Fire and Sword in the Sudan Part 23

Suddenly, at midday, the inhabitants of El Obeid were startled by the firing of rifles; the soldiers had seized the isolated building which was used as a storehouse for the arms and ammunition, and were firing on the Dervishes, who had attacked them in this position. The latter were driven back; and the former then succeeded in collecting their wives and children. The Dervishes, having only a few fire-arms, had retreated to the Government buildings, and had barricaded the doors. The soldiers, encouraged by their success, now attempted to take these buildings by storm; but were forced to retire. In this attack, Abder Rahman el Borusi, formerly one of my best and bravest subalterns, was killed; while the Dervishes lost Abdel Hashmi, Sayed Mahmud's representative, who was greatly detested by the soldiers on account of his overbearing ways. If the soldiers had only had a good leader, El Obeid would certainly have fallen into their hands; but, under the circ.u.mstances, they had no special desire to take this post, and were merely bent on regaining their freedom. That night they spent in the powder magazine, where they were joined by quant.i.ties of male and female slaves, who took this opportunity to run away from their masters. Early the next morning, the inhabitants and the Dervishes attempted an attack on the soldiers, but were utterly defeated, and lost a large number in killed and wounded. The soldiers, longing for freedom, now left El Obeid, and marched in a southerly direction towards the Nuba mountains; but, before leaving, they plundered a number of houses, and, seizing the women they found there, made them their slaves. The Dervishes now attempted to pursue them; but the soldiers, elated by their freedom, again utterly routed them. Unfortunately, the Emir of the soldiers, a certain Wad Abdulla, a native of Wad Medina, and who had also been one of my officers at Dara, knew of the plot, but did not join in time, fearing it might fail; he was now seized by the Gellabas, and, in spite of his innocence, was beheaded.

The news of this mutiny was at once sent to Sayed Mahmud in Omdurman; and the Khalifa, no longer requiring his services there, permitted him to return to El Obeid, with instructions to come back as soon as possible to Omdurman with his family, and with all the other relatives of the late Mahdi, but forbade him to pursue the mutineers. When, however, he arrived at El Obeid, moved either by feelings of revenge, or thinking perhaps that by killing the mutineers he should obtain favour, he disregarded the Khalifa's orders, and, collecting all the able-bodied inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood, advanced against the soldiers. The latter had taken up a strong position in the Golfan and Nama hills, and had established there a sort of military republic, nominating as their chief Bes.h.i.+r, who was formerly a sergeant. He gave careful instructions that the ammunition was not to be wasted; and he forbade the mention of the name of the Mahdi under pain of punishment.

They acknowledged the Khedive as their master, and swore in his name; and the neighbourhood supplied them with abundant food.

Sayed Mahmud, on his arrival at El Obeid, had despatched secret agents to a.s.sure the mutineers that he loved them as his own children, and that he would give them a full and free pardon should they submit to him. The soldiers jeeringly replied, that he should first of all convince himself of their affection for him. Thereupon, Mahmud resolved to storm the mountain, and, carrying his own banner at the head of his troops, he was shot dead while leading the a.s.sault. Several of his adherents who attempted to recover his body met with a like fate, whilst the remainder of his following dispersed, and fled in all directions, pursued by the Nuba mountaineers, who inflicted heavy loss on them.

Hamdan Abu Anga, who at this time was only a few days distant from the scene of operations, at once reported this occurrence to the Khalifa, and asked to be allowed to punish the victorious mutineers; but he was instructed to take no further action, as his master had more important duties for him to perform; he had now to deal with Mohammed Khaled.

In Omdurman, however, the Khalifa declared publicly, that Sayed Mahmud had been justly punished by G.o.d for his disobedience; and that instead of coming to him as ordered, he had sought fame and revenge, in attacking the rebels contrary to his wishes.

For some time back, Khaled had received letters from the Khalifa, asking him to come to Omdurman, and offering him a high position and honours.

