THE ESCAPE. 
 
 425 
 
 caught hold of something, he would have fallen ; but 1 
 roused him by asking him loudly to get me the lauda- 
 num at once ; so he went off to his room, and there, 
 with a trembling hand, he put a few drops on a piece of 
 sugar. I took it back to the house, which I found the 
 sister had just left. Then wrapping myself in a black 
 mantle, I locked the door, and took the key with me. 
 I saw something dark in the distance, which I knew 
 must be the camels, and thither I picked my way. In a 
 few moments I had reached the spot, and a man whom 
 I did not know helped me on to my camel ; but there 
 was no time to ask questions. Ahmed put the sisters 
 on the camels, on which the two other Arabs rode, 
 whilst I took Adila behind me on my camel. 
 
 Not thirty yards from where we were was a well, 
 around which a number of female slaves were gathered ; 
 but the little noise we made was drowmed by their 
 laughter. The moment of mounting was perhaps the 
 most dangerous time, for the camels were restive, and 
 longing to be off. It was with the greatest difficulty 
 the Arabs managed to keep their mouths closed, and no 
 sooner were we on their backs than we glided swiftly 
 away into the darkness. Now and then we saw fires, at 
 which the people were cooking their food, or sitting 
 around gossiping ; fortunately it was a cold night, so 
 most of the people were in their huts. We passed the 
 spot where we had laid the poor sister who had recently 
 died ; it was sad to think that she was not with us 
 now. We kept steadily moving forward, not a word 
 had passed our lips ; the camels had been well fed up 
 on dhurra, and went so quickly that we could scarcely 
 hold them in. I tried to peer through the darkness, 
 while my ear was ready to catch the slightest sound of 
 possible pursuers. 
 
 Soon we had left Omdurman far behind, and in the 
 soft sand-bed of Khor Shambat we dismounted to have 
 our saddles re-arranged ; then we mounted again, and 
 pursued our journey at a rapid pace northwards along 
 the river bank. We were in all seven persons and four 
 camels : the guide Ahmed Hassan, his two friends 
 
426 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MABDPS CAMP. 
 
 Hamed and Awad ; Sister Catterina Chincarini and 
 ISister Elizabetta Venturini ; myself and Adila. 
 
 A cold north wind was blowing, which our rapid ad- 
 vance made quite cutting. I followed the Arab custom, 
 and bound a large turban round my head, leaving only 
 the eyes exposed. We passed several villages, but the 
 barking of the dogs always gave us warning, and so we 
 avoided them. I had not heard a dog bark for years, 
 and the sound was quite pleasing to me. We met some 
 Gellabas riding on donkeys, on their way to Omdurman, 
 but in the darkness they could not see who we were, 
 and we passed them rapidly ; only Ahmed remained 
 behind, to greet them and exchange news. 
 
 Now the narrow track led through thick bushes, which 
 we could not rightly see ; our clothes, hands, and feet 
 got torn and scratched by the thorns ; but we never 
 checked the pace, and continued our course steadily 
 northwards. "Time is money," they say, but in our 
 case time was life ; we crossed dry beds of streams 
 over which the animals would sometimes stumble and 
 fall, the riders with them ; but there was no time to 
 think of pains and bruises ; to pick oneself up, catch 
 and mount the camel, which might easily have been lost 
 in the desert, was all one had time to think about. 
 None of us had watches, but during the many sleepless 
 nights I had passed, I had become used to observing the 
 stars, and could tell the time almost to within five 
 minutes. 
 
 Just at dawn we neared the village of Wad Bishara, 
 and pushed on quicker so as to pass it before daybreak. 
 This village is generally considered two days north of 
 Omdurman. We then left the ordinary track, and 
 turned towards the desert, as we dared not go along the 
 river bank during the daytime. At sunrise we could 
 just see the thin strip of green which marked the course 
 of the stream; still we did not alight, but pushed on 
 and on, up and down hills, across long stretches of sandy 
 plain. Our eyes became so red and swollen we could 
 scarcely see, and they pained us considerably. 
 
 At length, after some hours, we drew up, dismounted, 
 
THE FIKTS PROGNOSTICATION. 
 
 427 
 
 ate a little biscuit, and drank some water, readjusted 
 our saddles, then up and away again. My mind travelled 
 back to Omdurman. Had our fiig-ht been discovered at 
 once ? What would happen to those left behind ? How 
 astonished they would be to find we had gone ! But 
 this train of thought was suddenly interrupted ; one of 
 the sisters had fallen off her camel, and was lying insen- 
 sible on the ground ; we picked her up, splashed her 
 with water, and after a time brought her to ; we then put 
 her on to the camel again, and tied her firmly to the 
 saddle ; there was nothing else to be done — it was a 
 question of life and death. So we rode continuously 
 forward, in the desert by day and along the river bank 
 by night. 
 
 I had asked Ahmed about the stranger who had 
 helped me to mount my camel in Omdurman, and he 
 told me that the animals had become so restive by good 
 feeding that it was impossible for one man to hold 
 them whilst the other two came to the hut to fetch us ; 
 he had therefore taken two friends into his confidence 
 and made them swear on the Kuran that they would not 
 betray us. Just after sunset they had ridden the camels 
 quite openly through the market-place, with their arms 
 slung across the saddles, so that people should think 
 they were post-camels, and no suspicion would be 
 created. 
 
 Ahmed told me more too about the difficulties he had 
 had in stabling the camels prior to our flight ; two of 
 them had been tethered in a poor woman's yard, and the 
 two others he had placed in charge of one of his friends ; 
 but these caretakers had guessed that something was 
 about to happen, and had urged Ahmed to depart as 
 soon as possible, for they began to think they might 
 become involved in the matter. Ahmed had paid them 
 most liberally for their services ; he had also had 
 recourse to magic, summoned the spirits, and consulted 
 a fiki, who prophesied the journey would be "as white 
 as milk," that is to say, that no mishap would occur, for 
 which statement Ahmed had given him a considerable 
 bakshish. 
 
428 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAIIDI'S CAMP. 
 
 We continued our journey always along the left bank 
 of the Nile, there was no time to stop for sleep. 
 Occasionally we came across Arab shepherds in the 
 desert tending their herds of goats. They gazed won- 
 deringly at us, and asked questions of Ahmed, who 
 purposely always remained a short way behind. Ahmed 
 drew a gloomy picture of the recent rising in Omdur- 
 man, describing how the two Khalifas had openly fought 
 with each other, how nothing was heard night and day 
 but the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry, while 
 the slaughter had been terrible beyond words. He 
 represented that we were fugitives who had left the 
 ordinary roads, fearing that the disturbed state of the 
 country might make them unsafe, for bands of brigands 
 were known to be roaming about. 
 
 These simple people, thoroughly detesting Mahdiism, 
 believed every word Ahmed told them, thought we were 
 wise to fly, and gave him as much milk as he wanted, a 
 fact which he also regarded as a good omen. 
 
 Although Ahmed and his friends knew the usual 
 roads well, they had never been on exactly the track we 
 had been forced to take to avoid the inhabited places. 
 Thus it happened that we approached the river sooner 
 than we expected ; in fact, almost before we knew it. 
 we found ourselves amongst houses in the village of 
 Makani, which was so concealed by trees that we had 
 not seen it. We then met a party of Gellabas, and at 
 Ahmed's advice at once slowed our pace so as not to 
 provoke mistrust. These Gellabas looked at us some- 
 what suspiciously, and tried in vain to find out the 
 object of our journey. Probably they remembered us 
 afterwards when our flight became known. 
 
 At length, after some difficulty, we emerged from the 
 village and again turned into the desert ; but when I 
 blamed Ahmed for misguiding us, he merely answered 
 cheerfully, " Allah marakna ! " (" God has delivered 
 us ! ") 
 
 When we had got some distance from the river, we 
 dismounted and had a slight meal of dates and water. 
 Our limbs were so stiff we could not stand up straight, 
 
A FALSE ALARM. 
 
 429 
 
 and our clothes were sticking to the wounds we had 
 received when riding through the bush. How delightful 
 it was to be on the ground again and stretch our 
 cramped legs, and how pleasant would a short sleep 
 have been ! But no sooner had the camels swallowed a 
 little dhurra than we were up and off again. We still 
 went in a northerly direction, and as our scratches 
 warmed again they pained us considerably ; but the 
 feeling that we were not pursued, and the growing hope 
 that we should really escape, encouraged us to overcome 
 every difficulty. We watered at Gubat on the Nile, 
 where the English had encamped in 1885, and then we 
 rode cautiously, well outside the great village of Me- 
 temmeh. The barking and howling of the dogs made 
 the camels quicken their pace, and soon we were out of 
 sight of the Jaalin capital. 
 
 We then began to discuss how we were to cross the 
 Nile. Ahmed had a friend living in a village just 
 south of Berber, and it occurred to him that we might 
 cross there. We trotted quietly on towards this village, 
 when a man suddenly sprang out in front of us and 
 cried, " Enta min ? (" Who are you ? ") But we soon 
 found out that the man was afraid, and had taken us for 
 robbers. His sudden appearance had given us a great 
 start, and we at once thought that our pursuers had 
 caught us up, and that we were about to be recaptured. 
 Ahmed, however, approached the man, and as we rode 
 on, he turned, spoke to him, and allayed his fears. 
 
 When we approached the village, we dismounted and 
 hid behind some thick bushes, whilst Ahmed went in 
 search of his friend who was to ferry us across. In 
 about half an hour he returned, saying that it was 
 impossible, as the boat was on the other side. Besides, 
 he had heard that two boats had just passed down on 
 their way to Berber, and that all disturbances in 
 Omdurman were at an end. However, they had heard 
 nothing about our flight. We therefore mounted again, 
 and continued marching north the whole of that night 
 and the following day. 
 
 On this, the third day of our journey, we came in 
 
430 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MATIDPS CAMP. 
 
 sight of Berber, and towards evening descended to the 
 river almost exactly opposite the town, filled our water- 
 skins, and then made for the desert again. We did not 
 dare keep near the river here, as numbers of Baggara 
 were living in the neighbourhood. At about midnight 
 we alighted, as Ahmed did not know the road. We fed 
 the camels, and indulged in our usual meal of biscuits, 
 dates, and water. Ahmed had also succeeded in pro- 
 curing from his friend some tobacco and small earthen- 
 ware pipes ; so we smoked with impunity, and began to 
 feel that our escape was now almost assured. 
 
 But we had still before us the crossing of the river, 
 which our Arab friends in Omdurman had warned us 
 would be one of the most critical and dangerous parts 
 of our plan. We were in the saddle again at dawn, and 
 continued our journey over a stony plateau which our 
 guides did not recognize. Then all day we marched 
 through narrow valleys, full of large stones washed 
 down by the torrents. At length towards evening we 
 sighted the river again, and descended towards it 
 through a narrow gorge, where we had to dismount, as 
 the camels could scarcely make their way across the 
 great boulders which blocked the path. Once on the 
 plain, our guides recognised the road, and we found 
 ourselves near the village of Benga, where we hoped to 
 be able to secure boats to take us across. 
 
 We advanced now very cautiously, looking round in 
 every direction ; and I espied three camelmen setting 
 off evidently in the direction of Abu Hamed. I at once 
 called Ahmed's attention to this ; and although they 
 were some way off, they could have seen us, so Ahmed 
 advised us to alight at once, which we did, and concealed 
 ourselves in a khor amongst some bushes. 
 
 Ahmed and his companions were, I could see, not a 
 little alarmed by the appearance of the camelmen, and 
 began to speak to each other in their own dialect ; but 
 I guessed by the expressions on their faces what they 
 thought — viz. that our flight had been discovered, news 
 had been sent to Berber, and now the camelmen were 
 on their way to warn the emir of Abu Hamed to 
 
ANOTHER ALARM. 
 
 431 
 
 intercept us. I endeavoured to prove to them that it 
 was quite impossible for the news to have reached 
 Berber yet, even if our flight had been reported to the 
 Khalifa the morning after we had left. It was most 
 unlikely that the pursuit would have been begun before 
 the evening, and we had thus got a good twenty -four 
 hours' start. We were then just four hours north of 
 Berber, and had been three and a half days out from 
 Omdurman. Our pursuers therefore, even if they had 
 ridden as rapidly and as persistently as we had, could 
 not possibly have reached Berber yet. But my calcula- 
 tions by no means convinced our guides ; and after a 
 long consultation, Ahmed and Awad went towards the 
 river about four miles distant, while Hamed stayed 
 behind to look after the camels. 
 
