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diff --git a/old/52226-0.txt b/old/52226-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0ed0bb6..0000000 --- a/old/52226-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10680 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Prisoner of the Khaleefa: Twelve Years -Captivity at Omdurman, by Charles Neufeld - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: A Prisoner of the Khaleefa: Twelve Years Captivity at Omdurman - -Author: Charles Neufeld - -Release Date: June 3, 2016 [EBook #52226] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A PRISONER OF THE KHALEEFA: *** - - - - -Produced by Roberta Staehlin, RichardW and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - A Prisoner of the Khaleefa; Twelve Years’ Captivity at Omdurman. - By Charles Neufeld. - - - - -A PRISONER OF THE KHALEEFA - -[Illustration: NEUFELD IN CAPTIVITY.] - - - - - A PRISONER OF · · - · · THE KHALEEFA - - Twelve Years’ Captivity at Omdurman - - BY - CHARLES NEUFELD - - _WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS AND PLANS_ - - LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LD. - 1899 - - - - - PRINTED BY - WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED. - LONDON AND BECCLES. - - - - - Dedication - TO - PUBLIC OPINION - - CHARLES NEUFELD - - - - -CONTENTS - - -INTRODUCTION - -The calumnies of critics—My female slave—Real object of my -journey—Preliminary arrangements—General Stephenson’s letter . . . 1–7 - -CHAPTER I - -I START FOR KORDOFAN - -Engagement of guides—A neglected warning—Hasseena accompanies the -party—Dervishes reported on the road—Non-arrival of Hogal—Dervishes -sighted at Selima Wells . . . 8–14 - -CHAPTER II - -BETRAYED BY GUIDES - -Different routes over the desert—A quarrel amongst the guides—Scouts -sent out—Hassan convicted of error—Zigzagging in the desert—A council -of war—Surprised by the dervishes—The fight—Taken prisoners . . . 15–28 - -CHAPTER III - -IN THE HANDS OF THE DERVISHES - -Conference of the Emirs Farag and Hamza—Halt for the night—Baggage -looted by dervishes—The Emirs confiscate all treasure for the -Beit-el-Mal—Cross-questioned on my letters—Called a Government -spy—Tortured by dervish guards—Rescued by Hamza and reserved for Wad en -Nejoumi . . . 29–40 - -CHAPTER IV - -ARRIVAL IN DONGOLA - -Display of dervish horsemanship—Flogging among the Ansar—Hasseena is -searched—Insults of the rabble—I am brought before Nejoumi—I declare -myself a merchant—Evidence of a Christian girl-convert against -me—Execution of fourteen Arabs of the party—I am re-examined and sent -to the Khaleefa . . . 41–52 - -CHAPTER V - -THE REAL HISTORY OF THE CAPTURE - -Extracts from newspaper and official accounts—The antecedents of the -guide Gabou—Dissensions in the Kabbabish tribe—Gabou schemes for his -own section—Hassan’s part in the matter—Gabou reveals the plot to -Nejoumi and enlists Hogal on his side—The Emirs prepare to intercept -me—Capture of the caravan—Hogal’s deceit and its excuse . . . 53–63 - -CHAPTER VI - -DONGOLA TO OMDURMAN - -Preparations for the journey—Nejoumi’s friendly disposition to the -Government—His loss of faith in the Mahdist movement—Why the guide Amin -was executed—Horrible death of an old Arab woman—In the market-place -of Omdurman—First meeting with Slatin—I am chained and tortured—I -defy the Khaleefa—A mock execution—The Khaleefa is merciful—Slatin -intervenes—Letter to Mankarious Effendi—Imprisoned by Slatin’s -advice . . . 64–79 - -CHAPTER VII - -THROWN INTO PRISON - -Methods of shackling—My first night in prison—Hasseena sent to the -head-gaoler’s hareem—Mahmoud Wad Said—Ajjab Abou Jinn—The three sons -of Awad el Kerim—Sheikh Hamad El Nil—Ahmed Abdel Maajid and his -bride—Lessons in Mahdieh—I visit Khartoum in chains—Again before the -Khaleefa—My chains removed . . . 80–92 - -CHAPTER VIII - -PRISON LIFE - -Prayers—Night in the Abou Hagar—Possibilities of escape—News from -Egypt—Idris-es-Saier—His methods of extortion—A prison homily—Effectual -blackmail . . . 93–104 - -CHAPTER IX - -MY FIRST CHANCE OF ESCAPE - -Ahmed Nur ed Din—His relations with Gabou—We plan an escape—Death of -Nur ed Din—My sickness and recovery—Treatment of typhus—I decline -to be converted—Meal-time in the Saier—Father Ohrwalder’s charity—A -famine—The struggle for food—Ministrations of Hasseena—Mutual help -amongst the prisoners . . . 105–119 - -CHAPTER X - -PRISON JUSTICE - -Escapes from the Saier—The advantages of matrimony—Tactics of the -gaolers—I become doctor to the hareems—Discipline amongst women -prisoners—My first flogging—The gaoler dismissed—Method of flogging—I -am flogged again—My mental agony . . . 120–133 - -CHAPTER XI - -A SERIOUS DILEMMA - -Newspaper calumnies—Hasseena’s condition—A disputed -paternity—Mohammedan laws of marriage and divorce—I decide to claim -the child—Idris disputes the claim—A jury of matrons decides in my -favour—Birth of “Makkieh”—The Khaleefa’s congratulations—Joseppi, the -German baker . . . 134–144 - -CHAPTER XII - -IBRAHIM WAD ADLAN - -Friendship with Wad Adlan—His directorship of the Beit-el-Mal—The -Khaleefa grows jealous—Adlan thrown into prison—The advantages -of trading—Adlan reinstated—I design the Mahdi’s tomb—Letters to -Mankarious Effendi—The guide Moussa Daoud el Kanaga—Reports from -Egypt—Escape of Joseppi—Treachery of spies—Disgrace and death of -Adlan . . . 145–159 - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE TRUE HISTORY OF MY ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE - -Letters of the German Consul and my manager to Mankarious—Kanaga’s -visit to Cairo—He receives a letter to Slatin—He is captured at -Berber and turns back—The War Office letter to my wife—My answer to -calumnies . . . 160–169 - -CHAPTER XIV - -A PRISONER AT LARGE - -Belief in evil spirits—Shwybo as an alchemist—He is flogged for -his pains—I am told to make saltpetre—Released from my fetters—The -gunpowder factory at Halfeyeh—Death of Makkieh—I am transferred -to Khartoum—Our gunpowder a deliberate failure—Visits of Father -Ohrwalder—News of his escape . . . 170–184 - -CHAPTER XV - -DIVORCED AND MARRIED - -Hasseena’s thievish propensities—I am compelled to divorce her—The -Khaleefa finds me a wife—I forestall his good offices—Umm es -Shole—Mohammedan divorce and re-marriage—A further dilemma—The second -child dies—Hasseena proves irreclaimable . . . 185–194 - -CHAPTER XVI - -HOPE AND DESPAIR - -Mankarious’ first envoy returns—Arrival of second envoy—Rossignoli’s -guide Abdallah—Projected method of escape—Abdallah’s treatment -of Rossignoli—Slatin escapes—My chains redoubled—The Khaleefa’s -fury—Slatin’s reputation amongst the Mahdists—His letter read to -the Muslimanieh—Confiscation of his wives and property—My deliverer -returns—I am again in the Saier . . . 195–208 - -CHAPTER XVII - -A NEW OCCUPATION - -Nahoum Abbajee engages me—Emptiness of the treasury—Unsatisfactory -state of the currency—I am transferred to the arsenal—I design -blocks for the Mint—We do great damage—The Khaleefa’s buried -treasure . . . 209–215 - -CHAPTER XVIII - -MY SECOND IMPRISONMENT - -Idris a reformed character—He ensures my kind treatment—Fauzi’s first -night in prison—Kadi Ahmed’s captivity—His death by starvation—Death -of Wad Zarah—Letters from Europe—My replies—My reflections in -prison . . . 216–225 - -CHAPTER XIX - -RUMOURS OF RELIEF - -Khartoum again—Thoughts of Gordon—At work in the arsenal—Extracting -precious metals—Chemical experiments—The troops advancing—I invent -a powder-mill—Its manifold defects—I scheme to gain time—Wholesale -destruction of metal—Repairing a steamer—My letter to Onoor—In a fever -for news . . . 226–241 - -CHAPTER XX - -PREPARING TO RECEIVE THE GUNBOATS - -In the Saier as a visitor—I send intelligence to the English—Anxiety -amongst my circle—Embassy from Abyssinia—The Khaleefa’s reply—Mahmoud -disobeys orders—Defeat of Osman and Mahmoud at the Atbara—Manufacture -of torpedoes—I decline to assist—My chains redoubled—The torpedoes -explode—I become a centre for Government sympathizers—Frustrating the -mines . . . 242–256 - -CHAPTER XXI - -NEARING THE END - -Conflicting rumours—Appeals to prophecy—I suggest a night attack—I send -more information to the army—Mad struggle with a gaoler—Negotiations -with Idris—The Khaleefa sallies out—The gunboats open fire—I -go mad—Arrival of fugitives—The riderless horse—The Khaleefa’s -despair . . . 257–268 - -CHAPTER XXII - -AT LAST - -Threats of the prisoners—The routed army in flight—Macdonald’s -brigade—Illuminating the Ratib—Soudanese sang-froid—Sheikh ed Din -repulsed—Attack upon Macdonald—Destruction of Yacoub—Flight of the -Khaleefa—His narrow escape from the Sirdar—The Sirdar enters the -prison—We meet—The head-quarters’ mess—Mr. Bennet Burleigh—My German -tongue forsakes me . . . 269–280 - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE SIRDAR AND SAVAGE WARFARE - -The looting of Omdurman—Soudanese troops to the rescue—Genial -horseplay—A war correspondent’s article—The Sirdar errs in giving -quarter—Lex talionis—The ferocity of wounded dervishes—No succour -desirable—A challenge to correspondents . . . 281–288 - -CHAPTER XXIV - -BACK TO CIVILIZATION - -High hopes—Disillusionment—Attitude of the War Office—I am forced to -defend myself—Newspaper calumnies—The News Agency representative—A good -Samaritan—Sir George Newnes . . . 289–299 - -CHAPTER XXV - -HOW GORDON DIED - -Conflicting accounts—A hero’s death—Hope deferred—Gordon’s last -night—Value of my testimony—Father Ohrwalder’s evidence—“Ten -Years’ Captivity” criticized—Justification of Gordon—The trader as -missionary—A tribute to Gordon . . . 300–324 - -APPENDICES - -I. Hassan Bey Hassanein . . . 325–331 - -II. Orphali . . . 332–337 - -III. Letter dictated by the Khaleefa to General Stephenson . . . 338–339 - -IV. Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi—Gordon’s favourite officer . . . 340–345 - -V. Ahmed Youssef Kandeel . . . 346–348 - -VI. The Soudan: its Past, Present, and Future . . . 349–359 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -1. Neufeld as found by the Sirdar . . . _Frontispiece_ - -2. An Arab Guide . . . 8 - -3. The Khaleefa’s Eunuchs at Attention . . . 37 - -4. The Khaleefa’s Tender Mercies . . . 45 - -5. Sheikh ed Din’s Eunuch in his Master’s Marriage-Jibbeh . . . 64 - -6. Writing under Difficulties . . . 77 - -7. A Group of Prisoners . . . 84 - -8. Learning the Mahdi’s Ratib . . . 94 - -9. Idris-es-Saier . . . 103 - -10. Catarina . . . 114 - -11. A Flogging by Order of the Khaleefa . . . 129 - -12. Meal-time in the Saier . . . 143 - -13. Moussa Daoud el Kanaga . . . 154 - -14. Mankarious Effendi with Guides . . . 164 - -15. Umm es Shole and two Children . . . 189 - -16. Said Bey Gumaa . . . 203 - -17. Fauzi Pasha in Dervish Dress . . . 218 - -18. Neufeld’s Hut in the Saier, showing the Famous Anvil . . . 223 - -19. Onoor Issa . . . 226 - -20. Powder-machines . . . 236 - -21. A Group—from Photograph taken at the Feast of Beiram, 1899 . . . 242 - -22. Neufeld doubly fettered . . . 252 - -23. Shereef, the “False Fourth Khaleefa” . . . 263 - -24. The Flag of Khaleefa Shereef . . . 273 - -25. Trophies taken at Omdurman . . . 282 - -26. Khaleel Agha Orphali . . . 303 - -27. Hassan Bey Hassanein . . . 325 - -28. Fauzi Pasha in Uniform . . . 340 - -29. Ahmed Youssef Kandeel . . . 346 - -Map showing Proposed Route and Route actually taken by Caravan . . . 15 - -Sketch accompanying Author’s Account of Capture . . . 23 - -Plans of Palace at Khartoum illustrating the Death of Gordon . . . 334 - - - - -|1| - -A PRISONER OF THE KHALEEFA - -INTRODUCTION - - -Within seventy-two hours of my arrival in Cairo from the Soudan, -I commenced to dictate my experiences for the present volume, and -had dictated them from the time I left Egypt, in 1887, until I had -reached the incidents connected with my arrival at Omdurman as the -Khaleefa’s captive, when I became the recipient of a veritable sheaf of -press-cuttings, extracts, letters, private and official, new and old, -which collection was still further added to on the arrival of my wife -in Egypt, on October 13. - -My first feelings after reading the bulk of these, and when the -sensation of walking about free and unshackled had worn off a little, -was that I had but escaped the savage barbarism of the Soudan to -become the victim of the refined cruelty of civilization. Fortunately, -maybe, my rapid change from chains and starvation to freedom and -the luxuries I might allow myself to indulge in, brought about its -inevitable result—a reaction, and then collapse. While ill in bed I -could, when the delirium of fever had left |2| me, and I was no longer -struggling for breath and standing room in that Black Hole of Omdurman, -the Saier, find it in my heart to forgive my critics, and say, “I -might have said the same of them, had they been in my place and I in -theirs.” But the inaccuracies written and published in respect to my -nationality, biography, and, above all, the astounding inaccuracies -published in connection with my capture and the circumstances attending -it, necessitate my offering a few words to my readers by way of -introduction; but I shall be as brief and concise as possible. - -I have, both directly and indirectly, been blamed for, or accused -of, the loss of arms, ammunition, and monies sent by the Government -to the loyal Sheikh of the Kabbabish, Saleh Bey Wad Salem. Some have -gone so far as to accuse me of betraying the party I accompanied into -the hands of the dervishes; a betrayal which led eventually to the -virtual extermination of the tribe and the death of its brave chief. -The betrayal of the caravan I accompanied _did_ lead to this result; it -also led me into chains and slavery. - -According to one account, I arrived at Omdurman on the 1st or 7th of -March (both dates are given in the same book), 1887; yet, at this -time, to the best of my recollection, the General commanding the Army -of Occupation in Egypt, General Stephenson, was trying in Cairo to -persuade me to abandon my projected journey into Kordofan. In a very -recent publication, in the preface to which the authors ask their -readers to point out any inaccuracies, I am credited with arriving as -a captive at Omdurman in |3| 1885, when at this time I was attached -as interpreter to the Gordon Relief Expedition, and stood within a few -yards of General Earle at the battle of Kirbekan when he was killed. It -is probable I was the last man he ever spoke to. - -The guide and spy who reported my capture and death on the 13th or 14th -of April, 1887, only reported what he thought had actually happened, -as a possible result of arrangements he had made; while the refugee -Wakih Idris, who reported in August, 1890, that I was conducting a -large drapery establishment in Omdurman, must have been a Soudanese -humorist, and, doubtless, hugely amused at his tale being believed -in the face of the Mahdi’s and Khaleefa’s crusade against finery and -luxuries (although the tenets may have stopped short at the entrance -to their hareems), and when every one, from the highest to the lowest, -had to wear the roughest and commonest of woven material. A drapery -establishment is generally associated with fine clothing, silks, -ribbons, and laces; in Omdurman, such an establishment, if opened, -would have been consigned to the flames, or the Beit el Mal, and its -proprietor to the Saier (prison). - -Yet again, when I am more heavily weighted with chains, and my gaoler, -to evidence his detestation of the Kaffir (unbeliever) entrusted to -his charge, goes out of his way to invent an excuse for giving me the -lash, I am reported as being at liberty, my release having been granted -on the representations of some imaginary Emir, who claimed it on the -ground that I had arranged the betrayal of Sheikh Saleh’s caravan. |4| - -There is one subject I must touch upon, a subject which has made the -life of my wife as much of a hell upon earth during my captivity, as -that captivity was to me; and a subject which has caused the most -poignant grief and pain to my near relatives. I refer to my Abyssinian -female servant Hasseena. The mere fact of her accompanying the caravan -opened up a quarry for quidnuncs to delve in, and they delved for -twelve long years. It is needless to dilate upon the subject here; -suffice it to say that if, when my critics have read through my plain -narrative, they have conscience enough left to admit to themselves -that they have more injured a woman than the helpless, and in this -particular connection, ignorant captive, who has returned to life to -confront them, and if they try in future to be as charitable to their -own flesh and blood as some of the savage fanatics were to me in the -Soudan, I shall rest content. - -My narrative, and here I wish to say that it is presented as I first -dictated it, notwithstanding my being confronted with, as it was put to -me, “contradictions” based upon official and semi-official records and -reports, may be depended upon as being as correct a record as memory -can be expected to give of the events of my twelve years’ existence, -from All Fools’ Day, 1887, when, in spite of all warnings, I rode away -from life and civilization to barbarism and slavery. - -At the beginning of 1887, Hogal Dufa'allah, a brother of Elias Pasha, -a former Governor of Kordofan, came to me at Assouan and suggested -my accompanying him to Kordofan, where large quantities of gum |5| -were lying awaiting a favourable opportunity to be brought down, -he possessing a thousand cantars (cwts.). The owners of the gum -were afraid to bring it to the Egyptian frontier, believing that -the Government would confiscate it. Hogal was of opinion that if I -accompanied him, we should be able to induce the people to organize -a series of caravans for the transport of the gum, he and I signing -contracts to buy it on arrival at Wadi Halfa, and guaranteeing the -owners against confiscation by the Government. Letters and messages, -he said, would be of no avail; the people would believe they were -traps set for them by the Government, and it was out of the question -for us to attempt to take with us the large amount of money required -to purchase the gum on the spot. I being looked upon as an Englishman, -and an Englishman’s word being then considered as good as his bond, -Hogal was sure of a successful journey; so it was finally agreed that -Hogal and I should make up a small caravan, and get away as early as -possible. At this time, February, 1887, the loyal sheikh, Saleh Bey -Wad Salem, of the Kabbabish tribe, was holding his own against the -Mahdists, and had succeeded in keeping open the caravan routes of the -Western Soudan. - -Hogal and I came to Cairo to make various business arrangements, and -while here I called upon General Stephenson and Colonel Ardagh, and -asked permission to proceed. They tried to persuade me to abandon -what appeared to them a very risky expedition; but, telling them that -I was bent upon |6| undertaking it, permission or not, I was asked -if I would mind delivering some letters to Sheikh Saleh, as a visit -to him was necessary to procure guides for the later stages of the -journey. I was also to inform him verbally that his request for arms -and ammunition had been granted; that he should send men at once to -Wadi Halfa to receive them; and that a number of messages to this -effect had already been sent him. General Stephenson evidently gave the -matter further consideration, for, on calling for the letters, they -were not forthcoming. He said he would write to me to Assouan; but, he -continued, he would be glad if I would encourage Saleh, or any of the -loyal sheikhs I met, to continue to harass the dervishes, and let him -have what information I could on my return respecting the country and -the people. - -The precise circumstances under which I received his letter I have -forgotten, but my former business manager tells me that, one evening at -Assouan, he found lying on the desk an official envelope, unaddressed, -opened it, and was still reading the letter it contained when I walked -in, and exhibited great annoyance at his having seen it. This was -the letter from General Stephenson to me, referred to by Slatin and -Ohrwalder. I remember it but as a sort of private communication, not -in any way official; and I think it well at an early moment to state -so, as it has been borne in upon me that there is an impression in -certain quarters that I might, on the strength of references made to it -in Father Ohrwalder’s and Slatin |7| Pasha’s books, make some claim -against the British Government, and I consider it advisable to say at -once that no such idea ever occurred to me. - -Completing our arrangements in Cairo, Hogal and I started south, Hogal -going to Derawi to buy camels for the journey to Kordofan, and I going -to Assouan and Wadi Halfa to make final arrangements and prepare food -for the desert journey. - - - - -|8| - -CHAPTER I - -I START FOR KORDOFAN - - -Before leaving Assouan for Cairo, I had made an agreement with Hassib -el Gabou, of the Dar Hamad section of the Kabbabish tribe, and Ali el -Amin, from Wadi el Kab, to act as guides for us as far as Gebel Ain, -where we hoped to find Sheikh Saleh. Gabou was in the employ of the -military authorities as spy, receiving a monthly gratuity or pay. He -and Ali el Amin were each to receive three hundred dollars for the -journey, a hundred and fifty dollars each to be paid in advance, and -the remainder at the end of the journey. On arrival at Gebel Ain, they -were to arrange for guides for us from amongst Saleh’s men. The route -we had chosen is shown on the accompanying plan, taken from a map -published by Kauffmann, a copy of which I had with me, and another copy -of which I have been fortunate enough to find since my return. - -[Illustration: AN ARAB GUIDE.] - -On arriving at Derawi, Hogal set about at once buying camels. Our party -was to consist of Hogal, Hassib el Gabou, Ali el Amin, my Arabic clerk -Elias, my female servant Hasseena, myself, and four men whom Hogal was -to engage, to bring up our party to |9| ten people, so that we might -be prepared to deal with any small band of marauding dervishes. Hogal -was to purchase camels from the Ababdeh, who possessed, and probably -still do, the best camels for the description of journey we were -undertaking. He was to take them into the desert to test their powers -of endurance, as, from the route chosen, they might have to travel -fifteen days without water. He was also to purchase extra camels to -carry water, so that if the necessity arose, we could strike further -west into the desert than arranged for, and be able to keep away from -the wells for thirty days. We were to take with us only such articles -as were essential for the journey; food, arms and ammunition, three -hundred dollars in cash, and our presents of watches, silks, jewellery, -pipes, and ornaments for the sheikhs we met. - -Hogal was to leave Derawi on or about the 20th March, and bringing the -camels through the desert on the west of the Nile, was so to time his -last stage as to reach Wadi Halfa at sunset on the 26th or 27th. The -guides, my clerk, servant, and myself were to slip over by boat, and -our caravan was to strike off west at once. Our departure was to be -kept as secret as possible. - -On my reaching Shellal after leaving Hogal at Derawi, I was overtaken -by an old friend, Mohammad Abdel Gader Gemmareeyeh, who, having learned -in confidence from Hogal the reason for his purchasing the camels, -hurried after me to warn me against employing Gabou as guide, as he -knew the man was not to be trusted. He told me that Gabou was acting -|10| as spy for friend and foe, and was being paid by both, but this -I did not then credit. I laughed at the man’s expressed fears, and -telling him that as Hogal and I were to direct the caravan, and Gabou -was to accompany us as guide, I had no intention of abandoning a -journey, at the end of which a small fortune awaited me. I knew very -well that not a single person was to be trusted out of sight and -hearing, but as there was no reason why Gabou should not be kept within -both, there was equally no reason why I should have any fears. Besides -this, I was vain enough to believe that perhaps I might, as a result -of my journey, be able to hand to the military authorities a report of -some value, and the halo of romance, which still hung over everything -Soudanese, was in itself no little attraction. - -I reached Wadi Halfa about March 23, and set to work quietly with final -arrangements. Hasseena had elected to accompany us, and this on the -suggestion of Hogal, his reasons being first, that being accompanied -by a woman, the peaceful intentions of our little caravan would be -evidenced; secondly, that Hasseena, when the slave of her old master -of the Alighat Arabs, had on a number of occasions made the journey -between El Obeid, Dongola, and Derawi, and would be of great use to -us in hareems in very much the same way that a lady in civilized -countries, having an _entrée_ to a salon, is occasionally able to -further the interests of her male relatives or friends; and in the -East, _all_ women have the _entrée_ to hareems. - -The morning after my arrival at Wadi Halfa I |11| heard that forty -of Sheikh Saleh’s men, led by one of his slaves, Ismail, had already -arrived to take over the arms and ammunition. Gabou came to me the -same day, and suggested our abandoning the proposed expedition, as he -was afraid that the dervishes might hear of Saleh’s men coming in, and -send out bands to intercept the caravan on its return, and we might -fall into the hands of one of them. Believing that Gabou was simply -trying to induce me to add to his remuneration for the extra risks, -I told him I should hold him to his agreement. A day or two later, -seeing that I was determined to go on, he suggested that we should, for -safety, accompany Saleh’s men, but this I objected to. The Kabbabish -were fighting the dervishes, and lost no opportunity of pouncing down -upon any small bands, and I had no particular wish to look for more -adventures than my expedition itself was likely to provide. There was -also the question of time; Sheikh Saleh’s baggage camels would only -move at the rate of about a mile an hour, while ours would cover two -and a half to three miles easily. - -On March 24, I received a telegram from Hogal, then at Assouan, -announcing his arrival there with the camels, and his intention to -come on at once, so that he should have reached Wadi Halfa on the 28th -or 29th of the month. Gabou now exhibited particular anxiety that we -should join Saleh’s party, and took upon himself to make an arrangement -with them. On my remonstrating with him, he said that if the dervishes -were on the road, they would certainly be met with between Wadi Halfa -and the Selima Wells, |12| or, maybe, at the wells themselves, and -this was the only part of our route where there was any likelihood of -our coming in contact with them, our road, after Selima, being well -to the west. “Now,” said he, “if Saleh’s caravan goes off, and the -dervishes on the road are not strong enough to attack, they will allow -the caravan to pass, but wait about the roads either in the hope of -getting reinforcements in time to attack, or with the hope of attacking -any smaller parties.” He believed the dervishes might go on to the -wells, and encamp there, so that in either case we should fall into -their clutches. It was Gabou’s opinion that Sheikh Saleh’s caravan was -strong enough to annihilate the dervish bands, which he _now_ said he -had heard were actually on the road. This decided me. I asked him why -he had not told me of this before. He had forgotten to do so! - -The 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st of the month passed, and still no -appearance of Hogal and the camels. Ismail was impatient to be off, and -Gabou suggested, that as my camels must be close at hand, Hasseena, -Elias, El Amin and I should start with Saleh’s caravan, he following us -as soon as our camels arrived. My camels being in good condition, and -unloaded, would, he said, overtake the caravan in a few hours, and he -was very anxious to test them for trotting speed while overtaking us. -We were joined at Wadi Halfa by about twenty Arabs of different tribes, -bringing our caravan up to sixty-four men and about a hundred and sixty -camels. Gabou gave us as guide for Selima, a man named Hassan, also of -the |13| Dar Hamads. Crossing to the western bank of the Nile early -on the morning of April 1, 1887, by ten o’clock we had loaded up and -started on that journey to the Soudan, which was to take me twelve long -years to complete. - -When we had been two days on the road, I began to feel a little uneasy -at the non-appearance of my camels; but thinking that maybe Gabou -had purposely delayed starting so as to give them a stiff test in -hard trotting, I comforted myself with this reflection, though as day -after day passed, my anxiety became very real. On the night of April -7, we judged we must be close to Selima Wells, and sent out scouts to -reconnoitre; they reached the wells, and returned saying that they -could not find traces of any one having been there for some time. Our -caravan reached the wells between nine and ten o’clock in the morning, -and about midday, while we were occupied in watering the camels and -preparing food, we heard a shot fired from the south-east, and shortly -afterwards one of our scouts came in saying that he had been sighted by -a party of about twenty men on camels; one of the men had fired at him -at long range, and the whole party had then hurried off to the south. - -A hurried conference was held; it was the general opinion that this -party must be scouts of a larger one, and that they had gone off for -the purpose of apprising their main body. Ismail decided upon pushing -on at once. There was little time for me to consider what to do; to -return to Wadi Halfa was out of the question, as Ismail could not spare -any of his men as a |14| bodyguard; to wait at the wells was not to -be thought of, and the only other alternative was to go on with the -caravan. I told Elias to write out short notes for Hogal and Gabou, -which I had intended to leave at the wells; but as Ismail pointed out, -I should have to leave them conspicuously marked in some way to attract -attention, and, if the dervishes got to the wells first, or if those -we had seen returned with others, they would be the first to get the -notes, which would endanger our caravan, and the little party I was so -anxiously expecting. There was nothing for it but to go on and hope for -the best. If the worst came to the worst, it meant only that my gum -expedition was temporarily delayed, and that I should, after reaching -Sheikh Saleh, take my first opportunity of getting north again. - -[Illustration] - - - - -|15| - -CHAPTER II - -BETRAYED BY GUIDES - - -There are five caravan routes running from Selima Wells—that furthest -west leading to El Kiyeh, the next to El Agia, and the one in the -centre leading to the Nile near Hannak, with a branch running to -Wadi el Kab. Our objective being to meet Sheikh Saleh at Gebel Ain, -we should have taken the route leading to El Agia, and this we had -selected, because, as it was well out in the desert, there was little -likelihood of our encountering any roving bands of dervish robbers. -When we had been on the road a few hours, I ventured the opinion that -we had taken the wrong route, and a halt was called while I examined -the map I had with me, after which examination I felt certain that we -were marching in the wrong direction. The guide Hassan was equally -certain that we were on the El Agia road. A discussion ensued, which -was ended by Hassan telling me, with what he intended to be withering -sarcasm, “I never walked on paper” (meaning the map); “I have always -walked on the desert. I am the guide, and I am responsible. The road -you want us to go by leads to El Etroun (Natron district), |16| sixty -marches distant; if we take your road and we all die of thirst in the -desert, I should be held responsible for the loss of the lives, and -your paper could not speak to defend me.” Hassan’s dramatic description -of the scene of his being blamed by the Prophet for losing these -valuable lives if he trusted to a “paper,” had more to do with his -gaining his point than pure conviction as to whether we were on the -right road or not. From El Agia, as Saleh’s men said, they knew every -stone on the desert, but in this part they had to trust to Hassan. - -During the whole of this first day we forced the baggage camels on at -their best pace, travelling by my compass in a south and south-easterly -direction. The arrangement I had made with Gabou for my own caravan, -which arrangement Ismail had agreed to when Gabou suggested our -travelling with them, was that we should travel a little to the west -of the El Agia camel tracks, but keep parallel to them. When we halted -that night I spoke to Ismail about this, and asked him to keep to this -part of the agreement—that is to say, to travel parallel to, and not -on, the track. Hassan objected, as it meant slower travelling. Still -pressing on after a short rest, Hassan zigzagged the caravan over stony -ground with the object of losing our trail, as our caravan, consisting -of about 160 camels, was an easy one to track up. - -We travelled fast until mid-day of the 10th, when we were obliged -to take a rest owing to the extreme heat. We were in an arid waste; -not the slightest sign of vegetation or anything living but |17| -ourselves to be seen anywhere. Off again at sunset, we travelled the -whole night through, my compass at midnight showing me that we were, -if anything, travelling towards the east, when our direction should -certainly have been south-west. At our next halt I spoke to Ismail -again, but Hassan convinced him of his infallibility in desert routes. -The following morning, the 11th, there was no disguising the fact about -our direction: the regular guides travel by the stars at night-time, -but they laugh at the little niceties between the cardinal points, -as Hassan laughed at me when I tried to get him to believe in the -sand diagram I showed him, with the object of proving to him that a -divergence increases the further you get away from the starting-point. -El Amin now joined me in saying that he thought we were on the wrong -road, but Hassan was prepared. He had, he said, during the night, -led us further into the desert to again break our trail, and that he -was now leading us to the regular road. El Amin replied that it was -his opinion that Hassan had lost the road in the night, and now was -trying to find it. This led to a lively discussion and an exchange of -compliments, which almost ended in a nasty scuffle, as some were siding -with Hassan and others with El Amin. - -Acting upon my advice, men were sent out east and west to pick up the -regular caravan route. Hassan declared that a branch of the regular -road would be found to the east, Amin and I declared for the west. -Hassan took two men east, and Amin, accompanied by two others, went -west. About an hour after sunset |18| both parties returned. El Amin -arrived first, and reported that they had failed to find any trace of -the road. Hassan came shortly afterwards, and, having heard before -reaching Ismail of the failure of the others, came up to us jubilant -and triumphant, as a road had been picked up where he said it would. -They had not only picked up the road, but had come to the resting-place -of a caravan of fifteen to twenty camels, which could only be a few -hours ahead of us, as the embers of the caravan’s fire places were -still hot. I judged it best to be silent on the subject of the route -now, though Amin, jibed and scoffed at by the victorious Hassan, was -loud in his declarations that we were on the wrong route, and that -Hassan had lost his way; this nearly led to trouble again between him -and the two men who had accompanied Hassan, as they considered their -word doubted. - -We travelled east during the night, and crossed the road which Hassan -had, during the day, picked up. But there was a feeling of uncertainty -and unrest in the caravan. One after another appealed to me, and I -could but say that I was still convinced my “paper” was right and -Hassan wrong. El Amin, pricked to the quick, spread through the caravan -his opinion that Hassan had not lost his way, but was deliberately -leading us in the wrong direction. When we halted on the 12th, Ismail, -noticing the gossiping going on, and the manner of his men, decided -upon sending out scouts to the east to see if they could pick up -anything at all in the way of landmarks. El Amin joined the scouts, -who were absent the whole day. They |19| returned at night with the -news that we were nearer the river than El Agia Wells, and on this, -our fourth day from Selima, we should have been close to El Agia. This -report, coming not from El Amin only, but from Saleh’s own people who -knew the district, created consternation. Again the “paper” was called -for, and on this occasion Hassan was told that the paper knew better -than he did. - -That night scene of betrayed men, desperate, with death from thirst -or dervish swords a certainty, can be better imagined than described. -There had been no husbanding of the drinking-water, and it was almost -out; many, in the hurry of departure from Selima, had not filled -their water-skins. There was no doubt now that we were, as I had said -from the beginning, on the road to Wadi el Kab, and travelling in the -enemy’s country. But Hassan, threatened as he was, had still one more -card to play. He acknowledged that he had lost his way, but said this -was not altogether his fault; we, he said, had been travelling hard, -and, feeling sure he was on the right track, he had been careless, -or had neglected to look out for the usual marks, and that this was -because Amin and I had annoyed him at the beginning of the march, as to -the road. He now said that we were well to the west of El Kab, and on -its extreme limits where the wady disappeared into desert water could -be found, and being so far west, it was most improbable that we should -find any dervishes there. Another council was held. Hassan was for -continuing in an easterly direction; I proposed west, |20| believing -now that the wady would be found to the west; while Ismail, advised by -Amin, elected for a southerly direction. At last it was agreed that -Ismail, Hassan, and some men should ride hard in a south-westerly -direction, in the hopes of picking up some branch caravan route leading -to El Agia. The remainder of the caravan, with myself and Amin, were to -travel easily in a southerly direction for five hours, and then halt -and await the return to us of Ismail. - -We halted between three and four in the afternoon, but no sooner had -we done so, when a heavy sandstorm burst upon us. There are varieties -of sandstorms as there are of most other things, but this was one of -the worst varieties. The air becomes thick with the finest particles, -which gives one more the idea of a yellow fog in the north than of -anything else I might liken it to. We were obliged to wrap our own and -the camels’ heads in cloths and blankets to protect ourselves, if not -from suffocation, from something very near it. The storm lasted until -after sunset, and as it must have obliterated all traces of our tracks, -scouts were sent out to sight Ismail. Up till midnight no signs of him -were forthcoming. Breaking up what camel saddles we could spare, we lit -fires to attract his attention to our position, and as these burned -low, shots were fired at intervals of five minutes. After ten or twelve -shots had been fired, I recommended that volleys of five should be -fired at the same intervals, and when I believe six had been fired, we -heard Ismail calling to us from the darkness. He had encountered the -sandstorm, but evidently had had |21| a worse time of it than we had. -He had heard our volleys, and had replied with single shots, but these -we had not heard. - -On reaching the caravan, Ismail ordered the fires to be put out, and -the camels to be at once loaded and their fastenings well looked to. -The rifles were cleared of the sand which had accumulated on them, -and Ismail went round inspecting everything for himself. I called him -aside and asked him what he had discovered. He whispered one word, -“Treachery,” and returned to his inspection of the animals. When he -had satisfied himself of the arms being in readiness, and the cases so -secured that if the camels bolted they would not be able to throw off -their load very easily, he gave the orders to march. Ignoring Hassan -completely, he led us west, sending out as scouts, on fast camels, Darb -es Safai and El Amin, my guide; but at sunrise they came back to us, -saying that not a trace of road could be found. - -I cannot weary my readers with a day-to-day record of our zigzagging -in the desert—one day Hassan in the ascendant as guide, another day El -Amin, and from this time I cannot pretend to remember the exact day on -which particular incidents happened. There were too many incidents to -attempt a complete record, even with a diary, had I kept one. - -El Amin had confided to me and Ismail his firm conviction that Hassan -was doing all this purposely, and that he knew precisely whereabouts -we were, as he had noticed him making some sort of calculations, and -drawing lines with his camel-stick in the sand. |22| - -Perhaps it was because I did not wish to, that I could not credit the -implied treachery. Gabou and Hassan belonged to the Kabbabish tribe, -and as the rifles and ammunition we were carrying were to assist -Sheikh Saleh to fight the common enemy, what object could there be in -betraying us? Saleh’s men would certainly fight to the death; betrayer -and betrayed would run equal risks of being killed—indeed, the betrayer -would almost certainly be killed instantly by those he was leading. I -therefore dismissed the idea from my head, took it for granted that the -man had actually lost his way, and declined to fall in with El Amin’s -suggestion to say “good-bye” to the caravan, make straight for the -Nile, and take our chances of passing clear as merchants, should we -meet any people on the road. - -[Illustration: Sketch accompanying author’s account of capture] - -On, I believe, our sixth day out from Selima, we crossed a caravan -route running east and west, and, referring to my map, I had no -hesitation in telling Ismail that this must be the caravan route -between El Kab and El Agia, but on which part of the road we were I -could not imagine. I wanted to attempt travelling along this road, -but Hassan declared it led to El Kiyeh. That we must now be close to -Wadi el Kab, every one knew. A “council of war” was held, at which it -was decided to risk going on, as we must be travelling towards the -wells on the extreme edge of the wady. We were to try and pick up the -wells, water the camels, fill our skins, and then strike direct west -and encamp at night-time, not to remain near the wells. While we were -discussing the situation, some |23| men had been sent along the -road to try and discover anything in the way of marks or tracks which -would give an idea as to our exact position, and they reported that -there could be little doubt of this being El Kiyeh road, and that El -Kiyeh must be six days distant. This news decided us. Our water-supply -was out. A six days’ march over that desert under such conditions -meant perishing of thirst, and there was, again, the uncertainty as to -whether we should be, after all, on the road to El Kiyeh or El Etroun. - -One of the camels was ailing, so it was decided to kill it, and let -the men have a good meal of meat. Early the next day, I believe our -eighth or ninth day from Selima, an Alighat Arab was sent scouting to -the west; he never returned. We halted and waited for his return as -arranged, and lost the night’s travel in consequence. On the following -day, unmistakable landmarks were picked up, which proved that we were -but a few hours distant from the Wadi el Kab, and it was believed we -could reach the wells by sunset. Unloading the camels, and leaving -four men in charge of the baggage, we started off for the wells, -expecting to return the same night. We travelled without incident -until about two o’clock in the afternoon, when we reached the broken -ground skirting the wady proper. My guide, El Amin, and two men, had -been sent on ahead to reconnoitre. The place is dotted with sand-dunes -and hillocks from fifty to a hundred feet high, and on nearing the -first hillock, and when approximately at “A,” we heard a shot fired. -El Amin and his companions had then reached the spot |24| marked “G” -on the accompanying plan; we believed the shot to be a signal that -they had found water, and pressed on until we reached “B,” when shot -after shot was fired, the bullets whistling over our heads. At this -moment we saw Amin and his companions hurrying back to us. Next came -some broken volleys, but all the shots were high. Up to now we had not -seen our assailants, but the smoke from the rifles now discovered their -whereabouts—the hillock marked “C.” - -I was slightly ahead of the main body, with Hassan, the guide, some -yards away on my right. Being mounted on a large white camel, well -caparisoned, and wearing a bright silk Kofeyeh on my head, I offered -an excellent mark, and shot after shot whistled over me. I was turning -my camel round to hurry back to the main body, when I saw Hassan fall -to the ground. Calling to my clerk Elias, who was nearest to him, to -help him back on the camel, or make the camel kneel to cover him, I -tried to get mine to kneel so that I could dismount, but the brute was -startled and restive. Elias called out that Hassan was “mayat khaalass” -(stone dead). Our men were now quickly dismounting and loading their -rifles. Bullet after bullet and volley after volley came, but no -one was struck as yet except Hassan. Making the camels kneel, as a -precaution against their bolting, we advanced in open order towards -the hillock from whence the shots came, I on the extreme left, Ismail -in the centre, and Darb es Safai on the right. Rounding the hillock -“C,” we caught the first glimpse of the enemy, about fifty strong, and -then rapidly retiring. |25| We fired a volley into them, on which they -turned and replied, and a pretty hot fusilade was kept up for some -minutes, but the firing was wild on both sides. I saw two of our men -fall, and about eight to ten of the dervishes. Picking up their dead -or wounded, they hurried off again, leaving two camels behind. Darb -es Safai, who was leading the right, and was now well in advance, was -the first to reach the camels, and discovered that they were loaded -with filled water-skins. Calling out, “Moyia lil atshan;[1] Allah -kereem!” (“Water for the thirsty; God is generous!”), he commenced to -unfasten the neck of one of the skins. A mad rush was made for the -water; arms were thrown down, and the men struggled around the camels -for a drink. I tried for a few seconds, when I reached them, to counsel -moderation, knowing the effect of a copious draught on the system under -the circumstances and condition they were in. Some of the men had been -three days without water, and the camel flesh they had eaten had not -improved matters. - - [1] _Moyia lil atshan._ - (Water for the thirsty.) - -While the struggle was still in progress, Hasseena, who with Elias had -followed us up, ran to me saying that the dervishes were returning, -and, looking in the direction of “E,” I saw about a hundred and fifty -men advancing at a rapid pace. I raised the alarm, and Ismail gave -the call to arms; but few heard his voice in the din. Those few fired -a few shots, but it was now too late; in a moment the dervishes were -upon us, friend and foe one struggling mass. Above the noise could be -heard the voice of the dervish leader reminding |26| his men of some -orders they had received, and to “secure their men alive.” Even in -that moment it flashed upon me that we had been led into an ambush, -else why the reference to “our master’s orders” given by their leader? -Elias, Hasseena, and I ran towards “F” to take cover; it was no use my -using my fowling-piece on that struggling mass, as I should have struck -friend and foe. Just as we reached the base of the hillock, Elias was -captured, and the five or six dervishes who had pursued us occupied -themselves with examining the contents of the bag he was carrying—my -three hundred dollars, jewellery, etc. They gave a mere glance towards -me, and then moved off. - -Pushing a few stones together, I laid out my cartridges, reloaded my -revolvers, and prepared to die fighting. Ismail, the leader of our -caravan, had by some means managed to get clear of the mass, and, -reaching my camel, mounted it and rode off, riding hard to the right of -“F.” Seeing Hasseena and me, he called to us to try and secure camels -and follow him up. Hasseena on this ran down the hillock; I had not -noticed her disappearance from the immediate vicinity of the hillock, -as I was too much occupied hurriedly making my diminutive zareeba -of stones. Glancing over the stones later, I was astonished to see -her walking at the head of the dervishes who had secured Elias, they -following in Indian file. Hasseena called out that I was given quarter, -and that I was to stand up unarmed. This I refused to do, and as they -kept advancing, I kept my gun pointed at them from between the stones. -Hasseena again called out, |27| saying that they had orders not to hurt -me, in evidence of which they fired their rifles into the air, and then -laid them on the sand. - -By this time I could see that our men were bound, and grouped together -on the plain; I left my cover, descended the hillock, and advanced to -the dervishes, when I was saluted with yells and cries of “El Kaffir, -El Kaffir” (“the unbeliever”). One, maybe more fanatical than the -rest, after vituperating me, made a motion as if to strike at my head -with his sword. Looking him in the eyes, I asked, “Is this the word of -honour (meaning quarter) of your Prophet and master; you liar, you son -of a dog? strike, unclean thing!” While, as is only to be expected, -I was at that moment trembling with fear and excitement, I had lived -too long in the East to forget that a bold front and fearless manner -command respect, if not fear. My words and manner had the desired -effect, for one, turning to my would-be assailant, asked, “What are you -doing? Have you forgotten our master’s orders?” This was the second -time something had been said about “orders.” I put a few questions to -my captors, but they declined to reply to them, saying that I could -speak to the Emirs Hamza and Farag, and they hurried me towards them. -The Emir, whom later I knew to be Farag, asked my name, and what I -wanted in his country; then, turning to his followers without waiting -for a reply, called out, “This is the Pasha our master Wad en Nejoumi -sent us to capture; thanks be to God we have taken him unhurt.” The -latter remark was |28| made as a reproof to the man who had threatened -to strike me, as the incident had been reported, and also as a warning -to the others. - -Taking me apart from the others, he continued, “I see you are thirsty;” -and, calling up one of his men, told him to pour some water over some -hard dry bread, and, handing it to me, said smilingly, “Eat—it is not -good for you to drink.” I divined his meaning. Had our men not made -that mad rush for the water, we might have had a very different tale to -tell, and who knows if, had we won the day and reached Sheikh Saleh, -the history of the Soudan for the past twelve years might not have read -differently? _Mine_ would have done so. - - - - -|29| - -CHAPTER III - -IN THE HANDS OF THE DERVISHES - - -I was handed over to two men, who were held responsible for my -well-being; Hasseena and Elias were placed together in the charge of -others, and we were ordered to seat ourselves a little distance away. -The dervishes had with them military tents which must have been taken -at Khartoum, and one was soon pitched. Here the Emirs and principal -men met to hold a conference and inquiry. Darb es Safai and others -were taken up one by one, and the question put to them direct, “Where -are the rifles and the cartridges?” for no case had, of course, been -brought on with us to the wells. They denied any knowledge of them; -then replied Farag, “We will find them for you, and show you how they -are used.” My turn came, and in reply to the usual question, I said -that I knew nothing at all about them; questioned still further, I -admitted that I had seen a number of boxes, but I could not pretend to -know what was inside of them. Asked then as to where they were, I said -I could not tell—in the desert somewhere; they had been thrown away, -as the camels, being tired and |30| thirsty, could not carry them any -longer. Still interrogated, I replied that the guide who had brought us -here was the first killed in the firing, and that I did not think any -one else of our caravan could find their way back to the place where -the boxes were left. - -At this, rapid glances were passed from one to the other. Asked if I -was sure he was killed, I could only reply that my clerk had told me -so, that I had seen him fall, and indicated the place. Farag sent off -a man in that direction after whispering some instructions to him, and -during the few minutes he was away perfect silence reigned in the tent, -with the exception of the click, click of the beads of the _Sibha_ -(rosary). When he returned, he whispered his reply to Farag. Two of -the Alighat Arabs who had joined us at Wadi Halfa were next brought -up and questioned; they did not give direct replies; they were taken -aside, but not far enough away to prevent my overhearing part of what -went on, when, as a result of promises and then threats, I gathered -that they undertook to lead the dervishes to the spot where the cases -had been left in the desert. It is quite certain, from the questions -put by the dervishes, that they were ignorant of the precise spot where -the baggage had been left, and it in a measure confirmed the death of -Hassan; but I have always had a suspicion that the man shammed death -and got away, to present himself later on to Nejoumi. He might easily -have mingled with the dervishes and not been seen by us. - -The sun had now set; the conference ended, and orders were given by -Farag for all to march back by |31| the route we had come, the Alighat -Arabs, with Amin between them, leading. We marched for only an hour -or so, for our camels, being tired and not having been watered, gave -trouble. A halt was called for the night, and what water the dervishes -had was partly distributed. By sunrise the next day we were on the -march again, twenty-five men, well mounted, having been sent on in -advance with the guides. All Saleh’s men, wounded and sound, were -compelled to walk, the dervishes and their wounded riding on camels. - -In the afternoon we reached the spot where we had left the four men in -charge of the baggage, to find them with their hands bound behind them. -The advance party had reached them about ten o’clock in the morning, -and had doubtless found them asleep, as no shots had been fired. The -men were not to be blamed in any way, and it really mattered but little -whether they were asleep or awake when taken, with the odds against -them. I had, on starting for the wells, left them the little water I -had saved; had they not had this, they could not have slept. - -In the same way that Saleh’s men had forgotten everything in that mad -rush for the water, so did the dervishes break loose, forget all about -their prisoners, and rush on the pile of cases. The ground was soon -littered with rifles, packets of ammunition, sugar, clothing, food, -and the hundred and one articles to be found in a trading caravan, -for the cases and bales of the Arabs who had joined us at Wadi Halfa -contained only merchandise. My mind was soon made up; running towards -the other prisoners with my |32| hunting-knife, I thought that at all -events the thongs of a few might be cut, and making for the camels and -scattering in different directions, a few might have got clear. It was -a mad idea, but it was something. Before any part of my half-formed -plan could be put into execution, the guards were down on us. I was -taken to the Emir, Said Wad Farag, but I excused myself, saying that, -being a medical man, I had gone to see if I could attend to any of the -wounded. Complimenting me on my thought for the others, he recommended -me to think of myself, appropriated the knife the guards had found in -my hand, and told me he would let me know when to use it, warning me at -the same time not to attempt to speak to any of the other prisoners. - -When the excitement over the loot had cooled down a little, a camel was -killed in honour of the occasion, and my servant Hasseena was ordered -to prepare some of the dishes. I was invited to eat with the Emirs. -Our first dish was the raw liver of the camel, covered with salt and -shetta—a sort of red pepper. I had seen this dish being eaten, but had -never partaken of it myself before. I had two reasons for eating it -now: first, I was hungry and thirsty; secondly, one of the first signs -of fear is a disinclination, I might say inability, to swallow food, -and fear of my captors was the last thing I intended to exhibit. After -the meal, my clothes were taken from me, as they looked upon them as -the dress of a kaffir, and I was turned out into the night-air with -my singlet, drawers, and socks as my complete wardrobe. My turban and -Baghdad |33| Kofiyeh were also taken, so that I was bareheaded into -the bargain. - -When the dervishes had finished their food, and before they lay down -for the night, the Emir Farag sent for all the loot to be collected -and brought before his tent, when it would later on be distributed -according to the rules of the Beit-el-Mal (Treasury). This institution -and its working will be described later. Only a part of the loot was -collected, for the men, knowing from experience the extraordinary -manner in which loot “shrank” in bulk and numbers when placed in the -hands of the Emirs to be distributed according to rule, concealed in -the sand or beneath their jibbehs, whatever could be hidden there. The -pipes and tobacco found in the baggage were burned, as their use was -prohibited by the Mahdi. Amongst my things was found my letter-wallet, -and this was handed to the Emirs, who afterwards sent for me and -demanded to know the contents of the letters. I replied that they were -only business documents, receipts for goods, and such like, but that -if the wallet was handed to me, I would translate each document. Being -satisfied with this answer, Farag kept the wallet. Complaining of my -clothing having been taken, he allowed me to have my flannel shirt, -and gave me a piece of rag as head-dress. In this guise, I lay down -in the sand to doze and wake the whole night through, conscious yet -unconscious, with the incidents of the last eighteen days chasing each -other through my brain. - -The camp was astir long before sunrise, and by sunrise we were on the -move east towards El Kab, |34| which we reached about three o’clock -in the afternoon. The “wells,” at the part we arrived at, are upon -ascending ground; but the name “well” in this instance is a misnomer. -They are shallow basins scooped out with the hands or any rough -implement, the water being found about three feet below the surface, -shrubs indicating where to scoop. The camels were watered and left to -graze on the scanty herbage. Another camel was killed to celebrate the -capture of the caravan, and again I was invited to take food with the -Emirs. I was asked only the most commonplace questions, but I could not -get any reply to those I put, except that Abdel Rahman Wad en Nejoumi -would tell me all I wished to know. While still with the Emirs, Farag -called up his followers again, and after congratulating them upon -the capture of the “English Pasha” and the caravan (though the Emir -knew very well who I was, from old days at Korti), he harangued them -on the advisability of obeying to the letter the orders of the Mahdi -transmitted to the Khaleefa, and by the Khaleefa to him, winding up -his oration with threats of punishment and imprisonment to any of the -faithful who robbed the Beit-el-Mal by concealing any of the loot, -after which he ordered every one to be searched again. I had many -opportunities later of seeing evidences of what the Emirs most relied -upon, in regard to the handing over of any loot—an exhortation to their -followers, and an appeal to their religious scruples—or threats of -punishment and imprisonment. Both went together, and were administered -in the order I have given them, and there was seldom an |35| occasion -when a search did not follow the appeal to their honesty, and when -punishment did not follow the search for concealed loot. - -Wad Farag dismissed me for the night, but I had hardly lain down when -two dervishes stole up, and asked me to describe all the baggage I -had with me. I said that a list would be found in my wallet, which, -if they would bring to me, would allow of me giving them the required -information. One left me, for the purpose, I imagine, of asking the -Emir for the wallet, but returned shortly saying that I should _have_ -to remember, and that the list I then gave would be compared with the -list in the wallet. There was no list in the wallet, but there were one -or two letters I wished to extract. I have thought since that, had I -exhibited less anxiety to get hold of the wallet itself, I might have -induced them to hand over these letters under one pretext or another. I -soon discovered from their questions that the dervishes were spying one -upon the other, for they asked me directly what were the contents of -the bag taken from Elias my clerk. I told them three hundred dollars, -gold and silver jewellery, and some jewellery which my servant Hasseena -had asked Elias to carry for her. Hasseena was sent for to describe her -jewellery. The information evidently gave these men huge satisfaction, -and taking Hasseena with them, they sent her back with cooking -utensils, food and firewood, and ordered her to prepare food for me. -Having had my food with the Emirs but a little time before, I was at -a loss to understand the meaning of this, but learned later on |36| -that it was to prevent any one else approaching her for information. -Whether these two men were, as they said, in charge of the Beit-el-Mal, -or whether, having seen any of the money or jewellery, they wanted to -get their share of it, I cannot say, but, in the light of subsequent -events, I should be inclined to believe the latter. - -When the food was ready, I invited my guards to eat it. I was hoping -that a full meal, especially as their fatigue was very evident, would -induce them to sleep, and feigning drowsiness myself, moved off a few -yards, and scooped out a sand bed. I was prepared to risk anything for -liberty; we were in the neighbourhood of the wells, and might travel -for days without being out of reach of water. Explaining my plans to -Hasseena, I told her, under the pretence of collecting firewood, to try -and get up to Amin and Elias, cut their thongs with the large knife we -had had to cut up the meat sent us for food, and tell them to creep -towards a small tree which I had noticed during daylight, and await -me there. Some camels with their feet fastened by ropes were grazing -there, and I believed that we might get away unobserved, and get some -hours’ start. But the guards of the prisoners were not asleep; they -were very much awake, searching the prisoners for any valuables, an -operation which was carried out by each relief of guards, so that the -sun rose with us still in the hands of the dervishes. - -[Illustration: THE KHALEEFA’S EUNUCHS AT ATTENTION.] - -It was just after sunrise that we moved off again; my guardian must -have been impressed with my importance, for he saddled the camel for me -himself, and |37| brought me a gourd of camel’s milk. During this -day’s journey, the Emir Mohammad Hamza, of the Jaalin tribe, who was -commanding a section of the dervishes, rode up to me and inquired about -my health—the usual form of salutation. He told me not to be afraid of -any harm coming to me, and then rode off again. That evening we arrived -at a small encampment of dervishes close to some wells, when I was -taken before another Emir whom I was told was Makin en Nur, and who, -from the deference paid him by the others, was doubtless the chief. -He, too, put a few questions to me of the same commonplace nature as -the others, and waved his hand for me to be removed. On being sent for -again, I was accused of being a Government spy, and asked what I had -to say for myself. I replied, “I have told you the truth; what do you -want me to do now? tell you a lie, and say I _am_ a spy? If I do so -you will kill me for saying I am one, and if I say again I am _not_, -you will not believe me, and kill me just the same. I am not afraid of -you; do as you please.” When he questioned me again, I said, “I refuse -to answer any more questions.” My manner of speaking to them caused -no little surprise, as it was doubtless different to what they had -expected, and to what they had formerly experienced from captives. - -A young dervish was called in, and told to conduct me to a spot -removed from the other prisoners. As we walked along, the youth said, -“God is just; God is bounteous; please God to-morrow our eyes shall -be gladdened by seeing a white Kaffir yoked with |38| a shayba to -a black one.” This shayba is the forked limb of a tree; the fork is -placed on the neck pressing against the larynx, the stem projecting -before the wearer; the right wrist is then tightly bound to the stem -with thongs of fresh hide, which soon dry and “bite” the flesh, and the -ends of the fork drawn as closely together as possible, and fastened -with a cross-piece. It is a cruel instrument of torture, for the arm -must be kept extended to its utmost; to attempt to relieve the tension -means pressure on the larynx; but when yoked to another man he throws -pressure on you, and you on him. A prod in the ribs under the arm of -either victim, with sword or rifle, affords endless amusement to their -tormentors in the victims’ gapes and grimaces as they gasp for breath; -but the captor’s cup of happiness is filled when an extra hard prod -knocks one man off his feet, and the poor wretches are only helped up -again when they are almost choking. - -Irritated beyond endurance by the youth’s jibes and jests, and hoping -to put an end to everything at once, I threw my weight and strength -into one blow—and I was a powerful man then—and felled him senseless. -Taking his rifle, I strode back to the tent, almost foaming with rage, -and entered; my eyes must have been blazing; I glared from one to the -other, wondering whether to fire the one shot and then start “clubbing” -until I was cut down. Hamza was the first to speak, and jumping up, -held up his hand, saying, “Istanna” (wait). I hurriedly related what -had occurred, and said what I intended to do. Hamza |39| came to me, -saying, “La, la, la (no, no, no), there must be a mistake. You are not -to be put in a shayba; our orders are to deliver you alive and well.” -Then turning to the others, he continued, “Hand this man over to me; -I shall deliver him alive and well to Wad en Nejoumi; I hold myself -responsible for him.” Some demur was made, when, lowering the rifle, -I placed the butt on the ground, rested my chin on the muzzle, and -addressing myself to all, said that unless I was left in Hamza’s charge -I should press the trigger—on which my great toe was then resting. -Hamza again pressed his point, and said, “If you do not agree, and -this man does any harm to himself, I declare myself free of blame and -responsibility. I have heard of him; he will do as he says.” The effect -of the words was magical. “Take him away—keep him; do what you wish -with him; never let him come near us again—never. Never let him look -upon us with his eyes.”