The latter had made all preparations for his departure, and was on the point of starting, when the news came of the action taken by the Khalifa in regard to Khalifa Sherif, and the relatives of the late Mahdi. Khaled now received further letters from Abdullahi, telling him how the action of these relatives had forced him to take this unfortunate step; he begged him, in consequence, to come with all speed, as he had no doubt that his practical common sense would a.s.sist him in bringing about a reconciliation with all parties. Khaled, believing in these a.s.surances, and anxious to be of a.s.sistance to his relative, hastened his journey and camped at Bara. He had under his command a very considerable force, which was augmented by a large number of the local population of Darfur who had been unwillingly compelled to immigrate. He had at his disposal upwards of a thousand cavalry, and three thousand rifles, whilst his followers could not have numbered less than twenty thousand persons.

Previous, however, to Khaled's arrival, Abu Anga, who had with him over five thousand rifles, had received secret instructions to move to Bara, and now advanced thither by forced marches. At sunrise one morning, Khaled found his camp completely encircled by Abu Anga's troops, who were prepared to carry out his instructions, should the slightest opposition be made. Abu Anga now summoned Khaled to appear before him; and the order was at once obeyed. On his arrival the Khalifa's instructions were handed to him, which were to the effect that, as a token of his submission and fidelity, he should at once make over to Abu Anga all his soldiers and cavalry, as the latter was considered commander-in-chief of the army; Khaled complied with this order without demur, and, being detained by Abu Anga, who obliged him to give the necessary instructions, in a short time the whole of the Darfur troops were placed under the command of subordinates nominated by Abu Anga.

This over, Abu Anga now summoned all the Emirs who accompanied him from Darfur, and read out to them a very flattering doc.u.ment from the Khalifa, in which they were given the option of remaining with him, or returning to Omdurman.

Khaled and his relatives, however, were arrested; their property confiscated; and all the treasure acc.u.mulated in the Beit el Mal was taken possession of by Abu Anga. Said Bey Guma, who, for a considerable time, had acted as chief of Abu Anga's artillery, also reaped considerable benefit from this episode, by obtaining permission to re-annex all his slaves, wives, and property which had been confiscated in Darfur, and which Khaled had brought along with him.

Khaled himself was placed in irons, and sent to El Obeid; where he had leisure to think over the Khalifa's letter, and to recognise that there is a wide difference between making a promise, and carrying that promise into effect.

The Khalifa, however, was completely satisfied with the result of his plan. Once more he had inflicted a crus.h.i.+ng blow on his opponents, who had counted greatly on Khaled's return, but who now saw Abu Anga's army augmented by the very men they had thought to utilise for their own purposes. Abu Anga's force now numbered several thousands; he soon acquired an influence over the Darfur Emirs and their subjects, whom he considered his compatriots, and several of them proceeded to Omdurman, where they were received by the Khalifa with the highest honours. Thus were the fears of the inhabitants of the Nile valley increased, owing to the growing prestige and power acquired by the western Arabs; and they realised that for them a reign of despotic tyranny was approaching.

Abu Anga now received instructions to attack and destroy the rebels in the Golfan mountains, who, after the death of Mahmud, considered themselves masters of the situation, and began to treat the inhabitants of the district tyrannically, the result being that internal dissensions arose amongst the various tribes, and they began to scatter and return to their own homes. On the approach of Abu Anga, my old servant with his wife, feeling that he could not count on success, went over to him, saying he was tired of fighting, and was ready to submit to such punishment as his crime merited, all he begged was permission to defend himself. He represented that he had been my servant in Darfur, and that he, with several others, had been forcibly prevented by Mahmud from continuing his journey, that owing to the constant insults he had received, he had become angry and disgusted, had joined the mutineers, and had taken an active part in the fighting; but that now he had come to beg forgiveness, and ask permission to join me, or suffer the punishment to which he was justly ent.i.tled. Abu Anga, whose father had been a slave, and who always had compa.s.sion on his own tribesmen, and detested the Gellabas (a name which the western Arabs used generally for all inhabitants of the Nile valley), knew perfectly well that the soldiers had been driven into revolt by the unjust treatment they had received, and, consequently, generously pardoned my servant for the sake, he said, of his old friends.h.i.+p for me, and to do me honour in my position as mulazem of the Khalifa. He thereupon gave him a letter to me, announcing that he had great pleasure in returning to me my old servant, and that he rejoiced we were again united.