 Now was the time to take a few hours' sleep before 
 night came on. During the three and a half days we 
 had been on the journey we had had only four hours' 
 sleep. We were quite worn out ; our simple meals of 
 biscuit and water did not give us much nourishment, 
 our limbs were so stiff that we could scarcely move, and 
 our wounds proved most irritating. Under such 
 circumstances it can well be understood how welcome 
 sleep would have been ; but the appearance of these three 
 camels, the alarm of the guides, and our anxiety about 
 crossing the river, drove away all idea of rest, and all 
 we could do was to await with what patience we knew 
 the return of the two Arabs. 
 
 At length, just as the sun was setting, Ahmed and 
 Awad returned, much rejoiced. They had made inquiries 
 about the three camelmen, and had found out that they 
 had nothing to do with us, and that nothing was known 
 yet of our flight. They had arranged with a boatman 
 to ferry us across, under the pretext that they were 
 conducting a small party of slaves whom they were 
 going to hand over to the emir of Abu Hamed. This 
 most satisfactory news quite dissipated our fatigue, and 
 we ate our wretched biscuit and dates with an excellent 
 appetite. As soon as it was dark we moved towards 
 the river, and dismounted close to the water's edge. As 
 
432 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE M AUDI'S CAMP. 
 
 yet there was no sign of the boatman, but we saw two 
 bovs rowing towards us. 
 
 Meanwhile Ahmed had gone to a house close by to 
 get some dhurra. Then the boatman came and 
 announced that he could not take us across that night, 
 but we must wait till the morning. This would never 
 have done ; not only should we have lost a whole night, 
 but we should undoubtedly have been recognised in 
 daylight. However, it w r as no use talking, and the 
 man went off to his hut ; but we did not get discouraged, 
 for if the worst came to the worst, we could row 
 ourselves across. 
 
 By this time the two boys had reached the bank, and 
 they now came forward and offered to take us across ; of 
 course we accepted, and in an incredibly short space of 
 time our guides had got the camels on board. It w T as a 
 large boat, so we all crossed together, and on reaching 
 the opposite bank Ahmed gave the boys two dollars, 
 with which they seemed highly pleased, kissed our 
 hands, wished us a pleasant journey, and then returned 
 to the west bank. We watered the animals, filled our 
 skins, mounted, and again set our faces northwards. 
 
 It was now past midnight. The camels, refreshed by 
 their rest and good feed, pushed on quickly, and during 
 that night and the whole of the next day we rode on 
 without any interruption or mishap. Not a soul was to 
 be seen in this lonely desert, but we often came across 
 herds of antelopes, rabbits, and a few hyenas ; the 
 antelopes would stand about twenty paces off, prick up 
 their ears, and look inquisitively at the strange caravan. 
 
 It' was quite cool when we left Omdurman, but now 
 the weather had quite changed, and we felt it oppres- 
 sively hot ; we saw mirages constantly, and were often 
 deceived by them. Our camels and ourselves now began 
 to suffer. I was much struck by the change in the 
 appearance of these animals ; the high, fat hump and 
 thick neck they had in Omdurman had both grown to 
 half the size. At first w T e had the greatest difficulty in 
 holding them in ; now they were so tired that we had 
 to keep flogging them all the time ; their feet had got so 
 
ARAB SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 433 
 
 worn that treading on a stone made them jump sideways, 
 and to ease them we four men alternately dismounted 
 and led them for some distance. 
 
 Our track lay across a broad plain, dotted about with 
 small shrubs, and as we passed one of these, Ahmed 
 noticed a snake, scared by our approach, trying to 
 escape ; he at once killed the reptile with a blow of his 
 sword, then stretched out its body and jumped over it 
 three times in a most excited way. Thereupon the guides 
 congratulated each other, saying there was now nothing 
 more to fear, and that we had conquered our enemies. 
 This exhibition of courage on the part of the guides 
 pleased me greatly. Once more we mounted and made 
 our way towards Abu Hamed, where we intended to 
 take water for the last time before entering the great 
 Nubian desert. 
 
 The next night another snake episode occurred, but 
 it ended rather differently. We were going across a stony 
 place, when the leading camel suddenly swerved to one 
 side, and we heard a hissing sound, which we knew 
 must be a snake, but it was too dark to attempt to catch 
 it. This greatly alarmed the xA.rabs, who looked upon it 
 as an evil omen, and curiously enough, when close to 
 Abu Hamed, an event did occur which quite confirmed 
 their superstitions. 
 
 The next day, at about nine o'clock in the morning, 
 we sighted the mountain which was our landmark indi- 
 cating the place at which we intended to water. We 
 anticipated reaching it in three hours, and there we in- 
 tended to rest whilst the Arabs took the camels down to 
 water ; but somehow we went too far to the east, did 
 not discover our mistake for some time, and it was mid- 
 night instead of midday when we reached the hill. This 
 hill is shaped rather like two skittles, between which the 
 road runs, and the wind, blowing through this narrow 
 funnel, almost carried us off our camels. 
 
 Ahmed warned us to keep perfect silence as we 
 scrambled down the rocky slope, and reached the river 
 at last ; here the mighty stream flows rapidly and 
 silently at the foot of a great rock cliff, the stillness 
 
 2 F 
 
434 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 being occasionally broken by the splash of the many 
 fish which delight to disport themselves in these cool 
 depths. This watering-place is known as Meshra 
 Dehesh, and is about six miles south of Abu Hamed. 
 A few dom palms and shrubs have gained a slender 
 footing on the steep bank, and the reflection of the 
 bright stars in the silent river could not but make one 
 feel impressed with the grand solitude of the place. I 
 bent down, scooped up the water in my hands, and 
 refreshed my parched throat ; then we took the saddles 
 off the camels, filled our water-skins, and ate some 
 biscuits ; I wanted to bathe my face and eyes, which 
 ached with the burning of the sun and sand, but Ahmed 
 gave the word to mount. 
 
 We were too stiff and weak to be able to stand up- 
 right, and as for the poor sisters, Ahmed had to lift 
 them bodily off the ground and put them on their camels ; 
 they were far too exhausted to speak ; we led the camels 
 out of the stony gorge, intending to mount when we 
 reached the level. It was long past midnight, and we 
 were congratulating ourselves on having passed the last 
 critical point, hoping that by dawn we should have left 
 the river, which here bends to the west, far behind us. 
 
 We had scarcely gone twenty paces from the river, 
 when suddenly we heard the sound of a camel. We 
 were almost ready to drop with fright, but Ahmed and 
 the guides went towards the spot from whence the 
 sound had come, and there they saw a camelman 
 mounted, armed with a Eemington, and peering at us 
 from behind a dom palm, but it was too dark for him to 
 have recognized our white faces. Ahmed at once ap- 
 proached him, seized his rifle with his left hand, and 
 extended his right to greet him, asking him at the same 
 time to alight. 
 
 The man, alarmed probably at Ahmed's energetic 
 bearing, at once dismounted and joined the guides. At 
 first we thought orders must have come from Omdurman 
 to intercept us, but fortunately it was not so ; the guard 
 (for such he proved to be) said he had been sent from 
 Berber to see that Egyptian merchants did not export 
 
2 F 2 
 
RENCONTRE WITH A DERVISH GUARD. 437 
 
 slaves from the Sudan to Egypt. He related how, the 
 day previous, a merchant with five slaves had been 
 captured, but had been set free again on depositing the 
 value of the slaves. The guard then asked Ahmed if 
 he had brought any slaves, to which he replied in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 The guard now insisted that Ahmed should go to 
 Abu Hamed to see the emir there, and no amount of 
 argument would convince him that it was unnecessary 
 to do so. Hamed now came and told me about the 
 occurrence, but, being somewhat confused, he happened 
 to say we were lost. These words reached the ears of 
 one of the sisters, and so startled her that she fell off 
 her camel, and might have been very seriously injured 
 had we not caught her. 
 
 I gave Hamed my long knife, and told him to do 
 what he could to win the man over with money, but 
 that if he found this was useless, " Well ! we were four 
 men to one." Hamed quite understood what I meant, 
 and then returned to the others. The conversation 
 still continued for a Ion 2; time. At length our Arabs 
 returned ; we put the sisters on the camels at once, 
 and then mounted ourselves. Our fatigue had fled ; 
 even the camels seemed to scent danger, for we set off 
 at a quick pace and were soon out of sight. 
 
 This episode served to remind us very forcibly that 
 we were still in the Khalifa's territory. Strange 
 thoughts passed through my mind in quick succession : 
 Omdurman, the Khalifa, the Saier, unbearable insults, 
 then death. All these awaited us if we failed in our 
 attempt ; but then I comforted myself with the thought 
 we should never be taken alive ; we had solemnly 
 agreed never to submit. It was in this frame of mind 
 that we quitted Meshra Dehesh and rode for our lives 
 night and day ; the poor camels were reduced to 
 skeletons, and we ourselves were nothing but skin and 
 bone. 
 
 Ahmed told me that when the guard recognized him 
 he showed himself kindly disposed, and promised not 
 to betray us ; but Ahmed did not trust him, and would 
 
.433 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 not, therefore, let him go until he had accepted some 
 money ; he had pressed twenty dollars into his hand. 
 The guard accepted the money after extracting a solemn 
 promise from Ahmed and his companions that they 
 would not attempt to revenge themselves on him or his 
 tribe — the Monasir — on their return to Korosko. The 
 guard also swore solemnly that he would not betray or 
 pursue us, and moreover agreed to prevent the patrols 
 going into the desert for three days, so as to keep us 
 out of danger's way ; they had then embraced and 
 kissed each other as a sign of sincerity. 
 
 In spite, however, of all these solemn oaths, I did not 
 trust the man ; the fate of poor Colonel Stewart and his 
 companions came into my mind, and I remembered that 
 they had been cruelly done to death by the cowardly 
 and treacherous Monasir ; we therefore hurried forward 
 our camels with all possible speed, leaving Abu Hamed 
 far away on our left. 
 
 The day broke as usual, and soon the sun was risen 
 and burning more fiercely than ever, but that did not 
 trouble us. AYe were far too much absorbed in the 
 momentous event which had just occurred. Our track 
 ran through a perfectly flat plain, in which not a shrub 
 or blade of grass was to be seen. We passed the tracks 
 of the captured slave-dealer and the patrols, and that 
 evening entered on the caravan road leading from Abu 
 Hamed to Korosko. The track ran through great bare 
 hills and solitary valleys ; the wind had driven the sand 
 almost to the tops of the hills, and had filled up all the 
 crevices with sand-drifts. 
 
 Once within the hills, our courage returned, for we 
 knew we would be able to defend ourselves ; so we 
 dismounted and ate our last mouthful of biscuit, and 
 now all we had was our water, which, by the way, we 
 jokingly remarked was somewhat dear, as it had cost us 
 twenty dollars. 
 
 After a short rest we set off again, but both we and 
 our camels were utterly exhausted. ; my right arm ached 
 from continually whipping up the poor beast. Our 
 Arab companions lightened the way with hundreds oi 
 
TIIE STRUGGLE WITH SLEEP. 
 
 439 
 
 interesting anecdotes of their own deserts. They related 
 how, when Berber fell, an Arab and six Egyptian women 
 had tied ; but the man had brought only a camel or two 
 and very little water, so four of them had died of thirst. 
 They pointed out the spot which Rundle Bey had 
 reached when he reconnoitred Abu Hamed in 1885. 
 The road was plainly marked out by the bones of 
 camels and donkeys, and, prior to the appearance of 
 the Mahdi, had been a much-used trade route. 
 
 Mohammed Ali Pasha had ridden along this road 
 under the guidance of Hussein Pasha Khalifa. Moham- 
 med Ali had constantly expressed a desire to halt, but 
 his guide would not allow him to dismount, except at 
 certain places, saying, " I am commander here ; " and to 
 this Mohammed Ali had willingly consented, for he well 
 knew that a refusal to do as he was told by the sheikh 
 of the desert, in that awful wilderness, might have been 
 followed by very serious results. 
 
 Our approach to a haven of safety gave us courage 
 to undergo most terrible fatigue. By far our worst 
 enemy was sleep ; it is quite impossible for me to 
 describe the fearful attacks this tyrannical foe made 
 upon us. AVe tried every means in our power to keep 
 awake ; we shouted and talked loudly to each other ; we 
 tried to startle ourselves by giving a sudden jerk ; we 
 pinched ourselves till the blood ran down, but our 
 eyelids weighed down like balls of lead, and it required 
 a fearful effort to keep them open. " Ma tenamu " 
 (" Don't sleep "), Ahmed kept repeating, " or you will 
 fall off and break your leg." 
 