[2] - - [2] The Soudanese, indeed all Easterns, have a great horror of - the “Evil Eye;” and the grey and grey-blue eyes of Europeans - in anger, or even in a fixed stare, as I learned later, strike - fear, if not terror, into the hearts of most. - -Hamza, turning to me, said, “You must know now that our master, Wad en -Nejoumi, knew of your coming, and sent us to conduct you to him. His -orders were that you should be treated well; he wishes to speak to you. -I will give you security until Dongola, where he is waiting for you. I -do not know what he will do with you; maybe he will kill you—I cannot -say; but, for myself, I promise you will arrive in Dongola alive. If -anything happens to you, the Emir Wad en Nejoumi will kill me. Will you -|40| promise that you will leave yourself in my hands, will not try -to kill yourself, or attempt to escape?” I gave my promise, upon which -Hamza said, “Leave this man to me.” - -The conversation which took place between us was of much longer -duration than the above would appear to indicate, but I cannot pretend -to remember _all_ that was said after the twelve years’ interval; the -above is the gist of it. I handed Hamza the rifle, and he, taking me -by the hand in the Bedawi manner, led me out of the tent, and towards -his section of the dervishes. On the way, in a few hurried whispers, -he gave me to understand that he was really still a friend of the -Government, and that I might trust implicitly in him. On reaching his -people, he called four men to attend to me, and sending for Hasseena, -told her to prepare such food as I was accustomed to. Hasseena came in -rags; her clothes, like mine, had been taken from her. He ordered one -of her dresses to be returned, and on my showing him how the skin had -been burned off my back and shoulders with the sun, he ordered that I, -too, should be supplied with more clothing. - - - - -|41| - -CHAPTER IV - -ARRIVAL IN DONGOLA - - -Instead of our starting off the next morning at sunrise, a sort of -“fantasia” was held. This consisted of men riding up and down the -camp with mimic combats between individuals—a sort of circus display. -Stricter watch was placed over me, and my guards warned against -allowing me to hold conversation with any one. At sunset we were off -again, and the following day halted in the desert, El Ordeh (Dongola) -being then, I was told, a few hours’ distant. We rested probably a -couple of hours, and marched until evening, but had not yet sighted -Dongola. A final search was made for concealed loot, and a piece of my -leather bag having been discovered on one of the men, he was flogged, -and, offering to confess, confessed that he had found the bag empty on -the ground. His clothing, and that of his section was searched, and -resulted in the discovery of seventeen of my Turkish dollars; a further -application of the courbag resulted in the discovery of the remainder -of the three hundred dollars, and a third one, of the greater part of -the jewellery. The flogging and searching delayed us, |42| and instead -of travelling that night, we only got away in the morning, arriving -within sight of Dongola at noon, when men were sent in to report our -arrival. - -While awaiting the return of the messengers, discipline—what there -was of it—was relaxed, and the camp given over to jubilations. The -attentions bestowed upon me were not pleasant; both by words and -actions I was given to understand what the men hoped and expected would -be my fate. A respite was granted, when the man who had received the -floggings was brought to me so that I might certify that all the things -discovered on him and his companions were extracted from my cash-bag, -and that all the articles had been recovered. He seemed none the worse -for his experiences, and the matter was explained to me. When the Ansar -are flogged, upon an expedition, for a theft which, as the Emirs know, -every one would commit, so many stripes are ordered to be given; these -are given with the courbag (rhinoceros-hide whip) on the fleshy part of -the back, and over the clothing. - -He forgave me, and blamed the sugar for his discovery. The -sugar-loaves, which were part of the goods of the Arabs who had joined -the caravan at Wadi Halfa, had been broken up and distributed. At the -wells some of the men had been noticed dipping pieces in the water and -munching them, and none of the sugar having been handed in when the -loot was collected, the first search was instituted, and this resulted -in the discovery of other hidden loot. I do not happen to know who -might be |43| the “father of sugar,” but I trust that the curses and -imprecations showered on his head by my dervish friend may not reach -him. - -Hasseena was brought to be searched, and stripped naked; she cleverly -dropped my seal in the sand, and pressed it in with her foot. I -had asked her to get this seal from Elias, as, with this in their -possession, the dervishes might have written, through my clerk, -whatever letters they chose, and sealing them with my seal, have made -them appear authentic. Hasseena was again questioned as to who I was, -and persisted in saying that I was a merchant and not a Government -official, and while she was being threatened with the courbag, which in -this instance would have been applied as the cat-o’-nine-tails is at -home, the Emir Hamza came forward as a witness in my favour. Hamza was -another who, friendly as he was to the “Government,” had been driven -into the ranks of the dervishes. After the final search, a move was -made towards Dongola, opposite which town we arrived between two and -three o’clock in the afternoon. Before the town we descried a grand -parade of troops taking place, and as we halted a band struck up; from -the sound which reached us, the band must have been composed of bugles -and trumpets of all shapes, sizes, and pitch, with just as varied an -assortment of drums. In the medley they played could be heard snatches -of the so-called Khedivial hymn. - -When the prisoners had been ranged up in such a manner as to make their -exhibit most effective, and when I, as the prisoner of the occasion, -had been |44| placed in the midst of the Emirs, a signal was given, -on which the horsemen of the paraded army charged down upon us in -their much-lauded and over-rated exhibition of horsemanship. This -exhibition consists of individual and collective charges right on to -the opposing line of onlookers, a sudden pulling up of the horse which -throws it on to its haunches, a meaningless shaking of swords and -spears over one’s head, a swerve to the left or right, the direction -being dominated by the half-broken jaw for which the sudden pulling -up with the brutal ring-bit with which the horses are ridden (?) is -responsible; another charge, and so on until the rider is tired or the -horse jibs. This is the usual programme, but it is occasionally varied -by accidents to horses and riders and onlookers, as, for example, the -affair of Khaleefa Ali Wad Helu, who, some few days before the battle -of Omdurman, gave an inspiriting exhibition to the faithful in front of -the Mahdi’s tomb, in order to instruct them how to charge the British -lines, and spoiled the whole thing by being thrown, breaking his wrist, -laming the horse, and nearly killing half a dozen of his most ardent -admirers who were in the front rank. This is not fiction. - -[Illustration: THE KHALEEFA’S TENDER MERCIES.] - -The parade and exhibition, called El Arrdah, given in celebration of -our capture, lasted more than an hour, when a move was made towards -Dongola, and on arrival at the town, Wad Hamza and Wad Farag led me -to the gateway of Nejoumi’s enclosure. We were kept waiting at the -entrance for some time, and it was as much as my guards could do to -protect me from the rabble; the people were in a most excited |45| -state, and my position was not rendered any the more comfortable by -my understanding the language. I was prodded with spears and swords, -and maybe for a quarter of an hour—it may have been more, it may -have been less—I was subjected to as severe an ordeal for patience -as ever man was put to. Many of those in the rabble knew me from -pre-abandonment days, but the cringing supplicants of former days were -now my bitterest foes and tormentors. Curses and imprecations are such -common accompaniments in ordinary disputes in the East—disputes over -the most trivial matters—that little new could assail my ears in a -country where a child just learning to babble may be heard, in childish -innocence, to lisp to its mother, “Il la'an abook,” or a much shorter -expression which, owing to the large number now understanding Arabic, -I cannot here use, but both of which expressions are in constant use. -It was the suggestive actions—some of beheading, some of mutilations, -others of a description which I may not even hint at, which nearly -drove me to exasperation; they did so actually, but I controlled -myself, and did not allow my exasperation to exhibit itself in any way, -either by word or deed. - -On entering the enclosure, I was shown to a small room, on the floor of -which three people were sitting; one rose, and, taking my hand, said, -“El Hamdu lillah,” “Bis-Salaamtuk” (thanks be to God for your safety). -I was told to sit down. The three scrutinized me, and I returned their -gaze. For some moments nothing was said, and I was determined not to -be the first to break the silence. Presently food was brought |46| -in, and I was told to partake of it. As with the first meal with the -Emirs, I set to with a will, and continued eating after the others had -finished, taking not the slightest notice of my hosts. I was acting a -part, I admit, for indifferent as I might have appeared to all taking -place around me, I was at the same time “all eyes and ears.” - -When I had finished, the one who had first spoken to me, and whom I -had guessed was Nejoumi, “introduced” himself to me. He prefaced the -series of questions he put to me by saying, “Do not be afraid; I hope -it will be my pleasure to receive you into the true religion, and we -shall be good friends.” Nejoumi assured me that I should soon get -accustomed to my new mode of life, and would in the end bless him for -having saved me. He then told me that he knew perfectly well who I -was, and, not being a “Government man,” my life was safe at his hands, -but my property, having been found in a caravan of enemies, must be -confiscated. I did not follow his reasoning, nor was I allowed to, for -he sent me off to the house of the Amin Beit-el-Mal (storekeeper or -director of the Beit-el-Mal), with instructions that I should be well -attended to. Hasseena was sent into the hareem of the same house. - -Early the next morning Nejoumi sent for me, and upon arriving at his -enclosure, I saw that he had a number of Sheikh Saleh’s men under -examination. I learned later that some had admitted that I was once -in Government employ, and had fought against the Mahdi, but that now -I was a merchant only. There were, of course, numbers in the town who -remembered |47| me in connection with the expedition, and in order -to curry favour, they were not averse to credit me with exploits -and prowess which, if related to and believed in by the British -authorities, would have placed me upon an unearned pedestal. In this -instance they were related in the hope that I should be placed on -the now well-known “angareeb,” which in a few seconds would be drawn -away, leaving me suspended by the neck. When my turn for interrogation -came, my letter-wallet was handed to Nejoumi; he had, no doubt, had -the contents examined the night before. His first question was, “Which -are the Government papers?” I declared that there were none, and that -all the papers were business ones. He then inquired, “Are there no -papers from the friends of the Government?”—to which I answered, “There -may be; I am a merchant; I buy gum, hides—anything from the Soudan, -and sell them again to any one else who will buy them from me. It is -‘khullo zai baadoo’ (all the same) to me who the people are—friends or -enemies of the Government—provided they pay me. I gave good money for -what I bought, and wanted good money for what I sold.” Nejoumi then -told me that he had had the letters translated by a girl educated in -the “Kanneesa” (church) of Khartoum. General Stephenson’s letter had -been translated as a “firman” appointing me the “Pasha” of the Western -Soudan, with orders to wage war on the dervishes, for which purpose I -had been provided with money, rifles, and ammunition, and about forty -or fifty men as my personal bodyguard. - -At first I was dumfounded; then, serious as my |48| position was, -I could not restrain myself from bursting out laughing. I protested -that the translation was false, and asked to be shown the document. -I was not shown it. To a man whom I surmised was the Kadi, I said, -“If the letter is a ‘firman,’ then it should be written in Arabic, -as the Soudanese did not read or understand English.” This remark -appealed to Nejoumi, who said that he did not believe the translation -himself, _as it was quite different from the news he had received from -Hassib-el-Gabou_. I made inquiries about this black female convert to -Christianity, and learned that she knew not a single word of English, -but few of Italian, and, like the remainder of such converts so-called, -went to the mission for what she could get out of it. I have forgotten -her name, but hope to discover it before completing my notes, when I -shall give it. It would be interesting to learn how much Christian -money had been wasted on the education of this supposed convert, -married then to a Danagli, and a shining light amongst the most -fanatical of the women, who, with their songs and dances, fanned the -flame of fanaticism amongst the men. - -More of Saleh’s men were brought in and questioned—I questioned with -them. In the end, I admitted that General Stephenson’s letter asked me, -if I was passing Sheikh Saleh’s district, to tell him that arms and -ammunition were awaiting him at Wadi Halfa; but that I had nothing to -do with the sale of them, was proved by my arriving after they had been -taken over, and my papers would show that I had not sold them to him, -and that I was not going to collect the money for them, |49| as they -believed. The remainder of that conference is only a haze to me now, -but I remember that later the same day I was told that Nejoumi, pressed -by the other Emirs, had, in order to elicit the truth by frightening -the others, ordered the execution of fourteen of the Arabs who had -joined us at Wadi Halfa. Emin, my guide, for some reason or another -which I never discovered, was ordered to be executed at the same time, -and was first to be beheaded. My surmises upon this incident had better -be left to my next chapter. - -On the following morning, the Amin Beit-el-Mal ordered me to get ready -to attend a “fantasia” which Wad en Nejoumi had arranged, and at which -he had ordered me to be present; but, being his prisoner, I must appear -as one, for which purpose a light ring and chain was placed on my neck, -and a light chain fastened to my ankles. On arrival at Nejoumi’s place, -I found the Kadi trying to persuade Darb es Safai and about twelve or -thirteen of Saleh’s men to become Mahdists. Darb es Safai was their -spokesman. They scorned the exhortations of the Kadi, and heaped on his -head whatever insults they could. Nejoumi was present, and to him Darb -es Safai said, “We have ridden behind our master, Sheikh Saleh, and we -refuse to follow you on foot as slaves; we have come here to die—let -us die.” Being told that if they persisted in their stubbornness they -would be killed, Darb es Safai repeated, “We have come to die—let us -die.” I was then removed to a small mud hut, told to sit down, and -here hundreds of the populace came to see me, flinging at me all the -abuse their rich language is |50| capable of, striving with each other -to excel in virulence. Darb es Safai and the others had been marched -off a short distance, and set to dig a shallow trench; when this was -finished, they were ordered to kneel at its edge, and their hands were -tied behind them; this action is practically the declaration of the -death sentence. Es Safai asked to be beheaded last, as he wished to see -how his men could die. Only one jumped to his feet when a few heads had -rolled into the trench, when Es Safai called out, “Kneel down. Do you -not see these cowards are looking at us?” This was the “fantasia” I was -to have assisted at, but, by some misunderstanding, I was spared the -horrible spectacle. - -When the executions were over, my chains were removed, and I was again -taken before Nejoumi, and questioned as to what property I had in the -caravan, and also if I had any slaves. I said I might not possess -slaves, but had two servants—Elias, my clerk, and Hasseena, who was a -freed slave, and now my female servant. Elias had been cross-examined, -but had evidently, in his fright, contradicted himself time after time. -First he said he was my clerk, then he was the servant of some Ali Abou -Gordi of the Alighat tribe, then trading in the Soudan. Nejoumi told me -that, if Elias’s last tale was true, he could not be returned to me, -as he must be an enemy. I did my best for Elias, telling Nejoumi that -he was a good clerk and good writer, and that he might be very useful -to him in writing letters. Hasseena was brought in and protested that -she was my slave, not my servant; |51| that I had bought her, but, -as slaves were not allowed by the Government, I had had to give her a -_shehaada_ (certificate) declaring her free. Nejoumi made a present of -her to one of the men present, and on this Hasseena squatted on the -ground and refused to budge. She screamed to Nejoumi that he might, if -he chose, marry her himself, but said that whoever her husband might -be, he would die the same night, since she knew how to poison people -secretly. She knew nothing whatever about poisons, but this remark -probably was the reason for her being sent to the Khaleefa, as she -might be useful. She was sent back as “property” to the Beit-el-Mal. - -My ordeal was not yet over; other chiefs came in, and the conference -opened soon developed into a heated, if not acrimonious, discussion -and dispute. I did not know Soudani sufficiently to follow all that -was said, besides which three or four were speaking rapidly at the -same time; but I gathered that Nejoumi wished to keep me by him, as he -believed that I might be made useful in signing letters which my clerk -would have to write. The others, believing the girl’s translation of -the letter, were for despatching me to the next world, and sending my -head as a gruesome present to the commandant at Wadi Halfa, accompanied -by the supposed “firman.” It is not a pleasant experience to sit down -and hear your fate being discussed, conscious that the sentence will -be carried out immediately. No criminal ever scanned the face of a -jury on its return to court as I did those of my savage captors, with -ears strained to catch every familiar |52| word; and, difficult as -it is after all these years to attempt to give a real analysis of -one’s feelings then, I can remember gloating over the thought that, -if death were the sentence, I would spring at the throat of the first -Emir I could reach, with my nails buried in and tearing at the flesh, -until a blow would finish all, and so rob the fanatical horde outside -of the pleasure of seeing a hated “Turk” publicly executed. That the -recollection is no imaginary one may be guessed from the fact that, -when I asked about Gabou’s “health” at Assouan after my release, one -part of that conjured scene sprang up, and doubtless would have been -acted, had Gabou been alive. - -Nejoumi only partly won his point—I was to be sent to the Khaleefa. -Seven men were sent for, and Hasseena and I placed in their charge. -Nejoumi gave me some clothing, and also a hundred dollars from the -three hundred taken from me, and we were ordered off that night. - - - - -|53| - -CHAPTER V - -THE REAL HISTORY OF THE CAPTURE - - -(Extracts.) - - “He (Nejoumi) captured in the Oasis of Selima a large part if not - the whole of the rifles. This was mainly owing to the imprudence - of an enterprising German merchant named Charles Neufeld, who had - accompanied the convoy, and, desirous of obtaining a supply of water, - had descended to the Oasis, where he was captured by the enemy.” - - “. . . Most of them were killed, and a few, including Neufeld, were - taken captive to Dongola; there they were beheaded, with the exception - of Neufeld, who was sent to Omdurman, where he arrived on March 1, - 1887.” - - March 21, 1887.—“Sixty Kabbabish have arrived, sent by their chief to - take over arms and money.” - - May 15, 1887.—“Mr. Neufeld is reported to have diverged from caravan - of Kabbabishes to Sheikh Saleh to Bakah Wells, and to have been taken - prisoner by the dervishes, as well as a few Kabbabish letters are said - to have been captured; none from this office were entrusted to him” - (Blue Book No. 2, 1888—Nos. 50 and 90). - - “Neufeld was now free. His release was owing to one of the Emirs - representing to Abdullah Khalifa the great service Neufeld had been in - enabling arms and ammunition to be taken from the Kabbabishes at the - time Neufeld was captured” (Letter to Mrs. Neufeld from War Office. - Cairo, 10.3.90). |54| - -It would be as well to give at once the real history of my capture -as regards the circumstances and the arrangements made to effect -it. I received the details first from Ahmed Nur Ed Din, who, some -months after my capture, came to Omdurman on his own initiative to -try and effect my escape. His version was confirmed and amplified by -my intended companion Hogal, who again fell into the hands of the -dervishes in 1897, and was imprisoned with me until we were finally -released a few months ago. - -The treachery of Gabou has also been confirmed by Moussa Daoud Kanaga, -who has just arrived from the Soudan to meet me, he having heard of my -release and arrival at Cairo. Moussa was one of the Soudan merchants -with whom I had had many dealings in former days, and believing he -could do something towards effecting my escape, he, after many attempts -to reach me, finally succeeded in doing so in September, 1889. - -Instead of wearying my readers with snatches from one narrative and -the other, I will try, combining all, to make one clear and connected -story, having for this purpose deleted from the last chapter remarks -and questions put to me by Nejoumi at Dongola in order to introduce -them here. - -The guide I had engaged for the journey, Hassib-el-Gabou, belonged to -the Dar Hamad section of the Kabbabish tribe which was settled in and -around Dongola. Gabou was employed as a spy by the military authorities -on the frontier, but there is not the slightest doubt that he was at -the same time in |55| the pay of Wad Nejoumi. He related to each side -just sufficient to keep himself in constant good grace and pay, and -failing authentic news of any description, he was able to fall back -upon his intimate local knowledge, his double dealings, his knowledge -of the people and language, and a fund of plausibility which at the -present day would not pass current for five minutes. - -Between the Dar Hamad section, and the section acknowledging Saleh -Bey Wad Salem as their head, there were a number of old outstanding -jealousies which had not been settled; what they were all about I -cannot pretend to say, but one of the principal was, whether Sheikh -Saleh or the head of the Dar Hamads should be considered the senior. -It may not have been forgotten by those who have taken an interest -in Soudan affairs, that the existence of these tribal jealousies and -disputes between divided tribes was taken full advantage of by the -Mahdi and Khaleefa, in very much the same way as a political agent -runs one section of a party against another, and gains _his_ point, at -the cost and discomfiture of the others who, for the time being, were -unconsciously playing his game for him. Sheikh Saleh’s party were the -real Bedawi (men of the desert), and, therefore, more reliable than the -Dar Hamads, who had the “belladi” (town) taint or stigma attached to -them. - -Gabou’s first plan was, according to his lights, to act loyal to his -section of the tribe, and so to arrange matters that the arms intended -for his rivals, Sheikh Saleh’s section, should fall into the hands -of his people; with those arms turned against the |56| dervishes, -he might see his section come to the front as _the_ support of the -Government, and maybe be in possession of the coveted title of Bey -and a Nishan (decoration), if his plans succeeded. I have no doubt -that, had his first plan succeeded, he would have been prepared with -a plausible tale, and gaining any slight advantage over the dervishes -would certainly have atoned for his defections. His plan as originally -conceived was as follows:—First, he wrote to his own sheikh giving -him full details of the arms and ammunition awaiting Saleh’s caravan, -and there is every reason to believe that the letters sent by General -Stephenson to Sheikh Saleh in the first instance, were delayed by Gabou -until his plans were complete. The guide Hassan, whom I believed had -been engaged at the last moment, had been engaged some time before, and -fully instructed in the part he had to play. Gabou had promised his -people that after Sheikh Saleh’s caravan left El Selima Wells, they -would be led towards the Wadi el Kab instead of El Agia Wells, so that -even had we filled our water-skins at leisure at Selima, we should only -have been provided with four, instead of eight days’ water, and two -days on the desert without water has its discomforts. When a Bedawi -will travel two or three days without water and not murmur, it can be -better imagined than described what Gabou’s promise to hand us over -“thirsty” meant; it meant precisely what actually did occur—the madness -of thirst approaching—the lips glued together, the tongue swollen and -sore in vain attempts to excite the salivary |57| glands—the muscles -of the throat contracted, and the palate feeling like a piece of -sandstone, the nostrils choked with fine sand, and the eyes reddened -and starting, with the eyelids seeming to crack at every movement. Only -those who have experienced what we did during those last days on our -journey to Wadi el Kab, can fill in the missing details in the history -of Esau selling his birthright for a mess of pottage. - -The Dar Hamads, on receiving Gabou’s news, made their preparations; -arms buried in the ground to conceal them from the dervishes were -unearthed, but the very evident activity of the people excited the -suspicions of Wad Nejoumi. Believing that a revolt was intended, he -prepared to meet it; but, having his spies about, bits of the real -truth leaked out. Gabou was put to the test; either written messages or -messengers were sent to him by Nejoumi, asking about Saleh’s caravan -and the purposes for which they had gone to Wadi Halfa. When Gabou saw -that his first scheme had miscarried, rather than the caravan should -fall into the hands of his rivals, he preferred to reveal to Nejoumi -the plot he had planned for the benefit of his own people. It was on -this account that he had, as related, tried at one time to get me to -abandon the projected journey; and, as can be understood, there were -many reasons for his sending word to Nejoumi saying I was to accompany -the caravan. His keeping back of Ismail, the leader, day after day, was -only to allow of his messages reaching Nejoumi in time for him to make -complete preparations for intercepting us. |58| - -Hogal arrived at Wadi Halfa the very evening of our departure, and sent -over his message. Gabou met him and gave him his confidence. He told -Hogal the means he had used to try and get me to abandon the journey, -but that he dared not give me the real reasons, as he knew I should -report the matter, and his head would then be in danger; he had done -the best he could by letting Nejoumi know who and what I was. Still -dexterously playing his cards, and to keep Hogal quiet, he said that he -knew that the English were going away; they certainly would not take -him with them, and as he and Hogal had their family ties in the Soudan, -unless he worked with Nejoumi, his “good word” would be of no avail -to his family and friends when the dervishes came down to occupy the -abandoned towns. - -I trust that my readers are now beginning to see the light through -this dark conspiracy, and that I am making the narrative sufficiently -intelligible and clear without constantly requesting you to turn back -to earlier pages. - -Gabou, playing a double part himself, and being naturally suspicious -of every one in consequence, thought that I might have divined his -treachery when the camels did not overtake us, and might change our -route in consequence; these suspicions he communicated to Nejoumi. Had -he not done this, I might have forgiven him—for it was every one for -himself in those days. There was not the least necessity for him to -warn Nejoumi that we might change our route on discovering that the -guide was leading |59| us in the wrong direction, for had Nejoumi’s -men _not_ found us, Gabou would not have been blamed. - -Nejoumi, on receiving the news, despatched a large number of dervishes -under Wad Bessir to Umbellila, opposite Abou Gussi, and another -under Osman Azrak to El Kab opposite to El Ordeh (Dongola), and Said -Mohammad Wad Farag, Mohammad Hamza, Makin en Nur and Wad Umar to the -various wells in the Wadi el Kab, the latter having orders to keep -the Dar Hamads in check. I am giving this list of now famous names -from recollections of what I was told at Dongola and Omdurman, not for -the purpose of thereby investing with a halo of barbaric romance an -incident which was nothing more nor less than a bit of highway robbery, -but more with the idea, that should any of those named be still living, -and eventually come into the hands of the Government, they might be -questioned as to this affair, and their account compared with the -series of contradictory passages which head the present chapter. - -Wad Farag sent a flying party to Selima Wells, led by a slave of Wad -Eysawee, named Hassib Allah. It was Hassib Allah who had fired the -shot we heard on the day of our arrival at Selima. When taken before -Wad Nejoumi at Dongola, one of the questions put me was, “Did you see -any one, or hear a shot fired the day you reached Selima,” to which I -answered “Yes,” as regards the latter part of the question, thereby -making an everlasting friend of Hassib Allah, as a reward had been -promised to whoever should first sight us and hurry back to the main -body with the news; |60| he had fired the shot, so that the question -might be put. Even in this you may gauge the amount of faith or -confidence the Ansar had in the word of their Emirs, and the amount of -credence a European might give to their tales when they lied to, and -deceived each other with such charming impartiality. - -After despatching Hassib, Wad Farag divided his party, sending one -to the district between Wadi el Kab and the Nile, and the second, -commanded by himself, he led to the desert to intercept us. The Alighat -Arab sent out as a scout, who did not return, must have either been -captured by Farag, or what is more likely, as he was sent out by -Hassan, was an emissary of Hassan’s to Wad Farag or any of the other -dervishes to give them the news, as Hassan must have been aware of our -position and the proximity of the dervishes. The tracks we had picked -up on the road, when the embers of the caravan’s fires were found still -hot, were the remains of the fires of Hassib’s men, who had kept within -touch of us the whole time, only losing touch on the day following the -disappearance of the Alighats. - -On reaching the broken ground leading to El Kab, my guide Amin and -the two others had been allowed to pass unchallenged intentionally, -as the dervish plan was to form themselves into three parties, which -were to rush us from three sides at the same moment. It was in direct -disobedience of orders that the first shots were fired at us, but it -was probably done by some one to gain the promised reward for sighting -us, and it ended, as already related, in a general fusilade. The |61| -camels loaded with filled water-skins were left behind purposely, but -their being left was a happy thought at the moment of Farag’s men. When -they retired, it was only to join the other section which was to have -rushed us from the left; the section to rush us in the rear being a -little further out in the desert than the plan shows. - -Our leader Ismail I never saw or heard of again; he may have -succeeded in escaping altogether, only to be killed when the virtual -extermination of the tribe took place and Sheikh Saleh, standing on his -sheepskin, fell fighting to the last. - -This account of the capture of the caravan, and the explanations given, -though not agreeing in essentials with the accounts given officially, -may be accepted as being as nearly correct in every detail as it is -possible for memory to give them, and the occasion was one of those -in life where even twelve years’ sufferings are not sufficient to -obliterate the incidents from the mind. - -I feel some little confidence in offering to the world my version of -the circumstances attending my departure from Wadi Halfa for Kordofan, -the date upon which I really did leave Egypt—as unfortunate a date for -me as it evidently has been to some of my biographers,—and the actual -circumstances attending my capture, as I happened to be present on -the various occasions spoken of, and I do not think it will be asking -too much if I request that the same amount of credence be given to -my own story as has been given to that of others referred to in my -introduction, and in the extracts which head the present chapter. |62| - -It now remains, before closing this chapter, to deal with Dufa'allah -Hogal and his part in the affair. In my first letter from Omdurman, -which letter was written for me by dictation of the Khaleefa, I am -made to say that I blamed Hogal for his deceit, but at the same time -thanked him for his deceit, as it had led me to grace. This was a -clever invention of the Emir’s at Dongola, or the Khaleefa himself, to -get Hogal into trouble with the Government, and draw away suspicion -from Hassan and Gabou. This letter was received by one of my clerks at -Assouan, who fortunately retained a copy before forwarding it on to -Cairo; a translation of it will be given later. - -Hogal is not to be blamed for keeping his own counsel after Gabou -had given him his confidence. He had nothing to gain by telling the -authorities the truth, and he had everything to lose if he did. The -Khaleefa’s spies were everywhere in the Government and out of it, just -as the Government spies were amongst the Mahdists, and there can be no -doubt but that they were paid by both sides—and who is to blame them? -Hogal’s family ties and relations were in the Soudan, and there was no -use in his raising a question over a dead man. I may have something -to say about guides and spies later on, but it will not be with the -idea of calling any of them to justice. The only justice they knew -of was that contained in “Possession is nine points of the law,” or -“Might conquers right,” and it suited their natures admirably to play -a double game, rendered so easy for them with a Khaleefa who, having -made up his mind to |63| do a certain thing, ever kept that object in -view, and worked for its accomplishment, whilst on the other hand was -a Government which in their opinion did not seem to know its own mind -from one day to another as to what should be done with the Soudan and -its subjects resident there. - - - - -|64| - -CHAPTER VI - -DONGOLA TO OMDURMAN - - -During the early part of the night of April 27, the Amin Beit-el-Mal -told me to prepare for my journey to Omdurman, as Wad Nejoumi had -sent for me. There was little preparation I could make, except to beg -some sesame oil to rub over my face, shoulders, back, and feet. The -woollen shirt and clothing I had been allowed had not been sufficient -to protect me against the burning rays of the sun, and the skin was -peeling away from my face, shoulders and back, while my feet were -blistered and cut. My stockings had been worn through in a day’s -tramping through the sand. Taken to Nejoumi’s enclosure, Nejoumi and I -sat together talking for a considerable time. He told me that he had -wished to keep me by him for the purposes of “akhbar” (information, or -news), but that the other Emirs had insisted upon my being killed at -once, or sent to the Khaleefa with the supposed “firman” appointing me -“The Pasha of the Western Soudan,” to be dealt with by the Khaleefa -at Omdurman. Nejoumi said he had written asking that I should be sent -back to him. He put to me many |65| questions about the Government, -the fortifications of Cairo and Alexandria, Assouan, Korosko and Wadi -Halfa, and in particular he was anxious to know all about the British -army and “Ingleterra.” The advance up the Nile for the relief of Gordon -had evidently given him a very poor opinion of our means of transport, -at least as regards rapidity of movement, for when I told him of the -distance between Alexandria and England, and assured him that steamers -could bring in a large army in a week’s time, he smiled and said, “I am -not a child, to tell me a tale like that.” He may or may not have gone -to his grave believing that I was romancing, when I described to him -what an ocean-going steamer was like, and did my best to give him some -idea of the proportions of a Nile Dahabieh compared with an ocean-going -steamer and a man-of-war. - -[Illustration: SHEIKH ED DIN’S EUNUCH IN HIS MASTER’S MARRIAGE-JIBBEH.] - -I left him firmly impressed with the idea, and this impression was only -intensified months later when a number of his chief men were ordered -back to Omdurman and thrown into prison with me, that had Nejoumi had -any one in whom he could repose his confidence and absolute trust in -such a delicate matter, he would have sent in his submission to the -Government, and laying hands upon the Emirs sent by the Khaleefa to spy -upon him—for he was then under suspicion—would have led his army as -“friendlies” to Wadi Halfa, and have asked assistance to enable him to -turn the tables on the Khaleefa. What further leads me to make such a -bold assertion or statement is that the Emirs, or chief men, referred -to already as having |66| been thrown into prison with me at Omdurman, -gave me, as their fellow-captive, first their sympathy, and then their -complete confidence. I learned from them the fate of those of Saleh’s -caravan whom I had left alive at Dongola. They had, they told me, been -executed in batches of varying numbers at intervals of some days, Elias -my clerk being the last to be executed, and he not being executed until -about two months after my departure from Dongola. Nejoumi, for reasons -which will be at once seen, kept him alive to the last, and then -doubtless only gave the order for his execution when, despairing of my -being sent back to him, he gave way to the importunities of the other -Emirs anxious to see the last of Saleh’s people executed. - -From what they confided to me, there could not be the slightest doubt -that a conviction of the imposture of the Mahdi’s successor was growing -and spreading amongst the Mahdists; but the system of espionage -instituted by the Khaleefa nipped in the bud any outward show of it. -There can be also no doubt that these confidants of Nejoumi had, in -some way, compromised themselves when speaking in the presence of some -of the Khaleefa’s agents, and that Nejoumi himself had only not been -ordered back with them because of his popularity and the Khaleefa’s -fear and jealousy of him. There was no one whom Nejoumi, or, for the -matter of that, any one—not even excepting the Khaleefa himself, might -implicitly trust in the Soudan. The man to whom you gave your innermost -confidences might be friend or foe, and as all changed face as rapidly -and constantly as |67| circumstances dictated, it would be safe to say -that no one in the Soudan for a single moment trusted any one else. - -Whatever Nejoumi’s convictions may have been in the earlier days of the -Mahdist movement, it is certain that they underwent a great change. -Indeed, his advance against the Egyptian Army at Toski, when he was -killed, was, as I was told by some of his people imprisoned with me -after their return, only undertaken when he was goaded to it by the -reproaches of the Khaleefa, accusing him of cowardice and treachery, -accompanied with threats of recalling him to Omdurman—and Nejoumi knew -well what this implied. - -In the last chapter I remarked that I would later offer some surmises -as to the reason why my guide Amin was the first to be executed at -Dongola, and it would be well to insert them here, while speaking of -my fellow-prisoners from Nejoumi’s army. Though they could not be -positive on the point, they were certain that Amin’s two or three -passages-at-arms with the guide Hassan had been related to the -assembled Emirs at Dongola immediately after our arrival, and Amin -was in consequence ordered to be at once executed. I expressed my -suspicions as to the actual death of Hassan at El Kab, and in face of -what I was told, I cannot help but believe that his falling from the -camel was an arranged affair, and that he came with the caravan to -Dongola, and gave evidence against Amin. Following up this suspicion or -supposition, it is very probable that he originated the “cock-and-bull” -story related to the military authorities, |68| detailing the supposed -incidents of the capture of Saleh’s caravan and myself. It will not -have been forgotten that the published official and semi-official -records report my capture at two different places a hundred and fifty -miles apart, or, in other words, a minimum of five days’ journey, and -at different dates,—in one instance announcing my arrival at Omdurman -as a captive one month before the caravan which I was supposed to have -betrayed—or been the cause of the capture of through “imprudence”—had -even started from Wadi Halfa. - -In the early morning of April 28, I and Hasseena were taken outside -the town to where the guards and camels were awaiting us, and setting -off on our journey, travelled through Hannak, Debbeh, Abou Gussi, and -Ambukol. The incidents connected with our appearance at these places -are not of sufficient interest to warrant my detaining my readers with -them. From Ambukol we struck into the desert, making for the Nile at -Gebel Roiyan, enduring the inevitable discomforts and privations of -such a journey. On arrival at the village near Gebel Roiyan, we took -possession of what we believed to be a deserted house, and, after -taking a little food, lay down to sleep. During the night a wretched -old woman crept into my room, and commenced that peculiar wailing -known to those who have been in the East. She was, she said, “El umm -Khashm-el-Mus” (the mother of Khashm-el-Mus—but the expression may be -taken to imply merely that she was one of Khashm-el-Mus’s family or -relatives), whom Gordon had sent with gunboats to Metemmeh to |69| -accompany Sir Charles Wilson on his voyage to Khartoum. Her sons, -the whole of her family (or tribe), had been killed by the Khaleefa’s -order, and, as far as she knew, she was the only one left. Taking no -notice of my guards, who had come in, attracted by the wailing and -talking, she cursed the Mahdi, and every thing and every one connected -with him. The wailings of the poor creature, her pinched, sunken -cheeks, her glistening eyes, her skinny, hooked fingers, her vehement -curses on the Mahdi and Khaleefa, and the faint glow from the charcoal -embers which only served to outline the form of the old woman as some -horrid spectre as she stood up and prophesied my death, completely -unnerved me. If there was one night in my life upon which I required a -few hours’ rest it was on this—the last, as I knew, before my entering -Omdurman. But no sleep came to my eyes that night. Soon after the woman -left, a sound of dull thuds, a shriek, a moan, and then silence told -its own tale. She had been battered to death with curses on the Mahdi -on her lips. - -The night was one long, horrible, wakening nightmare, but all was real -and not a fantasy of the brain. How I longed for the dawn! and how -impatiently I waited for it! For the first time I had fears for my -reason. The sensation I felt was as if a cord had been slipped round -my brain, and was gradually but surely tightening. But enough of this; -it is not necessary to interlard my experiences with painful mental -sensations, real as they were. - -It was with some little difficulty that I shuffled my |70| way to the -camels next morning, to mount and get away on our last stage of the -journey to Omdurman. We reached the town at noon, on Thursday, May -5, and passed in almost unnoticed until we reached the market-place, -when the news having spread like wildfire, we were soon surrounded -by thousands of people, and it was with the greatest difficulty we -fought our way to the open praying-ground adjoining the burial-place -of the Mahdi. (The tomb had not then been built.) Here I was placed in -the shade of the rukooba. (The rukooba is a light structure of poles -supporting a roof of matting and palm branches, in the shade of which -the people rest during the heat of the day.) Two of my guards went -off to deliver Wad Nejoumi’s despatches to the Khaleefa, and also to -announce my arrival. - -Shortly afterwards, Nur Angara, Slatin, Mohammad Taher, and the chief -Kadi, with others, came to question me. Slatin addressed a few words -to me in English, but not understanding him, I asked him to speak in -German, upon which he said in an undertone, “Be polite; tell them -you have come to join the Mahdieh in order to embrace the Mahdi’s -religion; do not address me.” Nur Angara, who put the majority of the -questions, asked, “Why have you come to Omdurman?” I hesitated a little -before replying, but did not hesitate long enough to allow my European -blood to cool sufficiently to reply “politely” to the imperious black -confronting me. I told him, “Because I could not help myself; when I -left Wadi Halfa it was to go and trade and not fight, |71| but your -people have taken me prisoner, and sent me here; why do you ask me that -question?” Slatin at this moved behind the other Emirs, and I believe -made some attempt to make me understand that I should speak differently -to them. My helplessness was galling to me; there was not a man there -whom, pulled down as I was, I could not with sheer strength have -crushed the life out of. - -I was questioned about the number of troops at Wadi Halfa and Cairo, -the fortifications, etc., but neither places would have recognized the -fortresses I invented for the occasion, and the numbers of troops with -which I invested them. When told that news had been received from Wad -Nejoumi that the British troops were leaving, I admitted the truth of -this, but said that they could all be brought back to Wadi Halfa in -four days. All the questions, or nearly all, were in connection with -the army and the movement of the troops, and this will be understood -when it is remembered that, by some, I was believed to be “Pasha,” and -all Pashas in the Soudan were military leaders. - -I have been shown a statement to the effect that my readiness to -talk “made a bad impression,” but this remark was not, at the time -of writing, sufficiently explanatory—and yet it may have been. Other -captives had grovelled at the feet of their captors; I did not, hence -probably the “bad impression” created; and while the world may blame -me for being so injudicious as to treat my powerful captors with such -scant courtesy, it can hardly be expected that I, even had I not passed -|72| six years in close connection with the British Army on the field -of battle, and in times of comparative peace, should in a moment -forget and lose my manhood, and cover with servile kisses the hands -of a savage black—and one of the murderers of Gordon to boot. I thank -God, now that I am restored to “life,” that my first appearance as the -Khaleefa’s captive “made a bad impression,” for even in this I choose -to accept an evidence that I was not what I have in some instances been -represented as being. - -On the Emirs and others leaving me, some dervishes advanced, stripped -me of the jibbeh and clothes given me by Nejoumi, replacing them with -a soldier’s old jersey and cotton drawers. My feet were next fettered, -and a ring, with a long heavy chain attached, was fastened round my -neck. During that evening—indeed, during the whole night, crowds came -to look at me, while the ombeyeh (war-trumpet made from a hollowed -tusk) was sounded the whole night through. A woman, a sort of Mahdist -amazon, walked and danced up and down in front of me, singing and -gesticulating, but I could not catch the full meaning of her words. -Noticing Hasseena sobbing violently a few yards away, I called to her, -and asked what was the matter with her. She told me that the ombeyeh -was calling up the followers of the prophet to come and witness my -execution, and that the woman, in her rude rhyme, was describing my -death agonies, and my subsequent tortures in hell as an unbeliever. One -of my guards told me that what Hasseena had related was true, and I had -curiosity enough to ask him the |73| details of an execution; these -having been described to me, I refused food and drink. I was determined -to deprive the fanatics of one looked-for element connected with my -execution—but I may not enter into details. - -At dawn the following morning, a dervish came to me, and crossing my -right hand over the left at the wrists, palms downward, proceeded to -bind them together with a rope made of palm fibre. When the ropes had, -with a bit of wood used as a tourniquet, been drawn well into the -flesh, water was poured over them. The agony as the ropes swelled was -excruciating; they “bit” into the flesh, and even now I cannot look at -the scars on my hands without a shudder, and almost experiencing again -the same sensations as those of twelve years ago. - -With the perspiration rolling off me with the pain I was enduring, -and no longer able to conceal that I was suffering, I was led forth -to be the sport of the rabble. Made to stand up in the open space, -bareheaded, with thousands around me, I believed the moment for my -decapitation had come, and muttering a short prayer, I knelt down and -bent my head, but was at once pulled to my feet again; the populace -wanted their sport out of me first. Dervishes rushed at me prodding -with spears and swords, and while this was going on, two men, one on -each side of me, with the mouths of their ombeyehs placed against my -ears, blew their loudest blasts. One powerful man in particular, with -a large spear, gave me the idea that it was he who had been told to -give the final |74| thrust, and when he had made a number of feints, -I tried in successive ones to meet the thrust. One of the men guarding -me, taking the chain attached to the ring round my neck, pulled me back -each time, much to the delight of the assembled people. - -The ropes with which I was bound had now done their work; the swollen -skin gave way, and the horrible tension was removed as the ropes -sank into the flesh. If I had exhibited any feeling of pain before, -I was now as indifferent to it as I was to the multitude around me. -A messenger of the Khaleefa, Ali Gulla, asked me, “Have you heard -the ombeyehs?”—a bit of the Khaleefa’s supposed pleasantry, when it -was by his orders that the mouths of the instruments had been placed -against my ears. On nodding my reply, Gulla continued, “The Khaleefa -has sent me to tell you that he has decided to behead you,” to which I -replied, “Go back to your Khaleefa, and tell him that neither he nor -fifty Khaleefas may so much as remove a hair from my head without God’s -permission. If God’s will it is, then my head shall be cut off, but it -will not be because the Khaleefa wills it.” He went to the Khaleefa -with this message, and returned saying, “The Khaleefa has changed his -mind; your head is not to be cut off; you are to be crucified as was -your prophet Aisse en Nebbi” (Jesus the Prophet); after saying which, -he told my guards to take me back to the rukooba while preparations -were made. - -By this time, what with the fatigue and privations on the journey, -my head almost splitting as the result of the ombeyeh’s blasts, the -agony caused by the |75| ropes binding my wrists, and the torture of -scores of small irritating and stinging flies attacking the raw flesh -of my hands, and the sun beating down on my bare head, I was about to -faint. An hour later, I was ordered off to the place of crucifixion; -being heavily chained, I was unable to walk, so had to be placed upon a -donkey, on which I was held up by two men. On coming to a halt, instead -of the crucifix I had expected, I found a set of gallows. I was lifted -from the donkey and placed close to the “angareeb,” with the noose -dangling just over my head. Pain and faintness at once left me. A few -minutes more would end all, and I had made up my mind that that horde -should respect me even in my death. I tried to mount the angareeb, but -my chains prevented me. A tall black (the chief Kadi of the Khaleefa), -placing his hand on my arm, said, “The Khaleefa is gratified at your -courage, and, to show this, offers you the choice of the manner of your -death.” I replied, “Go back to your Khaleefa, and tell him that he may -please himself as to what form my death comes in, only if he wishes to -do me a favour, be quick about it; the sun burns my brain.” To which -the Kadi replied, “You will be dead in a few minutes; what will you die -as, as a Muslim or a Kaffir?” I was growing desperate, and answered at -the top of my voice, “Ed Deen mush hiddm terrayer nahaarda ou Bookra” -(Religion is not a dress to be put on to-day and thrown off to-morrow). - -My reply, and the manner in which I gave it, I was gratified to see, -made him angry. While we were still talking, a man on horseback -made his way through |76| the crowd to us, and spoke to the Kadi, -who, turning to me, said, “Be happy, there is no death for you; the -Khaleefa, in his great mercy, has pardoned you.” To which I asked, -“Why? Have I asked for his pardon?” for I did not believe for a moment -that such was actually the case. I was at once bundled on to the -donkey, however, and taken back to the rukooba. Some one had reported -to the Khaleefa about the state of my hands, and a man was sent at -once with orders to have the ropes removed. Food in abundance was sent -me, but this I gave to the ombeyeh men who had escorted me back to the -rukooba, and I could even then smile at one of the men who complained -that he could not enjoy the food, as his lips—great thick black ones -they were, too—were as raw with blowing the ombeyeh all night as my -hands were with the ropes. - -[Illustration: WRITING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.] - -On the following day I was taken before the Kadis, with whom was the -Khaleefa and Slatin. I was asked, “Why have you come to Omdurman?” to -which I gave the same reply as I had given to Nur Angara. The letter -of General Stephenson was exhibited to me, and I was asked, “Is this -your firman?” to which I replied that it was no firman, but a letter -from a friend about business, and that it had nothing to do with the -Government. Slatin was told to translate it, but, fortunately, did not -translate it all. On his being asked his opinion of me, he told the -Khaleefa that from the papers found in my wallet, I appeared to be a -German and not an Englishman, but that I had the permission of the -English Government |77| to go to Kordofan on merchant’s business. -He also said that Sheikh Saleh’s name was mentioned, but only in -connection with business of no consequence. I was then asked if I -wished to send any message to my family. Naturally I did, and pen and -paper being given me, I commenced a letter in German to my manager at -Assouan; but, after a few lines had been written, the Khaleefa said the -letter had better be written in Arabic. The letter, when finished, was -handed to me to sign; but, not knowing the contents, I scrawled under -the signature, as a flourish, “All lies,” or something to this effect. - -The letter was sent down by one of the Khaleefa’s spies, and was -delivered to the Commandant at Assouan. The word “Railway” appearing -as part of the address, it was sent to Mankarious Effendi, the -stationmaster, who, after taking a copy of it for reference, returned -it to the commandant, with the address of my manager. Mankarious -Effendi, having heard of my recent arrival in Cairo, has come to me -with the original copy of the letter taken in June, 1887. The following -is a literal translation of it:― - - “In the name of the most merciful God, and prayers be unto our Lord - Mohammad and his submissive adherents. - - “From the servant of his lord Abdallah el Muslimani the Prussian whose - former name was Charles Neufeld, to my manager Möller the Prussian in - the Railway Assouan. - - “I inform you that after departing from you I have come to the Soudan - with the men of Saleh Fadlallah Salem el Kabbashi, who were carrying - with them the arms and ammunition and other articles sent to Saleh by - the Government. - - “On our march from Wadi Halfa, notwithstanding our |78| precautions - and care for the things in our charge, we arrived at the so-called - Selima Wells, where we took sufficient water, and proceeded on our - journey. Suddenly we were met by _six_ of the adherents in the - desert; they attacked us, and we fought against them. Our number was - fifty-five men. At the same time, a number of men from Abdel Rahman - Nejoumi came up; they reinforced the six men and fought us, and in the - space of half an hour we were subdued by them. Some were killed, and - the rest were captured with all the baggage we had. Myself, my servant - Elias and my maidservant Hasseena were among the captives. All of us - were taken to Abdel Rahman Nejoumi at Ordeh, and by him sent to the - Khalifat el Mahdi, peace be unto him, at Omdurman. On our arrival at - Omdurman, we were taken to his presence, where we were found guilty - and sentenced to immediate death; but the Khalifat el Mahdi, peace be - unto him, had mercy upon us, and proposed unto us to take the true - religion, and we accepted El Islam, and pronounced the two creeds in - his presence: ‘I testify (bear witness) that there is none but God, - and Mohammad is his prophet’; and then, ‘I believe in God and his - Prophet Mohammad, upon whom God has prayed and greeted; and in the - Mahdi, praise, peace be upon him and upon his Khaleefa.’ I further - requested the Mahdi to grant me the ‘bai'a’ (oath of allegiance) which - he was pleased to grant me, and thereupon shook hands with me. He then - named me Abdallah, after embracing the true religion. Therefore I was - pardoned by the Khalifat-el-Mahdi from the execution which I have - deserved. He pardoned me because he is gracious, and for the sake of - the religion of Mohammad which I now adhere to. So I thought it well - to inform you all about these events, and I inform you further that - Dufa'allah Hogal, although he deceived me, I cannot sufficiently thank - him, because his deceiving me has resulted in the great mercy and good - which has come to me. Saleh Fadlallah Salem is deserting and hiding in - the desert, for fear of his life. All that I have informed you is pure - truth. I am still living, thanks be to God for this and my health. - 17th Shaaban, 1304 (May 10, 1887).” - -It is only now, November 25, 1898, that Mankarious has placed me in -possession of the real details. My manager, who when he returned to -Egypt a few |79| weeks ago, on hearing of my release, denied ever -having received any communication from me, on August 6, 1887, addressed -a letter to my father, written on my own business paper, saying that he -had received the above letter, had had it translated, and communicated -to the _Egyptian Gazette_, which paper published the letter in its -issue of August. - -Slatin I saw but once again during my long captivity, and then it was -only in the distance on one occasion when he called at the prison to -give some orders to the head-gaoler. The Khaleefa I saw twice again, on -occasions to be referred to later. - -After signing the letter, I was taken back to the rukooba, where, about -sunset, a man carrying a long chain came to me and said he had orders -to remove my fetters. Passing the chain through one of the anklets and -round one of the posts, he took a short pole, and used this as a lever -to force the anklets open. Whilst still engaged in removing the chains, -the chief Kadi came in, and ordered the anklets to be hammered back -again, and the ends cold welded. - -I remained in the rukooba for the night, and the following morning was -placed upon a donkey and taken to the prison. I was told that, to save -my life, Slatin had suggested this course being taken, using as an -argument that I could there be converted to the Mohammedan religion, -and devote all my time to my instructors. - - - - -|80| - -CHAPTER VII - -THROWN INTO PRISON - - -On entering the prison I found myself in the company of about a hundred -poor wretches, Soudanese and Egyptians, and all chained. I was taken -at once to an anvil sunk in the ground until the striking surface was -almost level with it; first one foot and then the other had to be -placed on the anvil, while more anklets with chains connected, were -fitted to me. I had now three sets of shackles, and another ring and -chain was fastened to my neck. During my twelve years in chains, and -amongst the hundreds who came directly under my observation, I never -saw, as has been illustrated in some papers, any prisoner with chains -from the neck connected with the wrists or ankles. All prisoners were -shackled in the manner as shown in my photograph; the chain from the -neck was allowed to hang loose over the shoulder. - -The shackling completed, I was taken to a room measuring about thirty -feet each way, but having a pillar about four feet wide to support the -roof, thus reducing the actual space to about twenty-six feet between -each face of the pillar and the walls. I was |81| assigned a place at -the wall furthest from the door, and between two men—in chains—dying -of small-pox. There were about thirty other prisoners in the room, -some lying down ill, to whom not the slightest attention had been paid -for days, as sickening visible evidences proved. Near the roof were a -few small apertures presumably for ventilation, but the only air which -could come into the place was through the doorway when it was opened. -The stench in the room was sickening—overpowering. I had little hopes -of surviving more than a few days in such a hole, and must have swooned -off soon after entering, for I remember little or nothing until roused -after the sun had set, when in the dim light I could see what appeared -to be an endless stream of prisoners coming through the door, and no -sooner was the door closed when a terrific din and uproar ensued. -Mingled with the clanking of chains, the groans of the sick, the moans -of the dying, and their half-uttered prayers to Allah to relieve them -of their sufferings, were the most fearful imprecations and curses as -the prisoners fought and struggled for a place near the walls or the -pillar, against which they could rest their backs; no sleep was to be -had; this had to be snatched during the day, when allowed out into the -zareeba. It is out of the question to try to describe my first night; -it is a confused horrible dream to me. - -On the opening of the cell door next morning, I swooned again, and was -carried into the open air to come round, and I had no sooner partially -done so, when I was carried back, in order, as I was told, “to |82| -get accustomed to the place.” My first three days passed in fever -and delirium; my legs were swelling with the weight of the chains and -anklets; my earliest clear recollection was on what I knew later to be -the fourth day, when an Egyptian, Hassan Gammal, was sent to attend -to me. Later on, the same day, my servant Hasseena was sent to me to -prepare food and bathe my legs. Until now I had eaten nothing, and I -have no recollection of even taking a drink of water. Hasseena, on my -being sent into prison, had been sent into the Khaleefa’s hareem; but, -on her telling the women and eunuchs that she was with child, she was -promptly turned out. The money I had brought with me, and which had -been taken from me on my arrival, and sent to the Beit-el-Mal, was -given to Hasseena with which to purchase my food. On her entering the -prison enclosure, Idris-es-Saier, the head-gaoler, relieved her of the -money, saying he would take care of it, and shackling her with a light -chain, sent her into his hareem. - -I now received permission to sit outside during the day, and also to -converse with the other prisoners. On my first entering the prison I -had been warned, under threats of the lash, not to speak to any one, -and the other prisoners, under the same threat, had been warned not to -speak to me. They, as may be guessed, were most anxious to talk to me, -and get some news from the outer world, but they were most guarded in -their inquiries. There were many prisoners in the place, who, to curry -favour with the gaoler or the Khaleefa, would have reported anything -|83| in the way of a complaint against their treatment—a wish on the -part of any one to escape, or an expressed hope that the Government -would soon send troops to release us. Knowing that the Government had, -for the time being, abandoned all thoughts of re-conquering the Soudan, -I told my fellow-captives, when they spoke to me about a probable -advance of the combined armies, that they must have patience until -the hot weather passed. Had I told them what I knew, their despair -could not have been concealed, and the truth would soon have reached -the Khaleefa’s ears. A number of the prisoners were old soldiers of -the Egyptian army, who had been taken at the fall of Khartoum and -elsewhere, and they waited day after day, week after week, and year -after year, still hoping that the Government for whom they had fought -would send troops to release them; but, with the greater number, -their release came only with death—at the gallows, at the Khaleefa’s -shambles, or by disease and starvation. - -Imprisoned at one time with me was Mahmoud Wad Said, the Sheikh of the -Dabaanieh tribe, who for years had kept the Abyssinians in check on the -Egyptian frontier in the Eastern Soudan. At one time he was powerful, -rich in cattle, slaves, and lands, but had been taken prisoner early -in the Mahdist movement. When he had been imprisoned about three years -and four months, he became paralyzed, and his release was ordered by -the Khaleefa, who had so far relented as to allow of his dying with -his family, then at Omdurman, patiently waiting for |84| his promised -release. By their careful nursing and attention, the old man recovered, -only, when the Khaleefa heard of it, to be thrown into prison again, -where he passed another thirteen months, at the end of which time -he was once more released, on condition that he would collect the -remnants of his tribe, and attack his old enemies the Abyssinians, whom -the Khaleefa was then fighting with. A few months later I heard that -Mahmoud was dead, one report saying that he had died of a broken heart, -and the other that he had been “removed” by order of the Khaleefa, for -failing to bring together again a tribe, which the Khaleefa himself had -almost exterminated. - -Another of my companions in adversity was Ajjab Abou Jinn, of the -Hammadah tribe; he fought with the Government troops at Sennar, and, -when defeated by the dervishes, he retired to his country with his -men until, on the fall of Sennar, he was attacked and defeated, his -property confiscated, and he taken prisoner to Omdurman, his wife being -sent into the Khaleefa’s hareem. After spending four years in prison, -he was considered sufficiently “educated,” and released, and in a few -months was allowed to return to his own country, when he set about -making preparations to attack the dervishes, and tried all means to -get into communication with the Government. Many of his people came to -see me in prison, in the hopes of learning news from me of a forward -movement. - -[Illustration: Shereef. Zeigheir. Zeigheir’s father. - -A GROUP OF PRISONERS.] - -The three sons of Awad el Kerim, Pasha of the Shukrieh tribe, were also -in prison with me; their |85| father had died in prison shortly -before my arrival. After keeping the three brothers—Abdalla, Mohammad, -and Ali—for nineteen months, the Khaleefa promised to release them -on condition that their tribe came to Omdurman and tendered their -submission, which they did; but, coming unprovided with food, the -tribe in the four or five months they were kept waiting at Omdurman, -was decimated by disease and starvation, and then, and then only, the -Khaleefa kept his promise, and released their chiefs. - -A man whom I almost struck up a real friendship with, was Sheikh -Hamad-el-Nil, a well-known religious teacher from the Blue Nile. Having -great influence over a large number of people, the Khaleefa, fearing he -might obtain a following, ordered him to Omdurman. Here a difficulty -arose as to what charge could be brought against him in order to -condemn him to imprisonment. Sheikh Hamad had taken neither one side -nor the other—Government nor Mahdieh, and had devoted his whole time -to a strict preaching of the Quoran, as he had done for years. No Kadi -dare condemn him on any charge made, suborn “witnesses” as the Khaleefa -would. But the Khaleefa was determined to effect his condemnation -by some means, more especially as Sheikh Hamad was rich, and the -Beit-el-Mal was short of funds. Men were sent to the Sheikh’s house -with orders to conceal some tobacco in the ground—others were sent to -discover it, and tobacco being forbidden by the Mahdi, Sheikh Hamad, in -spite of all protestations, was sentenced by the Kadi to imprisonment -and the |86| confiscation of his property. His health broke down after -about eighteen months’ privations, and he was released; but recovering -as did Mahmoud, he was again imprisoned, and died a few weeks later. -Of all those in the prison, Sheikh Hamad was the only one who dared -say openly to those whom he trusted that both Mahdi and Khaleefa were -impostors. Two of my first four years were spent mainly with the -Sheikh learning to read and write Arabic, discussing the tenets of the -Christian and Mohammedan religions, and telling him of our social life -and customs in Europe. - -There was one arrival at the prison which I was rather pleased to -see—Ahmed Abd-el-Maajid, of Berber, a great supporter of the Mahdi and -Khaleefa, and one of the bitterest enemies of Christians and Europeans. -He was, for the Soudan, well educated, and he was also rich, and had -much influence, but his vanity got the better of him. He gave evidence -of his wealth in the richness of his dress and luxurious living, and -this had been reported to the Khaleefa, but as yet Maajid had not -accepted any of the Khaleefa’s pressing invitations to pay him a visit -to Omdurman. Maajid made up his mind to marry another wife—a young -and pretty one; preparations for the marriage ceremonies, and the -feastings which accompany it, were made on a large and lavish scale. -The Mahdi had fixed ten dollars as the sum to be paid to the parents of -the virgin upon her marriage; but Maajid paid one thousand, and this -scouting of the Mahdi’s orders coming to the ears of the Khaleefa, -he sent off a party to Berber with instructions to bring Maajid and -his bride back with |87| them. This party arrived at Berber while -the festivities were still going on, and Maajid could not refuse the -Khaleefa’s invitation this time. When he arrived at Omdurman, he was, -with his bride, who was reputed to be the most beautiful woman ever -seen in the Soudan, hurried before the Khaleefa and the Kadi. The -latter, having his brief ready, accused Maajid of having broken the -rules as laid down by the Mahdi, and also of having detained moneys -which should have been sent to the Beit-el-Mal, as was proved by his -having so much money when the coffers of the Beit-el-Mal were empty. -His property was confiscated and sent to the Beit-el-Mal; his bride was -taken possession of by the Khaleefa, and Maajid himself sent to prison, -where he spent six months, mainly occupied in cursing the face of his -bride, as it was this that had brought him to grief. At the end of the -six months, he was released and sent back to Berber “educated,” with a -strong recommendation from the Khaleefa not to be so ostentatious with -his wealth in future. The Khaleefa kept Maajid’s money—and also his -bride. It was this same Maajid, who, after Slatin’s escape, ferreted -out the people in Berber who had assisted Slatin’s guides, and had them -sent to the White Nile, where those who did not die on the journey -there died later. - -Those I have mentioned above were what I might call the better class -of prisoners, with whom I mainly associated during my first two years -in prison; the remainder were slaves, thieves, ordinary criminals, -debtors, murderers, etc. - -When I had recovered a little from my fever, I |88| was placed upon -a camel, and paraded past the huts, rukoobas, and zareebas, which at -that time constituted the town of Omdurman. A number of Hadendowas had -come in to tender their submission to the Khaleefa; and he had seized -the occasion to exhibit me to the “faithful” as the great Pasha sent -to conquer from him the Western Soudan, and to impress the Hadendowas. -A halt was made at the hut of the Emir Said Mohammad Taher, a relative -of the Mahdi, who, after relating his version of the death of Hicks -Pasha, and the destruction of his army, both of which events had, -according to him, been brought about through the agency of angels sent -by the Prophet for the purpose, gave me a long lecture on Mahdieh, -at the end of which he asked me my opinion of it. I told him that if -he wished for a few lessons himself on religion, and as to how the -God I prayed to dealt with His faithful, and the means His teachers -in Europe employed for converting people and making them religious, -I should be pleased to give him a few. The reply angered him, and -another batch of prisoners were, by his orders, told off to lecture -me the whole day long on Mahdieh. While quite ready to talk to them -about the Mohammedan religion as propounded in the Quoran, I would not -believe in the mission of the Mahdi or his new religion. When Taher -asked what progress I had made in my “education,” he was told that I -would make none in Mahdieh, but was ready to become a Mohammedan. I -knew perfectly well what an out-and-out acceptance of Mahdieh meant—my -release, but only to be put in charge of some troops, and, as I had -|89| fought with the British against the Mahdists, I had no wish to be -caught in the dervish ranks, fighting against them, or be found dead on -the field, after the fight, in