Bes.h.i.+r, who had refused the offer of submission, was attacked by Abu Anga's troops the following day, and, after making a magnificent stand, was killed, together with Fadl el Maula, and several soldiers who had remained true to him to the end. On the night previous to this action, several of his men had deserted secretly, and had hidden themselves in various parts of the country; but one after the other they were forced to surrender and accept the pardon offered them. Abu Anga himself, however, took advantage of his success only in so far as to requisition the inhabitants to supply his army with food, and to acquire male and female slaves; whilst he left his cousin Osman Wad Adam as his representative in El Obeid. An order now arrived that the latter should take over the command of Darfur, where Sultan Yusef, a son of Sultan Ibrahim, who had been killed in Zubeir's time, was in revolt.

I ascertained, from a merchant who had recently arrived from Kordofan, that my friend Joseph Ohrwalder had quitted El Obeid, and would shortly arrive in Omdurman. Although I knew that I should have considerable difficulty in meeting him, I rejoiced to think that one of my old countrymen would be near me. I sat at my master's gate, ready at all times to obey his orders. Occasionally, I was spoken to kindly, and commanded to dine with him; at other times, without rhyme or reason as far as I knew, I was taken no notice of for days, receiving from my master only the blackest and most disdainful looks; but this was due to the extraordinary changeability of his character, and I knew I must put up with it. I suppose this was part of my education. To my comrades, I showed myself absolutely callous to everything that happened in the country, so that they should have no reason to increase the distrust felt by the Khalifa, who, I knew, frequently inquired as to my conduct.

As a matter of fact, however, I watched all the occurrences as closely as my position would allow, and endeavoured to impress them on my mind; for I was, of course, prohibited from writing a single line. The Khalifa contributed very little towards the support of my household, and only occasionally gave orders for me to be supplied with a few ardebs of dhurra, or a sheep, or a cow.

Ibrahim Adlan, whom I had known in the time of the Government, used to send me monthly from ten to twenty dollars; and a few of the officials and merchants who were in better circ.u.mstances than myself, used secretly to send me small sums of money. Thus, though by no means well off, I did not lack the absolute necessaries of life, and only occasionally felt the actual pinch of want; anyhow I was better off than my friend Lupton, whom the Khalifa had promised to a.s.sist, but paid absolutely no attention to his wants. Lupton, it is true, enjoyed a certain amount of freedom: he was allowed to wander about in Omdurman, and to talk to the people; nor was he obliged to attend the five prayers daily at the mosque; but, in spite of this, life to him was full of trouble and sorrow. I begged Ibrahim Adlan to interest himself in Lupton, and to give a kind thought to him occasionally, by helping him with small sums of money; but this was not sufficient to keep him, and, though ignorant of any trade, he had perforce to earn a livelihood by mending old arms. Having been an officer in the English merchant service, I thought he might know something about machinery. Meeting him one day in the mosque, he complained bitterly of his wretched position; and I suggested to him that if he could secure an appointment in the Khartum dock-yard, it might improve his condition. He jumped at the idea; and I promised that I would do my best to help him. A few days later, it happened that the Khalifa was in a good temper, and showed a friendly disposition towards me, as Abu Anga had sent him a present of a young horse, some money, and some of Khaled's slaves. I was commanded to dine with him; and, in the course of conversation, succeeded in turning the subject to the steamers and their machinery, which, up to that day, had been an absolute mystery to him. "The steamers," said I, "require competent men to look after them and repair damages. As most of the workmen in the dock-yard were killed during the siege of Khartum, I suppose you have had some difficulty in replacing them?"

"But what is to be done?" said the Khalifa. "These steamers are of the greatest value to me; and I must do all I can to preserve them."

"Abdullahi Lupton," said I, "was formerly engineer on a steamer; if he received a good monthly salary from the Beit el Mal, I believe he would be really useful for this work."

"Then will you speak to him," said he, apparently much pleased; "if he undertook this work of his own free-will and accord, without being forced into it, I believe he would be of some use in these matters, of which, I admit, I know absolutely nothing. I will order Ibrahim Adlan to pay him well."