 But it was all no good ; the conversation would flag, 
 and silence follow. , The camels seemed to know their 
 riders were asleep, and instinctively fell into slower pace ; 
 the head kept nodding, until it sunk upon the chest ; 
 with a sudden start, the equilibrium which had been 
 almost lost would be recovered, and then sleep vanished. 
 
 At times we would shout out to one another words 
 of encouragement, then we would whip up our camels 
 and on again, up and down, through sandy plains 
 and rocky gorges, where the echoes seemed to repeat 
 
440 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDPS CAMP. 
 
 themselves a hundred times. Our destination was 
 Murat, where we remembered Gordon had given orders 
 for a well to be dug, but it had never been done. 
 
 Ahmed said that we should be at Murat on the 
 morning of the 7th of December. He told us how the 
 Dervishes had sometimes pursued fugitives as far as 
 this, and not long ago had killed one near here. Our 
 poor camels were now dragging their weary limbs very 
 slowly ; the whip was now quite useless, as it had not 
 the smallest effect in increasing their pace. Besides, it 
 was pain to me to beat the good creatures that had 
 helped us to escape. We were so utterly fatigued that it 
 was with the greatest difficulty we succeeded in keeping 
 on our camels at all ; hunger, sleeplessness, and absolute 
 lassitude had completely conquered us, and our wounds 
 pained and irritated us ; but the feeling that we were 
 almost safe was as balm to both mind and body. 
 
 Just before sunset we turned down the khor which 
 leads to Murat ; the fort covering the wells was visible 
 on the hills, surmounted by the red flag with the white 
 crescent and star in the centre. " Ahmed," I cried, 
 " greet the flag of freedom ! " and our courageous 
 deliverer seized his gun and fired shot after shot into 
 the air, to announce our arrival to the Egyptian 
 garrison. The echo of these shots resounded again and 
 again in the deep valleys, as if joining with us in our 
 joy at deliverance from the hands of the cruel Khalifa 
 Abdullah. They seemed to announce the " release of 
 our spirits from beneath his sheepskin." This was an 
 expression which the Khalifa delighted to use when 
 talking of his captured enemies, whose souls, he said, 
 lay beneath his " furwa," meaning that their lives were 
 entirely in his hands. 
 
 Now we were actually in safety. A prayer of the 
 deepest gratitude went up from the very depths of our 
 thankful hearts ; it is quite impossible to find words to 
 express what we then felt. Our camels seemed to pull 
 themselves together for a final effort, so as to present 
 us honourably to the Ababdehs, who were now coming 
 out to meet us. 
 
SAFE AT LAST ! 
 
 441 
 
 The reports of our rifles had at first caused some stir 
 in the little garrison, who feared a sudden attack, and 
 had come out fully armed ; but they soon recognized us, 
 and answered our salute by discharging their guns in 
 the air. These good people received us most kindly, 
 asked us a thousand questions, and, surrounding us, 
 brought us to the commandants hut. Here, on the 
 8th of December, the Feast of the Immaculate Concep- 
 tion, we alighted from our camels, and the hopes which 
 had kept us alive for years, were at last realized. This 
 supreme moment, about which we had so often talked 
 with our companions in adversity, which we had thought 
 about, dreamed about, and pictured to ourselves, this 
 delicious moment had come at last, and we were free ! 
 
 But the effects of hunger, fatigue, and the sights and 
 scenes we had gone through during the last month, did 
 not disappear so easily ; our senses seemed dulled, and 
 our first thought on entering the commandant's hut was 
 to lie down on the floor and go to sleep, but, strange to 
 say, that wonderful restorer would not come ; we sat 
 gossiping with the Ababdehs, who could scarcely credit 
 that we, especially the sisters, could have survived such 
 a ride. We had covered the entire distance of 500 miles 
 between Omdurman and Murat in seven days, including 
 the day we had spent wandering about in the hills 
 before crossing the river. 
 
 The staying power of our camels had astonished me ; 
 how easily one of them might have stumbled and broken 
 its leg as we trotted hard through the dark nights, 
 unable to see where we were going ! But Ahmed and 
 his companions had used all their knowledge in securing 
 thoroughly good animals ; our excellent guides had been 
 ever ready to help and assist us ; full of energy and 
 pluck, they had carried out their enterprise with the 
 utmost sagacity and integrity. 
 
 Poor Ahmed had dwindled down almost to a skeleton, 
 and when he dismounted at Murat was overcome by a 
 fit of dizziness, from which he did not recover for an hour. 
 
 Meanwhile we had refreshed ourselves with a cup of 
 coffee and some bread and milk which the commandant, 
 
142 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MA TIDES CAMP. 
 
 Mohammed Saleh, had offered us, and which had revived 
 us considerably. Murat is situated in the desert, about 
 midway between Korosko and Abu Hamed ; here three 
 valleys unite in a sort of crater, and the hill-tops are 
 crowned with small forts built by the Ababdehs, from 
 whence they can keep guard over the main wells, and, 
 besides, see for an immense distance all around. 
 
 This, the most advanced Egyptian outpost, is garri- 
 soned by the Ababdeh Arabs of Saleh Bey, the son of 
 Hussein Pasha Khalifa ; these people live very simply 
 in the midst of this great desert, drawing their pro- 
 visions monthly from Korosko. There are a number of 
 wells, but the water is brackish and in summer almost 
 undrinkable, though it is not so bad in the winter ; but 
 we had still some of our Nile w T ater, which had cost us 
 so dearly at Meshra Dehesh. Close to the wells is a 
 little hut, built by Gordon's orders. 
 
 Murat is a most desolate and lonely spot, unbearably 
 hot in the summer, when the fierce rays of the sun are 
 reflected from all sides of the deep crater-like valley in 
 which it lies. The same day that we arrived one of 
 Ahmed Hassan's nephews had reached Murat from 
 Korosko, and gave us some of the dates and flour he 
 was taking into the Sudan ; he left for Abu Hamed the 
 next day, and no doubt the news of our safe arrival 
 was soon announced in Omdurman. 
 
 During the 8th and 9th of December we rested. 
 Mohammed Saleh supplied us with some biscuit, and on 
 the 9th we again set off from Murat towards Korosko. 
 Our rest had greatly refreshed us, and now we could 
 ride quietly without any fear of pursuit. One of our 
 guides was mounted on a she- camel, which the com- 
 mander had supplied, and she gave us plenty of milk. 
 A few days before starting her little baby-camel had 
 died, the owner had skinned it, and now whenever we 
 required milk, we had only to stretch out the skin in 
 front of her and let her smell it. 
 
 We now rode only by day, and rested at night. 
 Heavy rain had fallen about a month before, and we 
 found a reservoir of good water about a day out of 
 
ARRIVAL IN CAIRO. 
 
 443 
 
 Murat. Some of the Murat garrison had, previous to 
 our arrival, gone into Korosko to get their monthly 
 pay and were now returning ; they happened to encamp 
 near this natural reservoir, and seeing us took us for 
 Dervishes, rushed to their arms, took up a position 
 behind a rock and levelled their rifles at us, but Ahmed, 
 who knew them at once, called out and they hurried up 
 to us, begging pardon for the mistake they had made. 
 They gave us some of their flour, dates, and tobacco, 
 and we chatted with them till nightfall. 
 
 We made no further extended halt, and on the early 
 morning of the 13th of December reached Korosko. 
 In the deep valley which debouches suddenly on to the 
 Nile at this place we alighted, cleaned ourselves as best 
 we could, and then mounted our camels for the last 
 time, and soon came in sight first of the palm-trees and 
 then of the Nile, which we had last seen at Abu Hamed. 
 We were at once surrounded by numbers of people, who 
 bore us off to the fort, and here the commandant, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Ali Bey Haider, greeted us most 
 cordially, and for the first time for many years we 
 found ourselves in comfortable rooms again, and listening 
 to the regimental band, which we greatly enjoyed. 
 
 On the evening of the 15th of December we got on 
 board a steamer which took us down most comfortably 
 to Assiut. Here we were greeted by Mr. Santoni and 
 Brother Sayer, who had been directed by the Cairo 
 Mission to come on board and welcome us. From 
 Assiut we took the train to Cairo, where we arrived 
 safely on the 21st of December, 1891. 
 
 The rapid transition from barbarism to civilization, 
 our pleasant journey from Korosko to Cairo, intercourse 
 with educated people, the incessant change of scene, all 
 affected us greatly ; but our joy and delight at being 
 free was somewhat saddened by the thought of the 
 sufferings of our poor companions in our adversity, 
 whom we had left behind in slavery and captivity. Our 
 guides accompanied us to Cairo, where they received 
 the money agreed upon, and we felt full of thankfulness 
 to the energetic Ahmed Hassan and his two companions ; 
 
444 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 but to our good Archbishop Sogaro we owe a deep debt 
 of gratitude, for it was through his intermediary all 
 arrangements for our happy release had been effected. 
 
 It may be as well to insert here the terms of agree- 
 ment made in Arabic between Monsicmor Sogaro and 
 Ahmed Hassan regarding our release. The wording is 
 as follows : — 
 
 " I, the undersigned, Ahmed Hassan el Abbadi, of 
 Bashri Mohammed Ali's Arabs, agree to proceed at once 
 to Omdurman to bring Father Ohrwalder and the two 
 nuns from Omdurman to Cairo. I agree to take care of 
 them on the journey, and to do all in my power to bring 
 them here and to give them every satisfaction. As a 
 reward and to recompense me for the expenses which I 
 shall incur between Omdurman and Cairo, Monsignor 
 Sogaro has agreed to give me : — 
 
 " 1. All the goods to the value of £100 now in 
 possession of Sheikh Abdel Hadi at Korosko. 
 
 " 2. £20 in advance before leaving Cairo. 
 
 " 3. On my return from Omdurman with Father 
 Ohrwalder and the two nuns, a sum of £300, i.e. £100 
 for each person. 
 
 " This is the agreement between me and Monsignor 
 Sogaro, and I have made it of my own free will and 
 accord, and have been in no way forced to do so by 
 any one. Monsignor Sogaro and myself signed this 
 agreement, and Win gate Bey, Assistant Adjutant- 
 General, Intelligence, stands as a witness. This agree- 
 ment will be kept in the War Office until I return from 
 Omdurman with the three persons above-named, and I 
 shall be dealt with in accordance with its contents.* 
 
 " Signed, Ahmed Hassan el Abbadi, 
 
 " of Sayala, Frontier Mudirieh. 
 " Leon Henkiot (for Monsignor Sogaro). 
 " Cairo, 9th July, 1891." 
 
 * This contract and all correspondence connected with it v\ T as kept 
 sealed in the Intelligence Office, and was opened by General Sir F. 
 Grenfell, Sirdar, on the 14th day of December, 1891, when the news 
 of the arrival of the party at Korosko reached Cairo. — F. E. W. 
 
THE KHALIFA HEARS OF THE FLIGHT. 445 
 
 Below is written in English : — 
 
 " This is a private agreement between Monsignor 
 Sogaro and Ahmed Hassan el Abbadi, who leaves Cairo 
 for Omdurman on Friday, the 20th July, 1891, and will 
 attempt to bring Father Ohrwalder to Egypt. 
 
 " Witnessed by me, F. E. Wing ate, 
 
 " Kaimakam, 
 "A. A.-G., Intelligence, Egyptian Army. 
 " War Office, 
 
 w 9th July, 1891." 
 
 I was, of course, intensely anxious to hear what had 
 occurred in Omdurman after our departure. I thought 
 that our flight would have remained undiscovered that 
 night, the following day, and possibly the following 
 night ; but it was not so. Early in the morning on the 
 30th of November our absence was discovered by some 
 women who had been standing before the door of my 
 house. They had seen us and were surprised, because 
 we did not usually leave the house after sunset. 
 
 The idea of flight did not probably at once occur to 
 them, but their suspicions were aroused. Early in the 
 morning they had knocked at my door, and receiving 
 no answer, related what they had seen to my neigh- 
 bour's slave, who in turn informed her master. He, in 
 great terror, carried the information to the mukuddum 
 of the Europeans. This man, accompanied by many of 
 my friends, hastened to my house, and, breaking open 
 the door, was assured of my flight by finding a letter 
 which I had left. 
 