the garb of a dervish, and pierced by a -British bullet. - -Taher was not pleased, and reported my insubordination to the -Khaleefa. It was probably on my fifteenth day that, accompanied by -the Hadendowas, who had come in to make their submission, I was taken -by steamer to Khartoum, in order that I might be “impressed” with the -power of the Khaleefa and the truth of Mahdieh. We were first taken to -Gordon’s old palace, where Khaleel Hassanein, acting as the Mahdist -governor of the town, and at the same time director of the arsenal, -received us, and gave us food. We were taken through the rooms, then -dismantled, and shown at the head of the stairs what we were told were -the bloodstains of Gordon. After this, we were placed on donkeys, and -taken round the fortifications, while our “instructors” in Mahdieh, -pointing to the skeletons and dried bodies lying about, gave us word -pictures in advance of how the fortifications of Wadi Halfa and Cairo -would look after the Khaleefa, assisted by the angels, had attacked -them. It was a melancholy journey for me; and I am not ashamed to say -that as my thoughts flew back to that day at Kirbekan, when, full of -hopes, we pictured to ourselves the rescue of Gordon, fortifications -and skeletons grew dimmed and blurred, and finally were lost to view, -as a hot tear fell upon the back of my hand. - -Taken back to prison, I became worse; the weight of the chains and -anklets dragging on me as I rode, |90| and the chafing of the skin, -set up an irritation, and the filth and dirt of the prison soon -contributed to the formation of large ulcers. It was while lying down -in the shade one morning, unable to move, at the time of the great -Bairam feast, that two camel men rode into the prison enclosure, and, -making one of the camels kneel down near me, ordered me at once to -mount, as the Khaleefa had sent for me. The other prisoners crowded -round and bade me good-bye, Mahmoud Wad Said telling me to pull myself -together, and to act as I did “when they tried to burst your head with -the ombeyehs.” There was a grand parade of the troops that day, and no -one but believed that I was to be executed in front of them. - -The two men could tell us nothing but that the Khaleefa had sent for -me, and, living or dead, they were bound to take me. I was lifted on -to the camel, and taken off to the parade-ground outside the town. -The long, swinging stride of the camel communicated its motions to my -chains, and by the time I reached the Khaleefa, I was in a fainting -condition, with the ulcers broken, and their contents streaming down -the flank of the camel. The Khaleefa, noticing this, asked one of the -Emirs what had happened; although close to him, he would not address -a word directly to me, though I could hear what he said, and he could -hear my reply. When he heard the reason, he gave orders that the chains -were to be removed that night, and a lighter set fitted. The Khaleefa -was surrounded by his Emirs and bodyguard, and ranged on the plain -in front of us was his |91| great army of horse and camel men, and -foot-soldiers. I should have been marched past the whole army, but -before reaching the horsemen, the Khaleefa said to the Emir Ali Wad -Saad, “Tell Abdalla (myself) that he has only seen a quarter of the -army, and let him be brought for the parade to-morrow.” - -The prisoners were astonished to see me return alive that evening, and -still more astonished at the orders given to Idris-es-Saier to remove -my chains at once, and put on a lighter set. For once, the Khaleefa’s -orders could not be carried out; the legs having swollen so much, -the anklets almost buried in flesh, could not be brought near enough -to the face of the anvil to allow of their being struck at, and the -following day I again attended parade in pretty much the same state -of collapse as the first. The Khaleefa was furious at this; he had no -wish to parade before his troops, as an evidence of his power, a man -who had to be held up on his camel. My gaoler was sent to, and asked -why he had disobeyed orders. He gave as reasons, first, that he had no -lighter chains, and secondly, that my legs were so swollen that he was -unable to get at the anklets. The Khaleefa replied that they were to -be removed that night, and they were, but it was a terrible ordeal for -me. Before leaving the parade-ground, he sent to me Said Gumaa’s donkey -and Slatin’s horse, telling me that I might ride either of them back -to town, as their motion would be better for me than the camel, but I -elected to remain on the camel. - -I had done my best to get near Slatin, to have a |92| few words with -him, but he was hardly for a moment near the Khaleefa’s side, galloping -from one part of the army to another with his orders. Ali Wad Saad, -on the part of the Khaleefa, asked me what I thought of the army; to -which I replied, “You have numbers, but not training”—a reply which -gave little satisfaction to the Khaleefa, who could overhear it without -having to wait for Saad to repeat it to him. This was the last time -upon which I saw the Khaleefa, but I live in hopes of seeing him once -again. - - - - -|93| - -CHAPTER VIII - -PRISON LIFE - - -My first spell in prison was one of four years. After nine months the -rings and chains were removed from my neck, but the fetters I wore -continuously—with the exception of thirteen days—during the whole of -my captivity. A day-to-day record of my experiences is out of the -question, besides being unnecessary, even were it possible to give -them. I must content myself with a general description of the life -passed there, and give an idea of the day’s routine. - -When I reached Omdurman, the prison proper consisted of the common -cell already mentioned (“Umm Hagar”—the house of stone), surrounded by -a large zareeba of thorn trees and branches, and standing about six -feet high. There were thirty guardians, each armed with a “courbag” -(rhinoceros-hide whip) with which to keep their charges in order. -There were no sanitary arrangements, not even of the most primitive -description. All prisoners had to be fed by their friends or relatives; -if they had neither they starved to death, as the prisoners, charitable -as they were to each other in the matter of food, had barely enough to -eat to keep body and soul together, for the |94| best, and greater -part of the food sent in, was eaten by the guardians. - -At sunrise each morning the door of the common cell was opened, and -the prisoners were allowed to shuffle down to the banks of the Nile, -a few yards distant, for their ablutions and for water for drinking. -After this, we assembled for the first prayer of the day, in which all -had to join. When not working, we had to read the Mahdi’s “ratib,” a -description of prayer-book, containing extracts from the Quoran with -interpolations of the Mahdi. All the faithful were ordered to learn -this “ratib” off by heart,[3] and for this purpose each one had either -to purchase a copy or write one out. At noon the second prayer was -held, followed by another mid-time between noon and sunset, and a -fourth at sunset. We should have repeated the night prayer when the -night had set in, but as we were driven into the “Umm Hagar” at sunset, -the time which should have been given to this prayer was fully taken -up with brawls, fights, and those comprehensive curses of the Arabs, -commencing with the second person’s father, going back for generations, -and including all the female ancestors. - - [3] The “Ratib” occupied about three-quarters of an hour in - recitation, and, by the Mahdi’s orders had to be repeated daily - by every one after the morning and afternoon prayer; it ranked - in importance with the five obligatory daily prayers ordained - by the Quoran. It was also looked upon as a sort of talisman, - and it was given out, after such fights as Toski, Ginniss, - and the Atbara, that those killed were those who had either - not learned the Ratib or had not a copy with them. The book - was carried in a small leather case suspended from the neck. - A number of copies were printed on the old Government press, - but it was considered more meritorious to write out a copy - rather than to purchase one, and the Mahdi had hoped that this - Ratib would eventually become a sort of Quoran accompanied by - its volumes of “traditions,” hence his anxiety that every one - should learn to write. - -[Illustration: LEARNING THE MAHDI’S RATIB.] - -It has been found impossible, even in the most guarded and disguised -language, to insert here a real word-picture of a night in the Saier. -The scenes |95| of bestiality and filthiness, the means employed -for bringing the most powerful man to his knees with a single blow, -the nameless crimes committed night after night, and year after year, -may not be recorded in print. At times, and sometimes for weeks in -succession, from 250 to 280 prisoners were driven into that small room; -we were packed in; there was scarcely room to move our arms; “jibbehs” -swarmed with insects and parasites which in themselves made sleep an -impossibility and life a misery. As the heat grew more oppressive, -and the atmosphere—always vile with the ever-present stench of the -place—grew closer with the perspiring bodies, and with other causes, -all semblance of human beings was lost. Filth was thrown from one -side of the room to the other by any one who could move his hand for -the purpose of doing so, and as soon as this disgusting element was -introduced, the mass, in its efforts to avoid being struck with it, -swayed from side to side, fought, bit, and struggled as far as their -packed-in condition would allow of, and kicked with their bars and -chains the shins of those next them, until the scene became one that -only a Dante might describe. Any prisoner who went down on such a -night never got up again alive; his cries would not be heard above the -pandemonium of clanking chains and bars, imprecations and cursings, and -for any one to attempt to bend down to assist, if he did hear, only -meant his going under also. In the morning, when we were allowed to -stream out, five and six bodies would be found on the ground with the -life crushed and trampled out of them. |96| - -Occasionally, when the uproar was greater than usual, the guards would -open the door, and, standing in the doorway, lash at the heads of -the prisoners with their hide whips. Always when this occurred death -claimed its five or six victims, crushed and trampled to death. I wish -I might say that I had drawn upon my imagination for what is given -above; I can but assure you that it gives but the very faintest idea of -what really occurred. - -Until we had been set to make bricks and build a wall round our -prison, our life, in comparison with what it was later, was I might -say endurable. By baksheeshing the guards, we were allowed to go -down to the river during the day almost as often as we pleased; -and these excursions, taken presumably for the purpose of ablution -and drinking, gave us many opportunities of conversing with the -townspeople. This life I enjoyed but for a few months. A large number -of prisoners succeeded in escaping. Consequently the digging of a well -for infiltration water to supply the prisoners, and the building of a -wall round the prison were ordered by the Khaleefa to be completed as -rapidly as possible. - -The prisoners who escaped were mainly slaves, and as most slaves were -chained to prevent their running away from their owners—hundreds going -about the town fettered—they had little difficulty in effecting their -escape from prison, and also from Omdurman. On being allowed to go -to the river to wash, they would wade down the bank until they came -opposite some large crowd of people, and |97| coming on the bank, -their chains would excite no suspicion, for, as I have already said, -hundreds similarly fettered were going about the town. Making their -way to the nearest blacksmith, he would remove their chains in a few -moments for the sake of obtaining the iron, which was valuable to him. - -We were not at that time altogether without news; papers published in -Egypt were constantly arriving, brought by the Khaleefa’s spies, who -passed regularly backwards and forwards between Omdurman and Cairo, -keeping up communications between the Khaleefa and some of the more -fanatical Mohammedans resident at the capital. Since my return I have -inquired as to an incident which happened on the frontier in connection -with the army some years ago. I shall only relate what we heard, and -as given out by the Khaleefa and his Emirs. All the English officers, -according to the report received, had been dismissed, and had left with -the Sirdar. The English soldiers had also been removed from Egypt; so -the Khaleefa was jubilant, and looked forward to the near future when -the Egyptian troops would attempt to attack him, and when not a man of -them was to be left alive. I was to have been a witness of the great -battles when the angels of Allah were to fight with the believers, and -assist the Ansar to utterly exterminate the Turks. While this was still -the topic of conversation, another messenger arrived to say that the -trouble had been arranged; the English officers and troops were not -leaving, and as the Khaleefa’s hopes fell, ours rose. |98| - -Of all the people whom the Mahdi himself appointed to posts, two, -and, I believe, two only, retained their positions up to the time -of the taking of Omdurman. One was Khaleel Hassanein, the director -of the arsenal, and the other Idris es Saier, the gaoler. Idris—for -he is still living—is a man of the Gawaamah tribe, a tribe that the -first missionary will have some little trouble with, unless he is -prepared to revise one of the Ten Commandments out of the Pentateuch -altogether, as the following story connected with my gaoler’s first -appearance in the world may indicate. Idris’s mother had a sister who, -tired of single blessedness, proposed to, and was accepted by, a swain -of the tribe who was a constant visitor to their hut. Idris’s mother -had also the intention of proposing to the same man, and having told -her sister this, the sister popped the question first, was accepted, -and then Idris’s mother upbraided her after the manner of her tribe, -which evidently consisted more of actions than of words. When the -happy swain put in his next appearance, Idris’s mother, with Idris in -her arms, asked him how he dare go against the custom of her section -of the tribe, and accept in marriage a girl who had had no children, -while she had already had two! “Saier” in the Gawaamah language means -“custom” and “customary,” and Idris was named Idris es Saier when, in -after years, a satisfactory explanation could not be found for his not -boasting a father. Idris’s mother afterwards married and ruled, with -her legitimate son, Saier’s family. When appointed as gaoler by the -Mahdi, his prison was |99| called “El-Beit-es-Saier” (the house of -Saier), which later was contracted to “Saier,” and the name eventually -replaced the proper word for prison, all prisons being called the -“Saier,” and the head-gaoler, “Saier.” - -Idris had been a famous robber and thief, and he was never tired -of relating his exploits, and then winding up by pointing out what -Mahdieh had done for him, for by his conversion he was now the honoured -guardian of all thieves, robbers, and murderers, and there is little -doubt but that he had a sneaking regard for all such, as a link between -himself and his earlier days. - -He was superstitious to a degree, and although the Mahdi and Khaleefa -had strictly forbidden fortune-telling and the writing of talismans, -Idris followed the example of the Khaleefa himself, and regularly -consulted the fortune-tellers, most of his ill-gotten gains going to -them in fees. He had had made twenty-five to thirty boards of hard -wood, about eighteen to twenty inches square, and on these he had -written daily, a Sourah from the Quoran. The ink with which the Sourahs -were written was a mixture of wood-soot—or lamp-black, when that could -be obtained—gum arabic, some perfume, and water. As soon as the writing -was finished, Idris would, after carefully washing his hands, take a -small vessel holding about two teacups of water, and carefully wash off -the writing, allowing the water to drip back into the vessel; not a -drop was to be spilled on the ground, otherwise the writing would have -to be done over again, for the name Allah, and many of His attributes, -|100| were then in the solution. Having washed the board clean, caught -every drop of water, and then drunk it, he would come to us, and -deliver himself of the following harangue, and as we heard it two or -three times a week for years, I have an almost verbatim recollection of -it. - -“I am a born thief and robber; my people killed many on the roads, -and robbed them of their property; I drank as no one else could, and -I did everything possible against rule and religion. The Mahdi then -came and taught me to pray and leave other people’s property alone.” -(This last always raised a bitter smile from his hearers, as he used -to torture us to deliver up for “the Khaleefa” any small coin or -article of value we might come into possession of.) “How I have to -thank the Mahdi for having made me a good, holy, and new man, and he -will at the Day of Judgment be my witness, and take me with his ansars -to heaven. Think what I have been, and see what I am now! I have been -worse than any of you. If you stole anything, you stole when you were -with the Government, and you only did what the Government and every -one else did, you had authority to do so. I was worse than you, I had -no authority. God has pardoned me, and will also pardon you if you -repent and give to the Beit-el-Mal what you have taken from the poor, -for there are many poor now in the town crying for food, and there is -no money in the Beit-el-Mal to purchase any. I have given all my money -in charity, and my wives and children are crying for food. I have no -boats to bring me |101| merchandise, and I have no land to cultivate -to grow dourra” (Sorghum, a grain in the Soudan, which takes the place -of our wheat). “I am a prisoner as you are, and the pay I get is not -sufficient to feed my family. Yesterday there was no dourra in my house -to feed my children, they had to lie down hungry, and I thank God for -His grace in supporting me through these trials for which I shall be -rewarded in the next world. I am going to see my starving children now, -and then I shall pray to God, and ask him to release you if you repent, -and turn the Khaleefa’s heart to you. The Khaleefa knows everything you -do, and sees you all the day, for ‘El Nebbi Khiddr’ is his eyes and -ears, and El Nebbi Khiddr not only sees and hears what you are doing -and saying, but sees what your thoughts are.” - -After this, all but myself used to rise and kiss his hands; I never did -so. At the end of the first harangue he gave in my presence, and at the -end of his harangues for weeks later, he would continue:—“And now you -man from the bad world, you understand Arabic well. The Khaleefa has -told me to instruct you in the true religion; your fellow-prisoners -will tell you how Hicks Pasha was, with all his army, killed by the -angels; not a single shot was fired, or a spear thrown, by the Ansar; -the spears flew from their hands, and, guided by the angels, pierced -the breasts of the unbelievers, and burned up their bodies. God is -great. You will soon learn that you are mistaken, and that all your -world is wrong; there is no religion but that of the Mahdi. How happy -you |102| should be to have lived in his time and entered into the -company of the Ansar. God now loves you; it is He who has brought you -to us, and with the Khaleefa’s blessing you will yet be numbered with -the Ansar, and you will fight against the unbelievers and Turks as -other converts have done. You have a strong mind, and the Khaleefa -therefore has not a bad opinion of you. Thank him for his mercy that -he did not kill you. Be converted, and I shall be pleased and proud of -you, and be as your father. You others, you have seen the Mahdi and the -Khaleefa and their dealings; tell him of them. You Hamad el Nil, you -are a learned man, and know more of religion than I do; make Abdalla -know who God is, and who is His prophet.” - -[Illustration: IDRIS-ES-SAIER.] - -At the end of my first lecture, Abou Jinn asked me how much money I -had. I inquired why. He replied, “Do you not understand? The Saier -wants some money from you.” I told him of the money Hasseena had, and -which the Saier was taking care of, on which he smiled and told me -that the Saier would not take the money himself, but he would compel -me to _give_ it to him for his “starving children.” A few days later I -was sent for to hear the Saier hold forth again, and on this occasion -he finished up by saying that some of us must have done something -wrong. The Nebbi Khiddr had reported it to the Khaleefa, who had in -consequence ordered him to add more chains to our feet, but that we -were to submit to this without bad feelings against the Khaleefa and -him. If we repented, the |103| Nebbi Khiddr would report it, and -the Khaleefa, as he was full of grace, would soon order the chains to -be removed again. All the principal prisoners, with the exception of -myself, were then marched to the anvil, and had their chains hammered -on. I was spared, as, after the first lecture, I had, on Abou Jinn’s -advice, sent word to the Saier to take fifteen of my dollars for his -“starving children.” We prisoners held a conference, and it was decided -to present more moneys. It took us two days to scrape together the -requisite sum—about fifty dollars—to which I added seventeen of mine. -This had the happy result of not only removing the extra chains of the -prisoners, but Hasseena’s also. The Saier called us together, gave us a -homily on repentance and good behaviour, and told us to continue in the -same path, as it was evidently looked upon with approval by the Nebbi -Khiddr.[4] - - [4] The Nebbi Khiddr is a mythical character in Islam. Sects - are divided as to whether he is a prophet or not. His name does - not appear in the Quoran. By some of the old writers he is made - the companion of Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Having drunk of the - waters of the Fountain of Life, he is believed by some to be - ever present at one of the holy places. His exact whereabouts - and his attributes have never been defined. The Mahdi killed - two birds with one stone by appropriating this unclaimed - prophet to himself; first, his supposed presence made Omdurman - a holy place, as the Nebbi only appeared at holy places, and - then, by investing him with the powers as related by Idris - es Saier, he was able to impress the more ignorant of his - followers of his—the Khaleefa’s—omniscience and omnipresence - through the Nebbi Khiddr’s agency. The Mahdi laying claim to - this prophet and attributing to him the powers he did, raised - in the minds of Hamad-el-Nil and others their first suspicions - as to the Mahdi and his mission. - -But this Nebbi Khiddr was never satisfied for long with our conduct. -Every month he had something to report to the “Khaleefa,” and just -as regularly we were given extra chains, until a few dollars, -entrusted to Idris for the poor, had sent him to the Khaleefa with a -favourable report. All these ill-gotten moneys, as I have said, went to -soothsayers, fortune-tellers, and talisman writers, in whose absolute -power the |104| Saier was, though part went in baksheesh to the -servants and counsellors of the Khaleefa, whom the Saier had to keep in -funds in order to retain his place. - -The Saier knew very well that not a single one of us believed in -this Nebbi Khiddr business, but as on the outside of the circle of -the principal prisoners—and they were the only ones from whom money -could be squeezed—were always gathered a number of the ignorant -and, therefore, more fanatical of the Khaleefa’s adherents, he had -invented this tale, which he gave year after year without the slightest -variation in words, in order to hoodwink them and prevent any tales -reaching the Khaleefa as to the sums “presented” by the prisoners. - - - - -|105| - -CHAPTER IX - -MY FIRST CHANCE OF ESCAPE - - -It was during my first months in prison that Ahmed Nur ed Din of the -Kabbabish succeeded in getting into prison, in the hope of effecting my -escape. I had for some years had dealings with Nur ed Din in connection -with the Intelligence Department, and also the caravan trade. When I -left Wadi Halfa with Saleh’s caravan, Nur ed Din was then at Saleh’s -camp with messages to him from the Government. On his return to Wadi -Halfa, he heard of what had happened, and coming at once to Omdurman, -he sent a message by my servant that he had come for me. All his -applications to get into the prison being refused by the guards, and -fearing to make an application to Idris es Saier or the Mehkemmeh, he -arranged with a friend to have a petty quarrel in the market-place; -his friend hurried him before the Kadi, and Nur ed Din was ordered -into prison. On seeing me walk towards him as he entered, as I did -not know then that he came as a prisoner, he gave me a “hooss,” the -Soudan equivalent for our “ssh” (silence), and walked off in another -direction. Later in the day, and when we were being |106| marshalled -to be driven into the common cell, he came next to me, and whispered, -“I have come for you; be careful; keep your eyes open; try and obtain -permission to sleep outside the Umm Hagar.” Two weeks elapsed before we -had another opportunity of exchanging a few words, but in the interval -Nur ed Din was ingratiating himself with the prisoners who associated -with me, and gradually allowing his curiosity to speak to the “white -kaffir” to be evident. It was necessary for him to act in this cautious -manner in order to avert suspicion, and another week passed after his -introduction to our little circle, before he dare seize an opportunity -to consult me about his health and numerous ailments—which was his -explanation when questioned about our long conversation together. - -It was a strange story he had to tell. On meeting Gabou, Gabou at once -commenced to talk to him about some double dealings which he proposed -with both dervishes and Government. Nur ed Din was suspicious, and -did not fall in with the proposals; this then left Gabou at the mercy -of Nur ed Din, and the former picked a quarrel, during which Nur ed -Din accused Gabou of the betrayal of the caravan to Saleh. Others of -the Kabbabish were already looking askance at Gabou, and wondering -whether, if the truth once came out, they too would not be punished as -conspirators. Gabou was, they believed, then engaged upon some plot -which would render them harmless as regards himself should they make -a report against him to the Government, and in self-preservation they -held a conference with Nur ed Din. It was proposed that |107| some -one, for the honour of the tribe, should try and effect my release or -escape from Omdurman, while, as will have been seen, there was also the -element of self-interest in the matter. There was now a feud between -Gabou and Nur ed Din, and the latter volunteered to undertake the risk -of the journey to Omdurman. - -His plan, when he saw that there was not the slightest hope of my being -released from prison, was a desperate one, and we ran every chance -of being killed in the attempt to escape, but this risk I was quite -willing to take. I knew Nur ed Din would make no mistakes. It was not -as if he was actuated by avarice in assisting me; but being engaged -in a death-feud, he sought every means to be the one left alive, and -he knew that if he could conduct me to Wadi Halfa, Gabou would soon -decorate a scaffold or be shot out of hand. - -Nur ed Din, through the services of one of his party, a boy whom he -had brought with him, and who came into the prison daily as Nur ed -Din’s food servant, first arranged for relays of camels, then for the -purchase of rifles and ammunition, which were buried in the desert a -short distance from Omdurman. These preparations being complete, six -of the ten men at his first relay station were sent for to cut a hole -through the wall of the prison nearest the Nile, and this they were -to do on the night we sent a message to them or gave a signal, one -of the men being always near the bank, close to the selected part of -the wall. Final instructions were given on hearing that the |108| -camels were ready and well provided with water. After creeping through -the aperture, we were to make our way to the river, dragging an old -fishing-net behind us; rags were to be bound round the chains to deaden -their rattling; this part of the scheme was to hide my chains, and -prevent their clanging being heard. On passing the last of the huts, we -were to leave the river, and, mounting the camels, we were to travel -as fast as the camels would go, for twelve hours direct west, where we -would pick up the first relay. We had sent the boy out with a message -to our people to procure three revolvers and ammunition. Nur ed Din and -I were to take one each for use in case necessity arose before we could -reach the buried rifles; the other one of the men was to take, and, if -our flight was at once discovered, he was to fire towards a boat which -had been taken to the opposite bank, and swear that we had escaped by -its means. This would put our pursuers on the wrong scent for some -time. One revolver and seventeen cartridges only could be found then, -and Nur ed Din decided on waiting a few days until others could be -obtained. - -Whilst these were being searched for, Nur ed Din became feverish, and -to my horror I saw all the symptoms of typhus fever developing. This -fever had been named Umm Sabbah (seven), as it invariably carried -off its victims in seven days. It may be guessed how anxiously and -carefully I nursed Nur ed Din, and how Hasseena was kept busy the -whole day brewing from tamarinds, dates, and roots, |109| cooling -draughts to allay his fever. He might have recovered, had he not kept -himself excited over the fear of losing his vengeance on Gabou, but he -gradually sank and died. - -I was locked up in the Umm Hagar on the night of his death, and the -fever was then taking hold of me; two days later I was senseless, -and of course helpless. Hasseena, with two boys, used to carry me -about from shade to shade as the sun travelled, but my neck-chain -dragged, and sometimes tripped one or the other up, and then it was -that orders were given to remove it. Hasseena had been told that the -best remedy for me was a description of vegetable marrow soaked in -salt water; the water was drunk and the marrow eaten as the patient -recovered. The purgative properties of this medicine might suit Soudan -constitutions, and it evidently suited mine at the time, but I should -warn any of my readers, should they be so unfortunate as to contract -this fever, against attempting the remedy. When the decoction has -acted sufficiently, the mouth is crammed with butter, which to the -throat, at this stage of the “cure,” feels like boiling oil, and you -experience all the sensations of internal scalding. The next operation -is to briskly rub the whole body, and then anoint it with butter or -oil—butter by preference. The patient has nothing to say about his -treatment—he is helpless; every bit of strength and will has left him, -and when he has been rolled up in old camel-cloths and “sweated,” -weakness hardly expresses the condition he has arrived at. It was on -the thirteenth day of my attack that I reached |110| the final stage -of my treatment, and then I fell asleep, waking some hours later with -a clear head and all my faculties about me, though I was then but a -living skeleton. - -The Khaleefa, hearing of my condition, thought it a favourable -opportunity for me to receive a few more lessons in Mahdieh, and my -period of convalescence was much prolonged owing to the worry and -annoyance which these teachers of Mahdieh were to me. Kadi Hanafi, one -of Slatin’s old Kadis, then imprisoned with me owing to his open avowal -that the justice and the sentences given by the Mehkemmeh (religious -courts) were against the teachings of the Quoran, told me that it was a -mistake on my part so openly to defy the Khaleefa, and that it would be -more “politique” to submit as had Slatin, who had now his house, wives, -slaves, horses and donkeys, and cultivated land outside the city. But -in my then condition, a little procession, for which my dead body would -be the reason, was much more to my liking, and I did not care in what -shape death came, provided that it did come. - -Hanafi used up all his arguments in trying to persuade me to become a -good Muslim. Dilating on the power of the Khaleefa and my impotence, he -pointed to my chains, then weighing about forty pounds, and said that -the Khaleefa would certainly torture me with them until I submitted to -become a good Muslim. To this last argument I replied that if I did say -I would be converted, the Khaleefa, as soon as he heard of it, would -make me proclaim my conversion publicly, |111| and just as certainly -behead me immediately afterwards, to prevent my slipping back into -Christianity. Hanafi believed that the Khaleefa would still let me live -after embracing the Mohammedan faith in the hope of my accepting the -Mahdieh; he failed though to convert me, and the Khaleefa, hearing of -the result, and not believing that Hanafi had done all that he might -have done with his arguments, for this and other reasons sent him later -as a convict to Gebel Ragaf, near Lado, the convict station of the -Soudan. - -By the time I had gained sufficient strength to attempt the flight, -the men engaged had lost heart, and there was no one to lead them. Nur -ed Din was dead, and as they only came into the thing for the money -they were to receive, and the dollars were not then forthcoming, they -decided not to run any risk, disbanded the camel-posts, and scattered -to their various homes. - -How many hundreds of times have I regretted since that I did not take -Nur ed Din’s advice and escape at the time, leaving him behind. As he -said, there was no reason to be afraid that he would lose his head, as -his being so ill and also his being left behind would prevent suspicion -being directed towards him. During my twelve years’ captivity, this, my -first chance of escape, risky and desperate as it was, was the only one -which had in it a real element of success, for my conductor in saving -me was to save himself. - -As is customary in all oriental prisons, the prisoners in the Saier had -either to purchase their own food, or their friends and relatives had -to send it into the |112| prison for them; failing money, friends and -relatives, the prisoners starved to death. I have already said that -the best and greater part of the food sent to the prison gates was -appropriated by the gaolers, that is to say, after Idris es Saier had -seen to the wants of his “starving children” and numerous household -first. Idris, even during the worst period of the famine, did not -lose flesh; he was always the same tall, stout, flat-nosed black, -both when I first saw him on May 10, 1887, and when I last saw him in -September, 1898. Nor was Idris quite so bad as he had been painted; he -would often—when the Nebbi Khiddr tale had had the desired effect in -repentance, or when he was in a good humour after a bout of marrissa -drinking—go out of his way to do his prisoners small kindnesses, such -as the removal of extra chains, and giving permission to sleep in the -open; but the Nebbi Khiddr institution left him so much at the mercy of -the Khaleefa’s immediate attendants, that his periods of good humour -were, in consequence, of very short duration. Some day, if I return to -the Soudan, or Idris pays a visit to civilization, I may learn from him -whom I have to thank for a few of the unnecessary hardships inflicted -upon me. - -It might be asked why we, knowing that the guards would purloin the -greater part of the food sent in, did not arrange for a larger quantity -to be sent. There are two reasons, and the first is the least of the -two: the guards knew very well what was the minimum amount of food to -keep us alive, and just that quantity of food |113| would be allowed -to pass the portals of the Saier. The second reason was, that the sight -of more or better food being brought to a prisoner proved one of two -things: either the prisoner himself had received some money, or his -friends had, and the following day the time-worn Nebbi Khiddr tale, -properly translated, meant chains until more dollars were forthcoming. -Under such circumstances, the unlucky offender against Saier politics -would be called upon by the other mulcted prisoners to make good the -money they had been bled of, for the Saier was most impartial in the -matter of chains, and, certain of always getting the proper victim in -the end, invariably loaded a dozen or so with extra chains, and ordered -all into the Umm Hagar. An attenuated and burned chicken, or pigeon, -cost a few dollars in repentance, and also the wearing of extra chains -and the horrors of the Umm Hagar for nights, for it was advisable to -keep Idris waiting some days for an evidence of repentance, so that he -should believe, and the Khaleefa’s attendants believe also, that some -little difficulty had been experienced in collecting the few dollars -you had to pay. - -Our usual food was “Asseeda,” the Soudan dourra (sorghum), roughly -pounded moist, and mixed into a thick paste, feeling and tasting to the -palate like sawdust. It was not a very nourishing dish, but it was a -heavy one, and stayed the pangs and gnawings of hunger. A flavour might -be imparted by allowing a quantity to stand for a day or two until -fermentation set in. Occasionally, but only occasionally, a sauce -|114| made from the pounded seed of the Baamia hybiscus, and called -“Mulakh,” could be obtained, and this, with the fermented asseeda, -made a veritable banquet. Friends in the town sent us, when they could -either afford or obtain it, a little wheaten bread, a bit of cheese or -butter, or a few pinches of coffee. - -[Illustration: CATARINA.] - -Amongst the many captives in Omdurman who did so much for me stands -out prominently Father Ohrwalder, the old Greek lady, Catarina—who was -a ministering angel alike to prisoners and captives—Mr. Tramba and -his wife Victoria, Nahoum Abbajee, and Youssef Jebaalee. Surely the -recording angel has placed to the right side of the account the little -deceptions practised by Father Ohrwalder to gain access to the prison, -when the few piastres of baksheesh he could afford were not sufficient -to satisfy the rapacity of the guards, in order to bring me some little -dainty, when, God knows, he was bringing me the lion’s share of what he -was in absolute need of himself. At one time he would present himself -at the gates as being “Iyyan Khaalas” (sick unto death), and, of -course, wished to see me once again before his dissolution. At another -time it would be that he had heard _I_ was dying, then, of course, he -wished to see _me_; and the changes would be rung by his coming in on -the pretext of wishing to see some other prisoner. With bowed head -and bent back, exaggerating the weak state he was then in, he would -crawl towards me, dragging one foot after the other, and, reaching me, -would sit down on the ground and sway his body to and fro—a little -pantomime which allowed of his |115| surreptitiously passing to -me the dainties he had brought in the old leather bag slung from his -left shoulder. Time after time he was turned away from the gates, and -this, too, after having paid the baksheesh; but his persistence secured -his seeing me every one or two months during my first three years in -prison, and the scraps of news he brought from the outside world—news -to both of us, though a year or two old—gave me something to think of -and turn over in my brain until his next visit. Death, as I told Father -Ohrwalder, I did not fear, but my great fear was insanity. - -Often and often, when allowed to sleep in the open air at night-time, -instead of experiencing all the horrors of a night in the common cell, -the cool night-air would send me off into a sound sleep, from which I -would start up from some confused dream of old days, and, looking up to -the sky, would wonder to myself, half awake and half asleep, which was -the dream and which the reality, the old loved scenes, or the prison of -es-Saier at Omdurman. I would for some moments be afraid to look round -at the men chained on each side of me, and when I mustered up courage -to do so, and felt the weight of my irons and the heavy chain across -my legs, which bound our gang of fifty or sixty together, I would -speculate on how long it would be before the slender thread holding me -between reason and insanity snapped under the strain. - -That my reason did not give way during my first period of imprisonment -I have but to thank Father |116| Ohrwalder and the friends mentioned. -Each one of them risked his or her comparative freedom, if not life, -to help me. Even during the worst nights in the Umm Hagar, when Hell -itself might be defied to match such a scene, when Madness and Death -stalked hand-in-hand amongst the struggling mass, and when, jammed -in tight with a number of the more fanatical prisoners, I fought and -struggled, bit and kicked, as did they for bare life, the thought of -having friends in adversity, suffering almost as much as I did, kept -that slender thread from snapping; but the mental strain caused me -most violent headaches and periods of forgetfulness or loss of memory, -which even now recur at times. But it was during the famine that the -Christian—more than Christian—charity of my friends was put to the -severest tests and never faltered. Food was at enormous prices, but, -day after day, Catarina brought her scrap of dourra or wheaten bread; -every day Youssef Jebaalee sent his loaves of bread, unmindful of how -much the guards stole, provided that I got a mouthful. - -All the food sent for the prisoners did not, of course, reach them; -what little passed the gates of the Saier was fought for; those having -longer chains, or bars, connecting their anklets stood the best chance -in the race for food, as they were able to take longer strides. Had it -been under other circumstances, the scenes enacted might have provided -endless amusement for the onlookers, for they had in them all the -elements but one of a sack-race and old country sports. Seeing thirty -or forty living skeletons shuffling, leaping as |117| far as their -weight of chains and strength would allow, you knew, when one fell, -that it was the weakness caused by starvation which had brought him -down. There he would lie where he fell, given over to despair, whilst -those who did reach any messenger with food, rather than resenting the -stripes given by the guards with the courbash, would almost appear glad -of the open wounds these caused, so that they might caress the wounds -with their hands and lick the blood from their fingers. This picture -is not _over-_ but _under_drawn; but I have been advised to leave out -minute details and other scenes, as unnecessarily harrowing. - -We heard that cannibalism was being practised in the town, but -none took place in the prison; in the Saier, when once the despair -engendered by starvation and cruelty took hold of a prisoner, he would -lie down and wait for death; food he would never refuse if offered, -but if water without food was offered, it was refused. Day after day, -for months, the bodies of eight or ten prisoners, who had died of -starvation, would be thrown into the Nile, and thousands must have died -in the Saier. The population of the prison was always kept up owing to -the hourly arrivals of starving wretches committed there for trying -to steal food in the market-place, and it was from such as these that -the fighting for food in the prison emanated chiefly. It can be well -imagined how the most civilized being might be driven to madness and -desperation, when, as the result of his trying to steal a bit of food, -maybe for himself, maybe for |118| a dying child, he is committed to -an oriental prison, and there, as he is taken to the anvil, the body -of the last victim to starvation is dragged up to have the shackles -knocked off only to be fitted on to him. Yet this happened not twice, -not scores, but hundreds of times in the prison of es-Saier during that -terrible famine. - -After my servant Hasseena had been knocked down a number of times -and the food she was bringing me had been devoured by the starving -prisoners, we hit upon an expedient. Buying a gazelle skin, she had -this hung from her waist, under her dress, and left dangling between -her knees; the food for me was placed in this, but Hasseena always -carried, as a blind or decoy, a little food in her hands. This would be -pounced upon, when Hasseena, who had a healthy pair of lungs, as Wad -Nejoumi discovered at his first interview with her, would raise the -echoes with her screams. These gave her a clear path to me, and she -waited for a favourable opportunity to drop the gazelle skin on the -ground beside me. - -It must not be thought from the foregoing that the prisoners had no -feelings for each other, and for those worse off in the matter of -food than themselves. There was more charity shown by those wild -fanatics, and almost savages, than is often shown in more civilized -places. Mahmoud Wad Said, so long as his little property held out, sold -portions of it day after day, and had sent into the prison for his -poorer fellow-prisoners, a large “geddahh” of asseeda and milk, night -and morning, and this gave thirty to forty |119| prisoners a meal each -day; others divided with their less fortunate friends the little food -they received. I have seen it stated that my charity to other prisoners -created a very good impression; but, then, how could I, the only white -and Christian in the prison—and, for the matter of that, the only -avowed Christian in the Soudan—not strive to show just a little more -self-denial and charity and kindness of heart than those “fanatics” -showed me?[5] - - [5] On reading over the foregoing to Father Ohrwalder, and - asking him if he knew of any others who had assisted me with - food while in prison, he first objected to my giving him any - credit for what he had done, saying he had done but part of - his duty towards me, and, in deference to his wishes, I have - curtailed the account of his kindnesses towards me. He then - expressed surprise that the name of Slatin did not figure - amongst those of my benefactors, and it is only now that I hear - from Father Ohrwalder of the risks Slatin ran in trying to - help me. As can be well understood, this is hardly a subject - on which, at the present time, I could approach Slatin, as it - would practically be asking him how many dollars’ worth of - thanks were due to him. - - On my arrival at Omdurman, it was believed by the Khaleefa, - and others, that I was a brother of Slatin, and had started - for Sheikh Saleh’s country with the idea of organizing an - expedition to attack the Khaleefa and effect Slatin’s release; - the latter, in consequence, was looked upon with more suspicion - than ever, and bad as my position or condition was, his, in a - measure, may have been worse. People in Omdurman—my servant and - the prison barber in particular—gauging Slatin’s position to - a nicety, had little fear or compunction in blackmailing him, - day after day, after his first contribution to my sustenance, - for more money and food, and in each instance it was asked for - in my name. Others doubtless did the same, and poor Slatin, - as he was then, must have been robbed right and left, his - robbers perfectly secure in the conviction that even, should - he discover their trick, he would be powerless to punish them, - for had he attempted to do so, he would have placed his head in - a noose for disobeying the Khaleefa’s orders, which were that - he was never to speak to, or have any dealings with me. It is - the least that I can do here to place the matter on record in - connection with my experience, and leave Slatin to await the - appearance of this in print to learn that my heartfelt thanks - go out to him, while, at the same time, the world will better - understand from the foregoing the difficulties of Slatin’s - position with the Khaleefa. - - - - -|120| - -CHAPTER X - -PRISON JUSTICE - - -What I have written previously concerning the Nebbi Khiddr history -will, in the following notes of prison life, assist the reader in -better understanding how such mutual and transparent deceptions might -be practised by the Khaleefa and the gaolers as are related here. -It will be remembered that the Khaleefa, following the example of -the Mahdi, laid claim to the Nebbi Khiddr as his prophet or constant -messenger—a sort of modern Mercury amongst the Soudanese; hence the -mutual, but unacknowledged deceptions which might be practised by the -Khaleefa and his followers one against the other, but with always this -proviso: as the Khaleefa had the power of life and death, and his -spoken word was absolute, no one dare, even by suggestion, imply that -he had in any way deceived or hoodwinked Abdullahi, else the Nebbi -Khiddr would not have rested content until his detractor had been -shortened by a head. - -When the many escapes from the Saier zareeba became of too common -gossip to be any longer concealed, Abdullahi ordered a wall to be -built in place |121| of the thorn zareeba, and later, to obviate the -necessity of the prisoners going to the Nile banks for drinking water -and ablutions, a well was sunk to provide infiltration water for the -purposes mentioned.[6] Until these works were ordered to be made, the -prisoners were mainly employed in building mud-brick houses for the -gaolers; and when these were finished we had to attend to certain of -the household duties—the tending of children, sheep, goats, and the -carrying of water from the Nile. Of all the tasks set the prisoners, -the household duties were the most pleasant, or, at all events, the -least distasteful. Most of the gaolers were able to keep up a large -establishment on the proceeds of their baksheesh and ill-gotten gains, -but with a multiplicity of wives or concubines a very natural result -followed—household bickerings and squabbles, in which one wife or -concubine was bound to come off worst; and this gave the wide-awake -prisoner engaged upon household duties his chance. He would soon detect -which concubine was being “put upon,” or whom the women-folk were most -jealous of, and in a few days’ time, as a result of his attentions in -carrying her pots and pans, and bringing her water as many times in the -day as she wished, he would be bemoaning in her sympathetic ears the -hard |122| fate of both of them, and trying to persuade her that what -she was enduring was far worse than his imprisonment and chains. The -old truism that “pity is akin to love” obtains equally as well under -the dusky hide of a Soudanese damsel as under the white skin of her -European sister, and very soon the pair would be maturing plans for -an escape and elopement. The main difficulty was the removal of the -man’s chains and a rapid flight to some distant village; but the Soudan -ladies are not a whit behind in woman’s resourcefulness face to face -with apparent impossibilities. Failing to arrange for a regular flight, -the woman would secure some place of hiding in Omdurman itself. She -would undertake all the arrangements, and I never knew of a failure in -their plans. - - [6] This well was named “Beer-el-Ummarra” (the well of the - Emirs). When ordering its construction the Khaleefa instructed - Idris es Saier to put all the important prisoners on the - work, as the exercise would do them good. My gang consisted - of Ibrahim Wad Adlan, Ajjab Abou Jinn, Mohammad Wad Bessir, - Mohammad Abou Sinn, Abdalla Abou Sinn, Ali Wad-el-Hadd, Ahmed - Abd-el-Maajid, Mahmoud Wad Said, Hassan Um Barak, and the - Shereef Khaleel—the aristocracy, I might say, of the Soudan. We - did little or no work ourselves, we paid the imprisoned slaves - for doing it; but whenever Idris es Saier made his appearance - he would find us all busy. When telling us of the Khaleefa’s - orders, Idris hinted that it might be advisable for us to - subscribe amongst ourselves for paid labour, and he would take - charge of the money. At Wad Adlan’s advice, we said we rather - liked the idea of having some work to do to keep us occupied, - Adlan knowing that Idris would keep the money and make us work - just the same, or else pay over again for another batch of - slaves. - -Each month a list of the prisoners in the Saier, and an account of -their progress in “education” would be submitted to Abdullahi, with -recommendations for the release of certain prisoners, and each month, -coincident with the preparation of this list, some prisoner would be -missing from his usual place that night and next morning—and for ever -afterwards; and this is how Soudan romances were managed. Sheep and -goats would stray unaccountably. As these accidents always happened -about sunset, the concubine would set off with the chained prisoner -to bring in the strayed animals at the precise moment when her lord -and master was engaged upon his official duties and locking up the -prisoners in the Umm Hagar. On his calling at his house, the temporary -absence would excite little or no suspicion, but as the hours sped -on |123| suspicions were aroused, and if on the following morning or -the same night the sheep and goats found their way back unaided, the -gaoler’s only way out of the difficulty was to present a favourable -report of the conduct of the escaped prisoner, in the hope that his -release would be ordered by the Khaleefa. To acknowledge that he had -escaped while employed in tending his sheep and goats would be to place -the gaoler’s head or liberty in danger, and the eloping couple well -knew this. No sooner was the release ordered, than the happy couple -would present themselves before the Kadi, to be married right off—the -Soudanese damsel in the possession of a husband, with no other wives -or concubines to worry her in the house, and her husband free of his -chains. True, he might divorce his wife the same day if he so chose, -but then his and her object had been gained—they were both clear of the -gaoler, whom they knew dare not trump up any case against them in the -hope of one or the other being again committed to prison, for, once -released by the Khaleefa’s orders, a prisoner might only be recommitted -on them. Moreover, if one of the two should relate what had actually -occurred, the gaoler himself, having deceived the Khaleefa with his -report of good conduct and “education,” would certainly be sent to -prison or to the gallows. - -I was too important a prisoner to make my escape at all possible by -such happy means as those above described. My only hope lay in trusty -natives and swift camels which would outstrip my pursuers. I often -envied my fellow-prisoners who exchanged the |124| bonds of slavery -for those of matrimony, for numbers of them came to see me after their -“release,” but I shudder to think what might have happened had I been -released by the Khaleefa’s orders, for, following the old adage that -a drowning man clutches at a straw, I must have promised marriage to -dozens of Soudan beauties (?) in the event of their doing anything -towards wheedling their masters or the Khaleefa into releasing me, -and it is quite certain that, on my release, I should have met at the -prison-gates a clamouring crowd all claiming the honour. - -But I should explain how it was that I came into direct contact with -the hareems of the gaolers. Having studied physiology and medicine at -Königsberg and Leipzig, I was often called upon by the natives in Upper -Egypt, before the place was so well known to the travelling public -as it is now, and in the absence of doctors, to attend them in cases -of sickness or accident. My practice, being gratuitous, was a large -one, and I soon became the “Hakeem Pasha” (principal medical officer). -My reputation, if it did not precede me, at least accompanied me to -Omdurman when I was captured, so that I was in constant requisition at -the gaolers’ hareems, paying “professional” visits ranging from cases -in which the Khaleefa was soon to be presented with another subject, -to the most trivial and sometimes imaginary complaints. So long as -the women kept ailing, my life was rendered endurable, for I was able -to sit down and chat with them for hours, waiting to see the result -of concoctions made from, to me, unknown |125| herbs and roots, of -the properties of which I was ignorant; but the results were always -satisfactory. The only medicine or chemical I came across of any value -in the stores of the Beit-el-Mal was permanganate of potash, and I soon -discovered that a Soudan constitution necessitated the application -of this in crystals and not in liquid form. The effects, as may be -imagined, were rapid, and, though my medical readers might be inclined -to doubt the statement, the results were eminently satisfactory both to -the patients and myself. - -Occasionally I would be sent for to attend some one in the women’s -prison, which was situated a short distance from the Saier of Idris. -The women’s prison consisted of the common cell and a light zareeba, -through which the curious might gaze on the women as they lay stretched -on the ground during the day in the sun, undergoing their first period -of imprisonment. The majority of the women prisoners were slaves locked -up on some pretence or other to prevent their escaping. It might be -that their master was arranging for some trading trip which would -occupy him for weeks and, maybe, months. The simplest way of preventing -his property from running away during his absence was to trump up -some charge against her, and have her locked up, knowing that her -release might not be obtained until he returned and requested it. As -in the mean time she would have to be fed at his expense, and gave her -services free to the household of one of the gaolers, he was equally -sure that the gaoler would not be too anxious to secure her release. -|126| - -Married women were sent to prison on all sorts of charges, ranging from -suspected conjugal infidelity to the delivery of a curtain lecture. The -women prisoners wore light chains connecting their anklets, but their -lot was little better than that of the men. A charge of infidelity “not -proven,” as the Scotch have it, was followed by imprisonment and the -application of three hundred stripes with the courbag, and when the -woman had recovered from these, she would be sent into the house of -one of the gaolers to be the maid-of-all-work for every one there; she -would have to grind corn, attend to the children, carry water, and be -driven as a slave night and day for weeks. A Mrs. Caudle or a termagant -received from fifty to eighty lashes, and she too on recovery would be -sent into one of the gaolers’ hareems to work as hard as her possibly -innocent and more severely punished companion in misery. A few weeks of -such treatment sent the women back home completely cured of the faults -for which they were sent to prison to be corrected, besides which -the relation of their experiences acted as an effective deterrent on -budding Mrs. Caudles and others. - -The unloading of boats was the hardest work we were set to, and we were -kept up to the mark by the ever-present lash; we might only be tired -and ill when we could afford the luxury of paying for the complaint, -for this labour was the most lucrative task our gaolers could set us -to; we had either to work, or pay many times the equivalent of our -labour. It was in connection with the unloading of boats, and this, -|127| too, when I was slowly recovering from my attack of typhus fever -after the death of Ahmed Nur ed Din, that I received my first flogging. -A young gaoler had pestered me for money, and as I had none to give -him, he ordered me to slave at the unloading of the boats. The only way -of exhibiting a real refusal was to sit down upon the ground, which I -did, upon which the gaoler commenced to drag me towards the gateway of -the Saier. On this I got upon my feet and knocked the gaoler off his. -He ran to Idris es Saier, told his own tale, and Idris, approaching -me, ordered me to get up—for I had again sat down—and assist in the -unloading of the boats. I refused, and accused the gaoler of trying to -extort monies from me. Upon this Idris struck me with his “safarog” (an -instrument almost the exact counterpart of the Australian boomerang, -and used by the Soudan tribes for precisely similar purposes); the -blow he gave smashed the safarog and stunned me, and while only partly -conscious I was turned over and condemned to receive there and then -five hundred lashes. - -Only sixty or seventy, I was told, were inflicted; the remainder were -not given, as Idris, seeing that I was unconscious, believed that I -was dead, and in consequence received a terrible fright. I was carried -to my place in the cell, while Idris set about clearing himself with -the other prisoners, and explaining that it was all the work of the -young gaoler. Idris knew what it meant to him had I been flogged to -death, and, believing that I would not recover, he, when I did recover, -evidently made up his mind to pay out the gaoler who was |128| -responsible for his fright in the first place, and for his servility -to the other prisoners at the moment when he thought there were good -grounds for it. - -[Illustration: A FLOGGING BY ORDER OF THE KHALEEFA.] - -His opportunity came some little time later on, when the same gaoler -invented another excuse for flogging me. I had bought from one of the -gaolers a small mud hut, a few feet square, in the prison enclosure, -and received permission from Idris es Saier to sleep in this at night -instead of in the Umm Hagar. This young gaoler—and other gaolers as -well—accepted baksheesh from prisoners to allow them to sleep in the -open; and Idris, finding the contributions to his “starving children” -falling off, suspected the reason, and lay in wait. Upon a night when -a larger number than usual had been allowed to sleep outside the Umm -Hagar, he suddenly made his appearance in the prison enclosure. There -was nothing for our guardians to do but to pretend that the prisoners -had been insubordinate, had refused to enter the Umm Hagar, and to -lay about them with their whips. The young gaoler, not aware that -I had paid the regulation baksheesh to Idris, made straight for my -hut, dragged me out, and flogged me to the door of the common cell, a -distance, maybe, of forty or fifty yards, but my thick jibbeh prevented -the blows from telling with much effect as far as regards abrasion of -the skin; nevertheless, their weight told on my diminished strength, -and I again fell ill. The circumstance came to the ears of the Khaleefa -through Idris, or the Nebbi Khiddr, and I had the huge satisfaction -of seeing my tormentor dismissed from his lucrative post, |129| -subjected to the two hundred lashes he was sentenced to receive, and -then sent as a prisoner in chains to work at the very same boats, which -he had had me flogged for refusing to assist in unloading. This, at the -present moment, is the only bit of real justice I can remember during -my twelve years’ captivity. - -I have in a former chapter given a slight description of flogging as I -saw it practised when first captured by the dervishes; but the flogging -in the Saier was a very different matter. The maximum number of stripes -ever ordered was a thousand, and this number was often actually given, -but in every case the stripes were given over the clothing. The rules -of flogging were generally as follows: the first two hundred on the -back below the region of the lumbar vertebræ, the third and fourth -hundred on the shoulders, and the fifth hundred on the breast. When the -maximum number of one thousand lashes was ordered, they were always -given on the same parts as those of the first two hundred, and this -punishment was resorted to for the purpose of extorting confessions. -After eighty or one hundred blows, the jibbeh was cut into shreds, -and soon became saturated with the blood of the victim; and while the -effect of the individual blows may not have been as great as those -from the cat-o’-nine-tails, the number given made up in quantity for -what might have been lacking in quality, as is evidenced by the large -numbers who died under the castigation or as a result of it later. - -On one occasion an old black soldier of the Egyptian |130| Army, named -Mohammad Ajjami, who was employed as a runner (a foot-galloper—if I may -invent the expression—of the Khaleefa on field days), was sent to me -while in the prison to be cured of the effects of a flogging. He had by -some means incurred the displeasure of Sheikh ed Din, the son of the -Khaleefa, and by him had been sentenced to receive a public flogging, -after which he was to be sent to the Saier to be “educated.” He was -carried into the prison to me after his flogging. The fleshy part of -his back was cut into ribbons, and the hip-bones were exposed. For six -or eight weeks I was constantly employed bathing this man’s wounds with -a dilute solution of carbolic acid, the carbolic crystals being sent -to me by Sheikh ed Din himself for the purpose, for his father, the -Khaleefa, jealous of his authority, had censured his son, telling him, -as he constantly told others, that “In Usbaiee shareeknee fee mulkee, -anna ikktahoo.”