"I do not even know his whereabouts," said I. "I have not seen him for a long time; but I will make inquiries. I feel confident that he will be only too glad to serve you."

The following day, I sent for Lupton, told him of the conversation, but begged him to do as little as he possibly could for our enemies.

He a.s.sured me that the steamers, of the machinery of which he had only a superficial knowledge, would, under his charge, grow worse instead of better, and that it was only his unfortunate circ.u.mstances which obliged him to accept the position. The Khalifa had also spoken to Ibrahim Adlan; and that evening, Lupton sent me word that he was now appointed an employe in the a.r.s.enal, with pay at the rate of forty dollars a month, which would be just sufficient to save him from absolute want.

The Khalifa took this occasion to dismiss from the a.r.s.enal a certain Sayed Taher, an uncle of the Mahdi, by whom he had been appointed director. He had been formerly a carpenter in Kordofan, was excessively ignorant, but excelled in every description of dishonesty, and freely sold iron and other material; he was replaced by an Egyptian who had been born in London, and was of such a timorous nature that he did not dare to be dishonest.

The Khalifa now found that the Kababish, who inhabited the northern portion of Kordofan as far as Dongola, and whose herds pastured down to Omdurman, were not sufficiently submissive for his purpose; he therefore gave instructions to Ibrahim Adlan to confiscate everything they had, under the pretext that they had been frequently ordered to undertake a pilgrimage, and that they had refused to comply. Ibrahim Adlan accordingly sent off a a party, who confiscated the Kababish flocks.

This tribe used to do all the carrying trade of gum from Kordofan, and possessed considerable sums of money, which, in accordance with the usual Arab custom, they buried in some out-of-the-way place in the desert known only to themselves; they were now maltreated and tortured in order to make them disgorge, with the result that large amounts reached the Beit el Mal. The tribe as a whole submitted without much fighting; but Saleh Bey, the head Sheikh, and a brother of Sheikh et Tom, who had been beheaded by the Mahdi, collected his nearest relatives, and, together with them, proceeded to the wells of Om Badr, where n.o.body dared to follow them. The Khalifa thereupon despatched two well-known Sheikhs, Wad Nubawi of the Beni Jerrar and Wad Atir of the Maalia, to ask him to come to Omdurman, not only promising him full pardon, but also his nomination as Emir of the Kababish. Saleh Bey listened quietly to the proposition, and, to the astonishment of the messengers, took some tobacco, which is detested by the Mahdists, and, putting it into his mouth, said, "I have well understood what you have said; the Khalifa forgives me entirely, and desires me to come to Omdurman. Supposing now that on my arrival the Prophet should appear to the Khalifa--for we all know that the Khalifa acts altogether on the inspirations of the Prophet--and instructs him not to forgive me; what then?" The messengers were not able to answer this question, and, each having received a present of a camel, returned to the Khalifa and related exactly what had occurred. Several of the Kababish who had been deprived of their property, now deserted to Sheikh Saleh at Om Badr; and, in a very short time, although not a very powerful enemy, he was sufficiently so to prove of considerable annoyance to the Khalifa.

In Omdurman, the Kababish camels and sheep were sold by auction in the Beit el Mal, and the price of meat fell considerably in consequence, but the price of grain rose in proportion: the reason of this being that Yunes permitted his men in the Gezira to do just as they liked. These districts were the granary of Omdurman; and Yunes, having introduced into them thousands of the Gimeh tribe, with their wives and children, who had been deprived of all they possessed, these now organised themselves into bands of brigands who not only seized all the grain they could lay their hands on, but terrorised the inhabitants who cultivated the land. Thus the store of grain diminished daily; whilst the army of Yunes, to his great delight, grew in numbers, being augmented by runaway slaves and a large supply of independent individuals. It was the Khalifa's intention to weaken the power of the Gezira people, who belonged, for the most part, to Khalifa Sherif's party; but now the paucity of grain somewhat alarmed him, and he therefore sent orders to Yunes to return to Omdurman with his entire force. In accordance with these instructions, this great ma.s.s of people swept towards Omdurman, seizing everything they could lay their hands on; and Yunes entered the capital, as it were, at the head of a conquering army laden with loot of every description. He was ordered to take up a position towards the south end of the city, near the forts; and to this day the place is known as Dem Yunes.