 The poor man had, to save his life, to at once inform 
 the Khalifa, who ordered the sheikh of the market to 
 find us even should w T e be buried in the earth. Wad 
 er Rais therefore closed all the houses and arrested every 
 one who could possibly have known of my flight, and 
 threw them into chains, with threats of the gallows 
 and the knife. My neighbours were also arrested. 
 When he could get no information whatever from these 
 people, the Khalifa sent to Metemmeh a certain Ibrahim 
 
446 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAUDES CAMP. 
 
 Wad el Ahmer, who had three camels, and was ordered 
 to brine: us back at all hazards. But the beit el mal 
 had first to buy the camels at very high prices — 120, 
 110, and 87 dollars respectively — and before they could 
 start some busybody told the Khalifa that Khalifa 
 Sherif had concealed me in a boat belonging to a 
 certain Osman Fauzi, and had aided my flight in order 
 that I should move the Egyptian Government to the 
 support of his oppressed party. Another declared that 
 he had seen white faces in the boat. 
 
 These statements impressed the Khalifa, who sent 
 men at once to recapture the boat and examine the 
 passengers. The boat was captured near Omdurman 
 and examined, of course, with no result, on which the 
 Khalifa was pacified, and sent off the camels. Ibrahim 
 inquired minutely along the route to Metemmeh, but 
 could get no information. In the meantime those well 
 disposed towards us lived in the keenest apprehension 
 lest we should be recaptured. Only on Ibrahim's return 
 without any news could our friends breathe freely and 
 feel sure that we must have got away safely. Then 
 those who had been imprisoned were released. 
 
 Later on I received a letter from Omdurman telling 
 me that our flight had raised a commotion throughout 
 the whole city, and that the prisoners had to suffer very 
 much. It may be learned from this what grave con- 
 sequences had to be considered before I took the im- 
 portant step of flight. Should anyone else attempt it, 
 those who remain must suffer. Slay God protect our 
 poor companions ! 
 
( 447 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 THE PRESENT KHALIFA'S DESPOTISM EN THE SUDAN. 
 
 [The reader is reminded that all opinions expressed are those of 
 Father Ohrwalder. — F. R. Wl] 
 
 Reflections on the situation in the Sudan — The horrors of the 
 present Khalifa's rule — How long shall it continue? 
 
 In the foregoing pages we have glanced at a bloody 
 period in the history of the Sudan — the rise of the 
 Mahdi, his victorious career through Kordofan, and his 
 conquest of Khartum. We have sketched the develop- 
 ment of his mighty empire, founded in bloodshed and 
 revolution, and we have seen him honoured as a mes- 
 senger of God by the millions of the Sudan ; glorified — 
 nay, almost worshipped — by his own people, and watched 
 by the Muslim neighbours of his empire with an admira- 
 tion mingled with the keenest anxiety. Then, in the 
 full enjoyment of his victories, at the supreme moment 
 of his power, while seated in his capital of Umdurman, 
 he revolved schemes of conquest of the whole world he 
 knew ; then dead — dead of debauchery and disease, dead 
 at an age when most lives' promises are brightest. 
 Then we have seen the empire tottering, Abdullah rising 
 to its support, slowly but firmly strengthening the 
 trembling power, and, with the strength of bigotry and 
 ignorance, replacing a shattered superstition by the iron 
 rule of might. 
 
 Here I may properly submit some reflections on the 
 general situation. 
 
 Mohammed Ali conquered the Sudan, and in the train 
 of his conquest followed all the triumphs of progress 
 and civilization. Wide new territories were discovered, 
 fertile and thickly populated ; explorers and missionaries 
 advanced to the very heart of negro-land : Nile's soli- 
 
443 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDTS CAMP. 
 
 tudes were rippled by the advancing steamer. Far 
 beyond the Equator reached the telegraph, and the 
 metropolis of the Sudan formed part of the inter- 
 national postal system. Trade blossomed in security, 
 and the white man could march to the countries of the 
 Xiam Niam, and there join hands with his brother 
 from the Congo. European culture spread throughout, 
 and the religion of Christ planted the world-saving 
 banner in remotest frontiers. 
 
 The progress of fifty years was ruined by the Mahdi's 
 revolt. The Sudan fell back into the darkness from 
 which philanthropy had rescued it. Civilization was 
 swamped in the flood of fanaticism. The sign of 
 salvation was blotted out, the bearers of it chained 
 as slaves, and the flag of tyranny waved over smoking 
 ruins from Darfur to the Red Sea, and from Regaf 
 northwards to the second cataract. Bands of fanatics 
 have swept over the face of the land, destroying every 
 Christian sign. The Sudan lies open in its desolation 
 and nakedness. Everything but a little cloth and a 
 little corn is superfluous, — nay wicked, — for those who 
 accept the Mahdi's promise of eternal life. The minds 
 of men are savage through years of warfare The igno- 
 rant Bao-srara rule and the gentler Jaalin and Danagla 
 are oppressed ; the land is fallen back to wilderness. 
 
 The present ruler, Abdullah, is marching steadily in 
 the path of desolation. He roots out eagerly every 
 vestige of Egyptian rule ; all foreign influence he keeps 
 at a distance, for he will rule over an ignorant people. 
 He wants nothing from beyond his own boundaries. 
 If he has no money, cloth becomes the medium of 
 exchange ; ammunition he makes himself. With his 
 Baggaras h e rules with an iron hand. Those who 
 resist are pitilessly robbed, imprisoned, or exiled. 
 
 Abdullah rules in the name of the Mahdi, whose 
 religious prestige is the readiest weapon for swaying 
 the multitude. He keeps unaltered the decisions, the 
 visions, the wild dreams which so powerfully estab- 
 lished the imposture. The pilgrimage to Mecca he 
 regards as dangerous. Even from such enlightenment 
 
REFLECTIONS ON THE SITUATION. 
 
 449 
 
 as they might find at the shrine of their faith, his 
 people are needfully kept away. 
 
 A Spartan habit of life was enjoined by the Mahdi. 
 This Abdullah still attempts to maintain, for he wishes 
 the people to be ready to follow him, and is careful 
 that they shall have no inducement to stay at home. 
 Like the Mahdi, the Khalifa puts his orders in the 
 form of visions, which have the weight of divine mani- 
 festations. Often he locks himself in darkness in the 
 Mahdi s tomb, and spends nights in pretended commune 
 with his master. 
 
 The policy of Abdullah is directed to strengthening 
 his power and concentrating it in the hands of his 
 Bagfgaras. Once he is sure of what he has got, he 
 will try to enlarge his dominion. Barbarism and 
 desolation will be extended to provinces which internal 
 difficulties have so far prevented him from absorbing. 
 He thinks of nothing but war. Omclurman is one vast 
 camp. All men bear arms or are flogged ; whoso ride- 
 must carry a spear and five javelins. Speeches and 
 harangues all raise the spirit of war. 
 
 The weakness of the monarchy lies in the dissensions 
 between the Baggara and the Aulad-belad — that is, 
 the Jaalin, Danagla, and others. The Danagla are objects 
 of the Khalifa's special aversion, and he would gladly 
 exterminate them. But with his Baggaras he can at 
 present maintain himself with ease. 
 
 Mahdiism is founded on plunder and violence, and 
 by plunder and violence it is carried on. In some dis- 
 tricts half the people are dead, in others the loss of life 
 is even greater. Whole tribes have been completely 
 blotted out, and in their places roam the wild beasts, 
 spreading and increasing in fierceness and in numbers, 
 until they bid fair to finish the destruction of the 
 human race ; for they enter huts, and women and 
 children are no longer safe. 
 
 How long shall this condition of affairs continue ? 
 Negotiation with Abdullah is hopeless ; that has been 
 proved by many well-intentioned efforts, but shall 
 savagery and desolation continue for ever ? Shall the 
 
 2 Cr 
 
450 TEN YEARS' CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDFS CAMP. 
 
 roads remain always closed that lead from Haifa and 
 Saw akin to the richest provinces of Africa ? The Sudan 
 has lost faith in the humanity of Europe, nor does it 
 cease from wonder why Europe has not yet stepped in. 
 Consuls of the greatest nations have been murdered, 
 their flags torn down, their agents kept in slavery. 
 
 Interference while the revolt w T as at its height could 
 not perhaps be efficient — that is understood. But now 
 the face of things is changed. The Sudanese have been 
 heavily punished for their mistaken trust ; they have 
 suffered to the bitter end. Where may they look for a 
 deliverer ? 
 
 For the sake of three people did not England under- 
 take a costly and difficult war ? Is not even a more 
 worthy object the punishment of Abdullah and the 
 delivery of the enslaved and decimated peoples ? I 
 have pined ten years in bondage, and now, by the help 
 of God, I have escaped. In the names of the com- 
 panions with whom I suffered, in the name of the 
 Sudan people, whose misery I have seen, and in the 
 name of all civilized nations, I ask this question : 
 
 How long shall Europe— and above all that nation 
 which has first part in Egypt and the Sudan — which 
 stands deservedly first in civilizing savage races, how 
 long shall Europe and Great Britain watch unmoved 
 the outrages of the Khalifa and the destruction of 
 the Sudan people ? 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Ababdeh tribe, 124-5, 213, 351, 353, 
 
 360, 399, 440-2. 
 Abba Island, 6-7, 98. 
 Abbas, steamer, 127-8. 
 Abdel Baki, emir, 315-9. 
 Abdel Gayuin, eunuch, 291. 
 Abdel Hadi (Arab), 263. 
 Abdel Haliin,Einir,76, 78, 86, 88, 102, 
 
 260. 
 
 Abdel Kader Pasha, 50, 164. 
 
 Abdel Kader (Mahdi's uncle), 59, 155, 
 
 164, 214, 350, 400. 
 
 Abdel Kader Guru, death of, 262. 
 Abdel Karim (Mahdi's uncle), 160, 
 164-5. 
 
 Abdel Majid, 256, 326, 343. 
 Abdel Mania, 228. 
 Abdel Nur, 320-322. 
 Abdel Sarnad, 93. 
 
 Abdeirahman Wad Abu Degel, 253. 
 Abderrahman Wad en Nejunii, 16, 60, 
 96, 98, 125-6, 130, 141, 145, 149, 
 
 165, 171, 206, 233, 255-61, 350, 
 387, 412 ; vanquished at Argin, 262- 
 5 ; death of, 263. 
 
 Abdullah et Taishi, Khalifa, 10-1, 
 14, 43-6, 64, 66, 69-71, 87, 96, 
 120, 131, 146, 149, 151 ; and King 
 Adam, 95 ; and the sisters, 100 ; and 
 Father Ohrwalder, 116-7 ; succeeds 
 the Mahdi, 162-3, 185, 188; and 
 revolt of black soldiers of old Sudan 
 arm v 193-200 ; at Omdurman, 202-3, 
 206; and Wad Suleiman, 206-7; 
 Ibrahim Wad Adlan, 207-8, 323-7 ; 
 and coinage at Omdurman, 210-3; 
 system of justice, 214-5, 328-335 ; 
 and Fiki Medawi, 218; and Yunis 
 emir, 219-20 ; and King John, 221 ; 
 and Abu Anga, 224 ; grand review at 
 Omdurman, 225-6 ; war with Abys- 
 sinia, 228-31, 242-52; and Saleh 
 Bey, 232-4; and Darfur, 235-41; 
 
 and Egypt, 254-6, 258-69 ; letters 
 from, 257 ; sends expedition up the 
 White Nile, 269-72 ; and the Mahdi's 
 decrees, 273 ; followers of, 274 ; and 
 the Mahdi's tomb, 275-9 ; palace 
 and houses of, 280-1 ; and war 
 requisites, 281, 366-75; and the 
 famine in Omdurman, 287-92 ; de- 
 scription of, 293 ; dress and food of, 
 
 293- 4; harem of, 294; illnesses of, 
 
 294- 5; character, 295-6; spies of, 
 295; and political conversations, 
 296, 320 ; mosque at Omdurman, 
 297-8 ; and visions, 298-9 ; a m m of 
 great activity, 300 : fondness for 
 music, 301 ; his barber, 301 ; life- 
 guards and household cavalry of, 
 301-2 ; and business affairs of the 
 State, 302 ; displays of magnificence, 
 302^; cleanliness of, 304; grand 
 reviews at Omdurman, 307-8; and 
 the Taisha Arabs, 308-11 ; and fire- 
 arms, 311-2 ; hisbrother, see "Yakub" ; 
 and the Batahin tribe, 315-20 ; and 
 Abdel Nur, 321-2 ; and the Saier at 
 Omdurman, 347-52 ; and Charles 
 Neufeld, 355-60 ; and Sheikh Khalil, 
 361-4; and the slave trade, 384-5; 
 and the I'aggaras, 387-405 ; his son 
 Osman, 390-1 ; strict surveillance 
 over the whites, 412-3; horrors of 
 his rule, 447-50. 
 