[7] Ajjami recovered, and often came to see me in prison -to express his gratitude. Sheikh ed Din himself was so pleased at the -man’s recovery that he begged his father to release me, so that I might -practise the healing art amongst his Ansar, and teach it to others; -but the Khaleefa was obdurate, and refused, his reasons for refusing -to release me being better left to be related later by some of my -fellow-captives. - - [7] This expression was always used by the Khaleefa in any - discussion. Holding up his forefinger, he said (translation of - phrase): “Rather than this finger should be a partner in the - governing of my realm, I should cut it off.” - -My third flogging was received under the following circumstances. -Having from Idris es Saier received permission to remain in my mud -hovel, instead of |131| spending the nights in the Umm Hagar, and -feeling secure in my comparative freedom and safe from the exactions of -the other gaolers, as I had baksheeshed Idris well, I firmly refused to -be bled any further. My particular guardian, not daring, after what had -occurred to my former guardian, to order me into the Umm Hagar, went a -step further, and refused to allow me to leave my mud hut at all for -any purpose whatever. I insisted upon being allowed to go to the place -of ablution—about one hundred yards distant—and being refused, set off, -receiving at every step a blow from the courbag. Being heavily chained, -I was helpless, and could not reach my tormentor, as he could skip away -from my reach, which was limited to the length of the bars connecting -my feet, which bars were fifteen inches in length. It was on this -occasion, night-time too, that Idris es Saier paid another surprise -visit to the prison enclosure to see what number of “unauthorized” -prisoners were sleeping outside the Umm Hagar, and, furious at the -number he discovered, he ordered all outside, without exception, to be -flogged. - -I and fifteen to twenty others received a hundred and fifty lashes -each—at least, I received this number; others repented by crying out -after twenty or thirty blows. I alternately clenched my teeth and bit -my lips to prevent a sound of pain escaping, often as I was asked, -“Will you not cry out? Is your head and heart still like black iron?” -and the more they reminded me of the courage I was exhibiting, the more -reason I had for not giving way or breaking down. But the mental ordeal -was far, far more terrible than |132| the corporal punishment. There -was I, a European, a Prussian, a man who had fought with the British -troops in what transpired to be the “too late” expedition for the -rescue of Gordon, now in the clutches of the tyrant and his myrmidons, -whom we had hoped to rescue Gordon from; a white and a Christian—and -the only professing Christian—chained and helpless, being flogged by a -black, as much a captive and a slave as I was, and yet my superior and -master. It is impossible for any one not having undergone a similar -experience to appreciate the mental agonies I endured. - -I may have been self-willed and strong-headed; I may, if you wish, -have acted like a fool in my constant defiance of the Khaleefa and the -tenets of the Mahdi; but now, looking back on those terrible times, I -feel convinced that had poor Gordon lived, my actions would at least -have met with his approbation, for the outward ceremony or observance -of adherence to the Mohammedan faith was carried out on me under force, -after the escape of Rossignoli. Death, in whatever form it came, -would have come as a welcome visitor to me; but while doing all in my -power to exasperate my captors to kill me, something—hope, courage, a -clinging to life, pride in my race, or personal vanity in defying them -to the end—restrained me from taking my own life, though Heaven knows -that, if ever man had a good excuse for doing so, I had. But my conduct -so impressed the Khaleefa that he told Wad Nejoumi, who asked for my -release so that I might accompany him to Dongola to “open up trade,” -and told many others later, “Neufeld I will |133| not release, but I -will not kill him.” Invariably, in speaking of me to others, as I was -still unconverted, the Khaleefa omitted the name “Abdalla” which I had -been given, and spoke of me as “Nofal”—the Arabic pronunciation of -Neufeld. - - - - -|134| - -CHAPTER XI - -A SERIOUS DILEMMA - - -As I write, there lie before me three successive paragraphs culled from -a recent edition of a London paper. These paragraphs were intended to -be, and doubtless were, amusing to their readers, but they contain -inaccuracies. I have ascertained that one misstatement owes its origin -to a report drawn up in connection with the guide’s account of the -successful escape of Father Rossignoli. The facts connected with that -flight, and my reported refusal to escape when the opportunity (?) -offered, find their place later in my narrative. For the moment I shall -content myself with but one of the paragraphs, and fill in the details -which, while not detracting from the humorous element introduced, will -show that the episode referred to had somewhat of a pathetic, if not -tragic, vein in it. This may have been lost sight of owing to the tale -being recorded in an office about two thousand miles away from the -scene of action, and the inaccuracies may be accounted for by the fact -that the tale was told by one of that large class in the East whose -greatest glory it is, when one of them has by constant |135| practice -attained a certain standard of inventive faculty and plausibility, to -prove to the world that the race of Haroun-el-Rashid’s story-tellers -is not yet extinct. There can be little doubt that the guide and Wakih -Idris, and maybe others, would be much entertained, if not a little -surprised, if told that the whole of their tales had apparently been -believed in. - -On my servant Hasseena being sent into the Khaleefa’s hareem in May, -1887, she obtained her release, or dismissal, by declaring that she was -with child; she was not. In November, 1888, she certainly was, and the -fact could not be concealed. Hasseena, having been a slave, could not -well be legally married, so that when dismissed from the Khaleefa’s -hareem, she was sent as my property to the hareem of Idris es Saier, -where she had, in addition to buying and preparing my food, to perform -the housework and run messages for the women of Idris’s household. - -Idris I knew had long coveted Hasseena, and her being with child -appeared to him a favourable opportunity of securing her for himself, -for under ordinary circumstances, the woman being a slave and the child -being born in his hareem, he could lay claim to the paternity, when -mother and child would become free, the mother ranking now as a wife. -He talked the matter over with Hasseena, and then sent her to interview -me. I submitted the case to my friends in prison, and they showed that -Idris had misread, or misunderstood, Surah IV. of the Quoran, which -only justified his position towards Hasseena in the event |136| of my -being a prisoner of war, and he having captured Hasseena on the field. -Things became still more complicated by Hasseena admitting to me that -there were doubts in her own mind as to the child’s paternity. Hasseena -was of a light copper colour; Idris was as black as the ace of spades. -It would only be reasonable to expect that the child when born would -exhibit in the colour of its skin an evidence of its paternity, and -it was precisely on this account that Hasseena wished to defer making -any declaration until the event came off. If she elected to declare -Idris the father, and the child at birth gave the lie to her statement, -her life would be in danger; but before continuing the narrative, -and detailing the complications which Hasseena’s condition and her -uncertainty on a vital point gave rise to—it might be well to refer -briefly to one of the moral code of laws instituted by the Mahdi, as -this will help the reader to a better understanding of the quandary we -were placed in. - -While a man, having already the regulation quota of four legal wives, -might crowd his hareem with as many female slaves and concubines as -he could support or keep in order, a woman was restricted to the one -husband or master. All breakings of our seventh commandment were, if -proved, followed by flogging in the case of unmarried women and slaves, -and by the stoning to death of married women; but, in the latter case, -_the sentence could not be given, nor the punishment inflicted, unless -the woman confessed_. Very few stonings to death took place, and these -were in the earlier days of Mahdieh, when religious fanaticism held -sway. |137| - -The flogging has already been described. When a stoning to death was to -take place, a hole was dug in the ground, and the woman buried to her -neck in it. The crowd stood facing the victim, about fifteen to twenty -yards distant, and on a given signal the stoning commenced; but it is -only right to say that the Soudanese themselves hated and feared taking -part in such an execution. None of the stones thrown had, singly, the -force or weight to cause stunning or death, and the horrid spectacle -was presented of what appeared to be a trunkless head, slightly jerking -backwards and forwards and from side to side to avoid the stones being -hurled at it, and this ordeal continued for an hour or more. Sometimes -a relative or friend, under pretence of losing his temper in upbraiding -or cursing the woman, smashed in her head with one of the small axes -usually carried by the Soudanese, thus putting her at once out of her -torture and misery. Shortly before sunset, the relatives and friends -would come out to take away the body and give it decent burial, for the -soul had fled, purified with the woman’s blood, to the next world. - -Knowing what would be the result of a confession, it will be wondered -that any woman ever did confess; the number who did so is, admittedly, -small. In one of the three cases of stoning to death I know of, the -confession was extorted by torture, and the poor woman preferred the -horrible but certain death by the time the sun set, to the lingering -death she was enduring from day to day. Thousands of women were charged -with the breaking of this particular rule |138| or commandment of the -Mahdi, but almost all the charges were made by other women—and this, -too, out of sheer jealousy, not from any feeling of outraged morality. - -I may now proceed with the narration of the quandary Hasseena had -placed us in, herself included. I had been kept chained and closely -confined for nineteen months, and was under Idris es Saier’s particular -supervision; Hasseena, during the same period, had been a servant in -his hareem, and also in his entire charge. If I claimed the paternity -of the child, the probabilities were that Idris would get into trouble -with the Khaleefa; if Idris claimed it, his head might be in danger, -for decapitation or hanging was the punishment ordered for the male -offender, and in all cases Hasseena was liable to flogging or stoning -to death. Again, if I claimed the paternity of the child, and there -were reasonable grounds after its birth to believe that the paternity -should be looked for in some other direction, and I knew that it should -be; then, while Idris would clear himself to the Khaleefa, I should -have been punished for lying to him, and Hasseena would be in the same -predicament as before. - -I had inquiries made outside as to Hasseena’s movements when marketing, -and as to those whom she associated with, or went to see; being -satisfied, as a result of the inquiries, that the expected arrival -would be a shade lighter in colour than its mother, I, acting on the -advice of my prison friends, claimed the child as mine, thus leaving -Idris to get out of the thing as best he could. There was, as above -indicated, |139| a risk in my claiming the paternity, but it was -worth while running it. The Khaleefa, so my friends told me, would -now certainly release me from prison, as my wife and child would be -a guarantee for my good behaviour if released, and also guarantee me -against any escape, for to try and escape with a woman and baby made -success very problematical, while the woman would certainly hinder me -in any attempt to escape, when it could only result in the death of -herself and child. It was for this reason—to hinder escape—that the -Khaleefa kept his captives well supplied with wives, and showed his -displeasure very plainly if the expected results did not follow. But my -claiming the paternity did not please Idris, as it deprived him of all -chance of securing Hasseena for himself, and also left him at the mercy -of the Khaleefa for his neglect of duty in allowing Hasseena to come -near me, so he empanelled a jury of Soudanese matrons to inquire into -the affair. - -At the time when Hasseena startled our little world with her -interesting condition, Omdurman was, and had been for some months, -almost depleted of its male population; the rumours of an expedition -(Stanley’s, to rescue Emin) had resulted in a considerable force being -sent to Equatoria. The army to attack Abyssinia had been in the field -for months, so also had the army which Wad Nejoumi was to lead a few -months later to its destruction at Toski. - -A number of the ladies empanelled for the jury ought not, unless they -belonged to the Gawaamah tribe, to have been eligible for election, and -others, |140| under the circumstances, should have avoided publicity; -but here was an opportunity for them, and they were not going to miss -it. They came together to save themselves—not Hasseena or Idris—hence -the extraordinary verdict they gave: to the effect that it was not -only possible for a woman to be with child nineteen months—as Hasseena -presumably was, but for twenty-four months, while some hotly contested -for an extension of the time to years! - -Idris had still another card to play; he averred that it was impossible -for the child to be mine, and he now swore it was not his. Then -Hasseena ought to be flogged and sent to prison; but as Idris would be -entrusted with the flogging himself, it was to be understood that he -was not going to damage his prospective property. It was now the turn -of those whom I remarked ought not to have been eligible for election -to the jury; the tales they told to account for their own interesting -condition are worthy of the best traditions of the “Thousand and One -Nights;” but, even if written, they would be less fit for translation -and publication than the originals of the famous tales. Idris now -appealed to the Kadi, who, after interviewing the jury, supported -their contentions, and related the whole story to the Khaleefa, much -to his amusement and the discomfiture of Idris; for, while graciously -sending me his congratulations on the coming event, he ordered the -unconditional release of Hasseena, who went to live in what might be -called the “Christian” quarter of the town. - -In January the girl-child was born, and named |141| “Makkieh” -(shackles), a name which appealed to the humorous side of the Khaleefa, -who, being tickled at the idea of the name, in a fit of good-humour, -sent word to me to ask if I would undertake the manufacture of -gunpowder if he released me. I unfortunately replied that I did not -understand the manufacturing of it, and this aroused his suspicions, -which did not abate one jot when, shortly afterwards, a Bohemian -baker, who had strayed from Halfa, was taken prisoner, and sent on -to Omdurman as a captured spy. This man, whom I knew only by the -name of Joseppi—though he had a string of other names, which I have -forgotten—was a Bohemian by birth and a baker by trade. He was not of -strong intellect, and what intellect he had, had maybe been impaired by -a “music madness.” From the rambling statements he made to me during -his year’s imprisonment, I gather that he had tramped Europe as a -wandering musician, landing finally in Egypt, where he tramped from -the Mediterranean to the frontier. It is quite evident that instead -of coppers he received drinks in exchange for his strains, and this -further added to his mental troubles, though the drunkenness he has -been charged with was, in my opinion, more the result of circumstances -and misfortune than a natural craving for ardent liquors. - -On leaving Wadi Halfa, he had expected to find, as he had found in -Europe and the part of Egypt he had tramped through, villages or towns -within the day’s tramp. He had not the slightest idea of what the -desert was until he found himself in it. After some days of wandering, -during which he eat pieces of his |142| worn-out boots in lieu of -other food, he struck the Nile, and, wandering along, ignorant of -the direction he was taking, he came upon a party of dervishes, whom -he tried to communicate with, and after, by gesticulations, showing -them that he wanted bread or food, he commenced to “soothe the savage -breast” with strains from his violin. They took him prisoner, destroyed -his instrument, and sent him on to Omdurman as a spy. On arrival there, -he was ushered into the presence of the Khaleefa, who was undecided as -to whether he had a madman or an actor to deal with, for on dates being -brought for Joseppi to eat, he threw them about, and then lay flat on -his face. He was sent to prison and heavily chained; in the process of -having his chains and bars fitted, he fainted away. - -[Illustration: Gaoler. Neufeld. Gaoler. Son of Fauzi Pasha. Fauzi Pasha. - -MEAL-TIME IN THE SAIER.] - -Joseppi was in my charge for about one year, and while being as -harmless as a child, he caused me endless trouble. During the day he -would remain perfectly quiet, but at night-time he would insist upon -singing or humming. As his tunes had neither beginning nor end, and -were composed of notes snatched from here and there, we soon tired -of it, and Joseppi received a light flogging on one occasion for not -“shutting his mouth” when requested to do so. I remonstrated with him -after he had been flogged, and told him that he should not continue to -hum after other prisoners had asked him to keep quiet. He ruminated -over this, and thinking, maybe, at the moment that I was taking the -part of the others against him, he went off to the Saier, and told -him |143| confidentially that I was a great and well-known general -in Europe, and a few other things. Joseppi had an enormous appetite, -and was always hungry; he caused me a great deal of trouble during the -worst days of the famine, when food was so scarce, for after sharing -my scanty meal, he would wander off and pester every group for a scrap -of food. Eventually, we had to provide three bowls for him; just when -our food came in, we handed him his bowls, and thus were allowed a few -moments’ peace. We had finished our meal before he had finished his -food, so that our group, at least, was free of his importunities. He -came to grief through eating pieces of camel-skin, which the gaolers -used to sell to the poorer prisoners during the famine. - -Fearing that he would die in the prison, I sent word to the “Christian” -quarter, asking that the Khaleefa should be prayed to release Joseppi, -which was done, and he found congenial employment for a time in the -bakery of Youssef Sawar. Soon afterwards, he borrowed a few dollars -here and there for the purpose of buying grain at El Fun; he started -off dressed in a new jibbeh, carrying his dollars, and a well-stocked -basket of provisions for his two days’ journey. At the very moment when -Wad Adlan was pleading with the Khaleefa to release me from prison, so -that I could assist him in the work of the Beit-el-Mal, a deputation -of the captives arrived at the door of the house to tell the Khaleefa -that Joseppi must have escaped, as he should have been back in Omdurman -some days ago. Turning to Wad Adlan, |144| the Khaleefa said, “El -boomi mahhgaad—Abdulla Neufeld ogud? Khallee ossbur.” (“The fool did -not stop—when he had the chance to escape. Will Neufeld? Let him wait a -bit.”) This was the second time the poor fellow had cost me my liberty. -There is no doubt that the man was murdered for the sake of his food or -money, for his remains were found later, on the road between Khartoum -and El Fun. - - - - -|145| - -CHAPTER XII - -IBRAHIM WAD ADLAN - - -A favourable opportunity here presents itself for referring to that -little-written-about, and, therefore, little-known strange character in -Mahdieh—Ibrahim Wad Adlan, the Amin Beit-el-Mal. Maybe in no one else -did he confide as he confided in me while we were fellow-prisoners, -and maybe he did so only because he knew that I was an avowed enemy -of Mahdieh, that I was at the time defying the Khaleefa to do his -worst against me, and that my interests lay elsewhere than in the -Soudan. There was also a lurking suspicion that I had been sent up as -a Government emissary, and that the letter of General Stephenson was -purposely couched in the language it was, so that, if it fell into the -hands of the Khaleefa, he would be led to believe that I had started -upon a trading expedition pure and simple. The friendship formed during -the two or three months, which Adlan and I spent as fellow-prisoners, -was to end in the not least interesting of my experiences, but it also -ended in a tragedy. - -Wad Adlan, prior to the Mahdist revolt, had been |146| one of the -principal and richest merchants in Kordofan. His business connections -had taken him a number of times to Cairo and other parts of Egypt. -For intelligence, and as a man of the world, he was far and away -superior to all the “great” people who from time to time became my -fellow-prisoners; I should be inclined to place him on a higher level -than the best of the old Government officials; he read and wrote well, -and, as will be seen later, he was not deficient in certain qualities -which go far towards making a successful Oriental diplomatist. To -the end he was loyal to the core to the old Government, but he was -compelled to act a part—and well he acted it. Had there been one more -Adlan in the Soudan—and many had the opportunity of being such—the -rule of Abdullahi would have ended with the insurrection of Khaleefa -Shereef. That insurrection just missed being successful, but it was -through no fault of Adlan. Carefully and secretly he had paved the way -to it, but his task ended when he had paved the way; it was for others -to take the goal. - -Adlan was the one man in the Soudan who had the courage of his -opinions, and expressed them to Abdullahi; he was a man himself, -acted as one, and despised heartily those who, in his opinion, were -carrying their obedience to the confines of servility. Failing to -induce Abdullahi to rule with some little semblance of justice and -equity, as laid down in the Quoran, he set about to undermine his -influence and power, but he had to carry out his work by subterfuge, -and single-handed. There were, he told me, a number |147| of people he -would have wished to take into his confidence, but some he was afraid -might betray him, and the others he could not trust with the little -discretion they could boast of. He feared they might unwittingly let -slip a few words prematurely, and then his and their tongues would be -silenced for ever. - -As the director of the Beit-el-Mal, his first care was to keep the -treasury and granaries full to repletion. During the famine this was -an impossibility, but some grain and money had to be procured from -somewhere. The poor, and those who had come by their little stores -honestly, Adlan never made a call upon; indeed, he was the protector -of the poor and the Muslimanieh (captive Christians). It was Adlan’s -policy to create enemies of Abdullahi, so that was another reason for -his protecting the poor, who were already bitter enemies of their -savage ruler. On reporting to Abdullahi the depleted condition of the -treasury and granaries—and Abdullahi was aware that the doors of the -Beit-el-Mal and Adlan’s house were besieged night and day by thousands -of starving wretches—Adlan would be given a verbal order to search -for grain and bring it into the Beit-el-Mal. This order he would put -into immediate execution against Abdullahi’s particular friends and -adherents, for the whole of their stores were the proceeds of robbery, -and the plundering and murdering of weaker tribes and people. To all -remonstrances Adlan would reply that he was carrying out Abdullahi’s -orders, and every one knew that disobedience to these, or any attempt -to evade them, meant summary execution. Occasionally some |148| -“strong” man would enter a mild protest to the Khaleefa himself, who -would feign ignorance of having given any general orders to Adlan. -Adlan would be summoned, but, questioned as to his actions in the -presence of the complainant, he dare not reply that he had but obeyed -the general orders given him; he would be obliged to answer in such a -way that the “strong” man would believe that he had acted upon his own -initiative. After the audience, the “strong” man would follow Adlan to -the Beit-el-Mal, and demand the return of his grain and dollars; but -Adlan had distributed all on the Khaleefa’s orders—which the registers -proved, as nothing might leave the Beit-el-Mal without his sanction. -The “strong” man now was undecided as to whether Abdullahi was playing -with him or not, but his safest plan was to intrigue against Adlan. In -this he would be helped might and main by Yacoub, Abdullahi’s brother, -and the bitterest enemy of Adlan, for Yacoub, as the Emir of Emirs -(prince of princes), was insane with jealousy at the hold which Adlan -had on the masses. The respect and veneration paid to Adlan Yacoub -considered himself entitled to by virtue of his position and rank. - -It may, or may not, be the case that Abdullahi himself was growing -jealous of Adlan. As Khaleefa, his power was so absolute that he could -remove any dangerous person by a suggestive motion of the hand, so -that when he sent Adlan into prison for a time, it was, in Adlan’s -opinion, only to appease his enemies, to prevent any wavering in -their allegiance, and to |149| stem the rapidly approaching tide of -discontent. But Adlan’s committal to the Saier left a clear field for -his enemies to intrigue against him, and being kept informed of every -charge made, and the Khaleefa’s varying moods towards him, Adlan saw -serious danger ahead. - -Reports reached us that the Beit-el-Mal was in sore straits, and that -the Khaleefa had already expressed his intention of reinstating Adlan -if matters did not improve. Then it was that Adlan unbosomed himself -to me practically unreservedly. Gradually, but surely, he gave me to -understand that if ever he was reinstated he would do all in his power -to secure my release, and he so often told me _not_ to attempt flight, -if I was released, that I saw clearly he meant to assist me in doing -so. As the Beit-el-Mal went from bad to worse, Adlan’s spirits rose, -and he appealed to me to advise him what to do in the event of his -being reinstated. He saw that for a time, at least, he should have to -abandon his old policy, and he did not know in what direction he might -turn to revive the fallen fortunes of the treasury and granary. - -Trading had been permitted to a certain extent, so I suggested its -extension, but Adlan at first would not hear of this. Abdullahi’s -purpose was to keep the Soudan as much a _terra incognita_ as possible, -and the further opening up of trade routes would defeat this object. My -next suggestion was that the Beit-el-Mal should hand over to merchants -gum, ivory, feathers, etc., at a fixed rate, to be bartered against -specified articles required at Omdurman, which, being received |150| -into the Beit-el-Mal to be distributed from there, would allow of it -making double profits on the transactions. At first he scouted the -idea, for there was not a single man he could trust, and if he gave -merchants any goods and they did not return with the proceeds of their -barter, Adlan would be held responsible. It was then I suggested that -he should only advance goods to people who had families in Omdurman, -which would ensure their returning; but he foresaw that the Khaleefa -would raise objections, as these people might give information to the -Government. As a matter of fact, they did do so eventually, returning -to Omdurman and giving to Abdullahi as incorrect information of the -Government as they had given the Government concerning him and affairs -in the Soudan. - -In the end, I drove home my point by falling into figurative language, -a means of argument as general and effective in the East now as it was -in ancient days. “Adlan,” I said, “you have been feeding Abdullahi on -his own flesh; he is sick, but he is hungry; you have cut all the flesh -from his bones; if you try to feed him on his bones, he will kill you, -for he wants flesh to eat; you must cut flesh from some one else to -feed him, and cover his bones again.” Adlan then jumped at the idea of -trading, and said that as soon as his release came—for he felt sure -he would be released—he would ask the Khaleefa to release me so that -I might assist him in the work. The first essential, though, he told -me, was to abandon my present attitude towards Mahdieh, and offer to -become a Muslim. |151| I agreed to do so, and Adlan reported to the -Saier, who in turn reported to the Kadi, that I was willing to embrace -the faith. “What,” said the Kadi, “Abdalla Nufell a Muslim? No, his -heart is the old black one; he is not with us; he is deceiving; his -brain (head) is still strong; he is a deceiver; tell him so from me.” -The Kadi had not forgotten my old discussions with him in the presence -of others, where he perhaps had the worst of it, and would not forgive -me. Failing my “conversion,” he knew that I should have to suffer the -tortures of the Saier, and he intended that I should suffer them. Soon -after this, Adlan was released and reinstated in his old post; but he -sent word that I must be patient, as he could not speak to the Khaleefa -about me until he had got back fully into favour. - -I should have mentioned before, that on the Khaleefa asking for designs -for the proposed tomb of the Mahdi, Kadi Hanafi and others suggested -that I should prepare designs in the hope they would be accepted, when -I should have to be released to see to their execution. Remembering the -old tombs of the Khaliffs at Cairo, I had little difficulty in drawing -a rough sketch of one, which I had submitted to Abdullah, as being an -entirely original design. I was told by the Saier to make a clay model, -and spent some three weeks in making one about two feet high. Hundreds -came to see it, until it was knocked to pieces by a presumed fanatic, -who objected to a dog of an unbeliever designing the tomb of the holy -man; but from what I learned later, it was only kicked to |152| pieces -after it had been copied. Adlan, knowing of this incident, sent me -word to prepare designs for the mural decorations of the interior, -and I spent some weeks over these; when they were finished, I sent -them direct to the Khaleefa, who sent for Adlan, and told him to make -inquiries as to how long the transfer of the designs to the walls would -take, and how much the work would cost. I gave an estimate of sixty -days for the completion of the work. Adlan said the cost would be nil, -as he had the paint. - -While these designs were being sketched out, I made preparations for -flight as soon after my expected release as possible, and having paper -and ink in comparative abundance, I was enabled to write letters -surreptitiously. On October 12, 1888, I sent my servant to a Greek -captive, asking him to write me a letter in Greek to my old friend, -Mankarious Effendi, station-master at Assouan. The original letter is -before me, and the following is a literal translation:― - - “Mr. Neufeld has asked me to write this letter because he could not - write it himself; you cannot know what a difficult position he is in; - since he came here he was taken twice to the gallows, but was not - hanged, and is still in chains, and subject to their mercy. He wants - you to take over his business, and to act forthwith as his agent. He - borrowed from the bearer a hundred medjedie (dollars), which refund - to him, and give him something for his trouble, and try and send him - back with two hundred pounds which he might buy his liberty for. This - letter is to be kept secret, as there are people who carry all news - here, so if the authorities got to know anything about it Mr. Neufeld - will grow from bad to worse. - - (Signed) “NIROGHOPOLO.” - -On November 10, 1888, hearing that another old |153| acquaintance -was in Omdurman, I got another Greek captive to write another letter -to Mankarious Effendi. This letter also was delivered, and Mankarious -Effendi hands it to me along with a number of other documents which he -has carefully preserved. I again translate literally― - - “MR. MANKARIOUS BEY,― - - “I wish you will be kind, and have all my things made over to you by - Mr. Möller (my manager), and I pray you to act as my wakeel (agent); - also please try and send me some money which I may help myself with, - say two hundred or three hundred pounds; this money will be for my own - use. As I was in need, I have taken from the bearer a sum of a hundred - medjedie, which you will refund him and something as well, because he - has done me a favour, and his name is Akkar (the real name—Karrar, - was doubtless purposely changed). The money you can give the bearer - of this, please take a receipt for and keep it with you; write me a - letter, and send it to Ahmad Abou Idris, or his brother Kabbassi, and - mention the sum you have sent me; also give bearer any assistance he - may want. - - (Signed) “PROTHOMOS” (I am ready). - -I had heard from people who had come to Omdurman of strange doings -in connection with my business, and in order that my manager should -understand that the letter was authentic, I also signed the letter, and -used our cypher for payment of £200—“u.r.r.” - -While in a fever of excitement and anxiety over the despatch of these -messengers, Adlan sent me a secret messenger to say that Sulieman -Haroun, of the Ababdeh tribe, then living at Omdurman, was sending his -son Mohammad Ali to Cairo. Divining that Adlan wished me to communicate -with Sulieman, I sent out word that I wished to see him. In a few -|154| days’ time he gained admittance to the prison to see me, and -I at once set to business, and asked him if he would undertake the -arrangements for my escape. This he agreed to do, but only on condition -that I succeeded in getting outside the prison walls. So that he should -have some confidence that I would assist also, I asked him to call -and see Adlan, and I believe it was Adlan who advanced to Sulieman -the two hundred dollars he brought me, and for which I gave a receipt -for £100. I gave him a letter for his son to deliver to my manager at -Assouan, enclosing a receipt for £100, and an order for payment of a -further £200. On receiving the money, he was to buy goods, arrange for -relays of camels on his return journey, and bring the goods to the -Beit-el-Mal, where Adlan assured him he would find me. Mohammad Ali was -to leave immediately, and return to Omdurman at the earliest possible -moment. - -[Illustration: MOUSSA DAOUD EL KANAGA.] - -Within a few days of the despatch of this messenger, Moussa -Daoud-el-Kanaga, also of the Ababdeh tribe, and an old acquaintance -of mine, came to see me, and I enlisted his services. I told him of -the other arrangements I had made, and asked if he would go partners -with Mohammad Ali in effecting my escape. To Kanaga I gave a letter -telling my manager that I had drawn against him a draft for £200, and -instructing him to honour it; but, in case of accidents, I instructed -Kanaga to see Mankarious Effendi at Assouan, and, failing to find him, -to make his way to Cairo, and hand the letter to the German Consul. -Kanaga left Omdurman about December 30, 1888. |155| - -After my remarks anent the _reliable unreliability_ of every one in -the Soudan, the deceptions practised one against the other, and the -absolute necessity for secrecy, it will naturally be wondered that I -entrusted my secret to so many, if secret it could be called when so -many knew of it. The explanation is simple. I _knew_ the people I had -to deal with, and have you noticed the seemingly insignificant fact -that I _borrowed money from each of the people I employed_? Later in my -narrative I will explain these peculiar transactions. - -While these different messengers are on their journeys, being “held -up” at one place or the other, and at others pretending that they were -gradually working their way to Berber or Dongola for trade, I relate -what is happening in Omdurman. - -News filtered through that the “faithful” had won a great victory over -the English at Suakin; but as the Saier filled with prisoners who -were present at the fight, and who gave different versions to that -ordained by Abdullahi—hence their imprisonment—we learned the truth. -The “faithful” had received a severe defeat. Soon after this, the army -sent against Abyssinia won its great victory over the forces led by -King John, and the fortunes of the Beit-el-Mal took a turn for the -better from the proceeds of the sale of slaves and the loot brought -in. Adlan was coming into favour again, but Abdullahi was too much -occupied in goading on Nejoumi to attack Egypt to give any attention -to the decoration of the Mahdi’s tomb or the extension of trade. He -was still less inclined to give |156| any attention to such matters, -when the news arrived—and it arrived very soon,—that Nejoumi’s army had -been almost annihilated at Toski. My evil star was certainly in the -ascendant, and was mounting higher and higher, for it was at this time -that Joseppi received a flogging for his vocal exercises, and having -a severe fit of mental aberration in consequence, he went off to the -Saier, and told him that he knew I was a great military general, and -that I was maturing plans for the overthrow of Abdullahi. I do not for -a moment believe the poor fellow knew what he was saying, for he came -back to share my scanty meal as usual. - -Kanaga and Mohammad Ali we had calculated would reach Omdurman some -time in December or the early days of January, and as the time for -their return approached, Adlan evidently became more earnest in his -entreaties for the work of decorating the Mahdi’s tomb to be put in -hand. My flight would have to take place as soon as possible after the -return of my messengers, otherwise the desert relays would disperse, -believing that the scheme had fallen through; so it was necessary that -I should have been at work for some time before their arrival, that is -to say, long enough for my guards to grow lax in watching my movements. - -Day after day Adlan sent in to inquire, “Have you any news from the -Khaleefa?” and each day the messenger took back my reply, “No; have -you?” but my inquiry referred to news of the messengers. At last the -joyful news came; the work was to be done, and two guards came to the -Saier, |157| and conducted me to the Mahdi’s tomb. There I discovered -that my clay model had been faithfully copied, with the exception that -the builders had shaped the dome conically. Adlan came to me there, -and congratulated me on this being my last day in makkiehs (chains). -Telling me to remain at the tomb until his return, he went off to the -Khaleefa to receive his order for my transfer to the Beit-el-Mal, -and at the very moment he was receiving it, the deputation of the -Muslimanieh put in its appearance to report the disappearance of -Joseppi. I was hurried back to prison, and an extra makkieh fitted to -me. How I cursed Joseppi, but I did not know then that the poor fellow -had been murdered. It was not long after this when I saw Adlan brought -into the prison, heavily weighted with chains, and taken to a hut some -distance from all the others, the prisoners being forbidden to approach -or speak to him. - -During the night, on pretence of going to the place of ablution, I -shuffled towards his hut, and when a few yards distant, lay on the -ground and wriggled close up, stretching my chains to prevent their -rattling and attracting the notice of the guards. Asking in a whisper, -“What has happened?” he replied in a startled voice, “Imshee, imshee -(go away, go away), do not speak to me; a big dog has me by the leg -this time; go away, or he will get your leg.” I tried again to learn -what was the matter, but Adlan’s entreaties for me to go away were -so earnest that I wriggled off, and gained my hut without being -discovered. Soon afterwards Adlan’s slave boy, when |158| walking past -my hut, said, “Do not speak to my master; if you do, you will hear -the ombeyeh.” The whole night through the boy passed backwards and -forwards between Adlan’s hut and his house outside. Asked as to what he -was doing, he gave the same reply each time I put a question to him, -“Burning papers; do not speak to my master.” I had learned from Adlan -that he had been in communication with “friends,” and understanding -from him that, in the event of my ever returning to Egypt, I was to -be his “friend at court” with the Government, I suspected that he -was destroying all evidences which might be used against himself -and others. That the Khaleefa himself had received word of some -correspondence is evident from the rage he exhibited when Adlan’s house -was searched, and no incriminating documents found. Idris es Saier -nearly lost his head over the matter, for the Khaleefa accused him of -having assisted Adlan in disposing of the papers in some way. - -On the morning of the third or fourth day of Adlan’s imprisonment, we -saw him led out of his hut bound, and taken to the anvil to have his -chains struck off. We all knew what this meant—an execution, but most -of us believed that the Khaleefa was only doing this to frighten Adlan, -and impress him with this evidence of his power. We were not allowed to -approach him, but Adlan called out, “This is my day; have no fear, any -of you. I am a man. I shall say and do nothing a man need be ashamed -of. Farewell.” While extra chains were being fitted to |159| my -ankles, the ombeyehs were announcing the death of Adlan. The mourning -for his death was general, but few if any knew the reasons which -actuated the Khaleefa in ordering his execution. Maybe the fugitive -Khaleefa himself only knows, but it is possible I can throw a little -light on the matter. To coin a word, Adlan had been “Gordonized;” about -the time of the anniversary of Gordon’s death, Adlan met with his, and -while waiting for that help which, as will be seen, started “too late.” - - - - -|160| - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE TRUE HISTORY OF MY ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE - - -If I am wearying my readers with this long-drawn-out episode, which -never seems to draw to a close, I may ask their forgiveness on the -ground that weeks have been spent in collecting the links which were -scattered between Europe and Omdurman, and without the links complete -the tale might, and very reasonably so, have been disbelieved. - -The messengers I despatched with the first letters quoted, arrived -in Assouan some time in January or February, 1889, and delivered the -letters to Mankarious Effendi, who at once wrote to my manager, as he -had sold up my business, and left for Alexandria. Receiving no reply, -Mankarious Effendi wrote to the German Consulate at Alexandria, who, on -March 4, replied as follows:― - - “Alexandria, March 4, 1889. - - “MANKARIOUS EFFENDI RIZK, Assouan,― - - “In reply to your letter of February 18 last, I am very sorry to - inform you that the agent of Mr. Charles Neufeld, the Mahdi’s captive - in the Soudan, Mr. Möller has shown that he cannot help Mr. Neufeld - in any way. It is rumoured here that the house established by Mr. - Möller for Mr. Neufeld has refused payments for |161| some months - back, therefore Mr. Möller finds it quite impossible to send to Mr. - Neufeld any sum unless he refuses many payments to numerous creditors - who claim any amounts from Mr. Neufeld’s house. Mr. Möller was called - to this Consulate, and directed to give a full statement as to his - proceedings in the said house, and how the latter stands, and on doing - so, it was found that Mr. Möller has done nothing wrong, and we have - therefore nothing to say against Mr. Möller. - - “But as regards the £500 deposited in the Credit Lyonnais by Mr. - Neufeld before his departure to the Soudan, Mr. Möller has shown - receipts for over £400 paid to creditors, and the rest was spent - as travelling expenses between here and Assouan, and for the - establishment of the new house in Alexandria. Still Mr. Möller has - asked Abd-el-Kader Bey, who came recently back from the Soudan, to - advise him as to the way in which he could send him a sum of money. - Abd-el-Kader Bey’s advice, however, was that no money should be sent - to Mr. Neufeld, because the latter cannot make use of money there. - Abd-el-Kader Bey stated, further, that Mr. Neufeld was then in chains, - and was only induced by his guards to ask for money. He was then very - much threatened and ill-treated by them. This is all about the case - now which I lay before your notice. - - “(Signed) The German Consul, - - “HELWIG.” - -At the same time, my manager, on my own letter-paper, sent the -following:― - - “Alexandria (undated). - - “After salaams, etc., yours to hand and details notified. In reply, I - inform you that I presented myself at the German Consulate, and found - a letter from you addressed to the Consulate, stating therein that Mr. - Neufeld had written to you to the effect that he claims £500 from me, - although I had paid this sum to creditors who claimed sums from Mr. - Neufeld. I have sent goods to Halfa and Assouan, the value of which I - have not yet received. I inform you further that Nicola Lutfalla has - sold the dahabieh, the horse, and the donkeys, and did not send me the - price of same, |162| though he sold these without any permission from - me. Consequently I wrote to him to send me the account or the money, - yet nothing of the kind was received from him. - - “Will you kindly arrange to sell all the goods in charge of Nicola, - because he wrote me saying that he was ill, and can neither buy nor - sell; so kindly sell the things and forward the money in order to - cover the claims (_i.e._ the sums advanced to me by my guides, and the - money I had asked for). - - “Please also have a complete list made by Nicola, showing all the - things he sold, and let me have this list, making thereby the thing - clear, otherwise I shall have to take measures through the Government. - - “Regarding our two houses in Assouan, will you kindly let them for any - rent, from which you will pay the taxes. Should they be vacant now, - please look after them, and send people each week to keep them clean. - They should always be kept locked. Should anything remain what cannot - be sold, keep it for Mr. Neufeld, and any letter you write me, please - address to Mr. Möller, Mr. Neufeld’s agent in Alexandria, and oblige. - - (Signed) “MÖLLER. - - “N.B.—Ask Nicola for account as well.” - -While this correspondence was being conducted, another of my messengers -arrived, and again Mankarious Effendi wrote to the Consulate, receiving -the following in reply:― - - “Alexandria, March 12, 1889. - - “A previous letter, dated March 4, was sent you. On the same date a - letter was received from you. You may be sure that what Mr. Wilhelm - Möller says is quite true, that is that Mr. Neufeld is no longer a - German subject nor _protégé_, because during his stay in Egypt Mr. - Neufeld has never claimed the protection of Germany, where he was - born. Thus he has lost his nationality. This is according to what - we learn from the parties interested in Germany. Upon this, this - Consulate can in no way look into the affairs of Mr. Neufeld nor - protect his rights, except to punish Mr. Möller should he have done - anything to be punished for, as we |163| stated to you in our letter - of March 4th. But the investigations made in our Consulate show - clearly that Mr. Möller has done nothing wrong for which he ought to - be punished. - - “Should you, however, think it necessary, with reference to Mr. - Neufeld’s two letters, which are returned herewith, to have his - business made over to you, this step should be taken before the Mixed - Tribunals, if Mr. Möller refuses to make over to you Mr. Neufeld’s - business willingly. - - “As regarding the testament made by Mr. Neufeld, which you sent to - this consulate on October 23, 1887, this was first kept in this - consulate, and then, when Mr. Neufeld’s wife came here in September, - 1888, she asked for it, as it had been reported that Mr. Neufeld was - dead. This testament was then sent to the Governor of Alexandria as - the one concerned, to which Mrs. Neufeld had to refer as a local - subject. So the Governor opened the testament, and handed it to Mrs. - Neufeld, who is still in possession of it. Mr. Möller has now removed - his business to Cairo, where he intends to get married. Salaams. - - (Signed) “The German Consul, - - “HELWIG.” - -Mankarious would have entered an action to secure my property, but -the argument had been used that the letters were not written by -me, and that perhaps I did not know their real contents. He did -not know, nor did the Consulate in a later incident know, that the -small Latin characters written by me on these letters proved their -genuineness, as they were the “cash code” I had used with my manager -in business telegrams. Mankarious sent Mohammad Ali back to Omdurman -with my discredited bill, and with verbal messages that he would do -all in his power to raise monies for my escape. While he was making -arrangements, Moussa Daoud-el-Kanaga, who had spent some time on the -road ingratiating himself with |164| the people whose assistance we -should require in our flight, put in his appearance, and learning how -matters stood, without confiding in Mankarious or Mohammad Ali, came -on to Cairo, in the hope that he would be able to get the money on the -strength of the letter that I had given him, for, as he admits, he -wanted all the glory and all the profit for himself. - -I continue the history from the sworn statement of Kanaga, taken -before a lawyer and in the presence of witnesses who could vouch for -the greater part of it. I admit I was myself a little incredulous, but -Kanaga has since backed up his statement by producing two documents, -the authenticity of which cannot for a moment be called into question, -while two are actually recorded _in extenso_ in the registers of the -German Consulate. Kanaga, according to his statement, on arrival at -Cairo, presented the letter addressed to my manager, at the German -Consulate, delivering at the same time my verbal messages. By the -German Consulate he was taken to the Austrian Consulate-General, who, -after hearing his news, sent a consular official with him to the War -Office, where he related his story. - -[Illustration: MANKARIOUS EFFENDI WITH GUIDES.] - -It is quite evident that Count Wass, the Austrian Consul-General, -believed that Kanaga would be assisted to start back immediately on -the proposed expedition, for he entrusted him with an autograph letter -dated Sunday, October 27, 1889, addressed to Slatin, asking Slatin to -request the Khaleefa to reply to the message sent him by the Emperor of -Austria concerning the Austrian Mission captives. Kanaga |165| was -put off time after time on the grounds that no reply had been received -to the letter he had delivered. Losing patience, he returned to Assouan -and made up a caravan on his own account, and, when all was ready, -returned to Cairo to report that all arrangements were complete. He was -again passed from one to the other, and on April 26, 1890, he presented -himself for the last time at the German Consulate, and being told that -there was “no reply,” he demanded a certificate to the effect that he -had delivered my letter, but had not received any monies in connection -with it, when a signed and sealed certificate was given him.[8] - - [8] “Attestation. At the special request of Moussa - Daoud-el-Abadi (Ababdeh), this is to certify that the above on - October 22, 1889, brought to the Imperial Consulate a letter - addressed to William Möller Assouan, and said to be from - Charles Neufeld. This is to certify also that the said letter - to Mr. Möller was sent to Mr. Neufeld’s father, but up to the - present no monies have been received in respect of it. Signed, - Becker.” - - The letter itself was copied into the Consular registers G. 48, - p. 385, and the following is a translation of the contents:― - - “William Möller Assouan. Three days ago I sent to you - Mohammad Ali with a letter and receipt for £100. Do not make - any difficulties about payment, and give him as much money as - possible according to the letter I have sent you. He is a sure - man, and I hope he will be the go-between between me and you - after this, and there shall be reward for it. I have agreed - with him that he shall receive 25 per cent. of the amount you - give him for his services. With the other man mentioned in - his letter and mentioned here, you might act as you like, but - do not make any difficulties to him. I hope I shall be able - to buy my liberty after his return, and then all expenses - shall be rewarded. I have sent to you up to now.” . . . The - Consulate omitted to register the names of the guides sent, - and left the space blank. The certified copy of this letter - also states that the letter contained certain Latin characters - which were undecipherable; these, again, were my ‘cash code’ - to my manager, proving the authenticity of the letters and - guaranteeing the contents. On the back of the letter was - written, ‘Pay to Moussa Daoud-el-Kanaga the sum of £30 - received. Dated December 5, 1888.’” - -Kanaga concealed the Consular certificate and the letter for Slatin -in his jibbeh, and set off for Omdurman. On nearing Berber he was met -by a dervish patrol, taken prisoner, and hurried before the Mahdist -Governor of the town. There he was confronted by two men who swore to -having seen him conversing with myself and Wad Adlan. This Kanaga did -not deny, but said that he had only spoken about trade, and that he -had permission to trade. The Governor told him it would be better to -tell the truth, for he had |166| received the news from Omdurman of Wad -Adlan having assisted him in arranging my escape, and had also received -news from Cairo of his visits to the War Office and the Consulates, and -knew that the goods he had with him were a blind to his real object in -going to Omdurman. But, continued the Governor, Adlan has been killed, -and Neufeld has more chains on him. No confession could be dragged -out of Kanaga, so he was flogged and thrown into prison, the Governor -confiscating his camels and property. After a short spell in prison, -Kanaga was set free and told to return to his own people. To have sent -him as a prisoner to Omdurman would have necessitated the Governor -sending at the same time the confiscated camels and goods, and as the -Governor wished to keep these for himself, the only way he could keep -them was by “forgiving” Kanaga, and releasing him. Kanaga lost no time -in making his way back to his people, but after this narrow escape, he -made no further efforts to penetrate into the Soudan, and the relation -of his experiences deterred every one else from attempting my escape. - -In giving my narrative to the world—owing to the very evident attempts -made in certain quarters to discredit me—I have felt it incumbent upon -me not for my own sake, but for the sake of my mother, wife and child, -and relatives, to produce as far as lies in my power reliable evidence -that the slanders persistently circulated in the Press before and since -my release are only what I have characterized them to be. Therefore -none may cavil at the means I adopt for |167| the attainment of this -object provided those means are honest, however disagreeable the -process may eventually turn out to be for others. - -In reply to the charges of refusing to escape from the Soudan, I -have, I venture to believe, brought together the links of the chain -of evidence in my favour up to the present period of my narrative. -Other evidences will be forthcoming in connection with incidents to -be treated of later. The letters I have quoted are ample proof that -from October, 1888, until April, 1890, my guides and myself were doing -all in our power to effect my escape. Meanwhile, the Intelligence -Department on March 10, 1890, are writing to my wife as follows:― - - “Mohammad Effendi Rafai, late Sub-Lieutenant, 4th Battalion, 5th - Regiment, who left Khartoum three months ago, states he knew Neufeld - very well, and saw him at Omdurman only a few days before he left. - Neufeld had been under surveillance until about five months prior to - this, but was now free. His release was owing to one of the Emirs - representing to Abdullah Khalifa the great service Neufeld had been - in enabling arms and ammunition to be taken from the Kabbabish at the - time Neufeld was captured. He now was employed as one of the Khalifa’s - mulazimeen, and received a small salary; the Khalifa gave him two - wives, and treats him well. Neufeld has very little to complain of - except want of funds, which renders living difficult, good food being - very dear. He is frequently staying with Ibrahim Bey Fauzi, who - has opened a small coffee-shop. It is untrue that the Khalifa ever - threatened Neufeld’s life; he was only threatened with imprisonment - unless he turned Mussulman. Does not think it possible that Neufeld - can receive any letters, etc., from outside. Neufeld does not occupy - himself in business in any way. Has never heard Neufeld express any - wish to go away, but does not think he would be able to do so even if - he wished it, as every one knows him.” |168| - -In September, 1888, it had been reported to my wife that, having -made an attempt to escape, I had been recaptured, and taken back to -Omdurman and executed. It was therefore very kind and considerate of -the Intelligence Department to see the error rectified, but I venture -to think that the sweets of the good news need not have been converted -into gall and wormwood by telling her that I owed my release to my -“assistance” in betraying the caravan of the loyal Sheikh Saleh into -the hands of the dervishes. Even had there been any truth in such a -statement, I think that an English lady might have been spared this -unnecessary heart-pang. I thank God nightly—ay, hourly, that He has -brought me alive from the hell I lived in, to rescue my wife from the -hell she was thrown into with such reports as these. - -It must not be imagined, from the foregoing, that there is the -slightest intention on my part to cast aspersions on the War Office -or the Consulates. I place plain simple facts before you, and these -because at the time when I was anxiously awaiting the return of my -messengers, picturing to myself the efforts my friends were making to -ensure success—though, as has been seen, they were very differently -occupied—reports were being circulated that I refused to escape, and -my wife in consequence was the recipient of numberless letters of -sympathy, in which some were “praying to the Almighty to turn the heart -of your erring husband,” while others were expressing the hope that -the ties which bound her to me would soon be severed by my meeting my -deserts at the hands of the Khaleefa’s |169| executioner! Those who -prayed for me I thank; One who knew the truth, heard those prayers: -those who condemned me I do not blame, and feel no resentment against; -they merely believed what was communicated to the Press. - - - - -|170| - -CHAPTER XIV - -A PRISONER AT LARGE - - -The disappearance of Joseppi, followed by the death of Adlan, threw me -into a state of almost abject despair; there appeared to be no hopes -of my ever being released from the Saier, and after the replies given -by Abdullahi to Wad Adlan and the Muslimanieh when they interceded for -me, my friends outside evidently abandoned all hope also. But I was -to have an interesting fellow-prisoner whose deceptions on Abdullahi -and others were indirectly to lead to my release. It will take many -generations of Gordon College teachers to uproot the firm belief of -the Soudanese in “jinns” (spirits, sprites, and fairies) and in the -supernatural powers claimed to be possessed by certain communities -and individuals. Centuries of most transparent deceptions have not -shaken their belief, so that it was no wonder the Mahdi found many -imitators in the miracle-working line, and that these people found -thousands of believers. The more these charlatans failed in their -endeavours to produce powder from sand, lead from dust, and precious -metals from the baser ones, the more credence was given to the next -professing alchemist who came |171| along. A man named Shwybo of the -Fellati country (near Lake Chad), had driven a good trade in Omdurman -by inducing people to give him large copper coins to be converted into -silver dollars; he had offered his services to Wad Adlan, but as the -Beit-el-Mal had been mulcted in some thousands of dollars already by -people like him, Adlan refused to entertain any of his propositions. - -On the death of Adlan, Shwybo offered his services to the Khaleefa, -and the Beit-el-Mal. The Kadi was instructed to inquire into his -pretensions; Shwybo professed to have power over the jinns who -converted copper into silver; a number of his dupes presented -themselves to the Kadi, and complained that Shwybo’s jinns had not only -not converted the coins given them to work upon, but had stolen the -coins into the bargain. Shwybo pleaded that the action of the jinns was -in consequence of the want of faith of the complainants, and to their -curiosity in trying to see the jinns at work; the jinns would never -work in the presence of strangers; no one but himself might be in the -place where the converting of the metals was in progress. Shwybo was -given about a hundred dollars’ worth of copper coins, and incense, -drugs, spices, etc., to a further value of nearly two hundred dollars, -which were taken from the Beit-el-Mal, and charged to the account of -the Kadi. The incense, drugs, and spices were to propitiate the angry -jinns; but to ensure their not being disturbed at work, the Kadi said -Shwybo had better carry out his experiments in the Saier where Idris -would see he was not interfered with. |172| - -He was given a hut apart from the rest, where he set to at once -with his incantations and incense burning. Idris and a number of -the prisoners were invited to go and see the coins buried in the -ground—the jinns having been propitiated. A quarter of an hour’s -incantation was given, Shwybo speaking a language which must have been -as unintelligible to himself and his jinns as it was to us. A similar -incantation had to be given each day until noon on the following -Friday, as it was at this hour each week that the jinns finished off -any work they had in hand. On the Friday, at noon, we were asked to -go to Shwybo’s hut, and on the earth being removed, sure enough the -copper coins had disappeared, and silver dollars had replaced them! -The next Friday only part of the coins had been converted, when Shwybo -remembered that the jinns had not been fed, and must be hungry. They -had delicate tastes; asseeda they would not eat, so they were liberally -supplied with roast chickens, pigeons, white bread, milk, eggs, etc. -We were not permitted to see them eat, but we were allowed to see the -clean-picked bones and empty egg-shells! Something went wrong again, -for on the following Friday it was discovered that none of the coins -had been converted; evidently Shwybo had run through his stock of -dollars. - -Idris, at the request of the Kadi, asked me my opinion of the whole -thing, as Shwybo wished to have another try. I replied that little -children in my country would not be deceived by such trickery, and -that if the Kadi wanted to spend his money on food, he had better buy -food for the starving women and children, and not |173| waste it on -supposed jinns. Whether my reply, or the conviction that he had been -duped angered him, I cannot say, but Shwybo received a severe flogging. -Not a cry escaped his lips; he laughed at the Saier, telling him to -strike harder. The flogging over, he told Idris that although his -silver-working jinns had flown off, and through no fault of his, his -gold-working jinns had come to his succour, and had interposed their -bodies between his and the lash. Idris, as I have already pointed -out, was the incarnation of superstition and credulity, and it was -only necessary for Shwybo to tell him that his faithful gold jinns -could convert lead into gold, to set Idris collecting dollars from the -prisoners on the Nebbi Khiddr account. With these he set up a special -laboratory for Shwybo in the house of Wad Farag, one of the gaolers—and -a reputed son of Idris. Shwybo was provided with a number of small -crucibles, two sets of Soudanese bellows, with a couple of slave boys -to work them, a quantity of lead and a number of packets of drugs and -powders from the Beit-el-Mal pharmacy. Farag was told to keep an eye on -him, and see that he did not purloin any of the gold when it appeared. - -When the first lot of lead was melted, Shwybo drew Farag’s attention -to its reddish colour, proving that the conversion was taking place; -then Farag retired while Shwybo uttered another incantation; on being -called in again, and the cover being removed from the crucible, a -bright yellow mass was seen, from which strong fumes arose. Farag was -told to cover up the crucible quickly, which he did, and left the room -with |174| Shwybo to allow of the jinns completing their work and -cooling the metal. Farag went off to Idris and the Kadi, telling them -that the conversion of the lead to gold had actually taken place; that -he had seen the gold for himself. The Kadi was dubious, but as Idris -only was employing Shwybo on this work, he declined to come into the -prison to see the gold turned out. When it was believed that the work -was complete, Idris, Farag, and Shwybo proceeded to the laboratory, and -lo! the crucibles were found empty. Shwybo thereupon accused Farag of -having stolen the block of gold, and a pretty row ensued; the prison -and the prisoners were searched, and the gold not being found, Farag -was flogged to make him disclose its hiding-place. Shwybo essayed a -second attempt, but as Idris insisted upon remaining in the laboratory -from beginning to end, the jinns refused to work, and then Shwybo was -flogged. One would have thought that, after this, people would see -that Shwybo was duping them, but he continued to collect money for -conversion from the prisoners, and now and again was able to give to -an earlier dupe one or two dollars he had received from a later one. -Complaints were made against him though, and he received repeated -floggings to make him discontinue his frauds, dying in the prison as a -result. - -It was while Shwybo was working away at his alchemistic frauds that -Hassan Zecki, an old Egyptian doctor, and then in charge of the medical -stores of the Beit-el-Mal, came into the Saier in connection with -the drugs being purchased on Shwybo’s account; Zecki had known me -by name for some time, for I had |175| in my practice as “medicine -man” frequently sent him notes for the medicines I required, and not -knowing the Arabic terms, I used the Latin names for such drugs as I -was acquainted with. From this, Zecki must have come to the conclusion -that I was a qualified chemist, and as at that time his assistant, -Said Abdel Wohatt was, and had been for some time, trying to extract -saltpetre in Khartoum and the neighbourhood, Zecki questioned me as to -its production in Europe, but I had to admit that I had only seen the -crystals obtained in the laboratory when at the University, and had no -experience of their production on a commercial scale. I told Zecki what -little I knew of testing the crystals, and you may imagine my surprise -when three days later I was summoned before Yacoub to explain the -manufacture of saltpetre. - -The new Amin Beit-el-Mal—El Nur El Garfawi—came to the Saier after -sunset, and conducted me to Yacoub’s house. One thinks rapidly under -such circumstances, and by the time we reached Yacoub’s house I had -my tale thought out. I saw that if I declared that I could not do the -work I should not be believed, and would be flogged and have extra -irons placed on me for contumacy. To lead them on to believe that I -could manufacture saltpetre meant my release from prison. After a -long discussion with Yacoub, it was arranged that I was to construct -three large tanks, about six feet long and four feet high, in which -impregnated earth was to be mixed with water, and the solution drawn -off and allowed to |176| evaporate. Believing that I should be set to -make these tanks or reservoirs, I suggested them, as their construction -would necessitate the removal of my chains. The following morning I was -called to the anvil, the rings holding the heavy iron bar were cut and -forced open, and the heavy ankle-chain I was wearing was replaced by a -piece of light awning chain taken from one of Gordon’s steamers. I was -thankful even for this relief, as it removed a dead weight of fifteen -to twenty pounds of iron from my feet. Under an armed escort I was -taken to the Nile, where I found awaiting me the Emirs Yacoub, Ahmed -Fedeel—who is now causing trouble on the Blue Nile—Mohammad Hamad'na -Allah—Zobheir Pasha’s old Wakeel—and a party of thirty to forty workmen -with materials for the tanks. Whenever Abdullahi gave an order, -immediate execution of it followed. - -I had existed in the vile-smelling Saier for nearly four years, and you -can imagine how I enjoyed the two hours on the river reaching Halfeyeh. -On arrival at this place, we were met by El Fiki Amin, a Fellati then -in charge of the works. He did not disguise his displeasure at my being -taken there, as he evidently considered it a slight upon himself. -He was extracting the saltpetre from mounds, mixing the earth and -water in pierced jars lined with fine matting, allowing the solution -to filter through, and then boiling it down to obtain the crystals; -his appliances were very primitive, but he was producing a very good -quality of saltpetre in “needles.” Yacoub ordered me to search the -ground for any deposits, and, coming |177| to a dark damp patch, I -tasted the earth, and, believing saltpetre to be present, I mixed -some of the earth with water, pouring off the solution into a small -coffeepot, and setting it to boil. More solution was added as the water -boiled away, and at the end of two hours I had a small deposit of a -thin syrupy consistence; pouring this upon a burnt brick, the moisture -was absorbed, leaving the crystals behind, and these on being placed -on hot charcoal burned away. I next took some of the earth, dried it, -and rubbing it fine, allowed it to fall in a thin stream on to the -fire; the “sissing” and occasional coloured sparks convinced them that -a valuable deposit had been discovered, and Hamad'na Allah was sent to -Omdurman to inform the Khaleefa. - -During his absence, the Fellati told Yacoub that the burning of the -crystals was no proof that they were saltpetre; I was therefore told to -produce a quantity to be submitted to Zecki and the Greek Perdikaki, -the Khaleefa’s gunpowder manufacturer. Hassan Zecki came to Halfeyeh -to examine the crystals and declared them good; Perdikaki sent a Greek -employed with him, but he not being able to give an opinion, took the -crystals to Perdikaki, who sent me a message to the effect that they -were useless, but that rather than I should be sent back to prison -he would say they were good on condition I tried to produce further -quantities in “needles,” and not in grains. On Hassan Zecki presenting -his report to the Khaleefa, and telling him that I should have some -large pans sent out to me, he sent off |178| a number of large copper -boilers, and an officer’s camp bath. The latter must have been taken -from Khartoum or Hicks Pasha’s army. The Fellati grew very sullen, -and Yacoub, knowing that the Khaleefa was entirely dependent upon the -Fellatis—the only people who seemed to understand the extraction of the -saltpetre—rather than offend the man, asked me if I thought I could -not find deposits elsewhere. I suggested looking further north, but -this would not do. He wanted a place close to Omdurman—where I could -be watched. I then suggested Khartoum, but the Khaleefa would not at -first hear of my transfer there. What probably decided him was, that -when I had been two weeks at Halfeyeh, Hasseena came to tell me Makkieh -was dead, and the Khaleefa, hearing of the loss, and believing that -there was now nothing to hold me in the Soudan, agreed to the transfer -to Khartoum, as there a better watch could be kept upon me. I was not -sorry to leave Halfeyeh, for although the place offered every facility -for my escape, I saw that I had a jealous and bitter enemy in the -Fellati, who was then spying on my every movement. It was certain that -he would frustrate any plans I might make for flight, and suspicion -would have been aroused immediately if any of the guides came to me -there. - -Hamad'na Allah was made director of the Khartoum saltpetre works! -Abdel Wohatt was his second, and I was to work under the orders of -Wohatt. On arrival at Khartoum, January, 1891, I was also placed in -charge of Khaleel Hassanein, the director of the arsenal, and all -three had to answer for me with |179| their lives. Wohatt was given -the chapel of the Mission as a house to live in; I was given one of -the priest’s rooms opposite the arches. Windows, doors, every scrap of -wood, metal, and ornaments had been taken from the place; it was almost -a complete ruin, but the garden had been kept in excellent condition, -its produce—dates, figs, oranges, limes, and vegetables—being sold -on account of the Beit-el-Mal. Wohatt, when arranging his sleeping -quarters, found the altar in his way, and made two or three ineffectual -attempts to pull it down; failing, he utilized it as a resting-place -for household rubbish, and here cocks crowed and hens hatched out their -broods. - -When we came to construct saturation tanks, it was proposed to take the -material from the walls of the Mission, but I told Hamad'na Allah and -Wohatt that as we had to live in the place, it would be far better to -repair than further demolish; so the necessary materials were brought -from outside by the fifty to sixty slaves sent over to assist us in -making the tanks and carrying the earth from the mounds. While the -construction of the tanks proceeded, we had to extract saltpetre in -the boilers, etc., sent to us at Halfeyeh, and which had been brought -with us; we produced maybe four to five pounds per diem on an average -during a period of six months—the time we were occupied in building -the tanks. Perdikaki made some gunpowder with our first consignment; -it was a failure. The good fellow, though, mixed it with some powder -from the old Government stock, and sent us another warning. My chief, -Abdel Wohatt, was the |180| son-in-law of Ali Khaater, the director -of the Omdurman arsenal, to whom our saltpetre went in the first -instance; Perdikaki telling him of the bad quality, Khaater, fearing -for his son-in-law, mixed our next consignment with an equal quantity -of saltpetre from the old Government stock in his stores, and thus it -passed muster, although Perdikaki complained again that it was only -half purified. However, the powder made with it would explode, though -it did leave about 25 per cent. of ash. The Fellati, hearing of the -success, came to Khartoum to examine our product, for the secret of -producing pure crystals was believed to be in the hands of the Fellati -only, and, as a matter of fact, in the Soudan, it is. Again he declared -the crystals were useless for the purposes they were intended for; but -as Abdel Wohatt had been a dispenser in the Egyptian Army, and as such -was supposed to be a chemist, and I, as a medicine man, being similarly -credited, we won the day. Fellati appealed to Perdikaki, but got no -satisfaction in that quarter. But Perdikaki was not long to be troubled -with the rival saltpetre makers; on the sixth anniversary of Gordon’s -death, some tins of powder in his factory exploded, killing him and -those working with him. - -Some time about June or July, 1891, our tanks were finished; in about -two months’ time we produced between five or six cwts. of crystals, and -then stopped work on account of the rains. These crystals were mixed -with an equal quantity of good crystals from the stores, and were sent -to the powder factory. It must not be imagined that at this time the -Khaleefa |181| was actually short of powder or ingredients for its -manufacture; there were, unknown to others in the town, very large -stocks indeed, which Abdullah was keeping as a reserve, but he wished -to add to that reserve as much as possible, and to expend only such -powder and ammunition as was then and there produced. - -On the death of Perdikaki, Hassan Hosna—a Circassian, and, I believe, -formerly an officer in the old army—and Abdes Semmeer, formerly in the -ordnance section of the old army at Kassala, were placed in charge of -the powder factory. When our mixed product was used for the manufacture -of gunpowder, strange things happened. After a few cartridges made from -such powder had been fired, the barrel of the rifle was found coated -with a thick white fouling; then an inquiry was held. The rifles were -brought to us at Khartoum, and, pointing to the cleaning rods, I asked -what