Shortly after his arrival, it was rumoured in Omdurman that the Abyssinians intended attacking Gallabat. It was said that a certain Hajji Ali Wad Salem, of the Kawahla, who resided in Gallabat, and who had formerly had some trading transactions with the Abyssinians, was travelling in their country, had been made an Emir of a portion of his tribe, had invaded Abyssinian territory, and had destroyed the Church of Gabta.

A certain Takruri named Saleh Shanga, who had resided at Gallabat, and had held a position of some importance under Government, had quitted that town on its evacuation by the Egyptian troops, and had settled down in Abyssinia; but his cousin Ahmed Wad Arbab had been made Dervish Emir of the district. Ras Adal, Governor of the province of Amhara, now called on Arbab to deliver up Hajji Ali, who had been disturbing the peace; and as this demand was refused, he had collected a considerable force, and had invaded Gallabat. Meanwhile, Arbab, who had received warning of Ras Adal's approach, now collected his followers, amounting to some six thousand men, and awaited his arrival outside the town. The rush of the Abyssinian force, which was ten times as strong as that of Arbab, was terrible: in a few minutes, the Mahdi's forces were completely surrounded; Arbab himself killed, and almost all his troops ma.s.sacred, only a very few escaping. The Abyssinians mutilated the bodies of all, except that of Arbab, which, out of consideration for Saleh Shanga, was untouched. The Dervishes had stored their spare ammunition in an isolated house, and had placed it in charge of an Egyptian, who, being called upon after the battle to surrender, refused to do so; and on the Abyssinians attempting to storm it, he blew it up, thus destroying himself and his enemies. The wives and children of those who had been killed, were now carried off into captivity by the Abyssinians. Gallabat itself was burnt to the ground; and, for a long time, its site was little else than a great open cemetery, the abode of nothing save hyenas.

When the news of the destruction of Wad Arbab's army reached the Khalifa, he sent a letter to King John requesting him to release the captive wives and children in exchange for a sum of money which he asked him to fix; but, at the same time, he ordered Yunes to quit Omdurman with his entire force, and proceed to Gallabat, where he was to await further orders. On the departure of the army of Yunes, the Khalifa himself, with a number of his followers, crossed to the west in a steamer, and, after staying with them three days, he gave the warriors his parting blessing, and then returned to Omdurman.

Some time since, Gustav Klootz, who had failed to make a living in Omdurman, had disappeared, and I thought he must have escaped out of the country; but I now learnt, from some merchants who had just arrived from Gedaref, that he had reached that place, but had succ.u.mbed to the fatigues of the journey, and had died just before the Abyssinian invasion.

Nejumi and Abu Girga were now ordered, the former to Dongola, and the latter to Ka.s.sala, with instructions to occupy the country with their troops, whilst Osman Digna was appointed ruler of the Arab tribes between Ka.s.sala and Suakin. The Khalifa, however, in order to keep himself fully informed of the actions and intentions of Nejumi and Abu Girga, who, with their men, originally belonged to the Nile valley, and did not, in consequence, possess his entire confidence, nominated two of his own relatives, Mussaid Wad Gaidum and Osman Wad Ali, as his representatives, with instructions that they should on all occasions be consulted. In this manner, not only did Mussaid and Ali obtain a certain amount of control, but the arrangement also tended to give them a species of authority amongst the Nile Arabs. Thus, gradually, he extended his power over the entire Sudan, by lessening the authority of the local inhabitants, and placing his own relatives and tribesmen in positions of importance. He and his Emirs enlarged their households almost daily, and their luxurious mode of life required the expenditure of considerable sums of money; it was therefore necessary to acquire a thorough hold over the revenues of the country. The number of his personal followers, and especially his armed mulazemin, increased rapidly, and it was necessary to arrange for their maintenance. Money was required for them, as well as for those who were secretly hostile to him, and whom he wished to gain over to his side without an open rupture.