 Abdullah Wad en Nur, 60, 98, 100, 
 
 115, 125, 143. 
 Abdullah Wad Ibrahim, 38, 223, 
 
 225, 227, 229 ; and Abyssinia, 247, 
 
 252-3. 
 
 Abu Anga (commander-in-chief of 
 Mahdi's forces), 60, 8 )-9, 98, 111-2, 
 125, 131, 164, 171, 175, 202, 402 ; 
 description and history of, 221-31 ; 
 and Abyssinia, 242-4; death of, 
 245-6 ; and slave trade, 384. 
 
452 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abu Gemaizeh, religious reformer. 
 237-40. 
 
 Abu Girgeh, emir, 76, 81, 94, 125, 
 
 167-8, 218 267, 360. 
 Abu Habl, the Khor, 3, 78-9. 
 Abu Hamed, 361, 433 ; rebels at, 120, 
 
 128. 
 
 Abu Haraz, 219, 229. 
 
 Abu Klea, battle of, 134, 147-8, 177. 
 
 Abu Kru, battle of, 16, 134. 
 
 Abu Kuka, 56. 
 
 Abu Sand, 7. 
 
 Abyssinia, and Kassala garrisons, 166- 
 7 ; and Galabat, 217-20; Abu Anga 
 and, 229-31, 241-4 ; defeat of King 
 John's army, 245-53. 
 
 Adam, King, of Tagalla, 95, 102, 223. 
 
 Adansonia trees, 34, 40, 76, 88, 170, 
 198. 
 
 Adila, girl at the Khartum Mission, 
 
 421, 424, 426. 
 Adultery, the Mahdi's punishment for, 
 
 62. 
 
 Agriculture in the Mahdiist kingdom, 
 376-85. 
 
 Ahmed Bey Daffallah, 10, 21, 35, 38, 
 
 59 252 
 Ahmed Bey Defterdar, 234. 
 Ahmed Hassan and escape of Father 
 
 Ohrwalder, 415-45. 
 Ahmed Sharfi, 7, 140, 403-7. 
 Ahmed Wad Suleiman, 63, 82-4, 96-7, 
 
 111, 139, 143-5, 161, 206-7, 350. 
 Aigella, 77, 174. 
 
 Aisha, the Mahdi's principal wife, 157, 
 159. 
 
 Ala ed Din Pasha, 1, 77, 88. 
 Alchemy, Sudanese and, 369. 
 Alcoholic drinks, the Sudanese and, 17; 
 
 see also Marissa. 
 Ali Bakhit, 172, 174, 199. 
 Ali Bey Haider, Lient.-Col., 443. 
 Ali Esh Sherif, Khalifa, 14-5, 37, 41, 
 
 59, 66, 69, 88, 93, 100, 146, 163 ; at 
 
 Omdurman, 202-3, 254, 306, 349, 
 
 399-407, 446. 
 Ali Pasha 127 
 
 Ali Wad Helu, Khalifa, 14, 146, 163, 
 
 282, 306, 403-7. 
 Allegiance, sheikhs' oath of, 70. 
 Aluba, Hicks at, 85. 
 Amarar Arabs, 266-7. 
 Andreis, Sister A., 48. 
 Amhara, the chief of, 217. 
 Amina (a black girl), 73. 
 Ammunition, the Khalifa's, 366-75. 
 Amulets, the fikis and, 274-5, 402. 
 
 Ansar, the, 306-8, 353. 
 Arabi, Baggara called, 265. 
 Arabi Pasha, 77. 
 
 Arabs; in Omdurman, 283; see"Bag- 
 garas," " Bederieh," " Beni Jerrar," 
 " Bar Hamed," " Ghodiat," " Gowa- 
 meh," " Hawazma," " Kababish," &c. 
 
 Argin, battle of, 115, 262. 
 
 Aser, American Consul, 141. 
 
 Ashaf Station, 11. 
 
 Ashraf, the, 149, 214. 
 
 Assiut, 443. 
 
 Assuan, 174, 256. 
 
 Atbara Biver, 249. 
 
 Aulad-belad, the, 391-2, 405-6, 449. 
 
 Austrian Mission, at Delen, 4-5, 24-30 ; 
 church at Khartum, 137-8; at El 
 Obeid, 200 ; see also " Sisters." 
 
 Awad el Kerim Abu Sin, 350. 
 
 Baggara. tribe, 3, 14-5, 20, 25-6, 
 32, 49, 78, 106, 162-3, 178, 221, 
 255, 258, 266, 287, 293, 314, 325, 
 341; horsemanship of, 308; emirs, 
 312; women, 381; masters of the 
 Sudan, 387-407, 449; see also 
 " Taisha Arabs." 
 
 Bahr el Arab, 3. 
 
 Bahr el Ghazal, slave trade in, 8-9, 
 12, 176, 383; revolt in, 241. 
 
 Bahr el Karrar, 257-8. 
 
 Baker Pasha, General Valentine, defeat 
 of, 119; atElTeb, 266. 
 
 Banners of the Mahdi's Khalifas, see 
 " Flags." 
 
 Bara town, 11, 55, 77, 200-2, 235; 
 
 fall of, 56. 
 Barabra tribe, 125, 255, 391, 399; 
 
 language of, 283. 
 Bashra, the Mahdi's son, 159. 
 Batahin tribe, 205, 260, 315-20. 
 Bayuda Desert, 16. 
 
 Bederieh Arabs, the, 3, 11, 20, 106, 
 167. 
 
 Beit el mal at Omdurman, 208-14, 
 312, 323, 380, 393-5. 
 
 Ben en Naga Bey, 21, 88-9; son of, 
 333; daughter of, 343. 
 
 Benga village, 430. 
 
 Beni Helba tribe, 240. 
 
 Beni Jerrar Arabs, 35, 238. 
 
 Berber, 1, 14; fall of, 121, 124-5; 
 Gordon at, 123, 208, 256, 312, 380, 
 396, 430, 439 ; Osman Dicna at, 266, 
 268; old, 275; famine in, 290. 
 
 Berchof, a German, 9. 
 
 Birket, 3, 11, 20-1, 28, 34, 86, 91. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 453 
 
 Bishir, 197, 224, 227. 
 Bishir Bev. 259. 
 
 Blue Nile, 12G, 133-4. 150, 201, 227, 
 
 379 ; towns on the, 284. 
 Bonomi, Father, 1, 5, 27, 31-2, 43, 
 
 50. 56, 68-71, 78, 97, 100, 118, 170, 
 
 172-3; escape of, 178-84, 186, 352. 
 Books, the Mahdi and, 63; Khalifa 
 
 Abdullah and, 299, 400-1. 
 Borgo, Sultan of, 12, 237. 
 Brick-making at Delen, 5. 
 Bringi, executioner at Omduiman, 318, 
 
 325, 356. 
 
 British East Africa, Imperial, Co., 271. 
 'Bruce's Travels' and the Batahin 
 
 tribe, 315. 
 Buri village, 125, 132. 
 Busata village, 174. 
 
 Cairo, 1, 254 ; merchants of, and El 
 Obeid, 35; Ohrwalder's arrival at, 
 443. 
 
 Camels, in Kordofan, 35-6, 379 ; of the 
 Gehena tribe, 226, 228 ; of the Kaba- 
 bish tribe, 232, 234 ; for Ohrwalder's 
 escape, 422, 427, 442. 
 
 Cattle in Dar Nuba, 4 ; in Kordofan, 
 35 ; of the Arabs, 126 ; of the Gehena 
 tribe, 226; breeding in the Sudan, 
 376-9 ; cows of the Shilluks, 379. 
 
 Cemetery, European, at Khartum, 150. 
 
 Chad Lake, 241. 
 
 Chincarini, Sister C, 413^5. 
 
 Clementino, George, 126, 142. 
 
 Clothing in the Mahdi's kingdom, 381. 
 
 Coins in Omdurman, 210-13. 
 
 Comboni, Bishop, 1, 2, 24; grave of, 
 at Khartum, 150. 
 
 Combotti, Marietta, 118. 
 
 Comet, a wonderful, 44. 
 
 Commerce in the Mahdiist kingdom, 
 376-85. 
 
 Corsi, Sister Concetta, 57, 419. 
 Cripples in Omdurman, 337. 
 Curios, museum of, at Omdurman, 213. 
 Cuzzi, Joseph, 120, 125-6. ' 
 
 Dabarosa bazaar, the, 258. 
 Dabra Sin, battle of, 229. 
 Dair, Jebel, 3. 
 
 Damur, pieces of cloth, 381-2 ; used 
 
 as coins, 210. 
 Danagla, see " Dongola." 
 Dara, 93. 
 
 Dar Fertit, singers from, 301. 
 Darf'ur, 12, 35; Slatin Bey, Governor 
 of, 2; the Mahdi conquers, 93-4, 
 
 98; historical sketch of, 234-41; 
 Zogal and, 201-3; revolt in,. 260, 
 387; horses in, 308: women and 
 spinning, 381 ; slaves from, 384. 
 
 Dar Homr (Arabs), 11, 20, 35, 106, 
 301, 3-9, 396. 
 
 Dar Nauli tribe of Arabs, 106. 
 
 Dar Nuba, see " Nuba." 
 
 Dar Shaggieh, 380. 
 
 Dead, the Mahdi's law about the, 19. 
 
 Debaineh tribe, 290. 
 
 Degheim tribe, 14. 
 
 Delen, arrival at, 3; Mission at, 4, 5; 
 news of the Mahdi at, 7, 8 ; descrip- 
 tion of, 23-31; quicksilver at, 35; 
 178, 187, 197. 
 
 Dervishes, the Mahdi's, 45; at El 
 Obeid, 57-9; and Hicks Pasha's 
 army, 88; in Khartum, 140; and 
 Olivier Pain, 173 ; revolt against, 
 189-200 ; at Galabat, 217-9 ; review 
 of, at Omdurman, 225-6 ; and tobacco 
 chewing, 276 ; and the famine in 
 Omdurman, 289 ; at Fashoda, 384. 
 
 Dhurra in Omdurman, 285, 378, 381. 
 
 Dichtl, Johann, 1. 
 
 Dinka tribe, 176. 
 
 Disease in the Sudan, 386. 
 
 Dispensary at Omdurman, 213. 
 
 Dobab mountain, 3, 102. 
 
 Dogman mountain, 24, 28. 
 
 Dogs, Mahdi's doctrine about, 143, 
 335. 
 
 Doka, Sheikh Egeil and, 219. 
 Dome to Mahdi's tomb at Omdurman, 
 275, 277. 
 
 Dongola, 12, 14, 35, 94, 127, 163, 172, 
 178, 190, 255, 256, 257-65, 268, 312, 
 380, 384, 387, 391, 396, 399, 449 ; 
 famine in, 290; language, 283. 
 
 Doorway of the Mahdi's tomb, 277. 
 
 Dreams, the Mahdi and, 110-1, 353, 
 449. 
 
 Drums of the Mahdi's Khalifas, 15, 44, 
 
 47, 281, 304-6. 
 Dud Benua, Sultan, 184. 
 Duem, 126 ; General Hicks at, 76. 
 Dwarf, a, at Bahad, 110. 
 
 Ed Din, Sheikh, see " Osman, Khalifa." 
 
 Egeil, sheikh, 218-9, 221. 
 
 Egypt, and Delen, 4 ; and the Sudan, 
 
 34; Abdullah and, 254-6, 257-69; 
 
 and the Sudan, 123, 323; Wad 
 
 Adlan and, 326 ; the Mahdi and, 110. 
 Egyptian troops, Hicks Pasha's, 77-90, 
 
 92-3. 
 
454 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 El Eilafun, 127. 
 
 El Fasher, steamer, 128. 
 
 El Merhdi Abu Bof, 164, 22G-7. 
 