these were intended for; on being told for cleaning the barrel, -I asked whether it was not better to have a powder which left a white -ash which might be seen to a powder which left a black ash which could -not be seen. But, for once, my argument was of no use. Wohatt replied -that perhaps we were working on bad beds, and suggested our being -transferred somewhere else. Nothing was done at the time, and we worked -on for some more months; but as large quantities of saltpetre came in -from Darfur, and later, considerable quantities of good powder came -from Upper Egypt and by the Suakin route, Khaater was able to store -away our saltpetre, and supply |182| the factory with powder and -saltpetre from these sources. - -The Upper Egypt and Suakin supplies were supposed to have been put -to the reserve, so that when cartridges exploded in the breeches of -the rifles, and destroyed the eyesight of a number of soldiers, our -saltpetre came in for the blame again. Another inquiry was held, when -we were told that the bullet did not leave the rifle, and that the -breech-blocks blew open. This, we argued, could not be the fault of -the powder, but of the rifle. Whatever the Khaleefa’s opinion might -have been, he sent off Wohatt to Alti on the Blue Nile, where, with a -number of Fellatis working under him, he was able to send considerable -quantities of “needle” saltpetre to Omdurman, while I continued at -the Khartoum works to turn out as poor a quality of saltpetre as -before. Abdel Wohatt is in Cairo now, and tells me that our precious -production—about two tons of saltpetre—is still lying unused in the -stores at Omdurman. Khaleel Hassanein and Ali Khaater are still alive, -and would doubtless smile at the legend that I “manufactured powder -for the Khaleefa to shoot English soldiers with,” particularly when I -forbade the use of wood ash in the saturation tanks, and this addition, -they knew later, was the Fellati secret for the purification of the -saltpetre. - -While employed at the Mission-house in Khartoum, Father Ohrwalder -came on three or four occasions to see me, the last occasion being, I -believe, about a month before his escape. We would sit together talking -of old times, commiserate each other on our |183| hard lot, and -guardedly, very guardedly, breathe a hope that, in some way and by some -means, our release would come, but I have no recollection that we ever -confided to each other any plans for escape. Father Ohrwalder knew that -I had had letters written by some Greeks, but I do not think he knew of -any of my plans. That we did not openly discuss such plans now appears -to me strange—and yet it is not strange. Where all led for years a life -of falsehood, in which deception of self had a no less part than that -of others, suspicious of every one around us, trusting no one, what -wonder that deceit became a second nature, and that truth, honour, and -morality—that is to say, morality as preached in Europe—should have -retired to vanishing point! - -When I heard of Father Ohrwalder’s escape, the conclusion I at once -jumped to was that my guides, seeing the impossibility of effecting -my escape from Khartoum, had come to some arrangement with him. How -fervently I cursed them all, but I did not pray for their recapture. -Even had I done so, it would have been useless. There was nothing, -provided you had money with which to purchase camels and arrange a -couple of relays in the desert, to prevent every one who wished to, -escaping from Omdurman. Your guides had only to lead you away from any -settlements; no pursuers could overtake you once you reached your first -relay, fast as their camels might go, and you would travel at twice the -speed the news of your flight could, besides having some hours’ start -of it. In the event of your coming |184| across any straggler on the -desert, a few dollars would silence his tongue, for the dollar is not -more “almighty” in America than it was in the Soudan. Supposing the -dollars did not appeal to him, and your bullet missed its mark, the -chances were a thousand to one against his picking up your pursuers on -the route you had come, for they would make to the settlements near -the river, and waste their time in useless inquiries, while you were -lengthening the distance between you. - - - - -|185| - -CHAPTER XV - -DIVORCED AND MARRIED - - -As if my troubles were not all-sufficient in themselves, Hasseena, -in addition to the begging and other undesirable proclivities she -had developed since the death of Makkieh, added that of thieving. -She naturally devoted her talents in this direction to my friends, -knowing that they would not, on my account, prosecute her. Numberless -complaints came to me, and many a recommendation was made to get rid of -her; but as she had been sent to me by the Khaleefa, I could not send -her off without his sanction. The question also arose as to what excuse -I might offer for divorcing her; to give the real reasons might end in -her being stoned, mutilated, or imprisoned, and this I shrank from. I -must admit, too, that, bad as she was then, I did not like the idea of -throwing her over. Being in receipt of ten dollars a month, I sent word -to my friends that I would save what I could to repay their losses, -and do my best to break Hasseena of her bad habits. My friends warned -me that if I was not careful I should find myself before the Kadi as -Hasseena’s partner in crime; and the Kadi, being |186| no friend of -mine, would certainly order me into prison again, which would put an -end to all chances of escape. - -In the end Hasseena had to go. Nahoum Abbajee, my greatest friend, -gave a feast at his house to celebrate the marriage of his son Yousef. -Hasseena was one of the invited guests. She stole all the spoons and -cutlery before the feast commenced, and also a number of articles -of dress belonging to other guests, all of which she sold in the -bazaar. Nahoum could overlook her stealing his property, but to steal -the property of guests under his roof was carrying matters too far. -He sent word to me that I must get rid of her, and at once. Calling -Hasseena to Khartoum, I was compelled to quarrel with her in such a -way as to attract the attention of Hamad'na Allah, and on his asking -me the reason for our constant squabbles, I told him that Hasseena -was not acting as she should by me, and begged his intervention in -obtaining through the Emir Yacoub the Khaleefa’s permission to divorce -her. Abdullahi was “gracious,” permitted the divorce, and sent word -that he would select another wife for me. This was just what I did not -want. Always expecting the return of my guides, my not having a woman -in the place lent probability to my having a whole night’s start upon -my pursuers, for my absence might not be discovered until sunrise the -following morning, at which time we went to work, and some hours more -would be lost—and gained—by Hamad'na Allah and others making a thorough -search for me before daring to tell the Khaleefa that I was missing. -|187| - -Returning my thanks to Abdullahi, I asked to be left in single -blessedness for a time; but to this he replied that “his heart was -heavy at the loss of my child; that no man might be happy without -children, and he wished me to be happy; he also wished me to have all -the comforts of life, which did not exist where woman was not; that if -I did not take another wife, he would believe I was not content with my -life in the Soudan under his protection.” It was a long rigmarole of a -message he sent, and it wound up by saying that as I had been ill for -two months, he must send a wife to attend to me, and had selected for -the purpose a daughter of Abd-el-Latif Terran. - -This was making matters worse than ever, for this girl, although -brought up in the Soudan, and speaking only Arabic, was a French -subject, being the granddaughter of Dr. Terran, an old employé of -the Government. She was only nominally Mohammedan, and lived in the -“Christian quarter.” When marriages took place in this quarter, the -Mohammedan form of marriage was gone through, and then Father Ohrwalder -performed the Christian religious ceremony surreptitiously later in the -day. I spoke to him about the Khaleefa’s intention, and as he knew I -was already married, he advised me to try and get out of the proposed -marriage by some means or another, as it would be considered binding. -After casting about for excuses which I thought might appeal to the -Khaleefa, I asked Hamad'na Allah to inform him that I thanked him for -his selection of a wife, but as she was of European descent, had been -brought up in a rich family where |188| the ladies are waited upon and -never do any work, she would be no use to me, as I required some one -to nurse me, do the cooking and house work, and go to the bazaar to -buy food, all of which she had had servants to do for her; I therefore -begged to be allowed to select a wife of the country. - -The latter part of my message evidently pleased the Khaleefa; it -appeared to him as an earnest that I was “content,” but again he -undertook the selection of the woman. When Abdullahi told any woman -she was to be the wife of any one, she dare no more refuse to accept -than the one she was sent to dare refuse to receive her. Fearing that -he might send me some one from his hareem, I asked Nahoum and other -friends to find me a wife—sharp. My object was to get her into the -place before Abdullahi sent his “present,” whom, on arrival, I might -send back on the plea that I was already married, and could not support -two wives. Nahoum found me a wife, and sent me the following history of -her. - -[Illustration: UMM ES SHOLE AND TWO CHILDREN.] - -Umm es Shole (the mother of Shole—Shole being the name she had given -her first child) was an Abyssinian brought up from childhood in a Greek -family settled in Khartoum. On reaching womanhood, she was married to -one of the sons of the family. On the fall of Khartoum, her husband, -with seven male relatives, was butchered in the house in which they -had taken refuge; Umm es Shole, with her three children, was taken as -“property” to the Beit-el-Mal, where she was handed over as a concubine -to the Emir of the Gawaamah tribe. Refusing this |189| man’s -embraces, he in revenge tortured her children to death, upon which -Umm es Shole escaped to Omdurman. Through Abd-el-Kader, the uncle of -the Mahdi, she had her case brought before Mohammad Ahmed, who, after -listening to the details, gave her a written document declaring that, -as she had been married to and borne children to a free man, she was a -free woman, but to make certain that she might never be claimed as a -slave, the document also declared that she was “ateekh” (freed) by him. - -When Abdullahi succeeded the Mahdi, he ordered every woman without a -husband, and every girl of a marriageable age, to be married at once. -He was most particular that every one in the “Christian quarter” should -be married. Umm es Shole married an old and decrepit Jew, whom she -nursed until he died two years later. Returning to a woman relative -of her husband’s, she supported the old woman and herself by cooking, -preparing food for feasts, sewing, and general housework. - -This was the wife my friends had selected for me, and I accepted her -thankfully; but when she was approached on the subject, she positively -declined to be married again, and it was only upon her being told -that I was ill, and might die, that she consented to the marriage. I -had to appoint a “wakeel” (proxy, in this instance) to represent me -at the marriage and the festivities; Nahoum prepared the feast at his -house, the bride preparing the food and attending to the guests. At the -conclusion of the few days’ ceremonies and feastings, Umm es Shole was -escorted |190| to Khartoum—a married woman, and introduced for the -first time to her husband. She set to at once with her household duties -and attendance upon me, and during a long and weary five months nursed -me back to life. - -As can well be believed, Hasseena resented no less bitterly my -projected marriage with Umm es Shole, or any one else, than she -resented her divorce, and this she resented very bitterly indeed, for -passing as the wife of a European and a presumed “General” to boot, -gave her a certain social status in Omdurman, which she took advantage -of when visiting in the various ways pointed out. On my saying to her, -“You are divorced,” which is the only formula necessary in Mohammedan -countries in such a momentous domestic affair, she promptly replied -that she was again pregnant. A few words on the subject of divorce in -the Soudan—and the rules are practically identical with those laid down -in the Quoranic law—will assist towards an appreciation of the fix this -declaration of Hasseena placed me in. - -If a woman, on being told “you are divorced,” declared herself with -child, the husband was compelled to keep her until its birth; if it was -a son, the divorce was null and void; if a daughter, the husband had to -support the wife during two years of nursing, and provide for the child -until her seventh year, when he might, if he chose to do so, claim her -as his daughter. - -When a woman was divorced for the first time, she was not allowed to -marry again without the consent of the husband; this was giving him -a “first call” if he wanted her back, for divorce might be declared -for |191| less trivial things than incompatibility of temper. If the -husband took her back, and divorced her a second time, the woman was -free to marry, but if the husband again wanted her, he had to pay her a -marriage dowry as at her first marriage. Should he divorce her a third -time, and again want her back, he would have to arrange for her to be -married to—and divorced from—some one else first, when she was free to -return to him. All this may sound very immoral to people in Europe, -but one cannot help but admire the simplicity of the proceedings; -and consider the amount of domestic infelicity it prevented. There -is no public examination of the parties concerned; no publication of -interesting details in newspapers; some little thought is given to -the woman who may have been the mother of your children, and should -she have slipped in the path of virtue, you do not shout it from the -housetops; the marriage was a private arrangement between you, so is -the divorce, and the reasons for the latter are your affair and no one -else’s. - -I have touched upon divorce in some detail, as many re-marriages under -all the conditions given above occurred, and some family records became -a hopeless tangle to all but those immediately concerned. When the new -Soudan Government comes to settle up claims to properties, they will -be confronted with a collection of “succession” puzzles to solve, for -one woman might be the proud mother of the legitimate heirs of three -or four different people, and being, as the widow and mother of the -heritor, entitled to a fixed proportion of the properties, you |192| -may be quite sure that she will fight to the death for her sons’ -interests. - -Hasseena ought not to have been in the interesting state she declared -she was, for we had been separated for a much longer period than that -ordained by law. I was obliged to tell her that if she empanelled a -jury, after the example of Idris es Saier, all the explanations they -might offer would not convince me that I held any more relationship -to the child than I did to Makkieh, and there was nothing now to -induce me to claim the paternity,—indeed just the reverse. However, if -Hasseena was with child, I should be bound to keep her for at least -two years, and if the Khaleefa sent on his present, I should have two -households to support on ten dollars a month. When making my plans -for escape, Hasseena was included; she was to have got away on the -same dromedary as myself. When my guides returned, they would find me -with two wives, and having made arrangements for one only, they might -demur at taking the two. The probabilities were they would abandon the -thing altogether, fearing that one or the other might betray them, -which meant instant execution for them and imprisonment for me. If -I kept Hasseena, she might steal from some stranger, as the houses -of my friends were now closed to her, and then I should be sent back -to the Saier; if I sent her away, she, knowing my guides and all my -arrangements, would be the first to meet them on arrival in Omdurman, -and would insist upon coming away with me under threats of disclosing -the plot. It was a most awkward fix for me |193| to be placed in; -but after considering the whole matter most carefully, I decided upon -sending Hasseena off, and trusting to luck for the rest. I had hoped -she might get married to some one in Omdurman, and then I should not -have been afraid of her. But Hasseena returned in February, 1892, some -months after my marriage with Umm es Shole, carrying a little bundle -of male humanity, who had only been three or four months less tardy in -arrival than Makkieh. - -Hasseena, doubtless, had for me the Soudan equivalent for what we -understand as affection; she had saved my life when we were first -captured; she had nursed me, as only a woman can nurse one, through -my first attack of typhus fever, and had kept me from starvation -during the famine. But while I could not forget all this, I could not -forget also that she had become a source of great danger to me, and -although my treatment of her in sending her away when I did, might to -some appear harsh in the face of what she had done for me, it must -not be forgotten that self-preservation is no less a law of nature in -the Soudan than it is elsewhere. I supported Hasseena for nearly two -years, when her child died. She then left Khartoum, where I was still a -chained prisoner at large, and went utterly to the bad. I heard of her -from time to time, and, on my release in September last, hearing that -she was at Berber, I delayed there until I had hunted her out of the -den of vice in which she was living, and provided for her elsewhere, -only to receive a telegram a few weeks later to say that, |194| -hankering for the life which she had led for a few years back, she had -run off to return to it. - -It was this action of mine, which probably gave rise to the legend that -I had brought her to Cairo with me, where my wife arrived, “only to -be confronted with a black wife after all her years of mental anxiety -and sufferings.” Why facts should be so persistently misconstrued, I -cannot understand. In making that last—and I do not say final—effort, -to do something for the woman to whom, at one time, I owed so much, I -feel I have nothing to be ashamed of. Those who think differently must -remember that it takes one some little time to fall again into European -ideas and thoughts after twelve years of chains and slavery amongst the -people whom I was compelled to associate with; and no one in the Soudan -was more out of the world than I was. - - - - -|195| - -CHAPTER XVI - -HOPE AND DESPAIR - - -While still a prisoner in the Saier, Mankarious Effendi, with Mohammad -Fargoun and Selim Aly, engaged a man of the Ababdeh, Mohammad Ajjab, -to make his way to Omdurman with a threefold object: he was to inquire -if I was still alive; if so, to pay me a hundred dollars, and then to -try and make arrangements for my escape. On arrival in Omdurman, Ajjab -met two of his own people—Mohammad and Karrar Beshir—who recommended -him, when he inquired about me, never to mention my name if he wished -to keep his head on his shoulders. They could only tell him that I -was still in prison, chained, and under sentence of death. Similar -information and the same recommendation were given to him by people -in the Muslimanieh quarter; but a Greek whom Ajjab knew only by his -Mahdieh name of Abdallah, said that he would arrange for a meeting -between him and my servant. Through Hasseena, Ajjab sent me word of -the object of his coming to Omdurman. As the Greek offered to become -my trustee, Ajjab handed him the hundred dollars, taking from him a -receipt, and sending |196| the receipt to me concealed in a piece of -bread, to be countersigned. Ajjab was to return to Assouan, let my -friends know how matters stood, and tell them that I would try and -communicate with them, if I ever got released from prison, as escape -from the prison was an impossibility. Ajjab returned to Assouan, and -handed over the receipt; but the tale he had to tell put an end, for -the time being, to any attempts to assist me further. - -When Father Ohrwalder escaped, bringing with him the two sisters -and negress, Mankarious set about immediately to find some reliable -messenger willing to undertake the journey to Omdurman with a view -of ascertaining if my escape was at all possible. He argued that if -Father Ohrwalder could escape with three women as an encumbrance to -his flight, there was nothing, provided I was at liberty, to prevent -my escaping; but those who knew the Soudan—and it was only such he -might employ—argued that if the remainder of the captives were not -already killed, they would be found chained in the prison awaiting -their execution. Months slipped away before he could find any one to -undertake the journey, and then an old but wiry desert Arab, El Haj -Ahmad Abou Hawanein, came to terms with him. Hawanein was given two -camels, some money, and a quantity of goods to sell and barter on his -way up. - -Some time in June or July, 1894, Abou Kees, a man employed in the -Mission gardens, came to me while I was working at the mounds of -Khartoum, and whispered that a man who had news for me was |197| -hiding in the gardens, and that I was to try and effect a meeting -with him. The man was Hawanein. Always suspicious of traps laid for me -by the Khaleefa, I asked the man what he wanted. He replied that he -had come from friends to help me. He had brought no letters, but by -questioning him my suspicions disappeared, and I was soon deep in the -discussion of plans for my escape. The camels he had brought with him -were, he said, not up to the work of a rapid flight, and he suggested -that he should return to Assouan, procure two good trotting camels, and -also the couple of revolvers I asked for, as it was more than likely I -should have to use them in getting clear of Khartoum. - -Soon after Hawanein’s departure, the guide Abdallah, who brought away -Rossignoli, put in his appearance. Ahmed Wad-el-Feki, employed in -Marquet’s old garden, asked that I might be allowed to call and see -a sick man at his house. On reaching the place, Feki introduced me -to a young man, Abdallah, who, after a few words, asked me to meet -him the following day, when he would bring me a letter. I met my -“patient” again, when he handed me a bit of paper on which faint marks -were discernible; these, he said, would come out clear upon heating -the paper, and, as cauterization is one of the favourite remedies -in the Soudan, some live charcoal was procured without exciting any -suspicion. The words, which appeared, proved that the man was no spy, -but had really come from the Egyptian War Office; however, before we -had time to drop into a discussion of plans, some men employed in the -place |198| came near, and we had to adjourn to the following day, -when I was again to meet my “patient.” On this occasion we were left -undisturbed, and fully discussed and settled upon our plans. - -To escape along the western bank of the Nile was not to be thought -of; this would necessitate our passing Omdurman, and to pass the town -unobserved was very improbable. Abdallah, having left his camels and -rifle at Berber, was to return there for them, and come up the eastern -bank of the Nile, along which we were to travel when I escaped. During -his absence I was to send Umm es Shole on weekly visits to her friends -at Halfeyeh; as she was to escape with us, this arrangement was made -for a twofold purpose. First, her visits would not excite suspicion at -the critical moment, as the people both at Halfeyeh and Khartoum would -have become accustomed to them; she was also to bring me the promised -revolver concealed in her clothes, and then return to Halfeyeh for -another visit. She and Abdallah would keep a watch on the banks of the -Blue Nile for me and assist me in landing. My escape would have to be -effected in my chains, and these, of course, would prevent my using my -legs in swimming. I was to trust for support to the pieces of light -wood on the banks, used by children and men when disporting themselves -in the Nile, and to the current and whatever help I might get with my -hands for landing on the opposite shore. - -Abdallah went off, but never came back. I kept to our agreement for -months, for the plan formed with |199| Abdallah was similar to that -arranged with Hawanein. Besides this, Abdallah, in the event of not -being able to find revolvers at Berber, was to continue his journey to -the first military post, obtain them there, and exchange his camels for -fast-trotting ones, as those he had left at Berber were of a poor race. -In order to prove to any officer he met that he was really employed to -effect my escape, I gave him two letters couched in such words that, -should they fall into the hands of the Khaleefa or any of the Emirs, -their contents would be a sort of puzzle to them. Each day during those -months I looked forward eagerly to a sign from any one of the people -entrusted with my escape. - -For various reasons I considered it advisable to interview Abdallah -after my release, and did so; but to make certain of his explanations, -I also arranged that others should question him on the subject of -Rossignoli’s flight and his reasons for not keeping his engagement with -me, and this is what he says. - -On leaving Cairo, he was given a sort of double mission; he was -promised three hundred pounds if he brought me away safely, and a -hundred pounds if he brought away any of the other captives. Seeing the -difficulties to be encountered in effecting my escape, and appreciating -the risks, unless we had revolvers and swift camels, he decided upon -“working out the other plan,” as he expresses it, viz. the escape of -Rossignoli, as “he was at liberty and could go anywhere he pleased,” -whilst I was shackled and constantly under the eyes of my guards. -Instead of returning |200| for the camels, Abdallah arranged for -Rossignoli to escape on a donkey as far as Berber. When some distance -from Omdurman, Rossignoli got off his donkey, squatted on the ground, -and refused to budge, saying he was tired. Abdallah tried to persuade -him to continue the journey, but Rossignoli refused, said Abdallah -was only leading him to his death, and demanded to be taken back to -Omdurman. For a few moments Abdallah admits that he was startled and -frightened. To go back to Omdurman was madness and suicide for him; to -leave Rossignoli squatting in the desert made Cairo almost as dangerous -for him as Omdurman, for who would believe his tale there? He felt sure -he would be accused of having deserted the man, and there was also the -chance of Rossignoli being discovered by pursuers, when a hue and cry -would be set up for Abdallah. - -One cannot help but admire Abdallah’s solution of the difficulty. -There was a tree growing close by; he selected from it a good thick -branch, and with this flogged Rossignoli either into his right senses -or into obedience to orders; then placing him on the camel behind him, -he made his way to Berber. Here Rossignoli, instead of keeping in -hiding, wandered into the town, was recognized by some people, and, -when spoken to, told them that Abdallah was leading him to Egypt, but -that he preferred to return to Omdurman. Fortunately native cupidity -saved Abdallah; he baksheeshed the people into a few hours of silence, -with great difficulty got his charge clear of the town, and with -still greater difficulty |201| hammered and “bullydamned” him into -Egypt and safety. This is Abdallah’s own tale. He assures me, and I -believe him, that it was his intention, as soon as he had handed over -Rossignoli safe, to have asked for the revolvers and started back to -try and effect my escape, risky as he knew it to be; but as Rossignoli -had betrayed his name in Berber, he knew well that the Khaleefa would -have men waiting for him from Omdurman to the frontier, and he showed -no better sense in flogging Rossignoli, than he showed in settling down -with his well-earned hundred pounds rather than attempting to make it -into four hundred by passing the frontier. - -Rossignoli’s absence was not noticed for a little time, and -fortunately, for a donkey leaves better tracks to follow than a camel. -The Khaleefa was not particularly angry about the affair, although he -imprisoned for a day Mr. Cocorombo, the husband of Sister Grigolini, -the former superioress of Father Ohrwalder’s Mission, and Rossignoli’s -lay companion, Beppo; but the latter, after Slatin’s escape, became my -fellow-prisoner in the Saier. - -One would be inclined to believe that either myself or some dramatist -had purposely invented the series of accidents, which cropped up to -frustrate every one of my plans for escape. On February 28, 1895, -without a word of warning, I was so heavily loaded with chains that -I was unable to move, and I was placed under a double guard in the -house of Shereef Hamadan, the Mahdist Governor of Khartoum. At first I -surmised that either Abdallah or Hawanein |202| had been suspected and -imprisoned, or had confessed, or that our plots had been divulged in -some way, so that it was with no little surprise I heard the questions -put to me concerning the escape of Slatin. I denied all knowledge of -the escape, or any arrangement connected with it. I pointed out that I -had not seen, spoken to, or heard of Slatin directly for eight years, -as my gaolers and guards could prove. It was from no sense of justice -to me, but to prove that he had not neglected his duty in keeping a -strict watch upon me, that Hamadan took my part in the inquiry. I might -have been again released, had Hawanein not put in his appearance a few -days after the escape of Slatin was discovered. - -Slatin’s absence from his usual post had not been reported to the -Khaleefa until three days after his escape; he was supposed to be ill. -On the third day, Hajji Zobheir, the head of the Khaleefa’s bodyguard, -sent to his house to inquire about him. Not being satisfied with the -reply he received, he informed the Khaleefa, who ordered an immediate -search. A letter from Slatin to the Khaleefa was found sticking in the -muzzle of a rifle, and was taken to Abdullahi. After the usual string -of compliments and blessings, the letter continues― - - “For ten years I have sat at your gate; your goodness and grace has - been great to me, but all men have a love of family and country; I - have gone to see them; but in going I still hold to the true religion. - I shall never betray your bread and salt, even should I die; I was - wrong to leave without your permission; every one, myself included, - acknowledges your great power and influence; forgive me; your desires - are mine; I shall never betray you, |203| whether I reach my - destination or die upon the road; forgive me; I am your kinsman and of - your religion; extend to me your clemency.[9] - -[Illustration: SAID BEY GUMAA.] - - [9] This letter was found on the fall of Omdurman, and came - into the hands of people who, probably on the ground of its - contents differing from those given by Slatin after his escape, - published it in such a manner as to lead people to believe - that the protestations of loyalty it contained were sincere. - In my opinion the letter should be looked upon as a clever - composition to humbug Abdullahi, so that, in the event of - Slatin being retaken, the protestation of loyalty would at - least save him from the hands of the Khaleefa’s mutilator or - executioner. - -Abdullahi, on first realizing that Slatin had actually escaped, and had -had about three days’ start of any pursuers he might send after him, -was furious; losing his temper, he anathematized him in the presence -of the assembled Emirs, Kadis, and bodyguard. He reminded them that -when Slatin first tendered his submission, he had been received with -honours because he had openly professed the Mohammedan faith and had -been circumcised while still the “Turk” Governor-General of Darfur; -he reminded them also how Slatin had been allowed to bring into the -camp his household, bodyguard, and servants, and had been attached to -the Mahdi’s personal suite, of which he, Abdullahi, was chief; how, -with Zoghal, his former subordinate, he had been entrusted with the -subjugation of Said Gumaa, who had refused to surrender El Fasher -when ordered by him to do so; how he himself had treated him as his -son and his confidant, never taking any step without his advice and -guidance; but, suddenly pulling himself up, seeing the mistake he had -made in showing how much he had been dependent on him, he broke off -short to say what he would do to Slatin if he ever laid hands on him, -and promised a similar punishment to any one else who returned him -ingratitude for his favours. Reading |204| out aloud Slatin’s letter -to him, he calmed down on reaching the protestations of loyalty, and -ordered the letter to be read in the mosque and the different quarters -of Omdurman. Abdullahi has been considered as an ignorant brutal -savage, devoid of all mental acumen, and but little removed from the -brute creation. As I may be able to show later, such an expression of -opinion either carries a denial with it, or it is paying a very poor -compliment to those who, once governors of towns and provinces, or high -officials, should have bowed down, kissed hands, and so far prostrated -themselves as to kiss the feet of the representatives of this “ignorant -brute,” by whom for years they had been dominated. Since Abdullahi -respected me, as a man, by keeping me constantly in chains, I respect -him for the intellectual powers he displayed, and which apparently -paralyzed those of others who submitted to him. - -Slatin, having given a good account of himself in his many fights, -was, after his submission, looked up to as the military genius of the -Mahdist army; he could not, as I did, play any pranks with the work -he was entrusted with; the map he had drawn of Egypt, showing the -principal towns and routes, and upon which the former telegraph-clerk, -Mohammad Sirri, had been instructed to write the Arabic names, had -given some the idea that no expedition might be planned without -the aid of Slatin and this map. Abdullahi’s object in having the -letter publicly read will be divined; first, it would assure the -dervishes themselves that there was no fear of |205| Slatin, after -his protestations of loyalty, returning at the head of the Government -troops to overthrow the rule of the Mahdi, and without help from the -exterior the wavering Mahdists could not hope to throw off the yoke -of Abdullahi. Moreover, the reading of the letter to the Christian -captives would confirm the opinion formed by many, that Slatin was at -heart with the present Soudan dynasty, and that they could not expect -any help as a result of his escape. - -There is another incident, which must be here mentioned, to show -how acute Abdullahi really was. Slatin had publicly proclaimed his -conversion to Mahommedanism before his submission to the Mahdi, so -that, when he did submit, he was accepted as one of the faithful, and -treated as one of themselves. The remainder of the captives—those -taken before and after the fall of Khartoum—had not, up to the time -of the escape of Rossignoli, been actually accepted as Muslims. At -the suggestion of Youssef Mansour, on January 25, 1895, the Khaleefa -was gracious enough to take all into his fold as real converts to the -faith, and, on the anniversary of Gordon’s death, all the Muslimanieh -(Christians) were ordered to be circumcised, the only two people not -being operated upon being, I believe, Beppo, who was overlooked while -in prison, and an old Italian mason, who pleaded old age as an excuse -for not undergoing the operation. The Christian quarter was, therefore, -at the time of Slatin’s escape, considered as a Muslim community, -and the practical immunity they had |206| enjoyed from a rigorous -application of the Mahdieh laws was thereby put an end to. - -Consequently, when Slatin escaped, leaving behind him such -protestations of loyalty, the safest card the Khaleefa could play -was to read to them his letter. The reading of it caused some little -consternation and comment, no doubt, but I have already expressed my -opinion as to the light in which this letter should be considered. -It was a clever move of Abdullahi; the public reading of the letter -blasted all hopes on the part of the discontented Soudanese of any -assistance from Slatin in crumbling to dust the kingdom of the -Khaleefa, and put an end to all hopes on the part of the former -Muslimanieh captives of release, for the small proportion of old -Government employés who had, up to then, firmly believed that Slatin -was acting, as they express it, “politeeka” in all his dealings, now -joined the ranks of those who believed differently. But in this they -were, of course, mistaken. - -After the public reading of the letter, the Khaleefa sent for the -officials of the Beit-el-Mal and ordered them to take possession of -Slatin’s house, wives, servants, slaves, land, and cattle, at the same -time giving them strict instructions, in the presence of all, that -the household were to be treated gently, as being the property of a -true Muslim. His Darfurian wife, Hassanieh, whom he had married when -Governor-General of Darfur, was claimed from the Beit-el-Mal by Dood -(Sultan) Benga as of a royal family, and was by him married to another -of the Darfurian royal |207| family. Desta, his Abyssinian wife, was -within a few days of her confinement, and either, as a result of fright -at the ransacking of the house and her reduction to the position of -a common slave, or as a result of what would be to her, in her then -delicate condition, rough handling, gave birth to a baby boy, who -survived but a few weeks. - -It was while the Khaleefa was awaiting the return of the scouts -sent out to recapture Slatin that Hawanein put in his appearance at -Omdurman. He was at once seized, accused of assisting in the escape of -Slatin, and also of having returned to effect mine. Pleading ignorance -of myself and Slatin, he was not believed; he was first sent into -the Saier, and then, as he refused to confess, he was taken out and -publicly flogged. Even this did not extort a confession; the Khaleefa, -not being satisfied, ordered another flogging, but the Bisharas -interceded for Hawanein, and succeeded in obtaining his release. As my -would-be deliverer passed through the portals of the Saier, I passed in -(March 26, 1895). Hawanein lost no time in returning to Assouan, where -the relation of his experiences, with his torn back and unhealed wounds -to bear him out, put an end finally to all attempts in that quarter to -assist me in any way whatever. - -It might be as well that I should not attempt to describe my mental -condition on finding myself again in the Saier. I have a faint idea -of what my state must have been; despair cannot describe it; insanity -at blasted hopes might. Yes, I must have been insane; but I was -mentally sound, if such a contradiction |208| of terms is permissible. -I remember that for days I shuffled about, refusing to look at or -speak to any one. Perhaps what brought me round was that, in my -perambulations, I came near the Saier anvil and heard a man crying. -It was Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi, Gordon’s old favourite, who was being -shackled. My expostulations on his acting as a child and bullying him -into a sense of manhood, again prevented that slender thread between -reason and insanity snapping. It must, in some way, have calmed and -comforted me to be brought to the knowledge that others were suffering -as much as I was; and just as a child, which requires care and -attention itself, gives all its affection and sympathy to a limbless -doll, so must I have given my sympathy to Fauzi, and in so doing -taken a step back from the abyss of insanity, which I was certainly -approaching. - - - - -|209| - -CHAPTER XVII - -A NEW OCCUPATION - - -When Said Abdel Wohatt was transferred from the Khartoum to the Alti -saltpetre works, his father-in-law, Ali Khaater, the storekeeper of the -Omdurman arsenal, considered that he was no longer under the obligation -of risking his neck by mixing the Khartoum product with the Fellati’s, -or substituting it with good saltpetre in stock. A consignment of mine -was consequently sent direct to the powder factory, and was used in -making what Abd es Semmieh and Hosny, the directors, believed would -be a good explosive. The result, while being eminently satisfactory -to myself, was just the reverse for the people responsible for making -the powder. Not being certain where the fault actually lay, they -mixed this powder with a quantity of really good powder made from the -Fellati’s product, only to succeed in spoiling the whole bulk. When -my next consignment was sent in they carried out some experiments, -and, discovering where the fault lay, sent me an intimation that if -our works did not turn out saltpetre equal in quality to that formerly -supplied by us, I should be reported to the Khaleefa. Nahoum Abbajee, -hearing of the affair, came to me in |210| a state of excitement, and -pointed out the danger I was running into, and as he was then trying to -think out an invention for coining money, he suggested that he should -apply to the Khaleefa for my services in assisting him. This request -Abdullahi was only too glad at the time to accede to; saltpetre was -coming in in large quantities, and he was in great trouble about his -monetary system. - -As Khaleefa, he was entitled to one-fifth of all loot, property, taxes, -and goods coming to the Beit-el-Mal; and as all property of whatever -description was considered to belong primarily to this administration, -it followed that Abdullahi was entitled to one-fifth of the property in -the Soudan; but as he had not much use for hides, skins, gum, ivory, -and such-like, he took his proportion in coin—after putting his own -valuation upon his share. As the money he took from the Beit-el-Mal was -hoarded and never came into circulation again, a sort of specie famine -set in. Attempts had been made in the early days of Abdullahi’s rule -to produce a dollar with a fair modicum of silver; but Nur-el-Garfawi, -Adlan’s successor at the Beit-el-Mal, came to the conclusion, -evidently, that a coin was but a token, and that it was immaterial -what it was made of, provided it carried some impression upon it. The -quantity of silver in his dollars grew less and less, and then was only -represented by a light plating which wore off in a few weeks’ time. -When people grumbled, he unblushingly issued copper dollars pure and -simple. All the dollars were issued from the Beit-el-Mal as being of -equivalent value to |211| the silver dollar, and when these coins -were refused, the Khaleefa decreed that all future offenders should be -punished by the confiscation of their property and the loss of a hand -and foot. The merchants, though, were equal to the occasion; when an -intending purchaser inquired about the price of an article, the vendor -asked him in what coinage he intended to pay; the merchant then knew -what price to ask. - -As the silver dollars gradually disappeared, the few remaining went -up enormously in value, until in the end they were valued at fifty -to sixty of the Beit-el-Mal coins, so that an article which could -be bought for a silver dollar could not be purchased under fifty to -sixty copper dollars. Although a rate of exchange was forbidden, -the Beit-el-Mal took advantage of the state of affairs by buying in -the copper dollars, melting them up, recasting, and striking from -a different die. These coins would be again issued at the value of -a silver dollar, and the remaining copper dollars in the town were -put out of circulation by the Beit-el-Mal’s refusal to receive them. -To make matters worse, the die cutters cut dies for themselves and -their friends, and it was worth the while of the false (?) coiners to -make a dollar of better metal than the Beit-el-Mal did, and these we -re-accepted at a premium. The false coinage business flourished until -Elias el Kurdi, one of the best of the die cutters, was permanently -incapacitated by losing his right hand and left foot; and this -punishment, for a time at least, acted as a deterrent upon others, -leaving the Beit-el-Mal the entire monopoly of coinage. |212| - -Sovereigns might at any time be bought for a dollar, for their -possessors were glad to get rid of them. Being in possession of a gold -coin denoted wealth, and many people who attempted to change a gold -coin returned only to find their hut in the hands of the Beit-el-Mal -officials, searching for the remainder of the presumed gold hoard. -Failing to find it, they confiscated the goods and chattels. The trade -with the Egyptian frontier, Suakin and Abyssinia, was carried on -through the medium of barter and the Austrian (Maria Theresa) trade -dollar. - -It was while the currency question was at its height that Abbajee -came forward with his scheme for a coining press; and, in order that -I might assist him, I was transferred to the Khartoum arsenal. I was -obliged to give up my quarters in the Mission buildings, and live -with the bodyguard of thirty Baggaras in the house of Hamadan, the -Mahdist governor of Khartoum. The arsenal was presided over by Khaleel -Hassanein, at one time a clerk under Roversi, in the department for -the repression of the slave trade. Although ten years had elapsed -since the fall of Khartoum, the arsenal must have been in as perfect -working order as when Gordon made it into a model Woolwich workshop. -Power was obtained from a traction-engine, which drove lathes, a -rolling-mill, drills, etc., while punches, iron scissors, and smaller -machinery were worked by hand. In the shops proper were three engines -and boilers complete, ready to be fitted into Nile steamers, and -duplicates and triplicates of all parts of the machinery then in use -were ready |213| in case of accidents. Smelting, casting, moulding, -and modelling were all carried on in the place. The storeroom was -filled with every imaginable tool and article required for the smithy, -carpenters’ shops, and the boats. All the metal of the Soudan had -been collected here. There were parts of cotton presses; sugar-mills; -bars of steel and iron; ingots of brass and copper; iron, copper, and -brass plates; the heavier class of tools and implements; and I was -assured by Osta Abdallah, a rivetter in the shops in Gordon’s time, -that there was material in the place to build three more boats and keep -the whole fleet going for many years. He did not exaggerate either. -All other administrations were supplied by the Khartoum arsenal with -whatever they required in the way of tools, furniture, iron and other -metal work, cartridge presses and steel blocks for coinage; and very -efficiently indeed was the work turned out. - -The little time I spent in the arsenal was of course fully occupied -with the coinage question. Two men were kept constantly engaged casting -square steel blocks for the Omdurman mint; these blocks were polished -and cut in Omdurman, and twenty-five sets were generally in use at the -same time. Possibly two hundred men were employed in the melting of -the copper and casting it into moulds the size and thickness of the -dollars. The discs were next passed on to the people who gave them the -impression; this was obtained by placing the disc on the lower block, -and then hammering the upper block upon it. The impressions produced -were in the main very poor; the |214| coins spread and split, and the -dies were constantly splitting and breaking. After we had studied the -process, and Abbajee had explained his ideas of a press, I suggested -that we should commence operations with the punching-machine. We -experimented until we had succeeded in smashing dies, spoiling sheets -of copper, and in the end smashing the machine itself; then Abbajee, as -the chief of the operations, was roundly abused. Being of an excitable -temperament, he wanted me to take part of the blame, but I only laughed -at him. Then it was I learned that he had just reason to be angry; -he had gone surety for me with the Khaleefa, and, as I was expecting -Hawanein and Abdallah every day, I kept the quarrel going until Abbajee -left the work in disgust, for I wished him to be out of the way when I -escaped. His return to Omdurman, leaving me in complete charge of the -invention, put an end to his surety for me. I might have saved myself -this trouble, and the temporary misunderstanding with my old friend, -for, before I had time to settle upon an idea for a coining press, -Slatin escaped, and I was taken back to the Saier. - -I have been frequently asked what estimate should be put upon the -Khaleefa’s buried treasure. It is next to impossible to say; one thing -only is certain: all good gold and silver jewellery and coins have -disappeared during the last fifteen years. Thousands of individuals -may have their hoards here and there. Some idea of what the Khaleefa’s -treasure may amount to might be gleaned from an examination of the -Beit-el-Mal books, for these were well kept. The real |215| question -is, Where is it? But this is a matter people need not trouble -themselves about. It was generally believed in Omdurman that those who -actually buried the money were soon afterwards buried themselves. “Dead -men tell no tales.” I doubt myself if the Khaleefa’s hoards will ever -be found—officially. The fortunate discoverers are hardly likely to -exhibit any particular anxiety to ask their friends or the Government -to share in their good fortune. Perhaps a small amount might be found, -but it will be a very small one. The few millions he has buried in -various places will, no doubt, be discovered some day, and we shall -hear about it—a long time after the fact. - - - - -|216| - -CHAPTER XVIII - -MY SECOND IMPRISONMENT - - -It was some days after my return to the Saier before I learned that I -had been incarcerated against the wish of the Khaleefa and Yacoub; but -Hamadan and Khaleel-Hassanein, fearing that I might escape, declined -to be responsible for me any longer, arguing that Slatin’s escape had -been effected through Government agents, and that mine would certainly -follow. In deference to the wishes of Hassanein more than those of -Hamadan, the Khaleefa ordered my return to the Saier, but it is very -probable that he sent Idris es Saier instructions how to treat me; so -that, taking it all in all, my life was not rendered so unendurable as -it had been on my first entry into the prison. Added to Abdullahi’s -kindly interest (?) in me, Idris himself had become a sort of reformed -character; he had tasted the sweets of imprisonment and the lash which -he had been so generous with, and had also experienced himself what -it was to be robbed on the Nebbi Khiddr account. The tables had been -completely turned on him, and he had learned a lesson. - -When Adlan was executed and his house searched |217| for incriminating -papers without result, Idris es Saier was accused by the Khaleefa of -having assisted Adlan in disposing of the documents which he was in -search of. Idris was imprisoned in his own house and flogged into the -bargain; he was in disfavour for some time, and this gave released -Baggara prisoners an opportunity of getting even with him. They -explained the Nebbi Khiddr affair to Abdullahi, who ordered Idris to -repay all the moneys he had collected on this account; he was deprived -of all he had, but right up to the end, any former Baggara prisoner in -want of a dollar knew where to find one. He presented himself to Idris, -and asked for a further contribution towards a settlement of his claim. - -These importunities drove Idris into begging from the prisoners, -since the Nebbi Khiddr tale would only work with prisoners coming -in from outlying districts, and they were few. As Idris never knew -when the next call would be made upon him, he found it politic to be -as kind and considerate to the prisoners as possible, and to relax -discipline to the utmost. This state of affairs, added to the presumed -instructions of the Khaleefa regarding myself, must have accounted for -Idris’ assembling the gaolers, and telling them in my presence that I -was only brought into the Saier to prevent any Government people from -carrying me off to Egypt; that if any one of them begged money from -me or ill-treated me in any way, he would be imprisoned, flogged, and -deprived of his post; Umm es Shole and her child were to be allowed -to come into the prison at any hour they chose—but, |218| and this -spoiled all, I was never to be allowed to sleep out in the open, and -must pass my nights in the Umm Hagar. - -[Illustration: FAUZI PASHA IN DERVISH DRESS.] - -I have already described a night in this “Black Hole of Calcutta,” -but it might not be out of place to try and give a slight description -of the first night Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi—one of Gordon’s favourite -officers—spent in that inferno, especially as he wishes me to do so. -When taken to the anvil, as I have already remarked, Fauzi broke down -completely, was carried off in a swoon to the Umm Hagar, placed sitting -with his back in the angle of the wall furthest from the door, and -there left—as I was, to “come round.” When the first batch of prisoners -was driven in at sunset, there was room for all to lie down on the foul -and saturated ground. When the second batch was driven in about an hour -and a half later, those lying down had to sit up with the new-comers, -and Fauzi’s outstretched legs gave a dry and comfortable seat to four -big Soudanese. I was driven in with the third batch after the night -prayers, and then all in the Umm Hagar had to stand up or be trampled -on. Fauzi, still suffering from the effects of the shell wound he -received in one of the sorties from Khartoum, with four people sitting -or standing on him, and being heavily chained as well, was unable to -rise to his feet. I could hear him from my place near the door feebly -expostulating with the people who were standing upon him; I thought -that maybe he was being trampled to death, and in my then frenzied -state commenced to fight my way towards him, striking friend and foe -|219| indiscriminately, and striking harder as I received blows -in return. A general fight was soon in progress over the few yards I -had to travel, as none were certain in the darkness who struck the -blow they had received, and struck out at random in retaliation. My -friends told me afterwards that I was a “shaitan” (devil), a mad fool, -and showered other dubious compliments upon me; but I reached Fauzi. -The warders, hearing the uproar, had opened the doors, and, as usual, -commenced to belabour the heads of all they could reach with their -sticks and whips. While the uproar was at its height, and the prisoners -swaying from side to side, I recognized the voices of one or two near -Fauzi who were under obligations to me for occasional little kindnesses -in the way of food; and, enlisting their services on most extravagant -promises, we tackled the people standing on Fauzi’s legs, pushed -them away, and made a sort of barricade round him with our bodies. -In clearing the space, we must have struck each other as often as we -struck those whom we wished to get out of the way, and Fauzi could not -tell whether an attempt was being made to murder or to rescue him. When -we did at last get him clear, we had to use a bit of old rag as a sort -of punka in order to bring him round; then he babbled. - -At midnight, the doors of the cell were thrown open again, and about -twenty men, each wearing a shayba, were thrust into the place; -practically there was no room for them, but they had to be driven in -by some means. To make space for them, the gaolers resorted to their -favourite device of throwing into the cell handfuls of |220| blazing -straw and grass, and at the same time laying about the bare heads -and shoulders of the prisoners with their whips. The scene must be -imagined. Fauzi, seeing the fire falling on the heads of the prisoners, -believed that he had really been sent to hell—but communed with himself -in a dazed sort of way as to whether he was in hell or not. He appeared -to call to memory all that he had ever read of the place of torment, -and tried to compare the picture his brain had formed of it from the -descriptions, with what he was experiencing, coming to the conclusion -that he could not be in hell, as hell could not be so bad. At this -stage I was able to get him to take notice of me, and we discussed -hell and its torments until sunrise; but nothing could even now shake -Fauzi’s opinion that hell could not be as bad as such a night in the -Umm Hagar, and the worst he can wish any one is to pass such a night. -To Youssef Mansour he wishes an eternity of them.[10] - - [10] This Mansour was formerly an officer in the Egyptian - Army, who had surrendered with the garrison at El Obeid. - After this surrender, the governor of the town—Mohammad Said - Pasha—arranged with his old officers and black regiments to - seize their arms, on a given signal, and to turn against the - Mahdists. Mansour, who, as one of Said’s former subordinates, - was in the plot, is thought to have betrayed it to the Mahdi. - Said and his principal adherents were sent out of camp by - Mohammad Ahmed, and quietly done away with; but Mansour became - the favourite of the Mahdi, and commanded his artillery at the - battle of Omdurman. It is also said that the Christian captives - were circumcised on his representations, and that he suggested - the imprisonment of Fauzi, lest, when the Government troops - advanced, Fauzi should seize an opportunity of joining them. - Yet Mansour is reputed to be coming to Cairo to claim his back - pay and pension from the Egyptian Government. - -Among others who spent that memorable night in the Saier, were Ahmed -and Bakheit Egail, Sadik Osman, Abou-el-Besher and others from Berber, -arrested for assisting in the escape of Slatin; they were later -transported to the convict station at Gebel Ragaf on the evidence of -the guide Zecki, who |221| conducted Slatin from Omdurman to Berber. -Zecki had been arrested with them on suspicion of complicity in the -escape, and confessed that he had been engaged by Egail and others to -bring away from Omdurman a man with “cat’s eyes,” but that he did not -know who the man was. - -Close to the common cell was an offshoot of it—a smaller one named -“Bint Umm Hagar” (the daughter of Umm Hagar), which took the place of -the condemned cell in Europe. On my return to prison, I learned that -my old enemy, Kadi Ahmed, had been confined there for a year. The -ostensible reason for his imprisonment was that he had been in league -with the false coiners, and had made large amounts of money; but the -real reason was that the Khaleefa was angry with him on account of the -death of Zecki Tummal, who had conducted the Abyssinian campaign when -King John was killed. Kadi Ahmed had been induced by Yacoub to sentence -Zecki to imprisonment and starvation; so when Ahmed’s turn came, the -Khaleefa said, “Let him receive the same punishment as Zecki.” He was -placed in the Bint Umm Hagar, and after about ten months the doorway -was built up; there Ahmed was left, with his ablution bottle of water -only, for forty-three days according to one tale, and fifty days -according to another. When, for days, no sounds had been heard from -his living tomb, he was presumed to be dead; but on the doorway being -opened up, to the astonishment, not to say superstitious fear, of all, -he was still alive, but unconscious, though the once big fat Kadi had -wasted to a skeleton. |222| Abdullahi must have received a fright -too, for he ordered Ahmed to be tenderly nursed and given small doses -of nourishing food every twenty-four hours, until the stomach was able -to retain food given oftener; but in spite of all care and attention, -the Kadi died on or about May 3, 1895. He was regretted by no one but -the Khaleefa, in whose hands he had been a willing tool, dispensing -justice(?) as his master dictated it, only to die the lingering death -in the end to which he had condemned so many at his master’s nod. - -Kadi Ahmed’s place in the “Bint” was soon taken by his successor—Kadi -Hussein Wad Zarah. His offence was that of refusing to sentence people -unjustly, when ordered by the Khaleefa and Yacoub to do so. When first -walled up in his tomb, he was given, through a small aperture left -for the purpose, a little food and water every four or five days, but -towards the end of July, 1895, the doorway was built up entirely, -and Zarah, not being a big stout man like Ahmed, starved, or rather -parched, to death in about twenty-two or twenty-three days. It is hot -in the Soudan in July. - -[Illustration: NEUFELD’S HUT IN THE SAIER, SHOWING THE FAMOUS ANVIL.] - -During the first weeks of my imprisonment, Umm es Shole had little -difficulty in begging a small quantity of grain, and borrowing an -occasional dollar to keep us in food. But soon people became afraid of -assisting us any further, and we were bordering upon semi-starvation, -when, in the month of September, an Abyssinian woman came into the -prison to see me under pretence of requiring medical treatment. She -handed me a small packet, which she said contained letters from my -friends, and which had been given to |223| her by a man outside, who -had said he also had money for me, and wished to know who he should pay -it to. Three days elapsed before I found an opportunity of opening the -packet unobserved, for with all letters received and written then, I -had to wait until I found myself alone in the pestilential atmosphere -of an annexe to the place of ablution. The packet contained a letter -from my sister posted in 1891, another from Father Ohrwalder, and a -note from Major Wingate. They were all to the same import—to keep up -hope, as attempts were to be made to assist me. - -Nearly two months must have slipped away before I succeeded in getting -my replies written. I sent these to the guide, Onoor Issa, who promised -that he would return for me in a few months’ time. Father Ohrwalder -has handed me the letter I sent to him. The following is in brief its -contents:― - - “I have received your letter enclosing that of my sister written - four years ago, and the note from Wingate. Before everything else, - let me thank you for the endeavours you are to make to assist me. - Your letter was delayed in reaching me owing to the imprisonment of - the guide, followed by the watch kept upon us after Slatin’s escape, - and my transfer to the Saier, from which I hope to be released soon. - There is great need of coins here; up to the present, no one has been - able to produce a silver-resembling dollar. If I could produce such a - coin, it would lead to my release from prison, and lend probability to - my chances of escape. Could you send me instructions for the simple - mixing of any soft metals to produce a silvery appearance, and send - me some ingredients? I should like also an instrument to imitate - the milling of coins; the dies can be cut here. I should be glad of - any tools or instruments which you think cannot be had here. If I - am not released by the time these arrive, I feel sure that I shall - be released through their agency. Please send the enclosed notes to - their respective destinations, and when the answers arrive, send them - |224| on with the things I ask for. Can you give me any news as to - how my business is progressing at Assouan, and the transactions of - my manager? Our common friends here are in a sad way. Slatin will - have told you all about the forced circumcisions; and now all the - Christians have been ordered to marry three or four wives, and are - engaged with marriage ceremonies. Beppo and I are in prison together - in chains; other prisoners are Ibrahim Fauzi, Ibrahim Hamza, of - Berber, who was arrested after Slatin’s escape; Ahmed and Bekheit - Egail; Sadik and Besher have been transported to Equatoria, with two - of their relations. Your messenger brought with him seventy dollars, - which have been given to Beppo, and I enclose his receipt for them. - Kindly translate the letter I enclose for Wingate; I have written it - in German, as no one here but me understands the language. Please keep - these letters secret. For God’s sake, do not let the newspaper people - get hold of them, as you know, if they did, it would cost me my head. - Perhaps, if you could get them to give as news something like this, - it would help me: ‘We hear that, after the escape of Slatin, Neufeld - was secured against escape; he has rendered great services to Mahdieh - with the saltpetre; he would be able to replace Osta Abdallah, who is - now old and feeble; Neufeld is in the greatest distress, and in prison - with his certain death close at hand; the people in the Soudan believe - he is a relation of Slatin.’” - -Onoor Issa went off with my replies, undertaking to return in a few -months, after having made arrangements between Berber and Cairo for -my escape; and during his absence I was to scheme for any excuse to -get out of prison; escape from there was impossible. Onoor—or the -translators of his accounts—are mistaken in saying that he actually -met me in prison; all negotiations were carried on through the -Abyssinian woman whom he employed to come into the prison for “medical -attendance,” or Umm es Shole, and days and days elapsed between the -visits sometimes, in all amounting to maybe two months. There were -times |225| of mental tension in the Saier of Omdurman. To me ill luck -and good luck appeared to be ever striving for the ascendency during my -long captivity. Good luck gained in the end—the same good luck which -had accompanied the Sirdar throughout his daring campaign to conquer, -not only Abdullah, but the Soudan, and which, God grant, may ever -accompany him in future campaigns; but the cup-and-ball-catch-and-miss -strain was to me terrible. My one prayer was that an end might come. -Liberty, of course, I hoped for to the end; but I often discovered -myself speculating as to whether it was true or not that those suddenly -decapitated by a single blow experienced some seconds of really -intellectual consciousness, and wondering to myself whether, when my -head was rolled into the dust by the Khaleefa’s executioner, there -would be time to give one last look of defiance. - -Yet when I come to think of it, there was nothing very strange in such -contemplations. What soldier or sailor has not often in his quiet -moments tried to picture his own death, defiant to the last as he -goes down before a more powerful enemy? And, after all, thousands and -thousands of men and women in civilized countries are enduring a worse -captivity and imprisonment than many did in the Soudan; but they are -unfortunate in this—that no one has thrown a halo of romance over their -sufferings. My lot was a hard, very hard one, I must admit; but the lot -of some other captives was such that thousands in Europe would have -been pleased to exchange theirs for it, and would have gained in the -exchange. - - - - -|226| - -CHAPTER XIX - -RUMOURS OF RELIEF - - -[Illustration: ONOOR ISSA.] - -Soon after the departure of Onoor Issa I was saved any further -trouble in the way of scheming for excuses to get out of the Saier. -Awwad-el-Mardi, the successor of Nur-el-Gerafawi as the Amin -Beit-el-Mal on the appointment of the latter as director of the -Khaleefa’s ordnance stores, had been approached by Nahoum Abbajee and -others on the subject of the extraction of gold and silver from certain -stones which had been discovered in the neighbourhood. Awwad sent -Nahoum to see me about the erection of a crushing-mill or furnaces. My -interview with Nahoum was a stormy one. It commenced by his upbraiding -me for the pranks I had played in smashing the arsenal punching-machine -when we were associated in the establishment of a mint. The more I -laughed the angrier Nahoum became; he is deaf, and like most deaf -people, invariably speaks in an undertone, which is as distressing to -the hearer as is the necessity he is under of bawling back his replies. -It is next to impossible to hold a conversation with a deaf person -without the natural result of raising the voice exhibiting itself in -the features; the annoyance is there plain |227| enough, but when -the face flushes with the unwonted exertion, your deaf friend thinks -you are getting angry, and follows suit. This is precisely what Abbajee -did. He showed me his specimens, and I bawled into his ear, “Mica—not -gold, not silver—mica;” and he yelled back, “Gold, silver, gold.” The -noisy discussion, accompanied as it was with gesticulations, attracted -other prisoners around us, and Nahoum went off in high dudgeon. - -When he had gone, a few of my friends asked why I did not offer to -assist him, and even if the thing was a failure, they thought I -was clever enough to find something else to do; but, as they said, -“promise anything provided it gets you out of the Saier.” There were -excellent reasons, but which I might not confide to them, why any work -I undertook to do should occupy months, and, if necessary, years in -completion. To offer to assist Nahoum in extracting gold and silver -from such stones meant that two or three weeks at the outside would -evidence our failure to do so, and then it was Saier again for me. -Whether any work I undertook to do for the Khaleefa was to end in -success or failure was immaterial to me; but it was very material -that the result, whatever it was to be, should not be attained for -months, as by the time my guides returned, the conditions surrounding -my escape might have so changed as to necessitate an entire change in -plans and programme. They might even entail the guides’ return to Cairo -or the frontier, and this occupied months. But the advice to accept -Nahoum’s proposals and trust |228| to luck for discovering some other -excuse for remaining out of the Saier when failure could no longer be -concealed, appealed to me, and, in reply to my offer of assistance, a -messenger came from the Khaleefa ordering the Saier to hand me over to -the director of the Beit-el-Mal. His other instructions were that the -bars and heavy chains were to be taken off my feet and legs, and that -I was to be secured by a single pair of anklets connected with a light -chain. While this change was being made I received the congratulations -of the gaolers and prisoners, and (February, 1896) was escorted out -of the prison by two guards to enter upon a new industry which had in -it as much of the elements of success as would accompany an attempt -to squeeze blood out of a cobbler’s lap-stone. I had not forgotten -Shwybo’s fate. - -When I reached Khartoum, Awwad-el-Mardi had not yet arrived. It was the -month of Ramadan, and as all transactions were in abeyance until after -sunset, I was not allowed to land until Awwad arrived to hand me over -officially. I was left alone on one of Gordon’s old steamers, moored -at the spot where Gordon fell, and where the victorious Sirdar and his -troops landed to conduct the burial service. During the hours I had -to wait gazing at the ruined town and the dismantled palace which saw -the martyrdom of as good a man and soldier as ever trod this earth, I -ruminated over his blasted hopes and my own. I shall not pretend to -call to mind all the thoughts which surged through my brain as I paced -alone over the shell-and bullet-splintered