Ibrahim Adlan was now called upon to regulate the finances. The revenues consisted of fitra (poll-tax), which every living man was obliged to pay at the end of the great fast of Ramadan; its payment was usually made in grain,--approximately eight rotls,--but it might also be paid in cash.

No one was exempt from this obligation; and parents were compelled to pay not only for their children under age, but even for their newly-born babes. Another source of income was the zeka (or two-and-a-half-per-cent "alms for the poor") which was paid in grain, cattle, or money in accordance with the Moslem Law. The officials appointed to gather this tax were nominated by Yakub and Ibrahim; and it was presented by them to the Khalifa. They were obliged to keep a strict account of all receipts, which they had to render to the Beit et Mal, supported by vouchers.

An attempt was also made to regulate the expenditure, that is to say, Ibrahim Adlan was forbidden to pay away money as he thought proper. Of course, certain persons,--such as the Kadi, his clerks, the chiefs of the mulazemin, etc.,--whose services were absolutely necessary to the Khalifa, were granted certain specified sums, which were paid monthly, but which were so small that they were scarcely sufficient to provide for the bare necessaries of life; for instance, the chief Kadi, who bore the t.i.tle of Kadi Islam, received only forty dollars a month; the Khalifa's secretary, thirty; and so on. Khalifa Sherif and his relatives received a certain sum in accordance with the Khalifa's special orders; but Khalifa Ali Wad Helu, owing to his submission and obedience, was in the Khalifa's favour, and obtained a somewhat larger amount. The princ.i.p.al share, however, of the Sudan revenue was absorbed by the Khalifa and his relatives; and he and his brother Yakub utilised it in satisfying the demands of the western tribes, whose adherence to his cause was most necessary, and who, having left their own country, were occasionally in considerable straits.

Another means of increasing the revenue was by the hiring out of ferries along the whole extent of the river; and Ibrahim Adlan also started a soap-boiling establishment, which was made a Government monopoly. One day, the Khalifa, riding through the city, entered a district which he did not usually visit, and there his olfactory nerves were greeted with an odour which he well knew; he at once ordered search to be made to discover from whence it came, and, in a few minutes, a poor half-naked individual was brought before him, holding in his hand a stewpan in which he had been attempting to boil soap. The Khalifa at once gave orders that he should be thrown into prison, and his property, consisting of a stewpan and an angareb, should be confiscated.

An immense stock of silver trinkets, captured in the various campaigns, lay stored up in the Beit el Mal; and quant.i.ties of these had been sold for much below their value and had been secretly taken, from time to time, by dealers to Egypt. In order to put a stop to this, the Khalifa now decided to make his own coinage. After the fall of Khartum, Ahmed Wad Suleiman had attempted to coin silver dollars and gold guineas; but, on the Mahdi's express wish, he had abandoned it. Ibrahim Adlan, however, now began to strike half, quarter, and whole dollars; and it was arranged that the new dollar, which weighed eight drachms, should consist of six drachms of silver and two of copper, but should have the same value as the Medjidi dollar. The merchants, however, refused to accept these; and, as a punishment, the Khalifa confiscated their goods and closed their shops. This brought them to reason; and, on agreeing to accept them at their whole value, their property was restored; but they were warned that, if they made any further difficulties, they would be punished by the loss of the right hand and left foot. The natural outcome of these arbitrary measures was an immediate rise of prices to compensate for the difference in value between the new and old dollars; of course, all the Khalifa knew was that the dollar had been accepted, and with that he was satisfied.

Another source of income realised by Ibrahim Adlan was the organisation of the sale of slaves; it was now arranged that slaves of both s.e.xes should be sold at a certain specified place near the Beit el Mal. The vendor was obliged to make out a bill, endorsed by the Beit el Mal, admitting that the object of negotiation was absolutely and entirely the property of the purchaser; and for this bill a tax was levied.