 El Obeid, 2, 6; garrison of, 10, 21; 
 the Mahdi and, 11, 20, 29, 36-41 ; 
 description of, 34-6 ; siege of, 52- 
 7, 232; E ZogaI at, 75; the Mahdi 
 leaves, 85, 99-100 ; triumphal return 
 to, 91-3, 170-2 ; King Adam at, 95 ; 
 Lupton Bey at, 176 ; small-pox in, 
 183 ; revolt of black soldiers at, 189- 
 200, 223 ; slaves at, 383^. 
 
 El Obeid, Sheikh, 124, 127, 130, 315. 
 
 El Teb, battle of, 266. 
 
 Elephants, 3 ; in Darfur, 241. 
 
 Elias el Kurdi, 210. 
 
 Elias Pasha, 10, 12, 21, 35, 40, 76, 88, 
 93 ; son of, 86. 
 
 Elias Wad Kanuna, emir, 271. 
 
 Emirs, the, of the Sudan provinces, 
 46, 312. 
 
 Eniin Pasha, 11 ; Gordon and, 183 ; 
 and Lupton Bey, 176; Khalifa Ab- 
 dullah and, 269-72. 
 
 England and Egypt, 262; and the 
 Sudan, 450. 
 
 English mail, capture of an, 120. 
 
 English Belief Expedition to Khartum, 
 147-9,176-8; and Kababish tribe, 
 232 ; at Dongola, June 1885, 256. 
 
 Equatoria, Abdullah's expedition to, 
 269-72. 
 
 Exports from Kordofan, 35. 
 
 Fadl Maula Bey, 163, 271, 401 
 
 Fallata tribe, 278, 283. 
 
 Famines ; in El Obeid, 183-4 ; in the 
 
 Sudan, 252-3 ; in Dongola, 261 ; in 
 
 Omdurman, 284-9; in Berber, 290; 
 
 in the Provinces, 290-1. 
 Earag Pasha, 135, 143. 
 Faragallah Pasha, 131-2, 247. 
 Farquhar, Colonel Arthur, 79, 80. 
 Fasher, El, 94; besieged, 239-41. 
 Fashoda, 9, 11, 29, 269, 272, 379, 384, 
 
 396 ; corn from, 285. 
 Fedasi, 125. 
 
 Festivals, Khalifa Abdullah and, 362. 
 Fiki, Abdullah and the name, 274, 
 402. 
 
 Flags of the Khalifas, 15, 16, 281, 306. 
 Furs, annihilation of the, 236. 
 
 Galabat, province and town, 167, 
 217-9, 230, 242, 244; attack on, 
 247-8, 396 : famine at, 290. 
 
 Gallows at Omdurman, 283, 317-8. 
 
 Gedaref. garrison of, 216-7. 290. 
 Gedir, Jebel, 3. 7, 10, 20, 223. 
 Gehena tribe, 226-7, 260-1. 
 Gellabas (traders), 14-5, 112, 189,426, 
 428. 
 
 Georges Bev, Dr., 86 ; son-in-law of, 
 141. 
 
 Gessi Pasha, 2 ; and the slave trade, 
 
 8-9, 241, 383. 
 Gezireh, the Mahdi and, 14, 64, 93-4 ; 
 
 229, 284, 315, 380, 390. 
 Ghazali, Sheikh, 310-1, 350. 
 Ghittas, festival known as, 218. 
 Ghodiat Arabs, the, 3, 11, 20, 
 
 106. 
 
 Gianzara Hill, 40, 46. 
 
 Giegler Pasha, 2, 7. 
 
 Giniss, battle of, 256. 
 
 Girls in Khartum, Mahdi and, 144. 
 
 Goats in Dar Nuba, 4 ; in the Sudan 
 provinces, 379. 
 
 Gold in Dar Nuba, 3. 
 
 Golfan-Naima, 22-3, 49, 197, 223-4. 
 
 Gondar, 230-1, 248-9. 
 
 Gordon, General, 57, 96; arrives at 
 Khartum, 97, 121-2; letter to the 
 Mahdi, 98; the Mahdi and, 111, 
 119, 126, 130; English letters to, 
 120; at Berber, 123-4; defeat of 
 Gordon's troops, 124-5 ; successful 
 attack by, 127 ; besieged, and death 
 of, at Khartum, 131-54,177, 207-8; 
 and Sheikh Khalil and, 361 ; at 
 Murat, 440. 
 
 Gordon Belief Expedition, 147-9, 176- 
 8; via Berber, 266. 
 
 Gowameh tribe, 11, 344. 
 
 Graham, General, 120-1, 266. 
 
 Greeks, the, at Khartum, 133, 142-3. 
 
 Greger Hamed (Emir), 233. 
 
 Grenfell, General Sir F., 256, 262, 
 444 ; battle at Toski, 263, 265. 
 
 Gubat, 148, 154, 429. 
 
 Guineas coined at Omdurman, 210. 
 
 Gum, in Kordofan, 35; used as food 
 at El Obeid, 53; at Omdurman, 
 323. 
 
 Habbanieh tribe of Arabs, 73, 258. 
 
 Hadarba merchants, 399. 
 
 Hadendoa Arabs, 266, 283. 
 
 Haimar Wells, 257. 
 
 Haj Ali Wad Saad, 123-4. 
 
 Hajji Abdullah Granteli, 210. 
 
 Hajji Khaled (Emir), 21, 35, 46, 71; 
 
 son of, 86. 
 Hajji Mohammed Ben en Naga, 35. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 455 
 
 Hajii Sclim (soldier), 49. 190-1. 
 
 Hajji Zubeir, 240, 349-50, 39G-7. 
 
 Ha I fay a, 127. 
 
 Hamran Arabs, 218. 
 
 Handub, battle of, 267. 
 
 Hausal (Austrian consul), 1, 67-9, 
 
 73, 118-9; death of, 139-40. 
 Hashish, use of, 17. 
 Hasib, emir, 271. 
 Hassan Khalifa, 257, 364-5. 
 Hassan en Nejumi (emir), 264. 
 Hassan Husni (interpreter), 128, 130. 
 Hassan Sadik, 164. 
 Hassan Zeki, 366. 
 Hebbeh village, 128. 
 Heddai, sheikh, 129. 
 Herlth, Major, extracts from diary of, 
 
 77-9, 86. 
 
 Hicks Pasha, General, 1; and Wad 
 Makashef, 73; expedition of, 75; 
 at Duem, 76; at Eahad, 77-85; de- 
 feat and death of, 86-92, 121, 169, 
 176; white horse of, 91; Bible of, 
 100 ; stable, 157. 
 
 Hilmi Gorab, 128. 
 
 Horses, the Sudanese and, 308. 
 
 Housebreakers in Omdurman, 334-5. 
 
 Howazma Arabs, 20, 106, 222. 
 
 Hussein Pasha, 120, 123, 125, 439 ; son 
 of, 442. 
 
 Hussein Wad ed Dayim, 339-40. 
 Hyenas, 88, 289-90. 
 
 Ibrahim Nur, 394-5. 
 
 Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi, 143. 
 
 Ibrahim Eamadan, 203. 
 
 Ibrahim Wad Adlan, 35, 207-10, 214, 
 
 322-4, 350, 368; death of, 325-7. 
 Ibrahim Wad Abu Tagalla, 225. 
 Ibrahim Wad el Ahmer, 445-6. 
 Idris (sheikh), 101, 111, 114-7, 260, 
 
 350; death of, 262. 
 Imbrien, Bishop, of the Tyrol, 118. 
 Immorality, Mahdi's law regarding, 
 
 62; in the Sudan, 341-3; of slaves, 
 
 385-6. 
 
 Imports of the Mahdi's kingdom, 380. 
 Insects, at Delen, 4, 5; Neufeld and, 
 
 357 ; white ants as food, 53 ; lizards, 
 
 150; flies, 114. 
 Iron in Kordofan, 35. 
 
 -a, skeikh, 28. 
 isa, fiki, of the Shanabla, 194. 
 Ismail el Kheir, 400. 
 Ismail Wad el Andok, 22, 49, 59, 227, 
 
 229, 247. 
 'smail Pasha, 234-5. 
 
 Italy and Kassala, 168. 
 Ivory, expedition to Equatoria to collect, 
 271 ; at Omdurman, 323. 
 
 Jaalin tribe, 123, 125, 255, 368, 384, 
 
 391 399 419. 
 Jabrallah, Sultan, 236, 350. 
 Jebel Dair, the Mahdi and, 111-2, 114, 
 
 199. 
 
 Jebel Naima, 197. 
 
 Jerusalem, the Mahdi and, 110. 
 
 Jew merchants at Omdurman, 312 ; at 
 Kassala, 360. 
 
 Jibbehs, the Mahdi and the manu- 
 facture of, 19. 
 
 Jinns, the, 307. 
 
 John, King of Abyssinia, throne of, 
 213; and Galabat, 217, 247-9; Ab- 
 dullah and, 22 1 , 242 ; and Abu Anga, 
 243; death of, 250-2. 
 
 Justice, system of, at Omdurman, 
 214-5, 329-34. 
 
 Kaba, 34, 36-7, 39. 
 
 Kababish tribe ( Arabs), 35, 55, 64, 78, 
 
 178 ; destruction of the, 232-4. 
 Kadi Ahmed, 214-5, 246-7, 329, 350. 
 Kakum of Delen, 4, 24, 26-8, 31-2, 
 
 178; death of, 186-7. 
 Kalabsheh, village of, 257. 
 Kalakala, 130-2. 
 
 Kamal ed Din, and manufacture of 
 
 powder, 367-8. 
 Karamallah (slave-dealer), 176, 269, 
 
 406 ; in Darfur, 235-6. 
 Karkoj, 226, 290, 380. 
 Kashgeil, Hicks at, 85, 87. 
 Kashm el Mus, Pasha, 148. 
 Kassala, 154, 162, 164-5, 168, 387, 
 
 396 : siege of, 166-7 ; Osman Digna 
 
 at, 266 ; famine at, 290. 
 Kavalli, Stanley's camp at, 271. 
 Kawakla, natives called, 7. 
 Kebkebieh, 94. 
 Kedaro hill, 3. 
 Kenana tribe, 14. 
 Kererri, 12, 307, 311, 361, 412. 
 KhaMr, Pasha, of Darfur, 36. 
 Khalifas in the Sudan, sec "Abdullah," 
 
 " Ali Wad Helu," " Ali Esh Sherif," 
 
 Hassan, " Osman," &c. 
 Khalil, sheikh, 360-4. 
 Khartum, 1, 6, 7, 72, 93-4, 96-7, 106 ; 
 
 the Mahdi's advance on, 99, 121, 
 
 126-7, 130 ; Gordon arrives at, 121- 
 
 3 ; siege and fall of, 131-54, 177, 
 
 348; in ruins, 204, 216; materials 
 
456 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 for Mahdi's tomb from, 276; the 
 
 Batahin tribe and, 315, 320; Neu- 
 ^ feld at, 357, 359 ; survivors of, 372. 
 Khatafin (snatchcrs) in Omdurman, 
 
 286-8 
 Khojali,130, 219, 317. 
 Khojur, the, in Dar Nuba, 4, 24. 26, 
 
 28. 
 
 Khor Musa, fort at, 259. 
 Kirkesawi (slave-dealer), 176, 236, 
 406. 
 
 Kitchener Pasha, 359; wounded at 
 
 Handub, 267. 
 Klein, tailor, of Khartum, 140-1. 
 Klootz, Gustav, 80-5, 88, 91, 93, 96, 
 
 109, 120, 174-5, 206, 348, 411; 
 
 death of, 219. 
 Korbatsh, Mount, 34, 179, 200. 
 Kordofan, 199, 234, 380, 398 ; deserts 
 
 of, 2-3 ; military stations in, 11-2 ; 
 
 the Mahdi and, 20, 28 ; mountains, 
 
 34; exports from, 35-6; camels in, 
 
 35-6, 72 ; agriculture in, 378-9. 
 Korosko, 257, 442-3. 
 Korsi, 68. 
 Kudru hill, 32. 
 Kumbo, King, 98-9, 117-8. 
 Kuran, the, concerning ministers of 
 
 Christianity, 104-6; first chaiDter 
 
 in. 296. 
 Kurun hill, 3. 
 
 Lado Station, 272, 384. 
 Languages in the Sudan provinces, 
 283. 
 
 Laws made by the Mahdi, 17-20. 61-3. 
 
 Lead, manufacture of, at Omdurman, 
 368-70. 
 