deck; but you can imagine -what they |229| were when I reflected that I was the only European -in the Soudan who had fired a shot for Gordon, and that I was now a -captive in the hands of the successor of the Mahdi, gazing at the -ruined town from which, just eleven years ago, we had hoped to rescue -its noble defender. I should be ashamed to say that when Awwad did at -last come I was not in tears. - -I felt more acutely than I did when first taken to Khartoum to be -“impressed,” and still more acutely than when I was hurriedly bundled -into the old Mission to start the saltpetre works. For the first time -since my captivity I had been left absolutely alone. I was sitting -on one of that fleet of “penny steamers” which, had Gordon not sent -down the Nile to bring up his rescuers, might have saved him and the -Soudan in spite of the wicked delay resulting from the attempt to make -a theatrically impressive show of an expedition intended to be one of -flying succour to the beleaguered garrison and its brave commander, -praying for months for the sight of one single red coat. Gordon, I had -been told, towards the end, called the Europeans together in Khartoum, -and telling them that, in his opinion, the Government intended to -sacrifice him, recommended them to make their escape. A deliberate -attempt to sacrifice him could not have succeeded better. What wonder, -when such thoughts as these and many others had been affecting me for -hours, that when Awwad came, as darkness was setting in, the darkness -of night had settled too upon my mind. He, believing that my chains -were the real cause of |230| my depression, ordered that they should -be exchanged immediately for lighter and smoother ones, for the anklets -and chains given me by Idris were rough in the extreme. - -After being officially handed over to the Governor of Khartoum, the -question arose as to my quarters. I was offered quarters in his house, -but I had already experienced life amongst his Baggara bodyguard, -and begged hard to be allowed to live in the same place with Nahoum -Abbajee and Sirri—the former telegraph-clerk at Berber, with whom I was -to work. We were given the house of Ghattas, an old slave-dealer, to -live in. It was one of the best houses left standing in Khartoum, and -boasted an upper floor, which was taken possession of by Nahoum Abbajee -as head of what I might call the gold syndicate, while Sirri and I -shared the ground floor. In the East the West is reversed; you climb to -the garret with your rising fortunes, and descend with them, as they -fall, to the lower floors. Instead of having Saier or Baggara guards to -watch me, Awwad gave me some slaves from the Beit-el-Mal as guardians, -and they had, in addition to watching me, to perform the household -duties; in fact, they were my servants. - -After the evening prayers, Awwad called together the employés of the -arsenal and my guards, and explained to them that I was no longer -a Saier prisoner; that my chains were left on only to prevent the -Government people taking me; that I was “beloved” of the Khaleefa, -and was to be treated as his friend, and that if any one treated me -differently, he would be sent to |231| take my place in the Saier. -Awwad then taking me aside under the pretence of giving me instructions -from the Khaleefa, said, “I am your friend; do not be afraid; if you -cannot find gold and silver, tell me of anything else you can do, -and I will see that the work is given to you, so that you may not be -sent back to the Saier.” As Awwad was then a perfect stranger to me, -I at first had suspicions in my mind as to the genuineness of his -friendship; but he was a Jaalin, and I trusted him. - -We were told to get to work at once with the extraction of the -precious metals. As the engineer, I had to design and superintend -the construction of the furnaces to be made by Hassan Fahraani (the -potter), who also supplied the crucibles. Our first furnace crumbled to -pieces after being started, and a stronger one had to be made. Then the -crucibles gave out. We did all we could to coax gold and silver out of -those stones, and obtained some extraordinary results. We added earth, -common salt, saltpetre, oxide of lead—anything and everything to the -split stones in the crucibles. Sometimes we found the crucible and its -contents fused together. The only thing we actually found which gave an -idea that we were working for metals was a small shiny black ball, very -much resembling a black pearl, and this Hamadan at once took possession -of and carried off to Abdullahi, telling him that it only required time -for us to succeed. Hamadan, being our chief, was much interested in the -work, and he was doubtless looking forward to the day when part of the -contents of the crucibles would find its way to him. |232| - -But our experiments were destined never to be finished. About April, -1896, rumours first, and then precise news, reached Omdurman that the -Government troops were again advancing. Then came the startling news -that Dongola had been taken, only to be followed by the news of the -capture of Abou Hamad. The fulminate factory presided over by Hassan -Zecki had run short of ingredients, and as the stock of chlorate of -potash ordered from Egypt had not arrived, it was believed that now the -troops held all the country between Dongola and Abou Hamad, it would -have no chance of getting through. Abdalla Rouchdi, the chemist of the -Beit-el-Mal, had, with Hassan Zecki, failed to produce chlorine, as had -also others, therefore we were ordered to experiment at once. Nahoum -was sent over to the Beit-el-Mal to collect all appliances, chemicals, -and anything else he chose to lay his hands upon. Our establishment was -growing, and Hamadan was delighted at having under his charge people -who were to do so much for Mahdieh. But the chlorine required for the -production of the chlorate of potash refused to appear. Our laboratory -was a dangerous place to visit, for we had jar upon jar containing -mixed acids, and explosions were the order of the day. Nahoum had a -lively time, deaf as he was. Once, and once only, Hamadan made pretence -of understanding our experiments; he took a good inhalation from a -vessel which had in it a mixture of various acids with permanganate of -potash. He was almost suffocated, but he was much impressed, and told -the Khaleefa what devoted |233| adherents he had when we would work in -such a poison-laden atmosphere. - -There was good reason why I should do all in my power to keep Hamadan -interested and hopeful of grand results. Onoor Issa had sent me word by -a messenger from Berber that he was at that town with letters and money -for me, but that he had been detained by the Emir; he hoped, however, -to be able to get away very soon and arrange my escape. Then the -consignment of chlorate of potash put in its appearance—about twelve -hundredweight, I was told—and Sirri getting hold of a small sample of -it, we showed it to Hamadan to prove that we were just succeeding with -our experiments. He was satisfied, as was also Abdullahi, and we were -told to continue our work. - -However, the tales which were coming in every few days were causing no -little anxiety to the Khaleefa. None of us believed that the troops -were coming across the desert in “iron devils,” and it was some -time before we understood that a railway was being built. Indeed we -could hardly believe it. Whatever the “iron devil” was, it behoved -the Khaleefa to look well to his arms and ammunition. Sheikh ed Din -was sent on a round of inspection of stores and arsenals,[11] and -discovered that a large quantity of the |234| powder had caked with -the absorption of moisture, that other large quantities were of very -poor quality, and that the powder-stores in general were not as he -thought they were. The Khaleefa threatened to cut a hand and foot off -both Abd es Semmieh and Hassan Hosny, the directors of the factory, if -they did not work the powder up again into a good explosive. Awwad, -as the head of the Beit-el-Mal, came and asked if it was not possible -to make some sort of machine for pulverizing the ingredients for the -powder; the work was then being done by hand. I tried to interest -Nahoum Abbajee in the work, as it was about time we got clear of -our alchemists’ establishment on some excuse or another, otherwise -I foresaw trouble if Sheikh ed Din should inquire too closely into -our work. But Abbajee thought that he had had quite enough of me in -connection with experiments and machinery, and decided to be out of -the affair altogether; he thought his life had been in enough jeopardy -already. Sirri elected to remain. - - [11] A few errors have crept into the report submitted to the - Earl of Kimberley in April, 1895, after the escape of Slatin. - - On page 4 it is stated that the church of the Austrian Mission - in Khartoum was utilized as the repairing shops of the arsenal. - The church was never put to such a purpose. The account I have - given of the purpose to which it was put is the correct one. - - On page 7 it is stated “Neufeld started the first saltpetre - refinery in Khartoum.” This may or may not be correct, but - it is very misleading. The refining of saltpetre for the - Khaleefa was a big industry in Darfour and the environs of - Omdurman and Khartoum long before I had anything to do with - it. The account I have given as to how I came to be connected - with this industry may be relied upon as being correct, while - there are many living witnesses, irrespective of the stock - of my saltpetre still existing, to prove that I deliberately - prevented “the refining of saltpetre” so far as it lay in my - power to do so. - - In the following paragraph to that quoted, it is stated that - the powder-factory was at Halfeyeh. It never was. It was first - in Omdurman, and, after the explosion, was gradually removed to - Tuti Island. The transfer was not complete when I left Khartoum - for the Saier in November, 1897. - - On page 10, when speaking of the coins in circulation, it is - said, “This decrease in the intrinsic value of money is an - interesting indication of the decline of dervish power and - government.” The inference to be drawn from my account of its - depreciation is just the reverse, but is the correct inference - to be drawn. - -I invented a powder machine on the principle of the old German “dolly” -toy. We spent a few weeks, assisted by Hamaida, the head of the -carpenters, in making a model, which worked beautifully; and when it -was shown to the Khaleefa, he was so delighted that he ordered my -chains to be removed. The mortars were put in hand at once, also the -beam which |235| was to lift and let fall the pulverizers, and then -it was discovered that the machine could not be made to my dimensions. -I knew this when I designed it, but I had hoped that some one would -have been sent south to try and find trees large enough to provide -the beams, and so delay would be assured. Osta Abdallah and Khaleel -Hassanein, jealous maybe of me, and fearing that their positions were -in danger of being taken by myself, went to the Khaleefa, and told -him that, in their opinion, I was only “fooling” with him. They also -suggested that Awwad-el-Mardi was a friend of the Government, and was -helping me on this account; but Yacoub, who was present, supported me. -In the course of the interview, the Khaleefa said he had heard that in -my country women and children made cartridges with machines, and as -I must know all about it, I was to make him such a machine while the -powder-mill was being constructed. - -For ten years I had been so chained and weighted with iron that it -was only with effort I was able to raise my feet from the ground in -order to shuffle from place to place; the bars of iron connected with -the anklets had limited the stride or shuffle to about ten or twelve -inches. When freed from all this, I ran and jumped about the whole -day long like one possessed; but the sudden call upon muscles so long -unused resulted in a swelling of the legs from hips to ankles, and -this was accompanied with most excruciating pains. I had just got the -drawings ready for the cartridge-machine when I was compelled to lie -up. This gave Osta Abdallah and Hassanein another |236| chance to -approach the Khaleefa, and again they suggested that I was “fooling.” - -Awwad was sent for, and in reply to the Khaleefa, said that he believed -I was doing my best, and would certainly succeed; that had he not -believed in me himself, he would never have recommended him to employ -me on such important works. Yacoub again took my part, and said that -whoever did not assist me, or whoever hindered me, would be considered -an enemy of Mahdieh. Although, as he admitted, he did not understand -the machines, yet in his opinion “there must be something in the head -of the man who invented them, and he was better employed in the arsenal -than idling his time in the Saier.” Awwad also said that if Osta -Abdallah and Hassanein had not and could not find the materials for the -construction of the machines, he believed that I could make another one -with such materials as they had. This decided the matter—both machines -were to be proceeded with; but the Khaleefa agreed to my being put -into chains to prevent my escaping, and on the thirteenth day of my -freedom the chains were replaced. Being unable to move from my house, -the joiners, with a lathe, their tools and material, were sent to -me, as the Khaleefa wished the machine to be completed as rapidly as -possible. Abdallah Sulieman, the chief of the cartridge-factory, was -then employing upwards of fifteen hundred men, and the Khaleefa wished -to release them for fighting purposes. - -[Illustration: POWDER-MACHINES.] - -My efforts to obtain either the original models or photographs of -them not having so far been successful, |237| I have had models of -the machines made here. Those interested in mechanics will discover -for themselves the mechanical defects and unnecessary complications -introduced into them. I was working under the supervision of fairly -good mechanical engineers, so that defects might not be made too -glaring. Some were detected and rectified, but the main defects were -not seen, being beyond the powers of calculation of Abdallah; and -Hamaida, who could and did see them, was enjoying the pranks which -were played. The various ideas I had picked up while associated with -Gordon’s old corps were now standing me in good stead. When the model -of the cartridge-machine was taken over to Abdullahi, instead of being -pleased with it he was furious: Berber had been taken! He said, “I want -cartridges, not models;” and gave orders that I should be taken from my -house, kept at work all day in the arsenal, and locked up at night in -the arsenal prison with the convicts employed there as labourers. - -To gain more time, I insisted upon a full-sized wooden model of the -cartridge-machine being first made for the metal workers to work from. -Yacoub had given orders that all the material and labour of the arsenal -was to be put at my disposition. While the wooden model was being made, -I occupied myself in selecting the metal required, and in doing this -I laid hands upon everything Osta Abdallah required for the ordinary -works in hand. I appropriated the paddle axle of one of the steamers, -as I said I required this to be cut with eccentric |238| discs, and -did my best to smash the best lathe with it, to give me still more -time; but the lathe stood the strain, and four or five discs were -actually cut in the axle. - -It would have taken them another year to cut the remainder at the -rate the work was progressing, and probably four years to make the -machine; then when it was finished there would have been an accident, -and some people would have been killed or maimed, for that paddle axle -would have come tearing through the machine with the first revolution. -I was taking a fiendish delight in destroying every good piece of -metal I could lay my hands on under pretence of its being required -for the machine; the copper and brass which I appropriated interfered -considerably with the production of the cartridges, and the skilled -workmen whom I kept employed delayed for months the finishing touches -to the new powder-factory on Tuti Island. But there could be no going -back now. Abdallah was my sworn enemy; but I knew that the more I -destroyed under his own eyes, the less risk there was of his going to -the Khaleefa again to induce him to believe that the whole of my work -was, as he called it, “shoogal khabbass”—all lies, for Abdallah himself -would get into trouble for not having discovered it before all the -damage had been done. - -While still engaged on collecting material for the machine (for no -sooner was one lot cut up when it was discovered that some mistake had -been made in either length or thickness, so that another raid had to -be made on the stores), the steamer _Safia_ |239| was brought up and -beached opposite Mokran fort for repairs. Instead of being allowed -to settle on a cradle running the whole length of her keel, she was -supported only amidships, and her bow and stern tore away. All the -boats were at this time in the charge of the Beit-el-Mal, and when -Osta Abdallah condemned the _Safia_, and said it was impossible to -repair her, Awwad-el-Mardi, fearing the Khaleefa’s displeasure at such -a time, asked me if it was not possible to repair her. Taking with us -a number of men discontented with Osta Abdallah, we examined the boat, -and declared that she could be repaired. Awwad was pleased, and I was -appointed superintendent of this work too. My superintendence consisted -in hiding below and smoking surreptitiously. - -Sometime in August, 1897, Onoor returned to Omdurman, and sent messages -to me through Umm es Shole. The import of them will be seen from the -following letter, which I was able to write and smuggle over to him; -the letter was to be delivered to the first officer he came across:― - - “In accordance with my arrangement with the bearer Onoor, I succeeded - in getting liberated from the Saier, and moved over to Khartoum, - where I have spent two years in the arsenal under surveillance. - Onoor has been unable to meet me personally to consult over plans - for escape, which offers little difficulty provided I had funds. In - May, 1896, Onoor sent me, through his agent, your letter, and gave - me to understand that the money mentioned in this letter was in his - possession, and that he was awaiting an opportunity to bring it to - Khartoum. Now (July-August, 1897) he has come to Omdurman only to find - me in a difficult position, owing to the progress of the war. He tells - me he was ordered to Suakin, where he was put in prison, and the money - he had for me taken from him, |240| as he had no reply from me to the - letter sent, or any evidence to show that the letter had been sent. - He has borrowed some money here, for which I have gone bail for fifty - pounds, and Onoor promises to be back in three months’ time with news - from you and the money required for my support and escape. The course - of the war will soon deliver us alive or dead from the hands of this - savage rabble. - - “The greater part of the arsenal has been moved over to the - Beit-el-Mal at Omdurman owing to the war, and the remaining material - will follow very shortly, and I will go over with it, when I may - have an opportunity of meeting Onoor if nothing occurs to disturb - the extremely good relations existing between myself and my present - masters. Please give Onoor (here follows a list of medicines); - practising medicine facilitates my communication with the outer world. - I hope Onoor will find with you a letter from my family; I am in good - health, as is also my daughter Bakhita, and her mother Umm es Shole. - We send you greetings.” - -News was coming each day of the most alarming description for the -Khaleefa; tales of big gunboats coming to reconnoitre Khartoum, and the -“iron devil” (the railway) creeping forward, decided him on collecting -everything under his eyes. All stores were hurried over to Omdurman; -a hundred and fifty to two hundred men were sent over to destroy -the mission house, mosque, and other buildings in Khartoum, as the -Khaleefa was determined to leave no place of shelter for any troops -who succeeded in landing there. I was looked upon with the greatest -suspicion, as there was no concealing, try as I might, my anxiety to -glean every bit of news possible about the expedition, and I was also -in a fever of excitement expecting the return of Onoor. Each day was -bristling with opportunities for escape, provided there was a man with -a camel ready for me on the opposite |241| shore. With the dozens -of boats and hundreds of men employed in transferring the arsenal to -the other side of the river, a successful escape was assured; but -Onoor never came. Towards the end of November, 1897, I was taken over -with the last of the arsenal material to Omdurman, and put into the -Saier prison, only until, as I was told, a house could be got ready -for me in the Beit-el-Mal, where we were to complete the powder-and -cartridge-machines. - - - - -|242| - -CHAPTER XX - -PREPARING TO RECEIVE THE GUNBOATS - - -When I returned to the Saier in November, 1897, it was as a visitor—a -distinguished one at that. I was told that I was only to remain there -until my quarters in the Beit-el-Mal were ready for occupation, -when I was to leave the prison and continue the construction of the -powder-and cartridge-machines, to the completion of which the Khaleefa -and Yacoub were looking forward with no little interest and anxiety. -But once inside the gates of the Saier, Osta Abdallah and Khaleel -Hassanein determined to keep me there, and succeeded in doing so. When -Awwad-el-Mardi again interested himself on my behalf, these worthies -succeeded in persuading Yacoub that Awwad’s interest in me was sure -evidence of his sympathies with the Government, and their schemes ended -by Awwad also being sent into the prison with threats of what would -happen to him if he attempted to hold any intercourse with me. - -[Illustration: A GROUP—FROM PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN AT THE FEAST OF BEIRAM, -1899. - -1. Mohammed Sirri, formerly telegraph clerk at Berber. He, with Hassan -Bey Hassanein, cut the Khaleefa’s communications. - -2. Morgan Torjin. Imprisoned for two years for telling the Khaleefa -that he insisted on being allowed to smoke tobacco and drink Marissa. - -3. Khaleel Agha Orphali. - -4. Said Bey Gumaa. - -5. Osman Bey Daali, commandant of Irregular troops in Sennaar. - -6. Hassan Bey Hassanein. - -7. Sheikh Ali Toulba, formerly of the Khartoum Medrassa (college). - -8. Ahmed Riad, formerly head clerk of Slatin at Dara. He it was who -wrote the letters calling upon Said Gumaa to submit to the Mahdi, and -who accompanied Slatin to Zoghal when Dara was surrendered. - -9. Mohammad Farag, former officer of Dara troops. - -10. Rhubrian Baalbal, clerk to Lupton. - -11. Sheikh Taher Farrag, Kassala Medrassa (college). - -12. Ahmed Yusef Kandeel, clerk to Wad Nejoumi. - -13. Hassan Bey Abdel Minain, president of the Court of Appeal at -Khartoum.] - -It was possibly a week after entering the prison that Umm es Shole -came in to say that she had seen and spoken to Onoor Issa, who had not -left |243| Omdurman—the same Onoor whose return I had looked for so -anxiously during the time of the transfer of the arsenal from Khartoum, -when each day bristled with opportunities for successful flight! -Fearing that he might play me false, and hand the notes I had given -him to the Khaleefa as an earnest of his loyalty to him, I sent off -Umm es Shole, and told her to say that I had a few notes to add to the -letters which I had given him. Onoor at once suspected my reasons for -sending for them, and replied that he was not pleased with my want of -confidence in him, that he had a permit to proceed to Suakin for trade, -but, having fallen under suspicion, he had so far been prevented from -leaving, though he hoped to be able to leave any day. Upon this I again -trusted him, and added the following to my notes, sending them out to -him as soon as it was written:― - - “News from here (the Saier); Slatin knows Omdurman prison. From the - Beit-el-Mal to Morrada along the river are six semicircular forts with - flanks; each fort has three guns, but the flanks are loopholed for - musketry only. The parapets are of Nile mud, and appear to be three - metres thick. Most of the forts are situated close under the high - wall. There is a similar fort at the north end of Tuti Island, two - more at Halfeyeh, and the same number at Hugra, north of Omdurman. - Two batteries near Mukran sweep the White Nile and the arm which - skirts Tuti Island, and I have just heard that some one has offered - to lay torpedoes in the Nile to blow up the steamers. Slatin knows - more about the army than I do; Wad Bessir has come in from Ghizera - with about two thousand men. Osman Digna, with a force I have not - learned the strength of, is at Halfeyeh. Onoor will tell you all - about these troops. Ahmed Fedeel is at Sabalooka (Shabluka), and his - strength is better known to you than me. The whole population left - here is in the greatest dread of this savage rabble and their rulers, - and pray God to deliver them out of their |244| hands, and that you - may save them from the fate of the Jaalin. I pray you to keep this - letter an absolute secret. There are traitors among your spies” (this - remark was confirmed a few weeks later); “if the least inkling of my - communications with you reach the Khaleefa’s ears, it will be all over - with me. Answer me in German, as no one else here understands the - language. It is a mistake to trust any Arab—civilized or uncivilized. - Onoor is the only one who has brought me any news. He is the best - man to go between us. In expectation of an early reply from you, I - subscribe myself yours devotedly, and pray God he may enable me to - join you soon. I have been moved from Khartoum to the Omdurman prison - only until my house is ready in the Beit-el-Mal. - - The Khaleefa has received news that steamers are coming to reconnoitre - Khartoum.” - -It was not until the end of December that Onoor succeeded in obtaining -permission to leave Omdurman; and then hurrying to Suakin, he handed -in my notes to the commandant there, returning six months later with -his thanks for the information given and money to keep me going. It is -passing strange that my trouble in collecting information about the -forts, writing to the advancing army, and giving what details I could, -should have given those on the way to Omdurman the impression that it -was “Neufeld’s forts” which were being knocked to pieces. Even my good -friend—that King of War Correspondents—Mr. Bennet Burleigh, was good -enough to tell me that he believed I had designed and constructed them. -They were all the work, from beginning to end, of Youssef Mansour. - -At the time I am speaking of, the prison was filled with suspected -sympathizers with the Government; the presence of Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi -and |245| Awwad-el-Mardi has already been alluded to. Hogal, who -should have accompanied me on the expedition to Kordofan, was also -a prisoner; but it was three months before I was able to steal an -interview with him—about the time of the anniversary of my capture—and -then I learned, at almost the hour of my release, the real history of -my capture. Our circle of “Government people” was added to daily; one -of the most interesting additions being a party of sixteen or seventeen -spies, amongst whom was Worrak from Dongola, Abdalla Mahassi from -Derawi, Ajjail from Kassala, and others from Suakin. They had been -betrayed by other spies; I have forgotten the names of the traitors, -but it is of little moment now, as doubtless the betrayed settled up -their accounts on the taking of Omdurman. The betrayer or betrayers -were Dongolawi—perhaps the only coterie of thieves on earth who have no -honour among themselves. - -Whatever may have been the excitement and anxiety in other parts of -the world concerning the Sirdar’s advance, we had our share of both in -Omdurman. Strange tales had reached us of offers of assistance sent to -the Khaleefa to resist the advance of the troops. Shortly before I left -Khartoum, a field-gun had arrived from the south as a present for the -Khaleefa; it was accompanied by a limited supply of ammunition—brass -cartridges carrying a shell in the same way as the rifle carries its -bullet. One of the cartridges was sent to the Khartoum arsenal, to see -if others could be made like it. Various tales were told concerning its -origin; but as the gun must have been taken at the |246| capture of -Omdurman, its real history has no doubt been traced. - -It was only when I met in prison Ibrahim Wad Hamza of Berber, and -Hamed Wad-el-Malek, that I learned from them what had transpired -when the King of Abyssinia sent an envoy to the Khaleefa asking his -assistance against the Italians. The envoy had been brought to the -Khartoum arsenal to inspect it, but I was not allowed to speak to him. -An arrangement had been come to by which the Abyssinians were to open -up trade routes from Gallabat, and send in so much coffee and other -articles of food monthly, in return for the promised assistance of the -Khaleefa in attacking the Italians; but the contributions or tribute -was paid for a few months only, as another envoy came with offers of -assistance against the advancing armies. He was the bearer of a flag -which he asked the Khaleefa to fly, as the troops might not fire at -it; the conferences, like all conferences between the Khaleefa and -strangers, were held privately, but at the end of the last conference, -the Khaleefa gave his reply in the presence of the Emirs and others. -Handing back the flag, he said, “My mission is a holy and religious -one; I trust to God for help and success; I do not want the help of -Christians. If ever I required the help of man, the Mohammedan boy -Abbas is nearer and better to me,” and with this he waved the envoy -and his companions off. The only construction we could place on -the concluding sentence, was that the Khaleefa wished every one to -understand that, sooner than accept the help of a Christian power, he -would |247| surrender to the Khedive, and this meant never, for he was -looking forward to the day when he would erect his scaffolds in the -Cairo citadel, and haul up the Khedive and “Burrin” (Lord Cromer) as -his first victims. To the Soudanese, Lord Cromer, or “Burrin,” as they -mispronounced Baring, held the same relation to the Khedive as Yacoub -did to the Khaleefa. - -From the day Mahmoud started until the arrival of the victorious army -in Omdurman, I was pestered with questions day and night; the Mahdists -wished to know whether the advancing troops belonged to the sheikh who -sent the troops for Gordon in 1884; those against Mahdieh wished to -know if they belonged to the other sheikh. From the Arabic papers which -found their way to Omdurman, the Soudanese had learned that there were -two tribes in England, each led by powerful sheikhs; one, the sheikh of -1884, and the other the sheikh who had said that when he started there -would be no coming back until he had “broken up” (smashed) Mahdieh. To -the Mahdists, it was the troops who “ran away” who were coming again; -to the “Government” people it was immaterial which sheikh was in power; -British troops were advancing, and that was enough. At night our circle -would sift and discuss all the tales we had heard during the day, and -although we were filled with hope, anxiety and fear got the better of -us on most occasions. - -When Mahmoud was sent off, his instructions were to wait at Metemmeh, -and do all in his power to harass the troops as they crossed the river; -if strong enough |248| to attack them, he was to do so, but if they -were stronger, he was to retire gradually to Kerreri, where an old -prophecy had foretold that the great battle was to take place. Mahmoud -disobeyed these instructions, and crossed to the east bank, upon which -the Khaleefa sent him orders not to remain in a zareeba or trenches, -but to attack the infidels in the open. Hardly had the excitement -caused by Mahmoud’s defiance of the Khaleefa’s orders died down, when -the news came that he had attacked and annihilated the English army. -But other news than this followed on its heels; we learned the truth -from a band of about thirty-eight blacks wearing the Egyptian uniform. -They were dervishes taken at Dongola and Abou Hamad, and drafted into -the army. At the Atbara they deserted to the dervishes, but suspected -of being spies, they were sent to the Saier. The whole truth came out -when Osman Digna came back to Omdurman to report to the Khaleefa. - -“What news have you brought me, and how fare the faithful?” inquired -Abdullahi. “Master,” replied Osman, “I led them to Paradise.” Now, -Osman had been doing this at every battle for years, and the Khaleefa’s -patience was exhausted; he wanted victories, and not pilgrimages of his -best troops to the next world. “Then why did you not go with them?” -retorted Abdullahi. “God,” replied Osman, “had not ordained it so; -He must have more work for me to do; when that work is finished, He -will call me.” It was well known to the Khaleefa, and every one else -in the Soudan, that Osman had an excellent eye for a |249| field of -battle, and knew an hour before any one else did, when to make a bolt -for it on a losing day. Osman’s appearance was quite sufficient to let -people understand that all the tales of victory on the side of the -dervishes were false, and it was useless for the Khaleefa to try any -longer to conceal the truth, but some explanation had to be given for -the terrible rout of his army. It was all the doing of an outraged -Deity. Mahmoud had disobeyed the orders transmitted through Abdullahi -by the Prophet, and this was the result! As other stragglers came -in, extraordinary tales were told of enormous steamers with enormous -guns which fired “devils” and “lightning”; this description probably -referred to the rockets, which, I gathered, had ricochetted all over -Mahmoud’s camp, playing terrible havoc. - -On the fall of Dongola, a Mograbin (from Tunis, or Algiers), named -Nowraani, had offered his services to Yacoub, as a maker of torpedoes, -and with these he said he could blow up every boat on the Nile. His -offer at the time was refused, as the Khaleefa said that it was his -intention to capture all these boats for himself; he did not wish -them to be destroyed. But the tales which came in about them after -the Atbara fight, showed that something must be done to secure them. -Abdallah and Hassanein undertook to make a “boom” of chains across the -Sabalooka (Shabluka) pass, and for this purpose almost every scrap -of chain in Omdurman was collected. Their plan, as described to me, -was as follows: the chains were to be laid across the stream, their -ends made fast to posts on the opposite |250| banks of the Nile. To -prevent them from sinking to the bed of the stream, a series of large -wooden buoys had been made, and these were to be fixed at intervals -along the boom. It had been calculated that the buoys would, with the -weight of the chains, be sunk just below the surface of the water, and -also keep the chains in a series of loops; these loops were intended -to entangle the paddles and propellers of the gunboats, and, while so -entangled, Mansour’s picked men were to shoot every one on board, and -then, releasing the boats, bring them on to Omdurman. That was the -arrangement. - -Employed in the arsenal at the time was a man named Mohammad Burrai—a -Government sympathizer, and a bitter enemy of Mansour and the others; -he was entrusted with the attaching of the buoys at the fixed points -in the boom. A few days after the boom was sent down the river, and, -while I was “practising” the healing art at the gates of the prison, -I received an interesting patient; it was Burrai, his head so wrapped -up in cloths as to make him unrecognizable. He told me first of the -arrangements made for the boom, and how he had succeeded in destroying -it. The chains had been laid over the sterns of boats anchored in the -Nile from bank to bank, and Burrai had fixed the buoys to them, but -instead of making the buoys _fast_ at these points, he merely slipped -the rings round the boom so that the buoys could run from one end to -the other. The word was given to slip the boom off the boats. The -buoys with the force of the current were carried to the centre |251| -of the boom, and, with the resistance offered by them to the stream, -the cables snapped and were lost. Burrai’s object in coming to me will -be divined; having been employed on the construction of the boom, he -might, when the English arrived, be shot as a Mahdist, and he wished to -tell me, as a “Government man,” what he had done, so that I could speak -up for him. This I promised to do. - -There were no more chains left with which to make another boom, but -those terrible boats must be stopped from coming to Omdurman, and -Nowraani was sent for to explain his project again. He proposed to -take two large tubular boilers, then lying at Khartoum, cut them in -two, fill them with powder, seal up the open ends, and fire them -by electricity as the boats passed over them. Sirri, the former -telegraph-clerk at Berber, was asked to design the electrical -apparatus, but he pleaded ignorance of such things. I was next sent -to, to give my opinion as to the feasibility of Nowraani’s plan. It -was explained to me that each half of the boilers would contain thirty -cantars (a ton and a half) of gunpowder; then it was mines, and not -torpedoes, the man wished to make; however, the name “torpedo” was -always used. I replied that I had heard, as Nowraani said, of torpedoes -being used in the sea for the destruction of great ships, but had never -heard of them being used in rivers, and I doubted his ability to make -them. The Khaleefa was not satisfied with my answer, and sent word -that he believed I could assist in the making of them, but would not. -To this, again, I said I should be only too |252| pleased to help -Nowraani in his work, but what he proposed to do was very dangerous and -risky. I said I felt sure that the only result would be an explosion -while the torpedoes were being made, and that, while I did not mind -being killed myself, I would not like to meet Allah responsible for the -lives of others. Perhaps I made a mistake in putting forward religious -scruples, for the Khaleefa never believed in my conversion; he took it -for granted that I refused to help, and told the Saier to load me with -an extra chain and bar. - -Nowraani insisted that his plans were feasible, and a small -experimental “torpedo” was ordered to be made; Mansour, Hassanein, -and Abdallah superintended the work, which was carried out in almost -absolute secrecy. When finished, the mine was taken over to the Blue -Nile, made fast under a boat, and exploded. The result was most -satisfactory—the boat being blown to matchwood, and a large column -of mud and water thrown into the air, which was more impressive, -evidently, than the destruction of the boat. - -[Illustration: NEUFELD DOUBLY FETTERED.] - -The “torpedoes” were ordered immediately, and men were kept working -night and day for their completion; the boilers were cut in two, plates -fitted to the open ends, wires and “strings,” as it was described to -me, fitted to mechanism in the interior, and in maybe a fortnight’s -time I learned that four big and one small torpedo were fastened to -gyassas ready to be lowered into the stream, while others were being -made. Again I received a visit from Burrai; he had |253| to assist -in the laying of the mines, and wanted to know from me how they might -be rendered useless. From his description of the wires and lines -running in pairs, I came to the conclusion that electricity was to be -the medium for their explosion, especially as Burrai’s instructions -were to take charge of these lines, pay them out as the torpedoes sank, -and make the free ends of the line fast to posts, which had been fixed -on the land just south of Khor Shamba. I told him that if either wire -or string of the pairs of lines was broken, the torpedoes could not be -fired, and suggested his giving a hard tug to one of the lines as soon -as the “barrel” as he called the mines, was lowered to the bed of the -stream. - -What happened we know; how it happened we never shall. Burrai was -seen on the _Ismailia_, which towed down the stone-laden gyassas with -the torpedoes; the gyassas were to have a hole knocked in them, and -the boat and torpedoes allowed to sink gradually. One torpedo had -been lowered, and an explosion immediately followed. The boats with -Nowraani and between thirty and forty men were blown to atoms; the -_Ismailia_ was blown in two—the stern floating a few yards down stream -and sinking. Burrai was picked out of the water with the whole of the -flesh of the calf of his left leg blown clear away, and also the flesh -from his ribs on the left side. He lingered for seven days, asking -repeatedly for me; but all that I was allowed to do was to send him -carbolic acid for his wounds—I was not allowed to go and see him. To -all inquiries as to how the accident |254| happened he could, or -would, only say that all he did was to pull in the slack of the lines, -to prevent their becoming entangled. - -Sorry as I am for poor Burrai’s death, I cannot consider that I am in -any way to blame for it; I can only think that some system of fuse, or -detonator, had been fixed to the “torpedoes,” and that the very action -which I had suggested to render them useless had exploded them. About -the time that the mines exploded, Onoor returned, or, at least, I -received the news of his return, by receiving the letter and money he -had brought from Suakin. Every one with leanings towards the Government -was now coming to me in prison under one pretext or another, to give -me information as to all that was going on; it was to their interest -to do so, as to the end I was looked upon as an official. Owing to -this, I was able to send out to Onoor slips of paper giving as nearly -correct details as possible of the number of various arms possessed -by the dervishes, the stock of ammunition, and the Khaleefa’s plans -as far as they were known. In one of my notes I informed the army -of the explosion of the “torpedoes,” and the existence of two other -mines ready to be sent off, with details concerning the forts. I asked -Onoor to get away with these as quickly as possible, and he promised -to do so. I do not know who he handed these notes to, or whether he -handed them over himself; he replies to my inquiries by writing me -from Omdurman saying that he was arrested on the Nile by Osman Digna, -but whether coming or going from the army it is impossible to say. -My own opinion is that Onoor, |255| not knowing how the day would -go, remained in Omdurman the whole time. If the English won, his life -was safe as a well-known spy; if the dervishes won, he was among his -own people, and could take credit for having contributed towards the -victory. He was not the only one in the Soudan who debated chances and -probabilities as did Hassib Gabou, and Hogal when Gabou talked him over -on April 1, 1887. - -No sooner had my “latest intelligence” been sent off by Onoor, than an -arsenal carpenter, Mohammad Ragheb, came to me on the subject of the -remaining torpedoes. He had been ordered to assist in the laying of -them, and was particularly anxious to learn from me how he might render -them useless, and no less anxious that I should make a mental note -of the fact so that I could say a “good word” for him if ever he was -accused of trying to impede the advance of the “Government.” Associated -with him was a no particular friend of mine—Ali Baati, and others; -but there was no mistaking their earnest desire and real anxiety to -circumvent all the schemes of Mansour, Hassanein, and Abdallah in -favour of the Government troops. - -Ragheb could give me no more information as to the firing medium of the -mines than could Burrai; all he could tell me was that the “barrels” -had the wires wrapped two or three times round them to prevent their -being pulled or dragged in removal. I suggested first that he should -chip away any cement which he thought filled any hole or crevice; -this would allow of the water penetrating. Next I suggested that he -should, as the boats carrying the mines went down |256| the river, -try and “snip” any or all of the wires running round the “barrel,” but -cutting the wires in different places, so that the trick would not -be discovered. Ragheb must have succeeded, for neither of the mines -exploded, although Mansour had appointed people to fire them as the -gunboats passed. - -It is impossible for me, away from the spot where association would -bring to memory the incidents of those stirring times, to remember the -names of all who came to me asking what they might do to evidence, -before the arrival of the troops, their loyalty to the Government, -and it must not be forgotten that they were running risks in fighting -Mahdieh. It is but right that I should record the one or two striking -examples which occur to me, especially in the face of my oft-expressed -opinion that there are one or two released captives, who should not -even be allowed the formality of a drum-head court-martial. - - - - -|257| - -CHAPTER XXI - -NEARING THE END - - -Events were now following each other in rapid succession. In the -universal excitement prevailing, sleep was almost unknown, drums were -beaten and ombeyehs blown continuously day and night, days and dates -were lost count of; even Friday, that one day in the week in Mahdieh, -was lost sight of by most, and the prayers were left unsaid. - -Councils of war were the order of the day—and night; and what tales we -heard! The Emir Abd-el-Baagi had been entrusted by the Khaleefa and -Yacoub with keeping in touch with the advancing armies, and sending -to Omdurman information of every movement. Never was a general better -served with “intelligence” than was Abdullahi by Abd-el-Baagi; his -messengers were arriving every few hours in the early days, and hourly -towards the end. It was with no little astonishment that we heard -Sabalooka was to be abandoned. The boom of chains which was to entangle -the paddles of the gunboats had snapped, therefore it was the will of -Allah that the boats were to come on. Then the mines exploded. Again it -was Allah, who in this showed that |258| he would not have His designs -interfered with. The real truth of the matter was, that the troops at -Sabalooka, hearing that the gunboats had guns which could send one of -the “devils” (shells) half a day’s journey, and over hills too, took -upon themselves to retire out of range. - -There was an old prophecy to the effect that the great fight would -take place on the plains of Kerreri. Here the infidels were to be -exterminated, and all the waverers on the side of the faithful were -to be killed, the remnant collecting afterwards and then starting -off, a purified army, on the conquest of the whole world. Again, it -was decided that the faithful were to collect in Omdurman, and allow -the infidels to come on. While attacks were being made against them -on the western flank and rear, a great sortie was to be made from -the town, when the infidels, pressed back to Kerreri plains, would -be caught between three fires, and exterminated. The gunboats, with -their “devils,” would be afraid to shoot, as they would kill their own -people. But no sooner had this been decided upon when objections were -raised. Those gunboats could anchor half a day’s journey off, knock -Omdurman to pieces, and bury the faithful under the ruins. - -Again the prophecy was alluded to, and a move out to meet the armies -finally decided upon. Every man was to be taken out of Omdurman, so -that, if the infidels should succeed in reaching the town, they would -find only women and children, and instead of their being the besiegers, -they would become the besieged. |259| - -Omdurman was overrun by Abdullahi’s spies, who, professing to be -friendly towards the “Government,” tried to wheedle out of known -friends of the Government expressions of opinion as to the chances of -success to the Mahdists’ arms, and at the same time to ascertain the -general feeling of the populace. Their favourite hunting-ground was of -course the Saier, where the more influential people were incarcerated. -From the persistence with which these spies pressed their inquiries as -to the chances of success which might attend large bodies deserting -to the Ingleezee under cover of darkness—their anxiety to learn how -they might approach the camp without being fired upon before they had -been given an opportunity of evidencing their peaceable intentions—we -came to the conclusion that Abdullahi had been advised to make a -night attack. Few knew better than we did what might be the result of -such a tactic. At close quarters the dervish horde was more than a -match for the best-drilled army in Europe. Swift and silent in their -movements, covering the ground at four or five times the speed of -trained troops, every man, when the moment of attack came, accustomed -to fight independently of orders, lithe and supple, nimble as cats and -as bloodthirsty as starving man-eating tigers, utterly regardless of -their own lives, and capable of continuing stabbing and jabbing with -spear and sword while carrying half a dozen wounds, any one of which -would have put a European _hors de combat_—such were the 75,000 to -80,000 warriors which the Khaleefa had ready to attack the Sirdar’s -little army. Artillery, |260| rifles, and bayonets would have been but -of little avail against a horde like this rushing a camp by night. - -We had heard from the prisoner deserters how, at the Atbara, the -armies had advanced by night and delivered their attack at dawn, first -shelling the zareeba with their “devils,” which “came from such a great -distance.” With Fauzi, Hamza the Jaalin, and others, I came to the -conclusion that the same tactics would be employed for the attack at -Kerreri; therefore, to the spies we swore that the English never did -things twice in the same way; that they would on this occasion march -during the day and attack at night, since the Sirdar would be afraid -to let his soldiers see the Khaleefa’s great army, as they would all -run away if they did. Our advice was that the faithful should remain in -their camp, and await the attack. It would have been very awkward for -me had the Sirdar planned a night attack, for he would have found the -dervishes on the _qui vive_ awaiting him, and then I might have been -blamed for the advice I had given. However, I believed that a night -attack would be the very last thing he would resort to, and any tale -from our side was good enough, provided doubts were raised in the minds -of the Khaleefa and his advisers as to the chances of success which -would attend his attacking by night. - -The population at this period may be said to have divided itself into -three camps; the one praying—and sincerely, for the victory to Mahdieh; -the second praying openly to the same end, but breathing prayers to -Heaven for just the reverse; the third camp—and |261| this the bigger -of the three, consisting of those waiting to see which side would -probably win in order to throw in its lot with it. Dozens of people, -who really were friends of the Government, came to me in prison asking -advice as to what they might do before the troops actually arrived to -evidence their loyalty, and it must not be forgotten that they were -risking death at the hour of deliverance. To most I was still the -“brother of Stephenson el Ingleezee,” and there were “brothers” of mine -coming up with the Government troops. - -I was able, through these people, to collect the information I was -sending off daily by spies. Abdallah-el-Mahassi, who had received some -message from Major Fitton, asking about me, and also asking for all -information procurable concerning the arms and ammunition possessed by -the dervishes, sent to me the spy Worrak, who had been released from -prison, for any information I could give. Worrak, doubtless looking -forward to a reward, decided upon delivering my messages himself. He -was to be accompanied by two others; so, besides giving him notes -with the numbers of rifles, etc., issued to the troops, and a last -warning about the mines near Halfeyeh, I gave the information verbally -to the three, so that, in the event of it being found necessary to -destroy the papers, the verbal messages would get through. Worrak and -his companions left, but were intercepted by Abd-el-Baagi’s scouts. -Inflating their water-skins, they took to the river under a shower of -bullets. Worrak must have been killed or drowned, |262| as he was not -seen again; but the two others reached the British lines, delivered the -messages, and said that they would be confirmed by Worrak, who they -then thought must have been carried by the current to the east bank of -the Nile. These were the last messengers I actually sent off. - -One of the Saier gaolers had worked himself into a state of frenzied -excitement in describing, for the edification of the prisoners—and mine -in particular, the coming destruction of the infidels. He gloated over -the time when the principal officers—their eyes gouged out to prevent -their looking upon the benign face of his master, would be brought into -the Saier, and there baited for the amusement of the populace. How -little the Sirdar thought, on that September evening, that one of the -gaolers grovelling at his feet had, but a few days previously, looked -forward to the time when he, blinded and shackled, would be lashed -round the place, and, with the rest of my “brothers,” spend the nights -in the “Umm Hagar.” This gaoler, in his mad enthusiasm, rushed at me, -and nearly succeeded in gouging out my left eye. There was a struggle, -and getting up almost breathless, and certainly driven to desperation, -I turned stupidly round, and prophesied, for his edification this -time, that the destruction he had predicted for my “brothers” was the -destruction which was to fall upon Mahdieh. - -[Illustration: SHEREEF, THE “FALSE FOURTH KHALEEFA.”] - -It was fortunate for me that, for a few days previous, Idris es Saier -had been sending for me, under one pretext and another, and asking what -action he should |263| take in case the English won the battle. -I promised that if he treated me well, I would say “good words” for -him; but perhaps Fauzi’s tale made the greatest impression upon him. -Fauzi related that when the English took Egypt there was one gaoler -at Alexandria and another at Cairo. The gaoler at Cairo treated -his prisoners well, and so the English promoted him; the gaoler at -Alexandria killed his prisoners, and ran away to another country across -the seas, but the English brought him back, and hanged him in his old -prison. Knowing that the troops were close, Idris took me under his -especial care, for he knew I had sent messages to my “brothers” telling -them I was alive, and he feared that if they came and found me dead, -they would hang him on the same scaffold with my corpse. Although he -warned the gaolers and spies to say that I was mad, and did not know -what I had been saying, my little speech by some means got to Yacoub’s -ears. I was carefully watched, and no one from outside was allowed to -speak to me. I should have been taken out of prison to see the great -fight, but I believe that I was the only Christian not called out to -the field of battle. I had asked Idris not to remove my chains if I was -sent for. I had no wish to be found alive or dead on the field as a -practically free man, and, dressed as a dervish, any attempt on my part -to escape to the British lines during the fight could only end in my -being shot down. - -The Khaleefa had been sitting for eight days in the mosque in communion -with the Prophet and the Mahdi, and it was either on the Tuesday night -or |264| Wednesday morning immediately preceding the battle that -the decision to move out of town was arrived at. On the Wednesday -afternoon a grand parade of all the troops was held on the new parade -ground, and, while it was being held, alarming news was brought -by Abd-el-Baagi’s messengers. Instead of returning to the town as -intended, the Khaleefa set off with the whole army in a north-westerly -direction. It was this hurried movement which accounted for the -greater part of the arms and ammunition he required being left in the -Beit-el-Amana, for Abdullahi had intended distributing the remainder of -the rifles only at the last moment, when his troops would have to use -them against the infidels in self-defence; he could trust none but his -Baggara and Taaishi. Sheikh ed Din, with Yunis, Osman Digna, Khaleefa -Shereef, and Ali Wad Helu, moved off first in command of the attacking -army of 35,000 rifles and horsemen. Yacoub followed in command of a -similar number of spear and swordsmen; in all, the army assembled -must have numbered between 75,000 and 80,000 men. As every male had -been taken from Omdurman, the Khaleefa issued a hundred rifles to the -gaolers with which to shoot down the prisoners in case of trouble. - -That night the rain came down in torrents, and the following day the -army arose uncomfortable, and maybe a little dispirited, but Abdullahi -restored their good spirits by the relation of a vision. During the -night the Prophet and the Mahdi had come to him, and let him see -beforehand the result of the battle; the souls of the faithful killed -were all rising |265| to Paradise, while the legions of hell were seen -tearing into shreds the spirits of the infidels. While this tale was -going its rounds, the gunboats were creeping up, and a further move to -the north was ordered, for it had been reported that the English were -landing the big guns on Tuti Island, to shell the camp. - -We, too, in prison heard that the gunboats were approaching, and then -we heard the distant boom, boom of the guns gradually nearing and -growing louder. Before we had time to speculate as to whether the great -fight had commenced or not, a boy whom I had stationed on the roof of a -gaoler’s house, came running down to say that the “devils” were passing -Halfeyeh. At the same moment we were smothered in dust and stones; -a shell had struck the top of the prison wall, ricochetted to the -opposite wall, and fallen without exploding in the prison of the women. -All we prisoners hurried off and squatted at the base of the north -wall, believing this to be the safest place. The air was now filled -with what to us chained wretches appeared to be the yells and screeches -of legions of the damned let loose. We shuddered and looked helplessly -from one to the other. Then I noticed that the shells were all flying -high over us. Getting to my feet, I rushed—as far as my shackles -allowed—stumbling to the middle of the open space, tried to dance and -jump, called on all to come and join me. I shouted that my “brothers” -had got my messages; that only one place in Omdurman would be left—the -Saier; my brothers would spare all their lives for me. Yes, I had gone -mad; reason had left |266| me, and I was raving, laughing, crying, -singing, kissing my hands in welcome to those terrible messengers of -death screeching and yelling overhead; throwing open my arms, and -leaping up to embrace the shell which a second later was to gather in -death seventy-two then praying in the mosque.[12] - - [12] The flight of the shells overhead had a most extraordinary - effect; they appeared to compress the atmosphere and press it - down to the earth; we could actually feel the pressure on our - bodies, and with some it brought on nausea. - -I was only saved from death at the hands of the infuriated Baggara -prisoners by Idris es Saier locking them all up in the Umm Hagar, and -leaving myself, Fauzi, the Jaalin, and other Government sympathizers in -the open. Then the tales of the fight came to us; two of the gunboats -had been sunk, and the remainder had run away again! Fauzi and I sat -there distracted, heartbroken. The attack on Khartoum, in 1885, had -been enacted over again. I sat in a daze; the reaction from the madness -of joy to that of despair was more than the strongest man could stand, -after nearly twelve years’ captivity, but fortunately I broke down and -sobbed like a child. - -During the night we could hear the pat, pat, pat of at first a few -dozen feet, until eventually we could tell that thousands were running -into the town. It is no use relating the tales then told us, I will -relate what actually occurred. After the bombardment of the forts, -the Khaleefa sent messengers to bring in all news from Omdurman. When -told that all the forts had been destroyed, he ordered a salute to be -fired in token of his having gained a victory, and called out, “Ed -deen mansour”—the Faith is Triumphant! But |267| other messengers were -hurrying in, and as they came with grave faces and asked to see Yacoub -before delivering their news to the Khaleefa, it was soon noised abroad -that the volley from the rifles was only to try and hide something -serious which had occurred. First, it was learned that, instead of -the gunboats having been destroyed, it was the forts which had been -battered to pieces. Then the more superstitious lost heart when it was -related that one of the “devils” had entered the sacred tomb of the -Mahdi, and numbers deserted desertwards, afterwards striking back to -town. Later on, it became known that not only had one of the shells -destroyed the Mimbar (pulpit), but had also destroyed the Mihrab—that -sacred niche in the wall of the mosque giving the direction of Mecca. -What rallying-place was there now for Mahdieh? And so more deserted. - -Between ten and eleven at night a riderless horse from the British or -Egyptian cavalry came slowly moving, head down, towards the dervish -lines. The Khaleefa had related how, in one of his visions, he had seen -the Prophet mounted on his mare riding at the head of the avenging -angels destroying the infidels. This apparition of the riderless horse -was too much; at least one-third of the Khaleefa’s huge army deserted -terrified. When Yacoub told him of the desertions, Abdullahi merely -raised his head to say, “The prophecy will be fulfilled, if only five -people stay near me,” His Baggara and Taaishi stood by him, but they -too were losing heart, for the Khaleefa, on his knees, with head bowed -to the ground, was groaning, |268| instead of, as customary, repeating -the name of the Deity. However, he pulled round a little as the night -progressed, and invented visions enough to put spirits into the -remaining but slightly despondent troops. - - - - -|269| - -CHAPTER XXII - -AT LAST - - -It will, I believe, surprise but few when I admit that it is next to -impossible for me to remember and relate the incidents which occurred -during my last night and day in the Saier. Added to the general -excitement shared by every one, I had also to contend against the -mental excitement which, earlier in the day, had almost deprived me of -reason. From where I lay chained to a gang of about forty prisoners, I -could hear the infuriated Baggara in the Umm Hagar heaping their curses -on the head of that “son of a dog—Abdallah Nufell,” and promising what -would happen when they laid hands upon me. These were no idle promises -that they made. Apart from the threats which may not be spoken of, -those of “drinking my blood” at the moment my brothers reached Omdurman -almost froze that blood in my veins. - -The whole night through we could hear the soft pat, pat, pat of naked -feet, and sometimes the hard breathing of men running a race. Not -having heard any firing, we made all sorts of conjectures. At one -moment it was thought that the troops had rushed one of the zareebas -|270| under cover of darkness, and that these were the fugitives -coming into town; at another moment it was believed that the Khaleefa -had altered his plans, and had decided to stand a siege in Omdurman. -Next it was thought that the dervishes had rushed the camp of the -troops; but this idea was soon discarded, for the people running back -to town would have still had breath to yell out the news of victory. I -have already given the reasons for these people returning, but I only -learned them later; to us prisoners, the night passed in anxiety, and -amidst alternate hopes and fears. - -Daylight was only creeping through the skies when we heard a low boom, -followed by an ever-increasing volume of yells and screechings as of -Pandemonium let loose, and then a terrific explosion which positively -shook Omdurman. The town could not stand this sort of thing for ten -minutes; we gave ourselves up for lost, but the bombardment ceased as -suddenly as it began. I asked one of the gaoler’s boys to climb to the -roof of the Umm Hagar to see what the gunboats were doing, as it was -believed that the shells had been fired by them. He called back that -they were “standing still” near Halfeyeh, and not firing at all. As we -could hear the distant booming still going on, we knew then that the -English were holding their own if nothing more, and hope returned. - -It did not need the boy to call out when the gunboats moved down -stream that they, too, were opening fire on the dervish camps; we -could almost follow the tide of battle in that furious artillery duel -from the |271| alternate roars and silence as of waves breaking on a -rock-bound coast. There was no doubt in our minds now that the tactics -of the Atbara had been repeated, and that the zareebas were being -shelled preparatory to being stormed; the conjecture was wrong, as we -learned later. Then the rattle of musketry was borne down on the wind; -it was not the rattle of dervish rifles either; we knew the sound of -these when fired. Then followed a long silence, only to be succeeded by -another terrific fusillade; to us prisoners, it was the reserve zareeba -which was now being carried. But the tale of the battle is old, and -who has not heard of that second fight on the day of Omdurman, when -MacDonald’s brigade withstood the combined attack of the armies of -Sheikh ed Din and Yacoub? - -One must go amongst the survivors of that attack to learn the details -of the fight. Those having glasses in the British lines must have -noticed Yacoub prancing about on horseback in front of his lines; this -was in imitation of the man he could see on horseback in front of the -brigade which was mowing down his men by hundreds at each volley. They -have learned since who the man was, and “MacDonald” with “Es-Sirdar” -is now a name to conjure with in the Soudan. It was not the first time -MacDonald had so terribly punished the dervishes, while commanding -troops which they had expected would throw down their arms and bolt, as -in olden days. - -While all this was occurring on the field of battle, I in prison, -to hide my excitement—and really to calm my overstrung nerves,—took -the Ratib of Ibrahim |272| Wad-el-Fahel, and occupied myself with -“illuminating” its pages with red-and black-ink designs; this was an -occupation I had often earned a few dollars at, but Fahel still owes -me for my last exploit in “illumination.” I left the work unfinished -about noon to attend to two young men attached to the prison, who had -come in from the fight, one with a bullet over the left temple, and the -other with a bullet in the muscle of the left arm. Provided only with -a penknife, I made a cross cut over the spot where I could in one case -see, and the other feel the bullet imbedded, and pressed them out; both -bullets had kept their shape, and must have been encountered at extreme -range, or rather beyond it. - -Maybe, with a European, chloroform might have been necessary for the -extraction of the bullet in the arm, but with a Soudanese—have I not -already said that a dervish can continue leaping and stabbing with half -a dozen severe wounds in his body? A dervish can and will kill at the -moment when the ventricles of his heart make their last contraction. -Bodily pain, as we understand it, is unknown to them. Many a time -have I applied, and seen applied, red-hot charcoal to sores, with the -patients calmly looking on. With my present patients, after dabbing -a little carbolic acid over the wounds, I asked what news they had -brought. Yacoub, they said, was killed; almost all the faithful were -killed or wounded; the Khaleefa himself was running back to town, -but they had outstripped him. While still questioning them, Idris es -Saier told me that the Muslimanieh who had been |273| taken out to -fight had made their way back to town, and were rummaging for European -clothes in which to array themselves to receive the troops when they -arrived. - -[Illustration: THE FLAG OF KHALEEFA SHEREEF. - -Line 1. “In the Name of God, the most Compassionate and Merciful.” Line -2. “Thou Living, Thou Existing and most Glorious Source of generosity.” -Line 3. “There is no God but God. Mohammad is the messenger of God.” -Line 4. “Mohammad El Mahdi is the Khaleefa of the messenger of God.”] - -I should here take up the tales of those who were fighting in the -dervish lines in order to present a complete narrative. At sunrise on -September 2, Sheikh ed Din determined on attacking with his army of -riflemen and cavalry, leaving Yacoub, with whom was his father, the -Khaleefa, as a reserve. The shells which fell amongst his men did not -knock them over or mow them down in lanes, they “blew a hundred men and -horses high into the air”; then, when the rifle fire struck them, it -“rolled them about like little stones.” The carnage was so frightful -that Sheikh ed Din himself led the way to the shelter in a khor to the -west of Surgham hill. - -And now, to understand clearly what followed next, and in a measure -to explain the post of honour being given to Sheikh ed Din, I must -refer to an incident occurring at the last moment before the army left -Omdurman. Khaleefa Shereef, since his insurrection against Abdullahi, -had not been allowed to exhibit the white flag made specially for -the family of the Mahdi. It was believed that Abdullahi intended to -nominate his son to succeed him, but this was against the expressed -order of the Mahdi that Wad Helu and then Shereef should do so. While -Sheikh ed Din was given the principal command, Shereef was not allowed -any command at all, nor was the white flag of Mahdieh brought out of -the Beit-el-Amana. Discontent was |274| openly expressed at this, and -some of the more religious or fanatic of the Mahdists demanded to know -whether it was Abdullahi or Mahdieh they were to fight for. Abdullahi -was advised to bring out the white flag, and it was carried at the -extreme left of his army, but Sheikh ed Din Abdullahi had hoped would -return as the victor of Kerreri, and thus his succession could be -assured with the aid of a vision. - -Seeing the repulse of Sheikh ed Din, the Khaleefa ordered the advance -of Yacoub’s army, and, as they were advancing, Sheikh ed Din collected -his men and joined it. Then it was that the determined attack was made -on MacDonald’s brigade. The Khaleefa had dismounted, and, sitting -on his prayer-skin, surrounded by his Mulazameen six deep, he held -communion again with the Prophet and the Mahdi, while his army was -being thinned by the thousands. Yacoub, with his Emirs and bodyguard of -horsemen, rode in front of the troops and did his best to incite them -to a final rush on the brigade. The white flag of Mahdieh was pushed -close to where the 2nd Egyptian battalion, under Colonel Pink, was -posted, and five standard-bearers in succession were shot down; others -ran to raise it only to be shot down in turn, until the flag was buried -under the slain. - -Almost at this moment a well-aimed shell blew Yacoub and his bodyguard -“high in the air,” and before the Khaleefa’s eyes; the black flag was -planted, but the dervishes had had a lesson. Yunis, breaking through -Abdullahi’s bodyguard, ran to him, saying, “Why do you sit here? -Escape; every one is |275| being killed;” but Abdullahi sat still, -dazed and stupefied with what he had seen. With the help of others, -Yunis raised him to his feet, and actually pushed and bundled him -along. Then Abdullahi started running on foot. He refused to mount -a horse or camel; after stumbling and falling three times, Yunis -persuaded him to mount a donkey. His army was now in full retreat, and -“Where, oh, Abdullahi—where is the victory you promised?” assailed his -ears. Calling his camel syce, Abou Gekka, he told him to hurry on a -fast camel to Omdurman, collect his wives, children, and treasures, -and conduct them to the Zareeba-el-Arrda (parade-ground) to the west -of Omdurman, where he would meet them, and then all were to fly -together. On reaching the zareeba, his household were not visible, and -hearing that there were still thousands of his troops in Omdurman, -he was persuaded to enter the town, and make a last stand at the -praying-ground. When nearing the mosque, Abdullahi saw Yacoub’s eunuch -waiting there. Telling him to collect Yacoub’s wives, children, etc., -and take them to the zareeba, the eunuch asked, “Where is my master?” -Abdullahi then probably for the last time exercised his power of life -and death. Turning to one of those near him, he said, “Who is this -slave, to question my orders?” and the eunuch fell dead at Abdullahi’s -feet with a bullet through his head. - -Reaching the large praying enclosure, Abdullahi ordered the drums and -ombeyehs to be sounded, but few or none obeyed the summons; some came, -looked |276| at him sitting there mute, and slunk off; some, I have -heard, jibed at him by asking if he was “sitting on his farwah.” The -farwah, or prayer-skin, is what the leaders formerly stood upon when -the day was lost, and awaited their death. Finding himself deserted by -all, he called for his secretary, Abou-el-Gassim, and asked what could -be done. Gassim, whether in a sarcastic vein or not, recommended that -he should continue praying where he was, and, maybe, his prayers would -still bring victory; but there being none to join in the prayers, he -asked Gassim to collect his household, and bring them to him. Gassim -went off, and did not return. - -At this time the Taaishi, Baggara, Berti Habbanieh, Rhizaghat, Digheem -and other tribes, whom he formerly depended upon for support, were -streaming off to the number of probably fifteen thousand, from the -south of the town. Calling two men, he asked them to go outside -the town, and see how far the Government troops were distant. The -messengers, on reaching the Tombs of the Martyrs, about twelve hundred -yards from where Abdullahi was sitting, suddenly came across the Sirdar -and his staff standing at the angle of the great wall; they watched the -staff move off towards the Beit-el-Mal, and returned and reported this -to Abdullahi. Slipping through the door communicating with his house, -he changed his clothes, collected the remainder of his household, and -quietly slipped off while the Sirdar was making the complete circuit -of Omdurman with the exception of those twelve hundred yards. It is a -thousand pities, as things |277| actually were, that the staff did not -continue in the direction they were then taking, for a few minutes’ -trot along the deserted street leading to the prayer-ground would have -allowed the Sirdar to lay his hands upon Abdullahi, as he sat there -absolutely alone, on the spot where he had hoped that his faithful -would make their last stand. - -The sun was falling, and still we in prison did not know exactly how -the day had gone. We had heard the drums and ombeyehs, which told -us that Abdullahi was calling upon the faithful to assemble at the -prayer-ground; a cloud of dust on the desert and the gunboats slowly -steaming up, meant that the troops were advancing on the town. Idris -es Saier came and asked me what he was to do—to go to his master or -wait for the English. I advised him to close the gates of the prison, -use his rifles upon any of the Baggara trying to force an entrance, -and wait and see who would ask for the keys—the expected Sirdar or the -Khaleefa. In all cases, I told him, it was his duty to protect the -prisoners in his charge, and reminded him of Fauzi’s tale of the two -gaolers. When we heard the shrill cries of the women, we knew that some -one was being welcomed, and guessed correctly that it was the English -at last. Idris, in his anxiety to secure his prisoners, had us all -chained in gangs earlier than usual, and this linking of my gang to the -common chain had only just been completed when Idris came, frightened -out of his life, as one could tell by his voice, to tell me that the -“place was filled with my English brothers,” that a big, tall man, who, -he was told, was |278| the dreaded Sirdar, had asked for me, and that -I was to come at once. - -It seemed an age while the chain was being slipped from my shackles, -and then, led by Idris, I made my way to the gate of the Saier. I was -crying dry eyed; I could see a blurred group, and then I was startled -out of my senses by hearing English spoken—the only words of a European -language I had heard for seven long years. From that blurred group, -and through the gloom, came a voice, “Are you Neufeld? are you well?” -And then a tall figure stepped towards me, and gave my hand a hearty -shake. It was the Sirdar. I believe I babbled something as I received a -handshake from one, and a slap on the shoulder from another, but I do -not know what I said. Looking down at my shackles, the Sirdar asked, -“Can these be taken off now?