The Beit el Mal was now arranged in the most comfortable manner possible; it was removed from the vicinity of the mosque, and located in a large walled enclosure near the river. Adlan had special buildings erected for his own clerk, for counting-houses, and for drug-stores where the old medicines which had escaped destruction in the sack of Khartum, were now deposited; he also erected large grain stores. In fact, Ibrahim Adlan was ambitious enough to endeavour to make his position rank next to that of the Khalifa in importance; and, while doing all he could to remain in his good graces, he did not forget that the latter was also to a large extent in the hands of the Kadis, or religious judges, of whom the chief was Ahmed Wad Ali, Kadi of Islam.

All lawsuits and quarrels of a public or private nature, as well as Government litigation, were brought before the Court of Kadis to be decided; and, in accordance with the Khalifa's instructions, they were supposed to execute judgment as laid down in the Sheria Mohammedia (Religious Law), the Manshur el Mahdi (Instructions of the Mahdi), and El Ishara (Signs and Commands of the Khalifa). The natural result of this was, that, instead of upholding the law, they became the prime abusers of it. It frequently happened that the "instructions" of the Mahdi differed entirely with the religious law; and then, besides this, the "signs and commands" of the Khalifa had also to be observed,--that is to say, each case was judged in accordance with the Khalifa's wishes; and it invariably happened that judgment was given in favour of the Mahdi or Khalifa, even in private quarrels in which, in order to obtain some personal advantage, the Khalifa frequently and most unjustifiably interfered. In the Kadi el Islam, the Khalifa had a most faithful servant, ever ready to obey his master's wishes to the letter, no matter how grossly the law was misapplied. Human life was of no account; and the Kadi and his colleagues would, without the smallest hesitation, give a judgment utterly opposed to right and truth, and which would have the most direful consequence on perfectly innocent persons. In order to qualify the grossest miscarriages of justice, he would publicly announce from his pulpit, that he himself would be perfectly prepared to submit to this jurisdiction, and that should any one consider himself in the smallest degree oppressed by the judgment just given, he had only to appeal to the Court of Kadis. On one occasion, a dweller on the White Nile, who had been recently, and very unjustly, dismissed from his position as Emir, believing in the genuineness of the Khalifa's statement, summoned him to appear before the Kadis. He complied with the summons, and entered the mosque where the judges were sitting in an att.i.tude of complete submission; and, the news having got about that the Khalifa had been invited to appear before a Court of Justice, an immense crowd collected to hear the proceedings. The plaintiff, Abdel Minem, stated that he had been wronged by the Khalifa, having been dismissed by him from his position as Emir, which he had held during the whole period of the Mahdi's rule, and that he was popular with his own tribe, who did not wish him removed. The Khalifa, having dismissed him because he suspected him of leanings to the party of Khalifa Sherif, defended himself by saying that he had summoned him on several occasions, in order to give him some important instructions, but that he was never to be found either in his house or in a place of wors.h.i.+p, which was a proof that he was neglectful in matters of religion, and that it was on this account he had dismissed him. Without the slightest hesitation, the court gave judgment in favour of the Khalifa; and the plaintiff was flogged until he bled, carried off to prison, and, on his way there, was almost lynched by the mob.

The whole country, however, rang with the praises of the Khalifat el Mahdi and representative of the Prophet, who, so great was his sense of justice, did not fear to appear in the court, side by side with his own subjects, and submissively await the judgment of the Kadis. But in order to delude the public with the idea that he was of a most kind and forgiving nature, he released his antagonist the following day, and presented him with a new jibba and a wife.

CHAPTER XII.

EVENTS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE SUDAN.

Karamalla's Expedition to the Bahr el Ghazal--Madibbo's Quarrel with Karamalla--Affairs in Darfur--Execution of Madibbo--Defeat and Death of Sheikh Saleh el Kabbas.h.i.+--Capture of Charles Neufeld--My Interview with Him--Arrival of Abu Anga's Army in Omdurman--Destruction of the Gehena Tribe--The Conspiracy of "Saidna Isa"--Abu Anga's Campaign in Abyssinia--Sack of Gondar--Terrible Fate of the Captives--Osman Wad Adam's Campaign in Darfur--Death of Sultan Yusef--Instances of the Khalifa's Tyranny--Building of the Mahdi's Tomb--Letters from Home--Death of my Mother--Death of Lupton--Nejumi ordered to invade Egypt.