 Legnani (Italian consul), 1. 
 
 Leontides, Consul N., 126, 134, 140. 
 
 Lime, near Delen, 5 ; pits in Omdur- 
 man, 205, 276. 
 
 Limona-, Bianca, 57. 
 
 Locatelli (missionary), 54, 56-7. 
 
 Locusts, plague of, in the Sudan, 291. 
 
 Losi, Father Johann, 54, 58. 
 
 Lugard, Captain, 271. 
 
 Lupton Bey, 153, 175-7, 191, 202, 
 348, 412-3 ; death of, 366. 
 
 Madibbo, sheikh, 235; son of, 396. 
 
 Mahbas, wells of, 233. 
 
 Mahdi, the, see " Mohammed Ahmed." 
 
 Mahdiism, belief in, 185 ; and Ecvpt, 
 265; in the Sudan, 255, 273,^326, 
 328, 403, 449 ; and the slave trade, 
 382-6. 
 
 Mahdiist kingdom, agriculture and 
 
 commerce in, 376-86. 
 Mahinud Wad Ahmed, 240-1, 247-9. 
 Mail, capture of an English, 120. 
 Makada tribe, 241. 
 Makani village, 428. 
 Makbul dollar, the, in Omdurman, 
 
 210-4. 
 Makias (chains), 345-6. 
 Makin Wad en Nur. 260, 350. 
 Manoli, a Greek, 142. 
 Mansureh, steamer, 127. 
 Marcopoli Bey, 2, 73. 
 Mariani, Gabriel, 5, 41, 48. 
 Marissa (a kind of beer), 4 ; the Mahdi 
 
 and drinking of, 61, 330, 340. 
 Market at Omdurman, 282, 339. 
 Marquet, 2. 
 
 Marriage ceremonies in the Sudan, 
 
 17-8, 341-3, 389-90. 
 Masalit, Sultan of, 213 ; people, 237. 
 Mecca, pilgrimage to, 278-9, 448; 
 
 the Mahdi and, 110; a Sherif of, 
 
 412. 
 
 Medawi, tiki, 124. 218, 221. 
 
 Mek Omar, 28-32, 49-50, 178; son of, 
 see " Naser." 
 
 Melbeis, 95, 196. 
 
 Meshra Dehesh, 434, 437. 
 
 Messalamieh srate at Khartum, 150. 
 
 Metemmeh, 123, 268, 429. 
 
 Miracles, the Mahdi and, 7-8; per- 
 formed by Sid el Hassan, 166. 
 
 Miserieh tribe of Arabs, 106, 222. 
 
 Mice, plague of, at Omdurman, 291-2. 
 
 Minneh, fiki, 11, 20, 37, 39-40, 46, 
 56, 59-60. 
 
 Mint, the, at Omdurman, 209-13. 
 
 Missionaries, at El Obeid, 40-51 ; >ee 
 also " Bonomi," " Losi," " Ohrwal- 
 der," " Bossignoli." 
 
 Mission Stations ; see " Austrian Mis- 
 sion." 
 
 Mohammed Ahmed, sheikh, 396. 
 
 Mohammed Ahmed (the Mahdi), rise 
 of, 7-9; and Kordofan, 10-12; ante- 
 cedents of, 12 ; outward appearance 
 of, 13 ; Khalifas of, 14-5 ; military 
 organization of, 15-6; new laws 
 made by, 17-20, 60-3, 273; sum- 
 mons El Obeid to surrender, 20-1 ; 
 defeat of, before El Obeid, 34, 36- 
 41 ; and the missionaries, 42-51 ; 
 siege of El Obeid, 53-9; finances, 62- 
 3 ; art of winning over people, 66-7; 
 and Consul HansaPs letter, 68-71, 
 73 ; victory over Hicks Pasha, 75-90; 
 
IXDEX. 
 
 457 
 
 triumphal entry into El Obeid, 91- 
 2 ; and province of Darfttr, 93-4 ; 
 General Gordon and, 98, loO ; and 
 the sisters, 103-6; and Father 
 Ohrwalder, on religion, 109-11 ; and 
 Slatin Bey, 118 ; and violation of 
 moral laws, 121 ; religions movement 
 of, 122-3 ; and Cnzzi, 125-6 ; siege 
 of Khartum, 126, 131-54; his life of 
 ease and luxury, 60-4, 155-9, 419 ; 
 principal wife of, 157; dwelling of, ! 
 J 57; harem, 158; death of, 160-62, 
 185; and Olivier Pain, 171-5; and : 
 Kgypt, 25-1-6; tomb of, 275-80 ; and 
 immorality, 341.313; and property, 
 398 ; wives of, 404, 406 ; capital of 
 the Mahdi's kingdom, see " Omdur- 
 man." 
 
 Mohammed Ali. 234, 315, 439, 447. 
 Mohammed el Kheir, 125, 130, 256. 
 Mohammed Pasha Khabir, 21. 
 Mohammed Suleiman. 186. 
 Monasir tribe, 128, 438. 
 Monogamy in Dar Nnba, 4. 
 Moral laws, the Mahdi and violation 
 of, 121. 
 
 Moslem law, 322 ; the killing of priests, 
 46; and justice, 61-2; Sudanese 
 and, 279. 
 
 Mosque at Omdurman, 279, 297. 
 
 Mukran Fort, 126, 147. 
 
 Munzinger Pasha, 189, 191. 
 
 Murat, Saleh Bey and, 265 ; wells of, 
 364; Ohrwalder at, 440, 442. 
 
 Murders in the Sudan provinces, 333. 
 
 Musa, sheikh, 396. 
 
 Musallem, Sultan, 234. 
 
 Museum of curios at Omdurman, 213. 
 
 Mussaid, Emir, 258. 
 
 Mustafa Hadal, 166. 
 
 Mustafa Yawer, 64-6, 358, 363. 
 
 Nahut, in Kordofan, 240-1. 
 Nanna Jebel, 3, 223. 
 Naser (son of Mek Omar), 32-3, 40-1, 
 Nasri, sheikh, 167-8 
 Nejumi, see " Abderrahman Wad en 
 Nejumi." 
 
 Neufelrt, Charles, 233, 263, 345, 348. 
 
 353-60, 363. 
 News, the Sudanese and, 72-3; in 
 
 Omdurman, 282. 
 Nesim, Major, 11. 
 Niam Niam, singers from, 301. 
 Nile, see "White Nile," "Blue Nile." 
 Noai'a, sheikh, 222-3. 
 Nuba, country and people of, 3-5, , 
 
 22-32, 35, 48-9, 50, 95, 102, 112- 
 4, 117-8, 121, 171-2, 177, 180, 
 197-200, 223, 384. 
 
 Nubian desert, crossing the, 433-42. 
 
 Nur Angar, 16, 56, 112, 225, 247. 
 
 Nur Bev, 164-5. 
 
 Nur Gereifawi, 327, 379, 404 ; son of, 
 394. 
 
 Nun, sheikh, 247. 
 
 Oath of allegiance, sheikhs taking the, 
 70 ; evidence on, at Omdurman, 329. 
 
 Obeid. see " El Obeid." 
 
 O'Uonovan, Mr. {Daily News corre- 
 spondent), 80, 96, 101. 
 
 Ohrwalder, Father, visit to Mek Omar, 
 50; illtreated by a sheikh, 69-70; 
 taken before Abdullah, 100 ; journey 
 to Rahad, 101-3 ; interview with 
 the Mahdi on religion, 109-11 ; 
 treatment of, bv various masters, 
 114-7; in Khartum, 149-50; fare- 
 well to Father Bonomi, 178-84; 
 down with fever, 190; sent to Om- 
 durman, 199; and famine in Omdur- 
 man, 288; made a prisoner, 351-2; 
 departure from Omdurman, 407 ; 
 plans of escape, 408-23 ; and Lupton, 
 412-3 ; escape of, to Cairo. 424-46; 
 present situation in the Sudan, 447- 
 450. 
 
 Omala (tax-gatherers) in the Sudan, 
 313. 
 
 Omar Kisha (merchant), 267, 397. 
 
 Omar Saleh, 269-71. 
 
 Omar Wad Elias, Pasha, 247. 
 
 Omberer, a merchant, 35. 
 
 Omdurman, the Dervish capital, 146, 
 151, 275, 2S1, 304, 328, 380; the 
 Mahdi at, 35, 126, 127: surrender 
 of fort at, 131, 142, 177, 222; small- 
 pox in, 154-5 ; and the Mahdi's death, 
 162-3 ; events in, 2. 2-3 ; hill of. 294 ; 
 scarcity of small coins in, 210-3; 
 museum at, 213; the beit el mal 
 at, 2)8-9; Ahvssinians in, 229-1; 
 Abu Anga and, 22 1, 230-1; grand 
 review at, 225-6; panic in, 218; 
 Osman Digna at, 267-8; Mahdi's 
 tomb at, 275-9; Khalifa's palace, 
 280 ; roads in, 280-1 ; market-place, 
 282; gallows at, 283, 317-8; in- 
 habitants of, 283; population, 283- 
 4; famine in, 234-9; plagues of 
 locusts and mice in, 291-2; thieves 
 in, 32-5-9, 334-5, 340; system of 
 justice at, 329-33 ; cripples in, 337 ; 
 
 2 H 
 
458 
 
 JXDEX. 
 
 immorality in, 341 ; marriages in, 
 341-8; Saier, or prison at, 344-65; 
 Nenfeld in, 155-60 ; scarcity of 
 powder at, 367-75 ; sandstorms 
 at, 376-7; slaves in, 383-6; the 
 Greeks in, 412 ; dress of women in, 
 413; Ohrwakler's last day at, 424; 
 flight from, 445, 449. 
 
 Om Herezc.t mountain, 34, 46. 
 
 Om Sadik, 224. 
 
 Omshanga, 94. 
 
 Onbeia (wind instrument), 15, 44, 3C6. 
 Ongat wells. 259. 
 
 Ornaments, the Mahdi and Sudanese, 
 18. 
 
 Ornithology : Birds in Dar Nuba, 3-4; 
 
 kites at El Obeid, £3; vultures, 77, 
 
 88, 290. 
 Oshra Well, 40, 47. 
 Osman, Khalifa, 308, 353-4, 389. 
 ( >sman Azrak, 260. 
 
 Osman Digna, 11, 64, 166-7; defeat of, 
 266-8. 
 
 Osman Wad Adam, 199, 234, 236 ; and 
 Abu Gtmaizeh, 238-41 ; death of, 
 240. 
 
 Osman Wad Dekeim, 167. 
 
 I >strich farms in Kordofan, 35. 
 
 Patn, Olivier, at El Obeid, 172- 
 75. 
 
 Palace, the Khalifa's, at Omdurman, 
 280. 
 
 Passion i, Jew T named, 360. 
 
 Pesavento, Sister E., 48. 
 
 Pilgrims at Omdurman, 206. 
 
 Pimezzoni, Franz, 1. 
 
 Plagues in the Sudan : of locusts, 291 ; 
 
 of mice, 291-2. 
 Plough, a, in the Sudan, 378. 
 Poetry, the Arabs and, 67. 
 Polinari, Domenico, 138-40, 349-50. 
 Postal service intheMahdi's kingdom, 
 
 300-1. • 
 
 Powder, scarcity of, at Omdurman, 
 
 359, 367-75. 
 Power, Consul, 99, 129-30. 
 Prayers, the Mahdi and, 19 ; book of, 
 
 213 ; form of, 296. 
 Printing press at Omdurman, 213. 
 Prison at Omdurman, 344-65. 
 Proclamation by the Mahdi, 76. 
 
 Quicksilver found at Delen, 35. 
 
 Eabeh Zubeir, 240, 241. 
 
 Pabad, General Hicks at, 77-85; the 
 
 road to, 101-3; the Mahdi at, 106- 
 21, 12-3-6, 169. 
 Bahma, fiki, 11. 
 
 Pain in Dar Nuba, 3; in the Sudan, 
 376. 
 
 Pamadan, fast of, 64, 158. 
 
 Pas Adal, 247 ; and Galabat, 217-20. 
 
 Eas Alula, 167, 247. 
 
 Eashid Bey, 9. 
 
 Eatibs (Mahdi's book of prayers), 213. 
 Eauf Pasha, 1-2, 6-7. 
 Eegaf Station, 269, 271-2, 340, 384,396. 
 Eeligion, interview with the Mahdi on, 
 109-11. 
 