—I am going on.” I believe a second’s -discussion went on with Idris, and then I heard the last order I was -to receive and obey in the Saier, “Neufeld, _out you go_!” It was the -Sirdar’s order, and, half carried by the friendly and strong arms -supporting me, I obeyed. The next thing I remembered was a British -officer slipping off his horse, lifting me into the saddle, and -trudging along at my side after the terribly trying and arduous day he -must have had. - -I was taken to the “head-quarters’ mess” at the camp; the Sirdar -had, I believe, allowed himself the luxury of a broken angareeb on -which to rest; the staff were lying in all positions on the sand, -fagged out, but hard at work with despatches and orders by the light -of |279| guttering candles. It was a hungry, thirsty, and deadbeat -head-quarters’ mess I had been invited to on the night of the memorable -2nd of September. While the comfort of the troops had been looked to, -the Sirdar and his staff had evidently neglected themselves. Their -canteen and mess were miles away on slow-travelling camels; one of the -most brilliant victories of the nineteenth century was being celebrated -by a supper of a few biscuits, poor water, some of my prison bread, -which I shared with others around me, and Cairo cigarettes, with the -sand of the desert for seats, and the canopy of heaven as the roof over -our heads. - -Soon after reaching the “mess,” I heard a voice calling, “Where’s -Neufeld?” and the inquirer introduced himself to me; it was Mr. Bennet -Burleigh, of the _Daily Telegraph_. I had heard, and yet had not heard, -much English spoken to me, but the flood of language he poured out -when he found me still in chains came as a revelation to me; it was as -picturesque as his description of the battle which I have since read. -Rushing off, he was back in a few moments with some farriers with -their shoeing implements to try and remove my chains; off again, he -came with some engineers, and amidst a running torrent of abuse, anent -cold chisels and other implements which he required and which were not -forthcoming, he questioned me. Every one had a try at those chains; -some one I heard use language concerning the Khaleefa when he found his -thumb between the hammer and the links, but with a great deal of strong -language, and equally as strong blows, the links connecting with the -anklets |280| were cut through, but the anklets themselves were only -removed, owing to want of appliances, on board Colonel Gordon’s steamer -a few minutes before he led the way to the troops who were to take part -in the funeral-service at the spot where his hero uncle fell. - -While Slatin’s countryman, Joseppi, was imprisoned with me, I was able -to exercise my mother tongue, and correct his broken German, which -gave me, at all events, some little amusement; but after his murder, -and the escape of Father Ohrwalder, I never had another opportunity of -speaking a European language except in my dreams, and when I discovered -myself talking to myself. For seven long years, with the exception of -the word “torpedo,” by which name the Algerian called his mines, I had -not heard a syllable of a European tongue. The last Europeans I had -spoken to before leaving Egypt were English; the first language I was -to hear on my release was English, and then a strange thing happened. -As far as language was concerned, my brain became a blank from the -moment I left Wadi Halfa, to the moment when the Sirdar called out, -“Are you Neufeld?” so that when the German Military Attaché spoke to -me in German, while hearing, and in the main understanding what he -said, I could not, much to his very evident annoyance, find words in my -mother tongue to reply. It was weeks after my return to Egypt before I -was able to express myself properly in the German language. While to -myself this was not to be greatly wondered at, yet the fact might be -of interest to some scientist, who has made cerebral affections his -particular study. - - - - -|281| - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE SIRDAR AND SAVAGE WARFARE - - -On the morning following the battle of Omdurman, a number of the -townspeople came out to the camp, complaining of the rough usage which -they had been subjected to at the hands of the Soudanese troops left in -charge of the town, and of the looting of their houses. The majority, -not knowing that the Sirdar and his staff were fluent Arabic scholars, -brought their complaints to me, and asked me to interpret for them. -In my then excited and half-dazed state, I rushed off to report the -matters. Colonel Maxwell at once called up a hundred men, and with an -officer and sergeant, instructed me to proceed to the town and see the -men posted to the houses of the complainants. The real truth of the -matter, of course, only came out later, and as I do not know of any one -else who is in as good a position as I am to relate it, I submit the -following. - -Long before the troops reached the town, the inhabitants were busily -engaged in looting the Mahdieh institutions and the deserted houses -of the fleeing Baggara and others. Their local knowledge obviated the -necessity of _searching_ for loot; they knew where |282| there was -anything at all worth taking and took it, anticipating the troops by -half a day. Into every occupied house loot was being carried, if not -by the head of the household, then by the servants and others attached -to the establishment, while the head mounted guard. True, the soldiers -did loot towards midnight; but what? angareebs (the native seats and -bedsteads combined), on which to rest themselves instead of lying -down on the filth-sodden ground of Omdurman. Heaven knows they richly -deserved the temporary loan of these angareebs. Wherever residents -were looted, it was their own fault. The victorious and therefore -happy and grinning Blacks kept an eye on their hereditary enemies—the -lighter coloured population, as they passed backwards and forwards, -always entering their huts loaded and emerging empty-handed. In their -eagerness to collect all they could, they threw down their loot, and -hurried off for more, and during their absence the Black “Tommy” -annexed whatever he thought might be useful to him. - -[Illustration: TROPHIES TAKEN AT OMDURMAN.] - -The Sirdar himself could not have made a better arrangement than that -which came of itself. The troops were enabled to keep at their posts -with an eye open for any lurking Baggara; the looting was being done -for them by the residents, who knew exactly where to lay their hands -upon anything worth taking, instead of time being wasted by searching -empty houses, while the soldiers were kept in good spirits by having -the fun of the looting without running the risk of being suddenly |283| -confronted with half a dozen Baggara concealed in some hut or room. -When some one came staggering along under a particularly heavy load, a -Black would assist him with his burden; some of his comrades would join -in, and when the looter protested that he did not require any help, -a little Soudan horseplay was indulged in, and later on these little -pleasantries came up as grave charges of assault. - -The only people in Omdurman who had anything worth looting were the -real Mahdists themselves—and they deserved to be looted of their -ill-gotten gains. In dealing with any claims for compensation for -having been looted, three things should be kept in mind—the complainant -should prove that he was not a real Mahdist; that what he was looted of -on the evening of the 2nd of September was not the proceeds of his own -looting during the day; and, having got so far, should reconcile the -fact of his having been looted of property and valuables with his tales -of abject misery, poverty, and semi-starvation. - -It did not take me long to grasp the situation, for after seeing the -soldiers posted to the houses of the “Government” people, I started -on a voyage of discovery after the houses of the principal Baggara -and others, and having had them pointed out to me, I recommended the -soldiers to take their cleaning rods and bayonets, and probe the walls -of the hareem rooms for hidden valuables. I am pleased to say that the -suggested operations were not entirely without some gratifying results; -but a very small find indeed gratifies the native troops. Whoever -possessed property |284| in Omdurman was either a thief or murderer. -Most had bolted with the Khaleefa, and it was through no fault of -theirs that they left a few dollars behind for people who could make -good use of them. I regret now that I did not organize a looting party, -and place myself at the head of it. - -I have heard of, but I have not read, the article or articles written -by one of the correspondents who accompanied the Khartoum Expedition, -consisting of a series of wholesale charges brought against the Sirdar -and the troops in connection with “Khartoum Day.” I gauge what the -articles must have been from some of the letters written in reply. As -every one appears to have criticized and shown how much better than the -Sirdar they could have carried out the reconquest of the Soudan, as the -“oldest resident” I think I am entitled to express an opinion, and to -criticize also. - -The Sirdar, in my opinion, made one grave error—he gave quarter; and I -have no doubt that, in doing so, he knew that he was doing a positive -injustice to his Black troops in order to pander to an ignorant public -opinion which he knew existed elsewhere. I know that some people, -profoundly ignorant of the Soudan and its tribes, and their history, -religion, laws, customs, and legal rights, will hold up their hands -in holy horror, and jump to the conclusion that my long captivity has -engendered a spirit of vindictiveness against my captors which has -deadened in me every sense of humanity—and in this they will be wrong. -Lord Kitchener of Khartoum made a grave error in |285| extending to -a horde of murderers the advantages of civilized warfare, _and the -clemency he felt called upon to extend to them will cost England the -loss of many a gallant life yet_. - -There was not a man in the Black Battalions who had not, by the old -Law of Moses, the laws of his country in which he was then fighting, -the law of the Prophet, and the religious law, irrespective of the law -handed down from the remotest ages, more right to take a life on that -day than any judge in a civilized country has to sentence to death a -man who has personally done him no wrong. Every man there was entitled -to a life in retaliation for the murder of a father, the rape of a -mother, wife, daughter, or sister, the mutilation of a brother or son, -and his own bondage. To prevent, as the Sirdar did prevent, these -soldiers from exercising their rights, was doing them an injustice, -and running a risk as well, when it is remembered how they had slaved -for this “Day of Retaliation.” There may have been, doubtless were, -many cases of the killing outright of wounded dervishes; this was no -more murder than a judicial hanging; and looking at the matter from -a humanitarian point of view, would it not have been better to send -those Blacks over the field to put the wounded out of their misery, -and thus kill two birds with one stone? For let it be remembered, that -when a dervish sits and lies wounded, he is wounded to death, and only -by force of will keeps himself alive until he dies happy at the moment -when he sends his spear through the heart of his would-be saviour. I -repeat, the Sirdar |286| committed a grave error in extending to the -dervishes the advantages of civilized warfare. I who have lived amongst -the people, who have discussed with their greatest exponents of the -religious law, and made comparisons between the administration of their -and our laws, consider that I am well qualified to express an opinion, -and better qualified than those who, with a command of language, can -so present their views to the public that the cant, ignorance, and -humbug—not to say hankering for notoriety which underlies it all—is -hidden. - -You who have held up your hands in holy horror at the foregoing, -prepare to hold them up again. - -The day after the battle of Kirbekan an outpost was being sent forward. -Moving to its position, it espied a wounded dervish making signs for -water. One of the soldiers slipped off his camel to give him some, and -his comrades moved on. As time went on, and their chum did not catch -them up, they came back to see what had happened. There he was, still -attending to the wounded dervish, his hand resting on his shoulder, -but there was no movement from either. Approaching—this was the tale -plainly written. The lines on the ground showed that “Tommy” had taken -the wounded man in his arms, and half supporting and half dragging -him, had placed him in a sitting posture in the shade, with his back -against a rock; then, taking his water-bottle, he began to pour the -life-giving drops down the throat of the dervish, for he still grasped -the empty water-bottle. With returning life came, of course, returning -strength—sufficient |287| strength for the dervish to slip off his -knife, poise his hand for a second of time behind “Tommy’s” back, -while he was occupied with his mission of mercy, and then, plunging -it in with sufficient force to divide the spinal column, the dervish -died happy as “Tommy” fell dead across his shoulder. That dervish was -glorified in the Soudan, and thousands of others were awaiting the -opportunity of dying as gloriously. Do you like the picture now? These -are the sort of people you howl for the protection of. If you wish the -wounded dervishes to be attended to against their will, then institute -some special decoration for those who return alive from their mission -of mercy, and when you have discovered that for each decoration given, -a few hundred valuable lives have been sacrificed, perhaps you will -agree to the issue of orders which I, knowing what I do know, should -issue now. - -If I had my say in the matter, when next the Government troops come -face to face with the tribes, whom Lord Kitchener in his clemency -spared to gather again around the Khaleefa, I should make it a -drum-head court-martialling business for any doctor who risked the -lives of his wounded in hospital by attempting to throw away his own -in attending to a wounded dervish who does not want to live. He is -wounded to death or would not be lying or sitting there, and he wants -to die—but to die killing; he wants your life’s blood, not your aid -and succour. As he wants to die—as he _must_ die—then shoot him at -once and put him out of his misery. In doing this, you are but acting -humanely to a dying but still ferocious |288| animal in the guise of -a man. You are not taking a life needlessly, but in all probability -saving a better one; and as the troops pick their way over the field -of battle, another bullet should be put into the “dead” and “wounded” -from a distance a yard beyond the point to which a dervish can throw -a spear, to prevent any more accidents. The number of soldiers killed -by “dead” and “wounded” dervishes is great enough already, and it -would be criminal to add to it. Have you no thought for some English -mother mourning the loss of her brave lad, who threw away his life in -attending to a wounded dervish, when she had been looking forward to -his return as the hero of the village? How many cottages in England -have been made desolate by the hands of “dead” and “wounded” dervishes? - -If none of the foregoing suggestions are acceptable, then let each -correspondent accompanying an expedition into the heart of Africa -declare whether he votes for first aid to the wounded dervishes or not. -If he does not, then let him hold his peace if he sees things which -he would not expect to come across, were he witnessing the sequel to -a fight between civilized peoples. If he declares for first aid, then -give him a packet of bandages and a water-bottle, and let him put his -principles into practice, while his more enlightened brother knights of -the pen tag on to their despatches his obituary notice. - - - - -|289| - -CHAPTER XXIV - -BACK TO CIVILIZATION - - -I must leave it to my readers to try and imagine what my sensations -were as I sailed away from Omdurman on the first stage of my journey to -civilization and liberty. Remembering the reason which I gave my wife, -manager, and friends, when I was begged to abandon my projected journey -into Kordofan, knowing that others knew how I had comported myself -before my captors and Abdullahi, I was conscious that I had nothing -to be ashamed of in the production of a worse than useless saltpetre, -which I could easily have refined—but the real refinement of which I -prevented. Nor was I ashamed of having designed impossible machines for -the manufacture of powder and cartridges, in order to keep out of that -terrible Saier; nor of the wilful destruction of so much good material -for their construction, especially as there were living witnesses to -bear me out. Thinking, therefore, that the small, very small, risk I -ran in the collecting of information to send to the advancing armies -might have been appreciated, I built up on my journey what proved to -be a house of cards to be blown down by |290| a breath as soon as I -reached Cairo. I was much disappointed in the reception awaiting me; so -also was every other released captive, and not a few Mahdists. Perhaps -I am to blame for delaying at Berber for the purpose I have “admitted” -in my chapter “Divorced and Married,” when my arrival had been -announced by a certain train; but I have been punished for this, though -even now I am too uncivilized to feel ashamed of the action, or to -appreciate the justice of the strictures passed upon me in consequence. - -When at last I did reach Cairo, it was but to learn that although I had -taken as “jokes” the compliments which I received on my way down, on -the “manufacture of gunpowder with which to kill English soldiers”—on -the “‘damned clever’ design and construction of the forts to oppose the -advance of the gunboats,” on my “smartness in galloping away from the -field when I saw it was all over for Mahdieh, and reaching the prison -just in time to get on my chains again before the Sirdar put in his -appearance”—yet these, and a great many other tales, were implicitly -believed in. Moreover, they had lost nothing in being translated into -the many languages spoken in Cairo, which include every language of -Europe, with a few of the East. - -It was heartrending to me, after what I had gone through, to return to -my own flesh and blood to be spurned and shunned as the incarnation -of everything despicable in a man. I, who had defied my captors and -had looked for death, wished for it more now that I was amongst my own -people; but fortunately the persecution I was subjected to, added to my -change of |291| life, caused me to break down completely, and when I -recovered from my delirium it was to find myself in the hands of a few -friends. Do not think that I had worried myself over what was mere idle -gossip; all the charges were made in sincerity, and this owing to the -influential quarters whence they were emanating. - -A few days after receiving the generous offer of my publishers, I -was told that I was a prisoner of war, and as such was debarred from -entering into any engagements; moreover, my experiences were said -to be the property of the War Office. Later on, I was told that, in -consideration of the subscriptions raised by a newspaper group in -England for the purpose of effecting my escape some years ago, I was to -write my experiences for the benefit of the subscribers. Then, after -keeping me waiting weeks for a reply, they offered me £100—a sum not -sufficient to pay the guides already in Cairo—and asked me to repay -them the moneys they had lent me while in prison. When in reply to this -offer I pointed out the ruined condition I am in, and offered to repay -the subscribers the monies spent from the money I am to receive for my -book, I was first threatened with an injunction upon the book, and then -with the publication of “interesting” disclosures (?) concerning me. - -When H.R.H. Duke Johann Albrecht, the Regent of Mecklenburg, -graciously writes to me himself, instructing me to call at the German -Consul-General’s, in Cairo, for some money sent there to “give me a new -start in life,” I am met, when I do present myself, with accusations of -ingratitude and broken |292| engagements towards people whose names -I had never heard of. However, these people wrote disclaimers to the -_Times_, saying that they knew nothing of the claims made against me in -their names; yet, in spite of the disclaimers, the money was impounded -for about five months in all, and then some claims paid from it, but on -whose account I am still ignorant. - -While all these charges are being levelled at me, I am warned that -if I dare contradict anything published formerly concerning myself -or Soudan affairs, certain correspondence will be communicated to -the London Press; yet what am I to do but contradict them wherever I -can find a scrap of evidence to support my contradiction? Surely I -cannot be expected to confirm such reports in the face of the threats -made verbally and in the columns of a newspaper, especially as I and -mine must remain the social outcasts we have been since my release, -until my narrative appears. I am writing more in grief than in anger; -these are all subjects I should have preferred not to mention in my -narrative, and I am touching on them as lightly as is possible, but -as others have chosen to publish them, by keeping silence I should be -doing myself an injustice. My hand or tongue has been forced, therefore -those who have taken the initial action against me must be responsible -for the inevitable result which will follow when, questioned as to the -foregoing by those entitled to ask for the evidence, I hand over for -publication the whole of the correspondence. For the public, having -been led to form opinions about me on the strength of the reports -and explanations printed, have the right to |293| know the whole -truth before pronouncing a second judgment; but my narrative ought -not to be burdened with such a voluminous correspondence. Surely a -kind Providence kept watch over the few documents which I have been -fortunate enough to find after all these years, and which are of such -value to me in substantiating my story. - -Amongst the many articles published concerning me, one printed in -the London and Provincial papers on the 5th and 6th of September -last caused me considerable injury in England and Egypt, and, maybe, -irreparable injury in my native country, to which I have appealed -for the rights of citizenship which my capture and long captivity -precluded my returning to claim during 1887. To this appeal I have as -yet received no answer—and little wonder. On the appearance of this -article, some of my countrymen attacked me in no measured terms, and I -was shunned by them as they would shun a pestilence. The communication -made was on the presumable authority of General Hunter, as his -name is mentioned; but so sure am I that he was no more capable of -communicating such a report for publication than he is of turning his -back in the face of an enemy, that I have not so much as written to him -asking his denial. I was advised to allow these reports to accumulate -and circulate, and reply to them _en bloc_ in my narrative, leaving a -deceived public to take up the matter. The article I refer to reads as -follows:― - - “Twice had every preparation been made. The relays of camels to take - the exile across the desert were ready. Nothing remained |294| but - for Neufeld to pluck up courage and quit Omdurman. Each time he backed - out at the last moment. At length he confessed the truth, namely, that - he did not care to come away. He had married a black wife. His friends - in Germany were dead or had forgotten him. He would stay where he was.” - -Is it not possible to find some one to swear that _more_ than two -attempts were made during those long twelve years to extricate me? I -have in my narrative said all that I know of the visits of any guides -to Omdurman. Having been promised the publication of interesting -documents concerning me, perhaps the proofs of the above will be -forthcoming; let it be proved that on even _one_ occasion relays of -camels were posted to effect my escape, and at the same time let it be -proved that the guide who posted those relays ever came to me. - -It is quite possible that there are a sheaf of letters waiting to -be published bearing my signature; and maybe when they are, I shall -learn their contents for the first time. I had to sign many letters -the contents of which I was ignorant of, as is evidenced by the letter -to my manager, and the letter to General Stephenson, in reply to the -one he entrusted me with when I went on my expedition. This letter -was photographed, and a translation is given on p. 338. The reply was -dictated by Abdullahi to his secretary, and handed me to sign. Let the -note, letter, or report, on which my refusal to escape is founded, be -produced, and then see if the date of it does not correspond with the -date of the maturing of one of my many plans for escape. But do not -press me too closely for my reason |295| for writing or giving such a -message. If I gave it I should be committing as great an injustice as -did poor Lupton, when sending back part of the monies sent him by his -friends at Suakin, who were trying to effect his escape, wrote. . . . -Those friends are still living, and as they have not chosen to tell the -world what they did for their countrymen, and how it was that their -schemes fell through, I may not do so—at least, not yet. - -If I lied, as I have been told to my face that I did, when I denied -some of the charges made against me, why should more credence be given -me for sincerity in notes refusing to escape than was given to Slatin’s -protestations of loyalty in his letter to the Khaleefa when he escaped? -If during my capture and my long captivity my behaviour was unmanly, or -such as I, a European, ought to be ashamed of, then let the proofs be -at once forthcoming. Do not weary me out and keep the world against me -with threats of coming disclosures; moreover, have I not good reason -to complain of the communication of everything damaging to me while -everything in my favour is suppressed? - -The sources of information, reference, and assistance thrown open to -Ohrwalder and Slatin when compiling their experiences have been closed -to me. When Slatin arrived in Cairo, he was handed the statements of -guides reporting his “persistent refusals to escape,” and allowed to -be the first to inform the world of their existence. When I arrive -in Cairo, I find that similar reports concerning me have been given -wide publicity and believed in. Why, I ask, |296| should it have been -believed that the guides’ reports were false in Slatin’s case and -true in mine? and why should I not have been given the opportunity of -first announcing their existence to the world? Perhaps, before I have -completed my narrative, people will come to the conclusion that some -of those privileged to look at all my papers have, for some reason or -another, felt that it was necessary thoroughly to discredit me, so -that, when my story appeared, I should not be believed in; but then, -who could have foreseen that I should ever be so fortunate as to -collect any evidence in support of it? - -It has been suggested that maybe I have taken too much to heart the -“tales being told about” me; that they were but gossip. It was no idle -gossip for me. I was persuaded, much against my wish, to attend a hotel -garden-party, my first and last appearance in public in Cairo, for this -was the sequel: One of my few friends connected with the Press there -handed me some cuttings containing the usual inaccuracies and slanders, -and while sitting down in a corridor, my amanuensis at my side taking -notes as I read them over, I heard, “Hello, how is that book of -Neufeld’s getting on?” The speaker, when asked if he knew Neufeld, -blurted out, “Know him—no, nor do I want to know him, considering the -number of English soldiers he has sent to eternity with his gunpowder. -I would not even look at the fellow’s face.” And as my companion -whispered, “This is Neufeld,” I raised my head just in time to see the -representative of a great news agency hurrying through the doorway. -|297| Maybe, on the appearance of this, Reuter’s Cairo Agent may not -be averse to telling me on what or whose authority he made this charge -in my own hearing. The incident for the moment is closed, but if it is -re-opened, it must be re-opened somewhere where highly placed officials -may not be successfully appealed to to go around asking lawyers not to -take up my case. Memo. for that News-Agency representative—“Walls have -ears,” and “Don’t shout till you are out of the wood.” - -I trust that when I send up my card to the London correspondent of -the newspaper from whose article I have quoted, he will, instead of -imitating his brother knight of the pen in Cairo, at least receive me, -and examine the originals of the documents inserted in my narrative, -disproving the charges which he was the medium of circulating in -England and on the Continent. Then, if satisfied with their genuineness -in the first place, and in the second place convinced that during my -long captivity I was striving more than any other captive to effect my -escape, he will at least, when next writing to his readers, try to do -what little he can towards repairing the great injury which he did me -in England, though it was without malice, I admit, and then try to have -his error corrected in the German papers. I ask nothing more than this. -Is it too much to ask? - -But from the sea of slander and uncharitableness in which I was -struggling, there rose some kindly hands to help me. When pressed by -the War Office to repay the £20 I had borrowed from it on the way |298| -down—with my old guides in Cairo asking me to redeem the receipts they -had for monies lent me while in prison—with the monies kindly sent me -from Berlin to give me a “new start in life” impounded—with the hand -of every one against me, after calling at one bank and being refused, -I went to Mr. Hewett Moxley, an old friend of the Bleichröders, of -Berlin, and now the Director of the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Cairo. -Handing him my file of letters and telegrams, I asked if he thought -that they contained sufficient guarantees for my being able eventually -to repay the money which I wished him to advance to me. He left me for -a few moments, and then returned, and as he went over one letter after -the other, my hopes fell, for he remarked that my “guarantees were not -of the very highest order,” and that my “credentials were not of a very -satisfactory nature.” But I knew a few moments later that these were -pithy, maybe sarcastic, remarks upon the letters which he was glancing -through, for while engaged upon these running comments, his clerk was -counting out £150 in gold for my immediate needs, and opening a credit -for a further £250. I thoroughly enjoyed his joke, so different from -those I had so far encountered, for his action was the first kindly one -which I received in civilization. - -It was late on a Saturday night when, for the first time, I rose -from my bed of sickness to meet the proprietor of one of those great -English papers, which I had been promised were to hound me. In spite -of the assurances given me, it was with no little nervousness that I -approached him; but instead of |299| the ogre whom I had expected -to meet, I found myself being supported by a kindly spoken English -gentleman, assisted to an easy-chair, and tucked up in rugs. A few -waiters were in attendance, and the “ogre” was blaming himself for -having asked me to call and see him, and begging my forgiveness, as he -did not know that I was so ill. The “ogre” was Sir George Newnes. He -listened patiently to all I had to say, went through my correspondence, -ventured the opinion that certain actions directed against me were -“monstrous,” told me not to believe that the English Press would attack -me without reason, and recommended me, as soon as I was well, to go -ahead with my book and collect every scrap of evidence which I could in -support of my own story. I have followed his advice, but the collecting -of the little evidence which I have got has been no light task, groping -as I was in the darkness of a twelve years’ oblivion. - -I must not forget either to acknowledge the handsome treatment which I -have received at the hands of my publishers, who have kept me in funds, -and with extraordinary patience awaited the completion of my narrative; -but the absolute necessity of collecting proofs for what I state, in -face of the threats dangling over my head, accounts for the long delay. - - - - -|300| - -CHAPTER XXV - -HOW GORDON DIED - - -When the news of the Sirdar’s splendid victory reached England, the -British nation may be said to have breathed again, and when the great -rush was made for the cheap edition of “Ten Years’ Captivity,” which -was extensively advertised with my portrait to catch attention, the few -known details of Gordon’s death became as fresh again in people’s minds -as they had been years before. I was constantly asked to relate all I -had heard concerning Gordon. When I had done so I was invariably met -with quotations and readings from “Mahdism,” “Ten Years’ Captivity,” -“Fire and Sword,” and other works; for what I had been told of Gordon’s -death by eye-witnesses was an entirely different history to those -published. - -The first to relate the story of Gordon’s death was a man whose tongue -Gordon had threatened to cut out as the only cure for his inveterate -lying, and when he escaped and reached Cairo, in telling his tale -he sustained his reputation. All accounts of Gordon’s death have -apparently been based upon this first one received. Gordon, the world -has been |301| made to believe, died as a coward, for what other -construction may be placed on the assertion that he turned his back -upon his assailants, and in his back received his mortal wound? It is -an infamous lie; but, then, what was to be expected from a man whom -Gordon knew so well, and who, maybe, had good reason to invent the tale -he did? I quote, side by side, what may be called the three official -accounts of Gordon’s death:― - - MAHDISM. - - “He (Gordon) made a gesture of scorn with his right hand, and turned - his back, where he received another spear wound which caused him to - fall forward and was most likely his mortal wound. . . . He made no - resistance, and did not fire a shot from his revolver.” - - “. . . One of them rushing up, stabbed him with his spear, and others - then followed, and soon he was killed. . . . He (Nejoumi) ordered the - body to be dragged downstairs into the garden, where his head was cut - off.” - - OHRWALDER. - - “_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_.” - - SLATIN. - - “_The first_ man up the steps _plunged his huge spear into his body; - he fell forward on his face_ without uttering a word. His murderers - _dragged_ him _down_ the steps to the palace entrance, and here _his - head was cut off and_ at once _sent_ over _to the Mahdi_.” |302| - -It will be noticed that Father Ohrwalder’s account appears to be a -condensation of the first given, while it is hard to believe that a -coincidence only accounts for Slatin giving the history in almost the -identical words used by Ohrwalder. It is still more extraordinary that -the first account should ever have been believed and published, and -still _more_ extraordinary that it was not corrected by Ohrwalder and -Slatin, for when I arrived in Omdurman, in 1887, the real details of -the death of Gordon were the theme of conversation whenever his name -was mentioned, and there are many eye-witnesses to his death—or were -until the battle of Omdurman, who could tell a very different tale. - -[Illustration: KHALEEL AGHA ORPHALI.] - -Those who knew Charles George Gordon, will believe me when I aver that -he died, as they must all have believed that he died—in spite of the -official and semi-official accounts to the contrary—as the soldier and -lion-hearted man he was. Gordon did not rest his hand on the hilt of -his sword and turn his back to his enemies to receive his mortal wound. -Gordon drew his sword, and used it. When Gordon fell, his sword was -dripping with the blood of his assailants, for no less than sixteen or -seventeen did he cut down with it. When Gordon fell, his left hand was -blackened with the unburned powder from his at least thrice-emptied -revolver. When Gordon fell, his life’s blood was pouring from a spear -and pistol-shot wound in his right breast. When Gordon fell, his boots -were slippery with the blood of the crowd of dervishes he shot and -hacked his way through, in his heroic attempt |303| to cut his way -out and place himself at the head of his troops. Gordon died as only -Gordon could die. Let the world be misinformed and deceived about -Soudan affairs with the tales of so-called guides and spies, but let it -be told the truth of Gordon’s death. - -A week before the fall of Khartoum, Gordon had given up hopes. Calling -Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi, he ordered him to provision one of the steamers, -get all the Europeans on board, and set off for the north. To their -credit be it said, they refused to leave unless Gordon saved his own -life with theirs. Finding him obdurate, a plot was made to seize him -while asleep, carry him off, and save him in spite of himself; but he -somehow heard of the plot, smiled, and said it was his duty to save -their lives if he could, but it was also his duty to “stick to his -post.” As the troops must be near, then sail north, he told them, and -tell them to hurry up. - -Each day at dawn, when he retired to rest, he bolted his door from the -inside, and placed his faithful body-servant—Khaleel Agha Orphali—on -guard outside it. On the fatal night, Gordon had as usual kept his -vigil on the roof of the palace, sending and receiving telegraphic -messages from the lines every few minutes, and as dawn crept into -the skies, thinking that the long-threatened attack was not yet to -be delivered, he lay down wearied out. The little firing heard a few -minutes later attracted no more attention than the usual firing which -had been going on continuously night and day for months, but when the -palace guards were heard firing it was known that something serious -|304| was happening. By the time Gordon had slipped into his old serge -or dark tweed suit, and taken his sword and revolver, the advanced -dervishes were already surrounding the palace. Overcoming the guards, -a rush was made up the stairs, and Gordon was met leaving his room. A -small spear was thrown which wounded him, but very slightly, on the -left shoulder. Almost before the dervishes knew what was happening, -three of them lay dead, and one wounded, at Gordon’s feet—the remainder -fled. Quickly reloading his revolver, Gordon made for the head of the -stairs, and again drove the reassembling dervishes off. Darting back to -reload, he received a stab in his left shoulder-blade from a dervish -concealed behind the corridor door, and on reaching the steps the third -time, he received a pistol-shot and spear-wound in his right breast, -and then, great soldier as he was, he rose almost above himself. With -his life’s blood pouring from his breast—not his back, remember—he -fought his way step by step, kicking from his path the wounded and -dead dervishes—for Orphali too had not been idle—and as he was passing -through the doorway leading into the courtyard, another concealed -dervish almost severed his right leg with a single blow. Then Gordon -fell. The steps he had _fought_ his way—not been dragged—down, were -encumbered with the bodies of dead and dying dervishes. No dervish -spear pierced the live and quivering flesh of a prostrate but still -conscious Gordon, for he breathed his last as he turned to face his -last assailant, half raised his sword to strike, and fell dead with his -face to heaven. |305| - -Even had I not been specially requested, as the last of the Soudan -captives, to relate in my narrative all that I had heard and learned -concerning Gordon, I should have done so to a certain extent at all -events, for he was no more the hero of the British people than he was -mine, and the belief that he was still alive had no little to do with -my ill-starred journey in 1887. The truth about his death, which is now -published for the first time, is ample justification for what follows -concerning him while still alive. It is true, as I have been told, that -all I can have to say will be from “hearsay;” but then all the reports -published concerning Gordon’s last days are from hearsay. I have -the advantage over all others in this—that I was maybe the one man, -captive or not, in Omdurman whom Mahdist and “Government” man alike -could trust implicitly and confide in, for there was no questioning -what my attitude was towards Abdullahi and Mahdieh. The consequence -was that old “Government” people and the powerful men who from time -to time became my fellow-prisoners, and, as a consequence, enemies of -Abdullahi, gave me confidences which, if given in other quarters, might -have resulted in the loss of a head. - -Again, almost all the tales told about the Soudan may be classed in -one of two categories; the first, tales like mine, related by people -interested in putting their own version upon events and incidents with -which they were personally connected, and the second, tales told by -people with versions for which they believed their questioners were -hankering, so that what |306| was white to “A” became black to “B,” -if it was considered that this colour pleased “B” best. The system -scarcely puts a premium on accuracy. - -But before proceeding to my comments on the criticisms, a few -introductory remarks are called for to prevent misconceptions and -misunderstandings arising in the minds of my readers. As an evidence -that the following is not intended—far from it—to lacerate the feelings -of any of those who suffered with me, I might mention that I have read -over the notes of this chapter to many of my fellow-captives, and -have, at their suggestion, cut out a series of incidents well known -to Gordon, which influenced him in the stand he took towards certain -people, and other incidents which prove how clear and long-sighted he -was, and how events justified his taking up the stand which he did. One -incident ought to be written, to punish on this earth, if possible, -the man whose escape has not been recorded, and whose deserted and -broken-hearted wife lies by the side of their unshriven baby-boy in the -sands of the Soudan. However, maybe Gordon, had he come back alive to -meet all the calumnies directed against him, would have hesitated to -help his “clearance” by stabbing the living with a dead hand, and out -of respect to his memory this incident, with a number of others, has -been expunged. - -I have already told Father Ohrwalder that, in commenting upon what he -says in “Ten Years’ Captivity,” when speaking of Gordon’s actions, -the remarks I may feel called upon to make are not intended for him -personally, and although I foresee |307| that I must in the main -have to speak as to the second person, I think Father Ohrwalder quite -understands that the second person in this instance is his book, not -himself. I do not, as I have told him, consider that he is directly -responsible for the opinions he is credited with in “Ten Years’ -Captivity,” and this notwithstanding the remark, “The reader is -reminded that all opinions expressed are those of Father Ohrwalder.” -Considering that Father Ohrwalder is a priest and missionary, and has -ventured upon thin ice in attacking Gordon’s memory, such a statement -is hardly fair to him, as in the preface to the book it is stated, -that “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 -therefore does not profess to be a literal translation of the original -manuscript. . . .” - -I should have thought that when Gordon was being attacked the original -manuscript might have been treated a little differently. Of course -it is easily understandable that when a Syrian, with Arabic for his -mother tongue, translates from one difficult language which he has -picked up into another equally difficult, and translates roughly -too, when moreover this rough translation is handled in the manner -admitted, errors may have crept in or been passed unnoticed, whilst -salient points were lost sight of. It is also quite possible that the -peculiar idioms of the Arabic, German, and English languages |308| -got into a hopeless tangle, and were left so. Whatever the cause, -there is no gainsaying the fact that Father Ohrwalder is credited -with the expression of opinions which he, as a priest and missionary, -ought to be one of the last on this earth to give utterance to. That -he did not appreciate to the full the real import of the opinions he -is credited with, I feel certain of after my long interview with him, -when, with the Bible in one hand and a copy of “Ten Years’ Captivity” -in the other, we compared the opinions expressed in the latter with the -teachings of Christ in the former. - -Father Ohrwalder may or may not have been ill-advised in omitting or -suppressing the relation of well-known incidents, which accounted for -Gordon’s attitude in certain cases. It was only by omitting to mention -these incidents that the criticisms on Gordon were rendered possible, -or I should say that, had those incidents been included, the criticisms -would not have lived a day. It would have been far better to tell -everything to the generous and sympathetic world which he and Slatin -met when they escaped, and to leave it to condone, if any condoning -was called for, and to sympathize with them in the parts force of -circumstances compelled them to act, which must have been so repugnant -to them; for to omit, when criticizing Gordon, the relation of the very -acts which compelled him also by force of circumstances to act as he -did, was, to say the least of it, very unwise. - -In “Ten Years’ Captivity” the reader is led into a maze of opinions, -and left there. Once inside, you |309| discover that you can neither -gain the centre of the maze or return to the starting-point; you must -either wander round for an eternity, or do as I shall do, cut your way -through the hedges planted to bewilder you, and thank Heaven when on -the outside that you are clear of the tortuous passages. Compare, for -instance― - - “He (Cudzi) added that Gordon should have no anxiety about Berber as - long as Hussein Pasha Khaleefa was Mudir,” - -with, - - “Gordon himself committed a mistake by which he gave a deathblow to - himself and his mission. On his way to Khartoum, he stopped at Berber, - and interviewed the Mudir Hussein Pasha Khaleefa; he _imprudently_ - told him that he had come up to remove the Egyptian garrisons, as - Egypt had abandoned the Soudan.” - -Gordon cannot be blamed for confirming, as Governor-General of the -Soudan, the news telegraphed to his subordinate, the Mudir of Berber, -_through whose hands the retiring garrisons must pass_, nor can he be -blamed if, when his suspicions were aroused, he deferred to the opinion -of the man who was acting British Consul, Government representative, -and his own agent, when he wrote and telegraphed as he did, “Trust in -Hussein Pasha.” - - “The catastrophe which had overtaken Hicks filled the inhabitants of - Khartoum with indescribable dismay. Several of them returned to Egypt, - and the members of the Austrian Mission, with their blacks, quitted - Khartoum on the 11th December, 1883.” - -I therefore take it for granted that Father Ohrwalder’s fellow-workers -saw that all was hopeless |310| _two months before Gordon’s name had -been suggested to the Egyptian Government_, yet, in the face of this, -we are first asked― - - “What could Gordon do alone against the now universally worshipped - Mahdi?” - -and then told― - - “General Gordon’s arrival in Khartoum gave fresh life and hope to the - inhabitants.” - -Then, - - “As it appeared to us in Kordofan, and to the Mahdi himself, 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,” - -and, - - “I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that had the Egyptian - Government not sent Gordon, then undoubtedly the evacuation originally - ordered could have been carried out without difficulty.” - -One is simply staggered by such an assertion. When Gordon arrived in -Khartoum, the whole of the western Soudan had fallen. The town was -overrun with the mourning women and children—the widows and orphans, I -should say—of the troops who, under Hicks Pasha, had been annihilated -a few months before on their way to extricate the garrisons. Slatin -had surrendered Dara to Zoghal. Said Bey Gumaa, the last man to fight -for the Government in the western Soudan, was compelled to capitulate -very shortly before Gordon’s arrival, and this only after a second -siege when his men were dying with thirst. |311| Bahr-el-Ghazal fell -before Gordon had had time to turn round, and, for all that he or the -Mahdi knew, the Equatorial province had fallen also. The town was -hemmed in by the Mahdists, and the commanders of the garrisons which -Gordon was expected to extricate were holding various commands in the -dervish army, while Slatin had taken part already as a Mahdist in -the subjugation of his subordinate, Said Bey Gumaa of El Fasher, who -had refused to surrender. Am I not justified in saying that only the -suppression of such facts made possible such attacks upon Gordon? - -We are next told― - - “Those who escaped massacre in Khartoum 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 Soudan might have been maintained, and - probably the Mahdi would never have left Kordofan.” - -Why did not those perfectly ready to leave leave with the members of -the Austrian mission, or leave between the date of their departure, -December 11, and the early days of February, when the news of -Gordon’s mission first reached Khartoum? Who prevented their leaving -during that interval of at least two months from the moment when -they were all thrown into “indescribable dismay” until they heard -of Gordon’s appointment? And if, when he did arrive, they were so -bitterly disappointed at his not being accompanied with five hundred -British |312| bayonets—much good these would have been against the -“universally worshipped Mahdi” in extricating those who had surrendered -to him—why did they stay on? Did not Gordon beg them to leave? did -he not try and compel them to do so? did he not put boats at their -disposal to sail north or south as best suited them? And has not Gordon -himself given the real reason for their staying on?—though to this -should be added their unbounded faith and confidence in Gordon. - -Gordon, I venture to believe, sustained his reputation in the Soudan -up to the end—up to the moment when, with the hand of Death on him, -he fell facing his last assailant. True, he lost his reputation for -telling the truth, but there are few men in this world whose telling -of an untruth would startle and astonish a community. The people of -Khartoum, their eyes dry and wearied with looking for a sign of the -returning steamers which Gordon had sent off three months before to -bring up the troops expected to arrive at the beginning of November, -turned to each other, and, in an amazed whisper, said, “Gordon has told -a lie,” and were startled and afraid at their own words. - -Having dealt as tersely as possible with this curious collection of -contradictions, I proceed to the quotation of and replies to the -criticisms passed upon Gordon in the book I have already quoted from. - - 1. “Looking back on the events of the siege of Khartoum, I cannot - refrain from saying I consider Gordon carried his humanitarian views - too far, and this excessive forbearance on his part added to his - difficulties.” - - 2. “It was Gordon’s first and paramount duty to rescue the |313| - Europeans, Christians, and Egyptians, from the fanatical fury of the - Mahdi, which was especially 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.” - - 3. “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 be at once issued to - them, and thus it was that the supplies in the hands of the Government - were enormously reduced.” - - 4. “Gordon should have recognized 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.” - - 5. “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 Soudanese respect and regard only those - whom they fear, and surely those cruel and hypocritical Mahdists - should have received very different treatment to civilized Europeans.” - - 6. “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, Wad-el-Mek, and others, - had offered, at the risk of their lives, to come and serve him. . . . - Gordon would not, however, vouchsafe an answer to the letters of - appeal these men wrote to him.” - -In the first five extracts, Father Ohrwalder, from an initial mistake -in forgetting or being unaware of the presence in Khartoum of the -thousands of widows and orphans of the soldiers of Hicks’ army, -flounders on until, as I have said, he is credited with opinions which -he should be the last to give utterance to. It is passing strange -that any missionary should place limits to the humanitarian views and -forbearance of a military commander in time of war, who may invariably -be |314| depended upon to err on the wrong side from the biblical -point of view. Gordon, in keeping in mind the Sermon on the Mount, and -acting up to its precepts as far as the exigencies of a state of war -permitted, performed no act derogatory to him as a military commander. -Gordon was no worse a Christian than he was a soldier—and the world -never saw a better soldier. And whatever Gordon’s paramount duty may -have been, it certainly was _not_ his paramount duty to weaken his -little garrison by sending an expedition into Kordofan to rescue, say, -a dozen people who, as far as Gordon and every one else in Khartoum -knew, had disavowed the Christian religion and adopted that of the -Mahdi. - -There is another aspect to the case. Gordon’s troops were Muslims. The -“Christians” had adopted the “true faith” and become Muslims also. -Why, then, should Muslim lives be sacrificed to “rescue” them from -Islam and bring them back to Christianity? And it must not be forgotten -that Slatin, so far from denying his conversion, excused himself on -the ground that his religious education had been neglected at home. -Gordon is not to be blamed for having believed that the “Christians” -had sincerely adopted Islam, for apart from the mere adoption of -the religion, people sworn to celibacy and chastity had entered the -matrimonial state, which was considered a further evidence of their -conversion. While the gardener of the Khartoum Mission was bewailing -the money he had sent to the “apostates,” Consul Hansal wrote, asking -that the matter be kept secret, to the Austrian |315| Consul-General -in Cairo, informing him of what had occurred. Had there been any -“Christians” to rescue from the Mahdi, doubtless Gordon’s paramount -duty would have exhibited itself in some action. Nor is there any -evidence that the Mahdi’s “fanatical fury” was in any single instance -especially directed against the “Christians,” but there is a great deal -of evidence to the contrary. With the exception of putting Slatin in -chains, when he believed that he was playing him false, I know of no -case of wanton cruelty practised by the Mahdi towards the “Christians,” -and I am not sure whether “clemency” would not be the proper word to -use in Slatin’s case, when it is remembered what happens to prisoners -of war who break their parole, for Slatin and the others had sworn the -oath of allegiance. - -Extract No. 3, apart from the extraordinary censure on Gordon for -feeding the families of his enemies, and being moved to pity at the -sight of the tears of starving women, calls for a more detailed reply -to the criticism. Gordon, according to “Ten Years’ Captivity,” ought -to have turned these women out of the town to be at the tender mercies -of the “wild fanatical savages” and been responsible for the rehearsal -under his own eyes of the hunt for lust which followed on the fall of -Khartoum. Father Ohrwalder can never have heard of England’s proud roll -of heroes who on land and sea have given their lives to save those of -helpless women and children. In feeding these women—even had all been -the wives of his enemies, which they were not—Gordon committed |316| -no graver military crime than did the commander of the troops on board -the _Birkenhead_, when, instead of seeing first to the safety of the -soldiers for whose lives he was responsible, he placed the women and -children in the boats which could have saved the troops, and called -upon his men to present arms as the boats left the side of the ship—and -to stand to attention as the vessel sank under them. So much for -British principle, apart from Christ’s teachings, in peace and war; now -for the facts in Gordon’s case. - -When Gordon arrived in Khartoum, he found wandering—hungry and -helpless—the thousands of widows and orphans of the soldiers who a -few months before constituted Hicks Pasha’s army. Throughout his -journals you will discover constant reference to the food question, -with accounts of his successful search for the _stolen_ biscuits, which -had “enormously reduced” the supplies in the hands of the Government. -Gordon had calculated that the relieving army would reach him at the -beginning of November, so that we find him writing on the 2nd of that -month that he has six weeks’ food supplies. In making this estimate he -was allowing for full rations to the troops (who were also in receipt -of the money with which to buy those rations), and the wants of the -poor. On the 11th of that month he discovers nearly a million pounds of -stolen biscuits. On the 21st he writes, “I do not believe one person -has died of hunger during the months we have been shut up.” On December -14—that is a month after the latest date he had estimated for the -arrival of the relief expedition, he |317| says that unless the troops -come in ten days the town may fall, and this because he had on November -12 written, “Omdurman fort has one and a half months’ supply of food -and water.” With the fall of this fort, he knew that the end would soon -come. - -But up to this date the soldiers, who were not entitled to rations -since they received money for their purchase, were given full rations, -and there is every reason to believe that the pinch only came when -Omdurman fort fell on January 14 or 15, and the town was completely -hemmed in. Food was short, no doubt, but, eight days before the fall -of the town, Gordon could spare from the stores fifteen hundred pounds -of biscuits to provision a boat for the Europeans. One should only be -filled with amazement that Gordon held out so long after the date when -he had expected relief, and it is not only ridiculous but monstrous to -attack him, because he did not calculate that the expedition would only -arrive _seventy-eight_ instead of seventy-six days late, when we know -for certain that his troops were receiving full rations which they were -not entitled to for at least a month after the date of the expected -arrival of the expedition. - -It is true that Gordon, seeing the food supplies giving out, -recommended people to leave him and join the Mahdi, but this was only -after more days had slipped away after the “ten days from December -14.” He had then abandoned all hope, and saw that his prophecy was to -come true—the expedition would arrive just “too late.” In comparison -with the number of widows whom Gordon had had to support |318| for -ten months, without the slightest assistance or aid from outside, -the number of wives of his “enemies” in the Mahdi’s camp was so -insignificant as to be unworthy of notice. But even supposing that all -the starving women who went to Gordon crying for the bread which Father -Ohrwalder suggests should have been represented by a stone, were the -wives of his enemies, his own writing justifies Gordon’s feeding of -them, for he says, “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 Khartoum, while, on the other -hand, should Gordon be victorious, then their wives and families would -be able to mediate for them with the conquerors.” - -It is quite evident, then, that these people who went over to the -Mahdi’s camp did so, not from conviction of his divine mission, but to -save the lives of their wives and families, whom by preference they -entrusted to Gordon even at the last hour, and nearly a year after the -date when his arrival without five hundred British bayonets is supposed -to have ruined his reputation in the Soudan. I am inclined to think -that the “craftiness” displayed by some in trying to secure their wives -and daughters against violation and death, was no less justifiable than -the “craftiness” displayed by others for an entirely different purpose. -What a tribute these “crafty” people paid to Gordon! I mean the crafty -people who left Khartoum in January, 1885, and trusted Gordon with -the lives of their wives and children. |319| In discussing this food -question with Khartoum survivors, I laid particular stress upon the -feeding of the women and children, and I can do no better than give -the summing-up of it in the words of a native survivor, after I had -translated to him the criticisms I am replying to—“What! Would Gordon -Pasha send away the hungry women and children of soldiers who had been -killed fighting for the Government?” - -I pass over extract No. 5 for the moment to refer to No. 6. The use -of my portrait in advertising the book I am quoting from led most to -believe that I approved of the criticisms it contained, and I have -taken this opportunity of showing how thoroughly I disagree with them. -To say that Slatin and others had offered, at the risk of their lives, -to join Gordon is hardly correct, and if Gordon did not vouchsafe a -written answer to the letters he received, he probably had good reason -for not doing so, especially as it appears likely that some of Said -Bey Gumaa’s letters addressed to the Governor-General before Gordon’s -appointment had succeeded in getting through to Khartoum, and from -these and deserters from the Mahdi, Gordon must have learned all. - -Under pretence of intending to submit, Gumaa gained time, and tried -to hurry up reinforcements, but this having been suspected, Zoghal -ordered Slatin, Tandal, the President of the Civil Court, Aly Bey -Ibrahim-el-Khabir, Slatin’s head-clerk Ahmad Riad, and a few others, -to send in an ultimatum to Gumaa, |320| and await his reply. The -reply travelled quickly; as soon as he read the letter, Gumaa opened -fire upon the spot where Slatin and his companions were awaiting him. -During the first siege of El Fasher, Gumaa must have accounted for at -least fifteen thousand dervishes, and utterly defeated the army which -retired to Walad Birra, from whence a party was sent off to Dara to -bring up the ammunition which, as appears from Gordon’s Journal, was -handed over to the Mahdists by Slatin when he surrendered the province. -This occupied eleven days, and then the second siege was laid. The -wells were filled up, thus depriving the garrison of water; but for -seven or eight days they held out, dying of thirst, while the town was -constantly bombarded with Government ammunition. Said Bey Gumaa has -always protested that had it not been for the ammunition handed over by -Slatin to the Mahdists he could have held out—and more. - -The knowledge of these things must have influenced Gordon, especially -when Slatin writes to him, through Consul Hansal, offering to place -his services at his disposal, but only on condition that Gordon -should guarantee never to surrender, for, if he did, Slatin would -be maltreated by the Mahdists when they laid hands upon him. Gordon -was the best judge as to the value of services offered under such -conditions. For “moral and political reasons,” Gordon considered -it unadvisable to have anything whatever to do with what he called -“apostate” Europeans in the Mahdi’s camp, but appreciating the -enormous responsibility |321| thrown upon his shoulders, he appealed -to the Ulema for their advice, as these apostates were now their -co-religionists, and they decided to have nothing whatever to do with -their “proposals of treachery,” as no good could come of it. Matters -were made still worse by Slatin writing to Gordon asking him to be a -party to proceedings very foreign indeed to Gordon’s nature at all -events. Slatin’s request to Gordon was to write to him personally one -letter in French, and another letter in Arabic, “asking him to obtain -permission from his Master to come to Omdurman and discuss with him the -conditions of his (Gordon’s) surrender,” which letter he could use in -order to obtain permission to come to Omdurman. If Gordon had written -that Arabic letter. . . . - -If all these facts were not known to Father Ohrwalder before 1892, six -years is quite long enough time to have learned them, and now I have -no hesitation in saying that to assert that Gordon brought about his -downfall by refusing the services of people willing to risk their lives -in reaching him is, to put it charitably, pure fiction. - -Irrespective of the opinions expressed in the first four extracts -given, extract No. 5 makes out a very good case for the Sirdar to write -in large letters at the Soudan Frontier, “No Missionaries Admitted,” -for Father Ohrwalder proves conclusively that they can do no good. -Honestly I believe that for many years to come the only religious -teachers allowed to penetrate into the Soudan should be enlightened -exponents of the Quoran. Consider that for sixteen years the |322| -Soudan has been in the throes—is still in the throes of one of the -greatest religious upheavals known. While this revival of Islam has -been in progress in the Soudan proper, the converts at Uganda and -elsewhere have been snicking each other’s throats to evidence their -zeal for the rival Christian creeds. In the Soudan, missionaries have -openly avowed to thousands their acceptance of the “true faith”—Islam, -the very religion from which they had gone out to convert the Blacks. -I have not the slightest hesitation in saying myself that for some -time to come religious revivalism in the Soudan will, if permitted to -take place, very soon spell REBELLION. Time must be given for the bad -(?) effect produced on the native mind by the conversion of the Soudan -missionaries to die out, and goodness knows the poor country requires -a rest. If missionaries must be sent, then let them be honest traders, -the best missionaries for savage countries. When the Soudan has again -been opened up, and the natives have become a little more civilized -through their contact with trade, and so Europeanized that their simple -faith, “There is one God, and He is God,” is not sufficient for them, -but they must needs snarl and fight over creeds, then and only then -remove the “No Admittance” signboard. - -I trust that no religious body or society of earnest Christians will -think from the foregoing that I am either sneering or scoffing at -religion, or that their disinterested efforts to spread the gospel of -peace to the remotest ends of the earth have not my sincerest sympathy. -I have spoken plainly and to the point, |323| for I consider that the -occasion calls for it. The missionaries required in the Soudan now are -clean-minded, honest traders, who will do more for you by a few years’ -preparing the ground for “talking” missionaries than the missionaries -can do in a score of years of preaching. It is men like Gordon who, -though not preaching religion, yet practise it in their every act, whom -the Soudan requires. Ask any one in the Soudan what is his opinion -about Gordon, and he will reply, “Gordon was not a Christian; he was a -true Muslim; no Christian could be so good and just as he was,” and I -believe that this saying, or estimate of him, emanated from the Mahdi -himself. I draw your particular attention to the word “just,” which -proves that, in the eyes of the Mahdists and Soudanese alike, his -justice ranked with his goodness. If any Soudanese or Mahdist ridiculed -to Father Ohrwalder Gordon’s generosity, and considered it a sign of -weakness, it must have been done for a purpose. During my twelve years -amongst all shades of people of the Soudan, I never heard a single word -against Gordon, nor did I hear one until I came amongst his own flesh -and blood. I cannot do better than relate another example of the esteem -he was held in, and this example is from a Christian source. - -My friend Nahoum Abbajee, when he reached Cairo, prepared a petition -which he had intended forwarding to her Majesty the Queen, asking that -the British Government should restore part of the fortune accumulated -by him during his twenty-three years’ residence in the Soudan. His -argument was that, trusting to |324| Gordon, he had delayed in -Khartoum until Stewart’s departure was arranged for, when, acting on -the advice of Gordon, he sold off his goods, realizing but half their -value, accepted Gordon Bonds in payment, bought a boat, as no one then -would hire one out, set off with Stewart, and was captured by the -dervishes. This would not have happened, had not the commander of the -gunboat disobeyed Gordon’s orders by steaming off to Khartoum, instead -of bombarding Berber for three days, and Gordon was consequently -responsible for the delinquencies of his subordinate. - -On being asked what his personal impressions of Gordon were, he said -that his thoughtfulness for every one, his goodness, justice, and -innumerable virtues would take years to relate; and then when he was -told that his claim could only be sustained on his proving that Gordon -was to blame for the loss of Stewart’s party, ill as he was, he rose -from his couch, tore up the petition, and, with his hand raised, prayed -Heaven that if the bit of bread to save him from starvation should be -purchased with money obtained through laying a fault upon Gordon, it -might choke him. One had to witness the scene really to appreciate it. -Ruined, broken down in health, too old to make a new start in life, his -eyes lost their dulness and glistened as he breathed his prayer and -fell back on his couch exhausted with the effort. Nahoum, I am afraid, -will have joined Gordon by the time this appears in print. - -[Illustration: HASSAN BEY HASSANEIN.] - - - - -|325| - -APPENDICES - - -APPENDIX I - -HASSAN BEY HASSANEIN - -When Gordon heard of the murder of Colonel Stewart and his companions, -he held a sort of court-martial on himself, and, after reviewing all -the arrangements which he had made for their safety, he came to the -conclusion that Stewart must have been invited on shore and murdered. -Then, as if endowed with second sight, he almost exactly described -what actually happened. The _Abbas_, drawing less than two feet of -water, ought not to have stranded, as it was High Nile. Treachery on -the part of the crew he had guarded against by sending a bodyguard -of highly paid Greeks. The cutting adrift of their boats just after -passing Berber contributed to the catastrophe, for had they been with -the steamer at the time she struck, it is hardly likely that the -inhabitants of the village would have planned the treachery they did. -As interpreter to the party, Gordon gave them the man he could least -spare, and one in whom he had every confidence—Hassan Bey Hassanein. -Gordon himself writes, “thus the question of treachery was duly weighed -by me and guarded against,” yet, in “Ten Years’ Captivity,” we find the -contrary stated. “It is said that the interpreter, Hassan, arranged -the betrayal.” Moreover, to clinch the matter, and to show that -Gordon had selected a traitor in the very man whom the |326| lives -of the party might depend upon, it is added, “And I was afterwards -told that, when he got into difficulties later, he sent a petition to -Mohammad-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.” - -Hassan Bey Hassanein has lived to come back to Egypt and bear witness -to the goodness and virtues of the heroic defender of Khartoum. -The only bit of treachery Hassan Bey acknowledges is that—with his -fellow-clerk, Sirri—he cut the Khaleefa’s telegraph and telephone -communications as the troops were advancing, to prevent communication -between Omdurman and Khartoum and the outpost at Khor Shambat. It was -Hassan Bey who ran out of the telegraph-hut as the gunboats advanced -and attempted to get on board in order to warn them of the mines. He -succeeded in attracting attention, and barely got off with his life, -for his shouts in English were drowned by the report of the rifles as -the men “potted” at his dervish dress. - -Hassan Bey Hassanein, speaking English, French, and Arabic, was sent -to Khartoum in July, 1883, for telegraphic work. When Gordon arrived, -in 1884, he wrote an official letter detailing him for his special -service. Orders were given that he was to have access to him at all -hours of the day and night. It was Hassan Bey who used to mark the -words Gordon required to use at a forthcoming interview, in his Arabic -dictionary. Before giving his version of the murder of Stewart’s -party, a few words concerning him and his relations with Gordon will -prove that, in selecting him as interpreter to the party, Gordon -“well-guarded against treachery.” - -One of Hassan Bey’s first missions after the arrival of Gordon was to -seek out the widow of Bussati Bey; for, on arrival at Berber, he had -telegraphed to Bussati Bey, not knowing that he had been killed with -Hicks. Having found the widow and her children in dire straits, he -returned with one of the children to Gordon, and then took the child -back carrying a handkerchief containing a hundred pounds. “Bis |327| -dat qui cito dat” was certainly Gordon’s motto in Khartoum, from the -hundreds of tales which I have heard. On handing the money to the -widow, she brought out her husband’s uniform and sword, and, handing -them to Hassan Bey, said, “As you take the place of my husband at -Gordon’s side, then take his sword and uniform.” Hassan Bey took it -to Gordon, who asked what it was worth, and being told “perhaps ten -pounds,” sent twenty pounds to the widow to make sure, and told Hassan -Bey to keep the uniform, as it might yet come in useful. - -Later on, when Hassan Bey, who was then but “effendi,” had had a -particularly hard spell of night and day work, Gordon asked him which -he would prefer—an increase of pay or a rank. Hassan Bey left the -matter to Gordon, and he gave him both, writing the “firman” himself. -On the Friday following, Hassan Bey presented himself to Gordon in -Bussati’s uniform—for uniform was worn on Fridays and feast days. -Gordon was evidently much amused at his interpreter and telegraph-clerk -appearing in the uniform of a lieut.