Mohammed Khaled had left Sultan Yusef, the son of Sultan Ibrahim, and the legitimate successor, as chief Emir of Darfur. He was quite a young man, and endeavoured to strengthen his position by soliciting the good-will of Abu Anga and his a.s.sistant, Osman Wad Adam, who then resided at El Obeid. Every now and then he sent them quant.i.ties of horses and slaves; and they, in their turn, sent what they thought advisable to the Khalifa. Khaled, on leaving Darfur, had taken with him almost all the Mahdists who were inhabitants of the Nile valley; Yusef, therefore, found himself governing the land of his forefathers princ.i.p.ally by means of his own subjects; and the latter, in their turn, a.s.suming that his government would be mild, fully appreciated the change.

Shortly after the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa had sent messengers to Karamalla, in the Bahr el Ghazal, instructing him to leave the country, and come, with all his troops, to Shakka. Karamalla, after Lupton had surrendered the country, had taken possession of the province, and had proceeded to Suda, and forced the mutinous Sultan Zemio to quit his residence, which he had fortified under the directions of Dr. Junker.

Zemio had barely escaped with his life, and, taking with him some of his wives, had left most of his treasures of ivory in Karamalla's hands.

After this success, Karamalla had moved in a southeasterly direction into the Equatorial Provinces, which were then under the rule of Emin Pasha, and was just approaching the Nile, when he received the orders to turn back.

Had it not been that he had the full support of his own countrymen, Karamalla could not have obeyed the Khalifa's command; for it was an operation of great difficulty to induce the Bazingers to leave their own homes and go to Shakka. However, after the evacuation of the Bahr el Ghazal, several of the Gellabas had hurried from Darfur and Kordofan to join Karamalla, and procure ivory and slaves for themselves. In consequence, the riverain element, consisting princ.i.p.ally of Jaalin and Danagla, represented a considerable portion of the force, and it was impossible for the Bazingers to refuse to return. Thus, partly of his own free-will, and partly from stress of circ.u.mstances, Karamalla returned, bringing with him an immense number of female slaves, whom he had kidnapped from the districts through which he pa.s.sed. In spite of all his precautions, several of his Bazingers managed to escape on the march with their arms; but he had still at his disposal over three thousand rifles on his arrival at Shakka, where he sold his enormous quant.i.ties of male and female slaves to the dealers, who paid him in ready money.

Like a sensible man, he sent some of the money and the pick of the slaves, by his brother Suleiman, to the Khalifa; and the latter, much pleased with his present, ordered him to remain at Shakka. Both Abu Anga, and Osman Wad Adam also came in for a fair share of the spoil.

At Shakka, however, Karamalla conducted himself as if he were ruler of the whole country, and perpetrated every description of tyranny and extortion. Madibbo, the Emir and ruler of this part of these districts, reproached him bitterly; but Karamalla, who had seized a number of horses and slaves from the Rizighat Arabs, told him to mind his own business. Several of the malcontents now rallied round Madibbo, and this was exactly what Karamalla wanted. He sought an excuse for a quarrel; and when Madibbo, who had been ordered to appear before him, refused to obey the summons, he proceeded against him as a rebel. A fight took place; Madibbo was defeated, and fled towards Darfur; while Karamalla followed him up through Dara as far as the neighbourhood of El Fasher, and had thus an opportunity of seeing for himself the richness of the country. He now requested Sultan Yusef to follow up and capture Madibbo; whilst he himself returned to Dara, where he settled down, much to the annoyance and disgust of Sultan Yusef's officials. Madibbo was captured by Zaguna at about two days' distance from Fasher, and was handed over to Sultan Yusef; and the latter sent him, under escort, to Abu Anga in Kordofan, and at the same time took occasion to complain of Karamalla's conduct. The latter, however, had written direct to the Khalifa in Omdurman, informing him that the Furs were trying to revive the dynasty, and that Sultan Yusef was only a Mahdist in outward appearance. Abu Anga had also forwarded the letters he had received from Sultan Yusef; and now the Khalifa had to choose between Karamalla and Yusef; but, with his usual astuteness, he did neither.