 Eeptiles, 150 ; snakes, 3-4, 433 ; scor- 
 pions, 114, 347. 
 
 Eeview of Dervishes at Omdurman, 
 225-6, 307-8. 
 
 Eizighat tribe of Arabs, 73, 221, 396-7. 
 
 Boads in Omdurman, 280; in the 
 Sudan, 341. 
 
 Eognotto, Joseph, 1C0. 
 
 Eossignoli, Father, 54, 57. 
 
 Eoversi (inspector of slaves), 22-3, 
 27-30, 48 ; death of, 49. 
 
 Eundle Bey, 439. 
 
 Saburi Mountain, 5. 
 
 Saddlers at Omdurman, 381. 
 
 S"fia steamer, 127. 
 
 Said Bey Guma, 94, 202-3, 223, 236. 
 
 Said Mohammed, 39. 
 
 Said Pasha, 7, 10-1, 20-1, 29, 119 ; 
 
 defence of El Obeid, 36-40, 49, 56, 
 
 58-9, 66. 
 Said el Mek, 6. 
 
 Saier at Omdurman, see " Prison. " 
 Sal eh, sheikh, 55. 
 
 Saleh Pasha Wad el Mek, 12"). 153, 350. 
 Saleh Bey, 217-8, 221, 3C2-3, 364, 
 414. 
 
 Saleh Bey Fadlallah, 232-4, 265. 
 Salem, sheikh, 55. 
 
 Salisbury, Lord, letter to King John, 
 250-1. 
 
 Sandalia, perfume called, 157. 
 Sandstorm, a fearful, 203; in the 
 
 Sudan, 376-7. 
 Santoni, A., 443 ; and Father Bonomi, 
 
 178-9, 183. 
 Sarras, Dervishes at, 257-S, 262. 
 Sawakin, 1, 121, 166-7 ; Osman Digna 
 
 besieges, 266-7. 
 Sayer, Brother, 443. 
 Sayid el Mek, 407. 
 Say id Hamed, 167-8. 
 Sa}id Osman, see " Osman, Khalifa." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 459 
 
 " Sayidna Isa, r 244-"'. 
 
 Schuver, Jean M., 2. 
 
 Seckendorf, Baron, death of, 88 ; ser- 
 vant of, 80. 
 
 Seliina wells, 233. 
 
 Selim Bey in Equatoria. 271. 
 
 Sennar, "154, 160, 162, 164-5, 226, 
 256, 290. 
 
 Senussi, sheikh, 4, 14, 173, 237. 
 
 Shaggieh troops, 239. 
 
 Shaegieh tribe, 143. 
 
 Shakka, 35, 59, 235, 384, 391. 
 
 Share Eiver, 241. 
 
 Shatt Station, 11, 35, 77, 126, 175. 
 
 Shebba, a (f- rked wood), 97. 
 
 Sheep of the Kababish tribe, 232, 234; 
 in the Sudan provinces, 379. 
 
 Shekan forest, battle near, 87, 92, 94, 
 171. 
 
 Shendi, 290. 
 
 Sherif, Khalifa, see "AH Esh Sherif." 
 Sberif Mahmnd, 20, 60, 86, 106, 169- 
 
 72, 174, 176-8, 183, 186-9, 197; 
 
 death of, 198-9, 206, 223. 
 Shilluk tribe, 272, 379. 
 Shirkeleh, 77, 80, 126. 
 Shirra, Bageara chief. 187. 
 Shukrieh tribe, 166, 216, 290, 350. 
 Sideham, a Copt, 178. 
 Sid el Hassan, the celebrated Moslem, 
 
 165-6. 
 
 Sidi Hamdan, see "Abu Anga." 
 Sieges, see "Bara," "El Fasher," "El 
 
 Obeid," " Galahat," " Kassala," 
 
 "Khartum," "Sennar," " Sawakin," 
 
 "Tokar," &c. 
 Singiokai, 23, 32, 49, 59. 
 Sisters of the Austrian Mission, before 
 
 Abdullah, 1C0; at Bahad, 103-6; 
 
 e c cape of, from Omdurman, 413-5, 
 
 418-45; see also Aiidreis," "Corsi," 
 
 " Chincarini," "Pesavento," "Yen- 
 
 turini." 
 Si war ed Dahab, 21, 264. 
 Skander Bev, 21. 
 Skander, fate of Mulatto, 140. 
 Slatin Bey, 2, 73-5, 93, 118, 153, 174-5, 
 
 177, 189, 206, 348; and Darfur, 
 
 235; and waterskins, 237. 
 Slave trade, in Par Nuba, 4; in the 
 
 Bahr el Ghazal, 8-9, 12, 22 ; in the 
 
 Sudan, 382-6. 
 Slaves, the Mahdi's law regarding, 62; 
 
 of Khartum, 143 ; at Omdurman, 
 
 208-9, 333, 339. 
 Small-pox, in Omdurman, 154-5; in 
 
 El Obeid, 183-4. 
 
 Soap-boiling at Omdurman, 213-4, 303, 
 413. 
 
 Sobei, the Khojur of, 187. 
 Sogaro, Archbishop Franz, 415-7, 420, 
 444-5. 
 
 Soil, of Dar Nuba, 3 ; of Bara, 200 ; in 
 
 the Gezireh, 378. 
 Stambuli, George, 42-8, 54, 58, 68-71, 
 
 84, 96-7, 269. 
 Stanley, H. M., and Emin Pasha, 269, 
 
 271. 
 
 Starvation in the Mahdi's camp, 154. 
 Stewart, Col., murder of, 128-30, 177, 
 414, 438. 
 
 Sudan, Egypt and the, 34, 123; the 
 Mahdi master of the, 94 ; English 
 troops in the, 120 ; custom to drink 
 melted butter, 175 ; revolt of black 
 soldiers of army of, 189-200 ; witch- 
 craft in, 44, 274-5 ; famine in the, 
 290-2 ; horsemanship in the, 308 ; 
 immorality in the, 341-3 ; cattle 
 breeding in the, 376-9 ; disease 
 in the. 386 ; present situation in the, 
 387-407, 447-50. 
 
 Sudanese, the, marriage ceremony of, 
 17-8; and smallpox, 154-5; and 
 alchemy, 369. 
 
 Suez, 1. 
 
 Suk Abu Sin, see " Gedaref." 
 Suleiman Bey, Gessi and, 9-10. 
 Suleiman, Capt. M., 22, 27. 
 Suleiman el Hejazi, 240. 
 Suleiman Wad Naaman, sheikh, 129- 
 30, 414. 
 
 Superstition, in the Sudan, 44, 274-5 ; 
 the Nubas and, 186 ; see also " Witch- 
 craft." 
 
 Surur Effendi, 56. 
 
 Swindlers in Omdurman, 331, 337-9. 
 Syria, Sherif of, 111. , 
 
 Tagalla, Jebel, 3, 7, 77, 222-3 ; 225.. 
 
 247 ; see also " Adam, King." 
 Taha, Savid Mohammed, 91. 
 Taher, sheikh, 316-7. 
 Taisha Arabs, 14, 221, 301 ; Abdullah 
 
 and, 308-11, 350, 395-6. 
 Takruri tribe, 171-2, 217, 244, 248, 
 
 283 
 
 Tamai, battle of, 266. 
 Tamarinds in Kordofan, 35. 
 Taxation in the Mahdi's kingdom, 379- 
 80. 
 
 Tax-gatherers of the Sudan provinces, 
 313. 
 
 Tax levied at Omdurman, 205. 
 
460 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tayara Station, 11, 35, 60. 
 Testament, King John's copy of New, 
 250. 
 
 Thieves in Omdurman, 328-9, 331-7. 
 339-40. 
 
 " Three Holy Kings," festival of the, 
 
 218. 
 Tira hill, 3. 
 
 Tobacco, the Sudanese and, 17 ; chew- 
 ing, 276 ; punishment of smokers of, 
 330. 
 
 Tobji, Osman, 65-6. 
 Todros Kasa, son of King Theodore, 
 242-5. 
 
 Tokar, 267-8; capture of, 367, 386, 
 414. 
 
 Tolodi, Jebel, 223. 
 
 Tomb of the Mahdi at Omdurman, 
 275-80. 
 
 Tome, sheikh, 55, 64; brother of, 232. 
 Toski, battle at, 283, 320, 350, 361. 
 Trades in Omdurman, 381-2. 
 Treasure in Khartum, 145. 
 Trees in Dar Nuba, 3. 
 Tur el Hadra, 2. 
 Tuti Island, 147, 375. 
 " Turk," Arabs and the term, 263. 
 Turkey, Sultan of, letter to, from 
 Khalifa, 257. 
 
 Uganda, events in, 271. 
 Unyoro, events in, 271. 
 
 Venturini, Sister E., 413-45. 
 Victoria, Queen, and King John of 
 
 Abyssinia, 250-1; letter to, from 
 
 Abdullah, 257. 
 
 Wad Ali, 246, 241). 
 "Wad Arbab, Emir, 217-8. 
 Wad Bishara, village of, 426. 
 Wad el Bedri, 10, 319, 395. 
 Wad el Besir, 94, 124, 258, 306. 
 Wadelai, 271. 
 
 Wad el Areik (merchant), 21, 35, 131, 
 405. 
 
 Wad el Banna, 401. 
 Wad el Hashmi, Emir, 76, 190, 193-4, 
 199. 
 
 Wad el Makashef, 11, 72, 164. 
 Wad er Eeis, 445 ; see " Hussein Wad 
 Dayim." 
 
 Wad Gubara (Emir), 38-9, 85, 125, 
 
 130, 133, 260. 
 Wad Gesuli, 96. 
 Wad Guzuli, 345. 
 Wad Hamclu Allah, 313. 
 Wadi Gamr cataracts, 128. 
 Wadi Haifa, 257, 260. 
 Wad Nubawi (Emir), 233. 
 Wad Zaid, 350. 
 
 War materials at Omdurman, 349, 
 381. 
 
 Waterskins, the Masalit people and, 
 237. 
 
 Water-wheels along the Nile. 378. 
 White Nile, 3, 6, 12, 93, 126, 133-5, 
 
 150, 204; expedition up the, 269- 
 
 272. 
 
 Witchcraft, the Mahdi's success at- 
 tributed to, 94 ; the bark of Adan- 
 sonia tree, 170 ; in the Sudan, 
 274-5, 402. 
 
 Wodehouse, Colonel. 115, 259, 265; 
 battle at Argin, 262. 
 
 Wolseley (Lord), 'Soldier's Pocket- 
 Book/ 101. 
 
 Yakub (Khalifa Abdullah's brother), 
 243, 277, 304, 313-4, 324-6, 361, 
 366, 365, 371-3, 389-90, 394, 402-7. 
 
 Yesin, Major, 59. 
 
 Yunis Ed Dekeim, 260, 265. 
 
 Yusef Angeli (Greek), 373-4 
 
 Yusef Pertekachi, and manufacture of 
 power, 371-4. 
 
 Yunis, Emir, 206, 219-20, 228, 396, 
 417 ; and Abu Anga, 2 J 4-5. 
 
 Yusef, Sultan of Darfur, 213, 236, 308. 
 
 Yusef Kurdi (merchant), 333-4. 
 
 Yusef Pasha, 10-1, 42, 90. 
 
 Zeki Tummal and Abyssinia, 225, 
 
 247, 249, 251-2, 272, 285, 290. 
 Zerescga, 77. 
 
 Zogal (the Mahdi's uncle), 75, 93-4, 
 164, 184, 223, 235, 265-7, 360, 388, 
 396, 401, 417 ; and Darfur, 201-3. 
 
 Zogheir (a celebrated thief), 335-7, 
 353. 
 
 Zubeir, feast known as, 4. 
 
 Zubeir Pasha, 172, 391; Abu Anga 
 
 and, 221 ; and Kingdom of Shakka, 
 
 235. 
 
 Zarbuchen, Dr., 2. 
 
 LONDON : i'ltlNTKD BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, 
 STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. 
 
THE NILE RASIN 
 
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Sketch Map showing correct Position of the IBE A. Cos torts £ Boundary- of Uganda. 
 
 NOTE. — At the last moment, when this book was passed for press, the return to England of 
 Captain Lugard onables me, through his courtesy, to give the names and positions of the forts 
 in Uganda and Unyoro now occupied by the troops in the service of the Imperial British East 
 Africa Company. — F.R.W. 
 
 London, October 10th, 1892. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
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 1998 
 
 
 
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