-colonel, although the rank he -had bestowed upon him was nothing more nor less. Telling Hassan Bey -that such a uniform did not look well without a decoration, he pinned -on to his right breast one of the decorations he had had struck to -commemorate the siege of Khartoum, and Hassanein walked off a proud -man to delight the eyes of his wife, then nearing her confinement. -Fifteen days before the departure of the _Abbas_, he presented himself -to Gordon, and told him that he was the father of a boy. “No, I am -the father,” replied Gordon, and, knowing Hassan Bey’s house, he -hurried off at a quick walk, which Hassan Bey had to run to keep up -with. Pushing his way through the women assembled in the outer room, -he tapped gently on the door where mother and child were lying, and -asked, “Mary, tyeeb-tyeeb?” (“Is all well?”) and then, as the child’s -“father,” he insisted upon entering, took the child in his arms, -crooned to it, kissed it, and then hurried off and wrote a note to the -Finance Office to pay a hundred pounds _from his salary_ “to his boy.” -Mother and child were to meet with a tragic death. |328| - -Two days before the departure of the _Abbas_, Gordon told Hassan Bey -that he had selected him to accompany Colonel Stewart as interpreter. -He was to accompany the party as far as Dongola, at all events, but -there was the possibility of Stewart requiring him as far as Cairo, -therefore his wife collected a number of presents for her relatives -in Cairo, which Hassan Bey was to present in uniform and decorations, -so that all should understand how highly she had married. I must now, -having given an idea of the relations existing between Gordon and -the man who “betrayed” Colonel Stewart, and who had left with Gordon -his wife and fifteen-day-old boy, give his account of what actually -occurred. I purposely leave out all the incidents of the voyage until -the boats reach the island opposite the village of El Salamanieh. - -A discussion arose between the two Reises (pilots) as the island was -neared, as to what course to take; the river was running strong, -and between the island and mainland resembled a mill race. One reis -contended for the left bank and the other for the right. Stewart, who -spoke Turkish and Arabic, asked what was the matter, and decided that -judgment was to rest with the oldest of the reises, and he selected -the right bank. Instead of coming through the race stern first, it -was decided to put on full steam and “shoot” what might be called the -rapids. While the decision was being given, the steamer had come end on -with the island, and when full steam ahead was signalled, she steamed -ahead at an angle of about seventy-five degrees to the southern spit, -and before reaching the race proper, struck—swung round, and struck -again. Colonel Stewart took down his revolver, and threatened to shoot -both reises, upon which they dived overboard and swam to the right bank -of the Nile, but thirty or forty yards distant. Colonel Stewart did -not fire at them as they swam off. This occurred about an hour before -mid-day. - -About an hour later, the two reises—Mohammad el Dongolawi and Ali el -Bishtili—returned to the vessel, said they had spoken to the people -of the village, who had declared they acknowledged the authority of -Mustapha Pasha Yawer, the |329| Mudir of Dongola; they at the same -time begged that Stewart would not molest them in any way, and they -would provide camels to take the whole party to Dongola. Colonel -Stewart spiked the cannon, and threw it overboard along with the -ammunition. He then ordered Hassan Bey, with one of Gordon’s cavasses, -and the clerk Mahmoud Ghorab, to go on shore and interview the people. -At first they demurred, as, being Egyptians, they felt sure they would -be murdered, and asked that the small boat should be sent as far as a -village near Derawi, where it was certain “friends” would be met with. -Colonel Stewart, after first threatening to throw them into the river, -took his revolver again and threatened to shoot all three if they did -not obey instantly. They obeyed, and went on shore to meet the men -awaiting them—a blind man named Osman, and two men of the Wadi Kamr -tribe. On reaching the reception-room of the Sheikh-el-Belad (headman -of the village), a copy of the Quoran was produced, and upon this Osman -and his companions swore loyalty to the Government. Osman remained -behind while the other two accompanied Hassan Bey and the others to the -island where Stewart’s party had then landed. Here again the oath of -allegiance to the Government was taken, and the men left, promising to -send for camels to be ready on the following morning. - -At about ten o’clock the next day they returned, and suggested that all -should come to the right bank and pack up their effects, to be ready -for the camels when they arrived. About two hours after mid-day, while -all were either seated on the bank or fastening up their effects, a -man came, said that the Sheikh-el-Belad had arrived, and invited the -“Pasha” and the Consuls to his house. Colonel Stewart ordered Hassan -Bey to accompany him as interpreter. On reaching the reception-room, -they found about forty or fifty people assembled to receive them. The -Sheikh-el-Belad was seated in the centre of the room on the left. Two -angareebs were placed at each side of the doorway: Stewart and Power -seated themselves on the |330| angareeb on the right, and Hassan Bey -and Herbin on the angareeb to the left. Some minutes were taken up in -the usual salutations, and before they had time to speak about the -journey, the natives rose, and, saying the camels were approaching, -left the room, only to rush back a few minutes later shouting, -“Salaamoo tisslaamoo ya kaffarah” (“Become Muslims, you infidels, -and you will be spared”); but at the same moment Herbin had his head -smashed in with an axe, and Hassan Bey was stabbed in the right arm -with a crease knife, and, as he was falling, received a large spear -wound in the left leg. He fell unconscious, and did not see how Stewart -and Power were killed. While the bodies were being dragged out of the -room, some time after sunset, Hassan Bey was found to be still alive; -it was proposed to kill him, but the brother of the Sheikh-el-Belad, he -heard afterwards, pleaded for him, as his “stomach felt sick.” - -After the murder of Stewart and the others, the party made their way -to the river, and a long fight ensued between them and the crew of -the vessel, the latter being killed to a man. Hassan Bey was given -some engine-oil from the steamer with which to dress his wounds, and, -when he recovered, was sent to attend the flocks of the tribe. About -fifty to sixty days later, he was sent to Berber on the orders of -Mohammad-el-Kheir, and there imprisoned for four months, and, on the -death of the Mahdi, was, with other prisoners, sent to Omdurman, to -take the oath of allegiance to Khaleefa Abdullahi. - -In 1889–90 he was sent to Kassala, and, on the breaking out of the -famine, he, with his wife and child, and many others, made up a party -to return to Omdurman. Hassan Bey’s group consisted of his family, a -man named Ismail, with his wife and daughter, and a man with two women. -They ran short of water, and, leaving the others, who were worn out, -to rest under some shrubs, Hassan Bey and Ismail set off in search -of water. In about four hours’ time they reached some pools near the -Atbara, and filling their water-skins, set off to rejoin |331| their -families. On reaching the spot, they found that they had been devoured -by lions; the heads of Hassan’s wife and boy—then between six and -seven years of age—and the heads of Ismail’s wife and daughter were -all that remained. No trace was left of the heads of the man and the -other two women, and it is surmised that they must have escaped, for -the lion never eats the head of its victim. Half mad, the two wandered -on, living on roots and leaves, until, on reaching the village of -El-Mughetta, on the banks of the Atbara, they were taken prisoners and -made slaves. Ismail had to work at the ferry, but Hassan Bey, being -weak and ill, was allowed to wander about until, meeting with a caravan -bound for Geddaref, he joined it, and then made his way to Omdurman, -being employed, first, as clerk under Abdallah Sulieman, the head of -the cartridge-factory, and then transferred to the telegraph service. - - -|332| - -APPENDIX II - -ORPHALI - -The account which I have given of how Gordon died differs so very -little in essentials from the account which I have since received from -Khaleel Agha Orphali, and which has been read to Khartoum survivors -with the idea of comparing the statements made with what was related -at the time, that I think it advisable to allow my account to stand, -and to append that of Orphali, giving a few details concerning Orphali -himself. I might mention that Gordon was credited with having killed -a much greater number of dervishes than I have given, but the error -arose from his being credited with the killing of the dervishes on the -“Gouvernorat” (E) staircase; but these were killed by the guards. The -fact of his having killed so many as he did, is to be accounted for -in two ways; first, the people who first assailed him on the private -staircase were unaccustomed to the use of the small spears they -carried—indeed, it is safe to say that they had only been dervishes -outwardly for half an hour or so; and, secondly, as they were packed on -a narrow staircase, every shot told on the mass. To assist the reader -in following Orphali’s narrative, I have drawn from memory a rough plan -of the palace as I remembered it while it stood intact, and, with the -assistance of Fauzi Pasha and others, have been able to name each of -the rooms. - -Khaleel Agha Orphali joined the army for service in the Soudan in -the Coptic year 1591 (1873–74). After taking part in a number of -engagements, he was promoted to the rank of Bulok Bashi (commander of -twenty-five men), and when |333| Gordon reached Kulkul, in 1878–79, -Orphali and his men had been without pay for months. They presented -themselves to Gordon and clamoured for their pay; he recommended them -to go to Khartoum for it, upon which they became abusive, and Gordon -drew his revolver. Orphali followed suit, but neither fired. Gordon -quietly ordered the cavasses to remove their chief in custody, which -they did. Shortly afterwards, Gordon sent for Orphali, told him he -was a “man,” gave him a present of money, and offered him the post of -cavass to himself, which Orphali at once accepted, accompanying Gordon -to Khartoum, and remaining with him until he left. - -On Gordon’s return, in 1884, he found Orphali then in Khartoum, and -made him his chief cavass. Orphali is one of those men who know but -one master, and believe that master to be the ruler of the universe. -He, therefore, was no great favourite with some in the administration, -as, during the siege, he was never away from Gordon’s side, and his -cavasses were allowed to do nothing but keep their arms clean, and -be ready to surround Gordon in case of trouble. They were strictly -forbidden to leave their posts to carry coffee, bread, run messages, or -perform all the other little services which they had been accustomed -to perform for the katibs (clerks). Orphali’s ideas as to the duty of -his cavasses were the cause of constant bickerings, which came to a -climax about twenty days before the fall of Khartoum, when he espied -one of them carrying an ink-bottle behind Geriagis Bey—the head-clerk, -who succeeded Rouchdi Bey. This was too much for Orphali. Grasping the -brass inkstand, he drove it with all his force against Geriagis’ chest, -and this assault Gordon could not pass over. Orphali was in disgrace -for eight days, and “confined to barracks,” that is to say, the palace -precincts, but he slept at Gordon’s door as usual. Twelve days before -the fall, he was re-instated in favour, and never again left Gordon’s -side for a moment. - -Orphali—as Gordon is not alive to speak for him, and as so many knew -from Gordon himself of his threat to shoot him many years before—has -been afraid, since his return, to talk |334| about his relations with -Gordon, and was not a little surprised when I assured him that, if he -appeared in “Londra,” he need have nothing to be afraid of from the -English people. Having introduced the man, I now give his description -of the night of the 25th January, keeping as much as possible to -his own words, and only, to give a complete account, mentioning the -incidents occurring in other parts of the palace while Gordon and he -fought the upper floor:― - -[Illustration: PLANS OF PALACE AT KHARTOUM ILLUSTRATING THE DEATH OF -GORDON.] - -His excellency was not an early sleeper, and on the night the dervishes -entered Khartoum he was in his room. At eight o’clock, Consul Hansall, -Consul Leontides and the Doctor, Abou Naddara (he of the spectacles), -came to see him, and remained until midnight. After their departure, -he did not go to sleep, but sat reading and writing letters, and -sometimes pacing the room. At one o’clock in the morning, he sent me -to the telegraph-office to inquire about the enemy’s movements, as he -had received confirmed news of the intended attack, and his excellency -had issued general orders to the soldiers and employés to be on guard -to attack and withstand the dervishes. Ali Effendi Riza, Mohammad -Effendi Fauzi, and Youssef Effendi Esmatt were on duty, also the -messenger Mohammad Omar. They reported all was quiet, and this news I -gave his excellency. Half an hour later, perhaps, firing was heard from -the land side (_i.e._ to the south); I was sent to seek information. -Bakhit Bey, from Buri, telegraphed that a few dervishes had attacked, -but had been driven off, and when I told his excellency, he prepared -to sleep, and gave me the customary order to bolt his door, and this -I did. Then I closed the door of the terrace (I, plan), then the door -of the Gouvernorat (H), near Rouchdi Bey’s room, and returning along -the corridor leading to the private apartments, closed the door in -the middle (B), and then went down the private staircase (D), gave -the usual orders to the guards, and returned to my sleeping place -opposite the pasha’s room (K), after I had told the telegraph-clerks -to bring information as soon as any news came from the lines. About -three o’clock, Mohammad Omar, the messenger, with Cavass Ali |335| -Agha Gadri, roused me and said that an attack was being made at -Kabakat (boats) on the White Nile. I informed the Pasha, who told me to -run to the telegraph-office for more news, and there I met Hassan Bey -Bahnassawi, who was on duty, and we heard that an attack had been made, -but had been repulsed.[13] On informing the Pasha, he told me to close -the door of his room again, which I did, and sat down to make coffee. -Then we heard more firing from the White Nile, and the cavasses, -having run to the terrace, called to me that the dervishes were coming -into the town. I ran down to Buluk Bashi Ibrahim El Nahass, who had -twenty-four men; fifteen we placed at the windows (rooms on right -ground-plan), and nine on the terrace overlooking the garden (G). There -were also twenty-four cavasses and ferrashes; thirteen were placed at -the windows (left of ground-plan) under my second, Niman Agha, eight -on the terrace (F), and three at the door of the palace (B). Each man -had ten dozen cartridges, besides which, each party had a spare case -of ammunition. All these arrangements did not take five minutes, as -each knew his place. I then ran up to the Governor-General’s room, -and informed him of the arrangements. The day had now come (dawned). -The dervishes who ran to the front of the palace were killed by the -fire from the steamer. About seventy were killed in the garden by the -soldiers firing on them from the terrace, and then we saw the dervishes -coming over the rukooba (vine-trellis A), and they were met with the -fire from the windows and terraces. They came in great numbers very -quickly. Some ran to the entrance (B), killed the guards and opened -the door; then they all ran to the Gouvernorat door and killed the -telegraph-clerks, all except Esmatt, who hid among the sacks in the -storeroom; they then went to the terrace (G) and killed the soldiers, -and Nahass, seeing the massacre, jumped from the window. Four men were -on guard at the private stairs, but when the |336| dervishes came -back from the Gouvernorat door (E) they were soon killed, and some of -the dervishes ran to the terrace (F), and killed the soldiers there; -others came up the steps to the private apartment, and broke the door; -Gordon Pasha met them with his sword in his right hand and his pistol -(revolver) in his left, and killed of them two who fell at the door, -and one who fell down the stairs,[14] and the others ran away. Then -we heard the dervishes breaking the private door (B), while the Pasha -was loading his revolver. I went forward and received a little wound -in the face, and when the Pasha came, he received a wound in the left -shoulder; the man who wounded him was a half-blood slave. We followed -them to Rouchdi Bey’s room, killing three and wounding many, and the -others ran away and fell down the stairs. We went back to the Pasha’s -room and reloaded, but the dervishes came back, and I received a slight -wound in my right leg from a sword, but I warded the blow, and the -cut was nothing. We attacked the dervishes on the private stairs (D), -and while we were passing the door a native of Khartoum, dressed as a -dervish, stabbed the Pasha with a spear on the left shoulder; seeing -this man’s hand coming from behind the door, I cut at it, and he ran -and fell on a spear held by one of his companions on the steps, and -was killed. At this time more dervishes were coming along the corridor -(from H), and we returned to meet them; I received a thrust in the -left hand, but the Pasha cut the man down with his sword, and kicked -him on the head and he died; then the dervishes ran into the clerks’ -offices (5, 6, 7, upper-floor plan), and while we were standing in the -corridor, a tall negro fired a shot from the door (H) near Rouchdi -Bey’s room, and the bullet struck the Pasha in the right breast, and -the Pasha ran up and shot the man dead. The dervishes then came out of -the offices, and we turned, and they ran to the private stairs, and we -fired into them, but the Pasha was getting weak from loss of blood. We -fought these dervishes down the stairs till we reached the last one, -and a native of |337| Katimeh speared the Pasha in the right hip, but -I shot him, and the Pasha fell down on the cavasses’ mat at the door, -and he was dead, and as I turned to seek refuge in the finance-office -(F plan), I was struck down and lost my senses, and I was lying down -with the dead. In the afternoon, a man of El Katimeh—Abd-el-Rahman, -whom I knew, helped me to go to the river for water, and I saw the body -of the Pasha at the door (D), but the head was not there. I was helped -to my house, and found my wife and children and property all missing. -. . . I was taken by a friend and Abd-el-Rahman to El Dem-el-Darawish, -and left on the plain all night, and in the morning I was taken before -Wad en Nejoumi . . . and I was stripped to see if I had any money and -papers, but I had not; and when I said that I was ignorant of any -treasure, I was heavily beaten, though much wounded, and was very ill -for seventeen days, and my wife found me. - - [13] This is a literal translation. What Orphali intends to - convey is, that on telegraphing to the lines, Bahnassawi Bey, - who was on duty, was at his post, and replied to the inquiries - sent by telegraph. The distance between the palace and - Bahnassawi’s post was about two and a half miles. - - [14] That is to say, fell dead or wounded. - - * * * * * - -All who were taken to see the steps where Gordon fell remarked upon the -number and extent of the blood stains, for they could not believe that -all had come from one body. These stains were shown to me in 1887. It -has been stated on good authority that “Stains of blood marked the spot -where this atrocity took place, and the steps from top to bottom for -weeks bore the same sad traces.” Here is what I choose to consider not -only a confirmation of Gordon having died fighting, but a confirmation -of Orphali’s narrative, for there were only two people on the upper -floor—Gordon and Orphali, and all the fighting must have been done by -them. It is quite impossible that the steps “from top to bottom”—four -flights-could have been stained as they were stained with large patches -of blood left by a body which had been dragged downstairs some time -after death. The steps _were_ stained with the blood of the dervishes -through whom I have said Gordon shot and hacked his way in his heroic -attempt to reach his troops. - - -|338| - -APPENDIX III - -Translation of the letter which the Khaleefa dictated in reply to the -letter given me by General Stephenson, in Cairo, before leaving for -Kordofan. - - “In the name of God the Most Merciful, and thanks to God the - Omnipotent and Generous, with prayers on Mohammad our Lord and his - descendants; Greeting. - - “From the servant of his Lord Abdallah-el-Muslimani-el-Brussi (the - Prussian), formerly named Karl Neufeld, to Stephenson the Englishman, - at Cairo. - - “We have to inform you that, in conformity with your letter, dated - March 1, 1887, addressed to us, and recommending us to Sheikh Saleh - Fadlallah-el-Kabashi with regard to your projects, - - “We started from Halfa, with his men bearing the arms and ammunition - and other things sent him by the Government. - - “We proceeded on our course, and were constantly on guard on ourselves - and our property, until we arrived at a well called Selima, from where - we took the water supply, and continued our way to our destination. - - “It was our fate to be met in the desert by six fakirs, followers of - the Mahdi, who attacked us, so that we and Saleh’s men had to defend - ourselves, our number being fifty-five men. - - “The six fakirs were later reinforced by others, all of them being - men of Abd-el-Rahman en Nejoumi. Thus there remained for us no way of - escape, and in the space of half an hour we were defeated, many being - killed, and the rest taken prisoners. The rifles, ammunition, and - things destined for Saleh were seized, and I, my servant Elias, and - my slave-girl, Hasseena, were among the prisoners, and |339| we were - thus conducted to Abd-el-Rahman en Nejoumi, to Ordeh or Dongola. - - “From this place we were sent to the Khaleefa of the Mahdi, on whom be - peace, at Omdurman, to whom we were presented. We were certain that we - were to be killed, taking into consideration our great crime against - him. - - “The Khaleefa of the Mahdi, on whom be peace, however, pitied our - condition, and proposed to us to avow the Mohammedan faith. We - accepted, and became Muslims by pronouncing the two declarations in - his presence, and by publicly professing that there is no God but - God, and that Mohammad is the Prophet of God, and I then added that - I believed in God and his Prophet Mohammad, and in the Khaleefa of - the Mahdi. We then asked him for his clemency and pardon, which was - granted. He thereupon embraced me, and named me Abdallah. I was then - accepted of the Mohammedan religion. - - “It was on these conditions that the Khaleefa of the Mahdi, on whom be - peace, pardoned me and spared my life, which was already forfeited. - - “This was done to the honour and glory of the Mohammedan religion. - - “We further inform you that although Dufa'Allah Hogal deceived us, - notwithstanding his perfidy, we cannot sufficiently thank and reward - him, as his treachery turned to our great benefit, and he has allowed - us to enjoy great prosperity. - - “Finally, we inform you confidentially that Saleh Fadlallah Salem has - lost all his power and influence, and has taken refuge in the desert. - This is the truth. I write this for your advice. - - “The 17th Shaaban, 1304.” - - -|340| - -APPENDIX IV - -IBRAHIM PASHA FAUZI-GORDON’S FAVOURITE OFFICER - -When Gordon arrived in Khartoum, in 1874, Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi was then -a second-lieutenant. Gordon had applied to the then Governor-General -of the Soudan, Ismail Pasha Ayoub, for four companies of soldiers to -accompany him to the Equatorial Provinces. Ayoub was not at all pleased -at Gordon’s mission, as he took it as a slight upon his administration, -so that when Gordon’s application for troops was received, Ayoub -selected for the purpose his most worthless men, with the double object -of getting rid of them, and making Gordon’s mission a failure. Fauzi, -anxious to see some service, had volunteered to accompany Gordon, and, -for doing so, Ayoub placed him under arrest. Gordon, hearing of the -matter, sent to Ayoub demanding that the officer who had volunteered -his services should be sent to him immediately. Fauzi was sent to -Gordon’s head-quarters, when Gordon first asked him, “Are you the -officer who volunteered your services?” following up the question, -when Fauzi in reply said, “Yes, sir,” the only two words he then knew -of English, by asking why he had done so. On learning that Fauzi -wished to see service, he promised that his wish should be gratified. -“But,” added Gordon, “I wish you to answer me as an officer—why did -the Governor place you under arrest?” Fauzi gave the reason—Ayoub was -afraid that |341| Gordon would discover, before departure, that he -had been sent the worst troops. Sending back the four companies, he -requisitioned four companies indicated by Fauzi, and, Fauzi being too -young for a command, he appointed him commandant of his body-guard, and -a sort of adjutant-major to the little force. - -[Illustration: FAUZI PASHA IN UNIFORM.] - -Fauzi accompanied Gordon to the Albert Nyanza, returned with him to -Khartoum, was gazetted major in consideration of his services, and -appointed Mudir (Governor) of Bohr, but given two months’ leave of -absence before taking up his post. Gordon left for England, and Fauzi -came to Cairo for his leave, on the expiration of which he set out for -the Soudan, but, on reaching Berber, he found a telegram awaiting him -from Gordon telling him not to go further than Khartoum, as he (Gordon) -was returning as Governor-General. When Gordon reached Khartoum, it -was to hear that Darfur was in revolt, and that the Bahr-el-Ghazal -province was joining the rebels. A council of war was held, when Gordon -asked the officers present to select one of themselves to head an -expedition to the Bahr-el-Ghazal province, while he took another into -Darfur; he had expected all of them to volunteer for the command, but -they believed that such an expedition had more the elements of defeat -and death in it than of glory and distinction. Told that they must -name an officer, they named Fauzi, who was not present, and Gordon at -once accepted him, sending him off with 4000 troops and the clerks -for the civil administration. Fauzi succeeded in setting the province -to rights without fighting, and while travelling about setting the -administration right in the districts, he often met, and assisted with -food and money, a holy man then living as a sort of hermit at Abba and -the neighbourhood. The man’s name was Mohammed Ahmed—whom the world was -to hear of six years later as the Mahdi. - -Breaking down in health, Gordon ordered Fauzi to Khartoum, for rest, -promoted him to the rank of full colonel, and named him Governor -of Equatoria, in which province he spent about a year carrying out -Gordon’s instructions to the |342| letter, and making a host of -enemies amongst the officials whose peculations and interest in the -slave-trade he put a stop to. He accompanied Gordon to Cairo in 1879, -and when Gordon decided upon resigning, he asked Fauzi whether he would -prefer to remain in Cairo or return to the Soudan. Fauzi saw that, -without Gordon to back him up, his tenure of office would be but of -short duration, unless he engaged himself in the maladministration -of the provinces; he elected to remain in Cairo, where, at Gordon’s -request, he was gazetted Colonel commanding the 1st Regiment of the 3rd -Brigade. Gordon made it a point to be present at Fauzi’s first parade, -congratulated him on the handling of his men, and bidding him farewell, -gave him three hundred pounds as a souvenir of their days together in -the Soudan. At the outbreak of the Arabist rebellion, Fauzi’s regiment, -with others under the command of Kourschid Pasha, was ordered to -Rosetta, and after the defeat of Arabi, at Tel-el-Kebir, he was, with -other colonels, ordered to surrender to Sir Evelyn Wood at Kafr Dawar. -Sent to Alexandria, he was tried, degraded, and then dismissed in -disgrace. - -Some days before the arrival of Gordon, in 1884, H. E. Nubar Pasha and -Sir Evelyn Wood sent for Fauzi, and told him to be in readiness to -proceed to the Soudan, as Gordon had asked for his services. When Fauzi -said that he had been dismissed, and was no longer on the army-list, -Nubar Pasha replied, “General Gordon will see to the matter.” It had -not been Gordon’s intention to call at Cairo, and Fauzi was to have -gone to Suez or viâ the Nile, as Gordon might decide. However, Gordon -was stopped at Port Said, and asked to come through Cairo; Fauzi went -to the station to meet him, and Gordon, on alighting, went up to -his old Soudan lieutenant, and asked how it was that he was not in -uniform. Fauzi detailed his dismissal, upon which Gordon turned to Sir -Evelyn Wood, and asked him how it was. It appears that when Gordon saw -Fauzi’s name amongst the names of the colonels to be tried, he wired, -or wrote—or both—to Sir Evelyn Wood, asking him to look after Colonel -|343| Ibrahim Fauzi. General Wood did do so, but there was another -Colonel Ibrahim Fauzi; and while Gordon’s Fauzi was dismissed in -disgrace, the other Fauzi retired in glory and with a pension. - -Gordon had some difficulty in seeing Fauzi reinstated, for his enemies -were powerful; but, not to be thwarted, he took Fauzi direct to His -Highness the Khedive, and carried his point. Two days later, Fauzi -took his seat in the carriage with Gordon and Stewart, and left Bulac -Dacroor station on that journey from which he only was to return alive, -and that fourteen years later. - -On the way to Khartoum, Gordon named Stewart sub-Governor-General -of the Soudan, and Fauzi Director of Military and Marine, and, in -communicating these appointments to Cairo, he wrote of Fauzi, “I -especially recognize in Fauzi Bey the desired activity which he has -displayed with me while previously in the Soudan; he has already given -proof of his abilities, and I am more than ever satisfied with him.” - -Soon after his arrival at Khartoum, Fauzi was entrusted with the -clearing out of the rebels from Khor Shambat and Halfeyeh, and the -restoring of the telegraphic communications which they had cut. Fauzi -won his dual victory, and restored the line, but, in leading his men, -he was hit in the right leg with a bullet fired from an elephant-gun, -which split and shattered the bone. Owing to want of skill on the -part of the Greek doctor, the broken bone was allowed to overlap, -and a suppurating wound set in from the unextracted fragments, which -kept Fauzi confined to his official residence for about six months, -although he was able to transact the executive part of his duties. On -the departure of Stewart, Gordon named Fauzi Governor of Khartoum and -Commandant of Troops, calling a special parade for the occasion. Fauzi -Pasha must be left to relate, at some future date, the incidents of the -siege of Khartoum; I pass on to January 25, 1885. - -About three o’clock in the afternoon, Gordon called Fauzi to the roof -of the palace, to see the activity taking place in |344| the dervish -camp. He had a large tripod telescope fixed on the roof immediately -over his room.[15] - - [15] It has been repeatedly stated that Gordon had a gun on the - roof of the palace, with which he used to shell the dervish - camp. In one account of the fall of Khartoum, it is averred - that Gordon, in his sleeping suit, served this gun for an hour - until it was rendered useless, as it could not be depressed - sufficiently to bear upon the dervishes surrounding the palace. - There never was a gun on the roof of the palace, for the roof - would not have supported its dead weight, much less the shock - of its recoil. - -About 3.30, Fauzi, riding a donkey, accompanied Gordon on what proved -to be his last visit to the lines. Most of the troops were lying down -exhausted and hungry; as they saw Gordon approach, they wished to -present arms, but he kept calling out to them, “Rest, rest; but keep -your eyes open.” At sunset they regained the palace, and walked up -and down for some time discussing the situation. As the dinner-hour -approached, Gordon told Fauzi that he was sorry he could not invite him -to dinner, as he had nothing to eat. Fauzi said he had, for himself -and guards, the hearts of four date trees, and would send one to the -palace, upon which Gordon ran in and brought out his dinner—also the -heart of a date tree. This was the last Fauzi was to see of Gordon. - -At midnight, Fauzi Pasha, as usual, went his rounds of the posts in -the town, reaching his guards at about 2 a.m. While giving orders in -the courtyard of his official residence, a sound as of shouts in the -distance was heard. This was towards dawn. Fauzi went to the roof, and, -through his binoculars, could faintly make out hand-to-hand fighting -going on in the lines. Hurrying down, he drew up his men, and set off -for the palace, being joined by ten Greeks who had been on duty. On -coming in sight of the palace, they were met by two bands of dervishes, -but succeeded in cutting their way through one, only to be met by a -troop of dervish horse. The little party was forced back, fighting -every step, and when close to his house all rushed inside, closed the -doors, and commenced to fight through the windows, but for every shot -they fired, a score came back in reply. The little garrison assembled -in the courtyard for a last stand as the dervishes were then beating -down the doors. Fortunately, the sight of other dervishes rushing -past with loot drew the |345| besiegers off on a similar errand, and -the party was able to hold its own against successive parties until -the Mahdi sent word to stop the massacre. When Fauzi was taken before -the Mahdi, he was asked, “Why is it that you, a good Muslim, have -never written to me when every one else has done so, expressing their -loyalty? Have you forgotten the days at Abba, and the instruction I -gave you? If you have, I have not;” and, kissing him, the Mahdi told -him to “go in peace.” The Mahdi was very wroth at the death of Gordon, -for he really admired and respected him, and he had given strict orders -that he was not to be harmed in any way. - -As, during his captivity, Fauzi used to receive moneys from Cairo, he -had, to explain his being able to live, to engage in some occupation, -and took to lime-burning, a business which cost him more than he ever -got out of it. As an Egyptian, he was under the surveillance of Youssef -Mansour, who, after the escape of Slatin, refused to be responsible for -Fauzi any longer. Failing to get him executed for having assisted in -Slatin’s escape, he succeeded in getting him committed to the Saier, -where he remained as a prisoner for four years, until released by the -Sirdar. - - -|346| - -APPENDIX V - -AHMED YOUSSEF KANDEEL - -Ahmed Youssef Kandeel, though actually a civilian employé, held the -rank in Khartoum, where he was born, of Lieutenant in the 3rd Soudan -Artillery. He took part in many of the attacks on the dervishes during -the siege, and fought with Bakhit Bey on the night the town was taken. -He managed to fight his way to his house, and held out until the -Mahdi’s orders came to stop the massacre of the inhabitants, when he -gave himself up. His father, uncle, and brother had already been killed -fighting. For some time he supported himself at Omdurman by cutting -firewood, living in a state of semi-starvation. Being a good clerk, he -offered his services to Wad Nejoumi, who, it appears, would employ no -one but old Egyptian employés as “katibs” (clerks). He was with Wad -Nejoumi when I was taken prisoner to Dongola, and throws an interesting -light upon Nejoumi’s attitude towards Mahdieh, which more than confirms -the impressions I had formed, and which I have given expression to in -Chapter VI.: “Dongola to Omdurman.” - -[Illustration: AHMED YOUSSEF KANDEEL.] - -Kandeel tells me that, on the arrival of our party at Dongola, -Nejoumi called a meeting of emirs, and asked what should be done -with us. All voted for instant execution, but this Nejoumi would -not sanction. Among the emirs was a Taaishi wakil (spy or agent of -Abdullahi)—a similar wakil being appointed to each army not actually -led by one of the Khaleefa’s relatives. This wakil’s name was Messaad -Geydoom-el-Taaishi. When Nejoumi insisted upon saving |347| my -life, and, as an alternative, sending me to the Khaleefa, leaving him -to decide what should be done with me, he instructed Kandeel to write -a letter saying that, as I was a “hakeem” (doctor), I might be useful -to him (Nejoumi) and also to the army. Geydoom, having his suspicions -about Nejoumi’s loyalty to Mahdieh, used his sparing of my life as a -proof of his sympathies with the Government, and Nejoumi was ordered to -Omdurman, and kept a prisoner in his house for some months. - -Geydoom’s treatment of the army during Nejoumi’s absence caused so much -discontent that Abdullahi determined to send Nejoumi back to Dongola, -but with strict instructions to at once commence the march for the -conquest of Egypt. He was given a hundred and twenty rifles only, and -very little ammunition. - -When General Grenfell sent the letter to Nejoumi, calling upon him -to surrender, Nejoumi called a council of emirs, said that the army -could not possibly fight, as they were tired, hungry, and thirsty, and -suggested surrender, for they must either be killed upon the field or -die in the desert on the way back. The emirs, being of the Taaishi -family, first accused Nejoumi of cowardice and then of treachery. They -threatened to report him to the Khaleefa when the fight was _won_, and -to ask that one of themselves should be given the command when the -further advance into Egypt was ordered. There appears to be but little -doubt that, had it not been for the Taaishi emirs, the army would have -followed Nejoumi unarmed to the lines of the Government troops. The -emirs dictated the reply which Nejoumi was to send to General Grenfell, -and when Nejoumi dashed down into the plain as the dervish army was in -retreat, it was doubtless with the object of reaching the Government -lines, but under pretence of rallying the few remaining troops, so -that they should not shoot him down if they thought he was deserting -them—or follow him if they thought he was charging, for this would have -drawn the fire of the brigades upon them. After the death of Nejoumi, -spies reported to the Khaleefa that he had |348| attempted to open up -negotiations with the Government troops, and Kandeel, being suspected -as Nejoumi’s “katib,” was loaded with chains and sent to Omdurman, -where he was imprisoned for fourteen months, and then released to -become the clerk of Yacoub, the brother of Abdullahi. - - -|349| - -APPENDIX VI - -THE SOUDAN: ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE - -To the present generation the history of the Soudan may be said to -commence with the date of its partial conquest by Mohammad Ali Pasha, -the Viceroy of Egypt. To go further back than this is to compile from -various sources, all more or less inaccurate, a mass of information -which, where not misleading, would be next to useless to the would-be -correct historian. Even the recent history of the benighted country has -from force of circumstances been compiled from sources not the most -reliable, and it is extremely difficult for the moment to sift the -facts from the legends. The Soudan is still an unknown and unconquered -land. Small tribes have been magnified into nations, and petty chiefs -and sheikhs into kings and sultans who evidenced their exalted position -in the possession of a few more sheep, goats, donkeys, and slaves, than -their neighbours. No single tribe or sheikh ever held general supremacy -over the others; Zubeir was within an ace of making himself the Sultan -of the Soudan, when he accepted an invitation to visit Cairo; that was -twenty-five years ago, and he is still here. The Soudan was nothing -more nor less than a collection of little commonwealths; occasionally -a number of these would acknowledge allegiance to one particular -headman, and, in such instances, the “nation” might have boasted almost -as great a population as some small and obscure provincial town. But -that such instances were rare |350| is proved by the facility with -which Mohammad Ahmed and Abdullahi set the various sections of tribes -fighting among themselves. - -When Mohammad Ali established his government, and when later Ismail -Pasha attempted to extend his empire, they each took advantage of the -chronic anarchy reigning in the Soudan to further their schemes, but -the tribes soon found that they had but stepped from the frying-pan -into the fire, and waited patiently for the strong man who was to -rid them of the thraldom of the now hated and detested Turks, from -whom they had hoped so much. From the time when, what the Soudanese -call the “Turk” rule, was established, until the rebellion of 1882, -nothing whatever was done to develop the natural resources of the -country—indeed, the reverse. The only trade the officials fostered -was that of slaves, and these were invariably drawn from peaceful and -agricultural districts; the adult male population of whole districts -was swept away in those raids organized to supply the hareems of -Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, and Turkey, with eunuchs and concubines. The -mineral wealth of Sennar, Darfur and Kordofan was neglected, as when -the soldiers reached the gold, silver and copper mines, they discovered -that the precious metals did not exist in the pure blocks they had -expected to find, and that to extract the metals meant work. - -The population of the half-conquered provinces was robbed in every -conceivable manner by tax-collectors, who were seldom or never paid -their salaries of from twenty-five to thirty shillings a month, and -they were assisted in the duties of tax collecting by companies of -irregular soldiers whose salaries also were never paid. Where money -was not forthcoming, the taxes were collected in kind, and it may be -imagined what the result of tax collecting was. The people were driven -farther and farther away from the cultivated lands and watercourses. -The “Sudd,” that rank growth of weeds which obstruct the navigation of -the Nile and its tributaries, was left to accumulate year after year, -the little clearances which the inhabitants themselves made formerly, -|351| being abandoned as they but aided the passage of boats conveying -soldiers on tax collecting or conquest of territory expeditions. - -Admitting, for the sake of argument, that some of the Soudan tribes may -have risen to the dignity of independent kingdoms, their history may -be written with one word—“anarchy,” and when the “Turk” government was -established, general rebellion was rife from the beginning until it -culminated in the rising of Mohammad Ahmed. - -The population of the Soudan was, and still is, divided into three -great classes, (1) the pure Arab to whom manual labour has been unknown -since the day his ancestor Ishmael mixed the mortar with which to -cement the stones of the Kaaba or House of God, which Abraham built at -Mecca; (2) the Negroid, who will perform a few light duties, but who -has absorbed all the worst to the exclusion of the few better qualities -of his progenitors,—and, (3) the Black—naturally indolent and too lazy -to work,—without ambition, and whose presumed avarice only extends to -the possession of a little more than he can eat. For centuries the -Black has been the slave of the Arab, and performed all the manual -labour, such as the collection of gum and senna leaves, indiarubber, -ivory, the cultivation of cereals, and the navigation of the rivers; -but taking it all in all, the lot of the black slave might be envied by -millions of workers in other parts of the world. With the introduction -of the “Turk” government, all three classes were considered as “prey”; -the slave proper had to work harder so that his master might be able to -satisfy the rapacity of _his_ master—the official, and the slave knew -this; the negroid, who believed in cultivating only so much dourra as -was requisite for his needs, found that he had to cultivate enough to -feed the soldiers quartered in his province, and to pay taxes not only -on what he grew for himself, but on what he grew for nothing for the -soldiers. It is no wonder, then, that the three waited the coming of -some strong man to rid them of the common enemy. - -Although a religious element was introduced into |352| Mohammad -Ahmed’s movement, many fail to grasp the fact that religion here takes -the place of politics in Europe, and when the Arabs rise against the -powers that be, they are backed up by some “religious” question, for -their laws are based entirely upon the Quoran. Mohammad Ahmed had for -years been preaching against the extortions of the Turk officials, and -had it not been suggested to him, it is unlikely that he would ever -have assumed the _rôle_ of Mahdi, though as a holy man only, it is -almost certain that his crusade would have succeeded equally as well -as it did. The country was ripe for rebellion, and when the followers -of Mohammad Ahmed overcame the first “Turk” sent against him, and -against whom he had been preaching for years, success was assured, and -thousands flocked to him. His crusade, therefore, in the beginning, -was not a religious movement pure and simple as we understand such; it -was the rising of an oppressed people against a government that had -but lately tried to establish its authority over them. It is true that -once having had the _rôle_ of Mahdi forced upon him, Mohammad Ahmed -did his best to act up to it; his miracles—in the way of annihilating -successive armies sent against him were very real indeed, and if -thousands flocked to his banner in consequence of them, they should not -be too severely criticized and charged with fanaticism and unreasoning -superstition, for while they flocked to see the worker of these very -real miracles, just as many thousands of people in more enlightened -climes were making pilgrimages to caves, grottoes and shrines in the -belief that the miracles they were praying for would be performed. -Nor, considering that the faith in dreams and visions is almost as -strong in the east as it was when Pharaoh had his dreams interpreted by -Joseph, should Mohammad Ahmed and his successor be blamed for taking -advantage of the credulity of the most credulous people on earth in the -relating of visions, when but a little time since thousands of people -in a highly civilized country were flocking to the doors of one who -pretended to be the mouthpiece on earth of the angel Gabriel—a much -more mythical being than either the prophet Mohammad or the Mahdi. -|353| - -Had Mohammad Ahmed lived, there is no doubt but that he would have -succeeded in establishing some form of government which, if not better, -would certainly have been no worse than the one he had overturned. With -the Mahdi’s death, Abdullahi found himself with a trust which, as he -saw immediately, only a powerful military despotism could enable him -to keep. Threatened with attack from all points of the compass, he -had also internal dissensions to combat, and met them unflinchingly. -While his atrocities have been made much of, he invariably went -through the farce of trying people for disobedience during his reign -of martial law before carrying out the capital sentence; perhaps, if -Abdullahi’s atrocities were placed side by side with those associated -with revolutions in other countries, his list would be found not the -longest. Oppression doubtless was great, but it was concentrated in -one place, and being more seen, was as a consequence more felt. Still -opinions may be said to be equally divided as to whether oppression -was any greater during the worst days of the reign of Abdullahi than -it had been under the old government. The foregoing is not written in -defence of Mohammad Ahmed or Abdullahi—and I have little reason to -say a single good word for the latter, but it is time that the Soudan -should be seen through clear glasses. Jealousy of power was Abdullahi’s -besetting sin, and to this must be attributed the swift punishment -meted out to those who in the slightest degree exhibited disobedience -of orders. To this jealousy must be added vanity of his power also. I -have heard since my release, from people of the Muslimanieh quarter, -some of the reasons for Abdullahi’s sparing of my life. I had forgotten -the incident, but am reminded that when on my arrival at Omdurman I -was taken to the gallows in chains to be hanged, I turned to the Emirs -and shouted “Has your Mahdi (I used this name at the time) no other -way of exhibiting his power but by hanging a bound man before all his -soldiers? Take off my chains, and I will fight you, or else get on with -your work.” Abdullahi was told this while I was still being played -with, and said, “A man who will |354| talk like that when he is going -to be hanged is a man! He is a big man; I will not hang him; a man who -is not afraid of me is not to be hanged; I will keep him.” This was -said to the Muslimanieh and others. Abdullahi had not made up his mind -whether I was a merchant, spy, medicine man or general. Then, again, he -kept me alive in order to prove that he was more powerful than my Malek -(the Emperor of Germany). I am told that he very often said to people, -“You have heard of Abdalla Nufell; he is not afraid of me; his Malek -has millions of soldiers like him, but he dare not bring his armies to -release him; he is afraid to meet my ansar.” - -There are other stories of Abdullahi’s many references to me, but, as -they are of a complimentary nature, I must leave others to relate them; -the above are only given for the purpose of affording a slight insight -into the man’s complex character, and to give an idea of the small -actions which could influence him. - -The Past of the Soudan may be said to close with the battle of -Omdurman; the Present may be given in one word—Transition. Its Future -is still in the future; but from what I have written, those intending -to make a rush to the Soudan as soon as it is declared open for trade, -will understand that a settled government has yet to be established. -The Soudan has had but one government, and I have given an idea of -what that government was to the inhabitants; the next government -established will, as a matter of course, be looked askance at. Although -the Khaleefa’s army was smashed up at Omdurman, his influence still -remains with great numbers, and time must be given for the Soudanese -to learn that there are governments _and_ governments. All they are -conscious of now is, that the Government they turned out has come back -again, and they expect from it no better treatment than they received -formerly, if they do not expect worse as a punishment for their -rebellion. The possession of slaves will be forbidden, and this will -give umbrage to the Arabs, while the slaves will no more appreciate or -enjoy their freedom than would so many cage-bred birds theirs. There -is a |355| considerable amount of ignorance in Europe on the subject -of slavery in Mohammedan countries, but I must confine myself to the -Soudan on this question. Slave raiding should of course be put down -with a strong hand, and there should be, when a raider is captured, no -other formality than that of loading the rifles or affixing the rope; -the trial might take place at some future date, so that the fact of his -execution might be recorded. I wish to speak now only of those who are -already _called_ “slaves,” for, in the majority of cases, it is but a -name. - -I have remarked that the Black is naturally lazy, and will do no more -work than he is compelled to; if liberated unconditionally, he will, -unless drafted into regiments, loaf about, and occasionally do a little -work for the sake of a meal; but he will refuse to keep to any work -long unless some sort of pressure is brought to bear, and he will be -only too glad if it is. As a slave, his master must keep him in food -and clothes, and also support his wife and children in return for his -services, and, being “property,” he is well looked after; he is, as -I have said, a slave but in name, but the name has an ugly sound to -Europeans. The new Government might open a slave register, have a few -inspectors to go round and “ask for complaints,” and either give an -age, or name a date, when all holding of slaves would be a breach of -a law yet to be made. Treaties are all very well when dealing with -countries boasting a civilized Government, but it is not an easy matter -to compel petty chieftains in the heart of Africa to agree to laws -which upset the whole political economy of their domains—and this only -to please people who know nothing of the existing conditions. However -the whole question bristles with difficulties and with arguments for -and against leaving matters as they are—only suppressing raiding as -I have said already—but as those difficulties do exist, it would be -well not to be rash, or to burden the still unconquered and unsettled -country with revolutionary laws. Far better to make haste slowly, for -laws are of little use unless a breach of them is quickly punished, and -the Soudan Arabs have yet to be taught to respect laws emanating from a -“Government.” |356| - -These few remarks on the unsettled state of the country are intended -for those who may be going out as entire strangers to the Soudan. -They must be prepared to meet with difficulties great and small, -disappointments, much discomfort, and many annoyances big and little; -but it is to be hoped that they will endure these for a time, and -not pester the little and still half-formed new administration with -big complaints about petty quarrels or troubles. Any reprisals asked -for in case of small annoyances or unpleasantnesses, can but bring -in their train much bigger ones; you want but to earn the respect of -both Arab and Soudanese to earn his devotion, and you may have both -by at least treating him as a man and not as a beast. When speaking -of my having borrowed money from the guides whom I entrusted with the -arrangements I made for my escape, I drew attention to the strange -fact of my borrowing money from them. This was putting the principle I -have pointed out into practice; I required their aid. I went further, -and gave evidence that I was entirely in their hands—a weakling, but -they understood that if they helped me in my weakness, I would help -or protect them in my strength; above all, they valued my trust and -confidence. There are limits, I know, to both, but you must learn those -limits. - -The great want of the Soudan at the present time is means of -communication; there are enormous tracts of land on which cereals can -be raised with the minimum of cost and labour, but without means of -transport they might as well not exist. Some talk has been made of a -line of rail connecting Khartoum with the Red Sea, and this, certainly, -would provide the means of transport and enable the Soudan to compete -with almost any other country in cereals, but it is a question whether -it would be worth while to construct a railway for the sake of the -grain trade, if the trucks which take it to the seaboard have to be -hauled back empty, and, maybe, left idle for the greater part of the -year. It is possible that during the last fifteen years Nature has to -a great extent repaired the enormous damage done to indiarubber and -gum trees, |357| when the plants and trees were destroyed in order -to obtain a big enough crop to satisfy the rapacity of the “Turk” -officials. The forests abound in ebony and other hard woods, but power -to saw them into beams or planks of suitable dimensions for transit -is requisite before this valuable industry can be developed. From -what prisoners from the south told me, in places an almost pure iron -is found on or near the surface; this the Shilluks and Dinkas smelt -in mud furnaces about six to eight feet high and three to four feet -in diameter. The spear heads of the Shilluks and Dinkas, beside their -shape being different from all others, are readily distinguishable -from their peculiarly deep black shade, while the spear heads made -from imported iron are many shades lighter, and in comparison, when -polished, have a tinny appearance. If coal is found, and I believe it -will be, if the description I was given of “black stones” which took -fire is correct, then one might say that there is no limit to the -development of the country. Should the Nile and its tributaries be -cleared of the “sudd,” considerable development would be immediately -possible, but the whole country must first be studied, and its present -condition with its existing means of transport thoroughly grasped, -before people will be justified in subscribing for big ventures, for -the failure of one means the failure of others, and a retarding, for -want of new capital, of present possibilities in the way of development. - -It is quite impossible to compile any statistics of the former import -and export trade of the Soudan, that is to say reliable statistics, and -as the whole trade of the country was governed by the slave trade—now -abolished—a new condition of things has been introduced but not yet -established. Barter must, for some time to come, be the medium of -trade and exchange, and, here again, new conditions are certain to -be met with. Formerly the principal imports were cheap cotton goods, -earthenware, ironware, dried and preserved provisions, sugar, perfumes, -and such like, which generally came in the category of things which -are “cheap and nasty.” There are two great reasons why all this must -now be changed; with almost |358| 20,000 regularly paid troops in -the country, and troops, too, who have, in a measure, been living in -the lap of luxury, since 1882, their demands must be met. The sight -of well-fed, well-housed, and well-clothed troops, will excite the -admiration and cupidity of the Soudanese for similar luxuries, and a -demand for articles formerly unknown to them will at once be created. -I hesitate to specify some of the goods which I know there will be a -demand for, not that I am in any way interested in the subject for the -moment, but only to guard against numbers of people exporting large -quantities of merchandise of the same class far in excess of the actual -demand. I cannot too strongly advise manufacturers to study on the spot -the requirements of the people, and to comply with their requirements, -whatever the article might be. Disappointment and loss can only -ensue if articles they do not want, or which do not meet with their -requirements, are attempted to be forced upon them, for while engaged -upon this suicidal policy, some one else will certainly be studying the -question with the intention of meeting the wishes of his prospective -customers. I would strongly deprecate the formation of big syndicates -and companies for the exploitation of the Soudan; the country, granted -certain facilities for transport, has a great future, but it would be -very unwise to lock up large capitals, the greater part of which would -be lying unused. Small companies, with all the capital employed, will -pay best for the time being, and the pioneers of such companies might -be accompanied by a mineralogist, to examine the gold, silver, copper, -lead, and other mineral deposits. That gold exists is well known, but -the richness of the quartz I cannot speak of; one thing, though, is -certain, gold can be obtained with little or no difficulty and labour, -otherwise the small bags of gold I saw at Khartoum and Omdurman would -not have been brought in. Lead and copper will be found to the west and -south-west of Darfur—and possibly silver also, but whether it would pay -to work the mines can only be ascertained after an examination of the -districts. |359| - -To sum up. The Soudan is a country which for nearly a century has -been fighting against the establishment of any foreign government; -its experience of a “benevolent” administration is of the very worst; -the inhabitants sank all or nearly all differences between them when -they rose to turn out the hated Turks; their experience of Christians -has evidently not been of the best, else why the saying concerning -Gordon? Large numbers are still loyal to the Khaleefa Abdullahi, and it -will require but a very little mistake to make the inhabitants flock -to his banner, or, what is worse, they will retire to the west and -leave the country denuded of the population it stands in so much need -of. Strangers are not wanted—they will be looked upon with suspicion -until they have given evidence of their honest intentions towards the -villagers; traders, before they may look for success, must overcome -the prejudice of the people against European traders, a prejudice -based upon experience of them formerly. And it is necessary for me -to say that, after recent experience, it will take some time before -the Muslim will believe that the Christian religion is anything but -what he believes it to be, and he will be convinced that the boasted -superiority of the European over the Arab does not hold good in the -Soudan at all events. If those going to the Soudan will bear these -points in mind, they will save themselves and others an infinity of -trouble, and all barriers will be surmounted, if they keep in mind -always the reputation Gordon made for himself for “Goodness and -Justice,” and make Goodness and Justice their motto. - - - - -|361| - -INDEX - - - A - - Abbas, 246 - - _Abbas, The_, 325–328 - - Abdalla Rouchdi, 232, 333–336 - - Abdallah Sulieman, 236, 331 - - Abd el Kader Bey, 161, 189 - - Abd es Semmieh, 181, 209, 234 - - Abou-el-Gassim, 276 - - Abou Hamad, 232, 248 - - Abyssinian embassy, 246 - - Abyssinian expedition, 155, 221 - - Adultery, punishment of, 136, 137 - - Ahmed Abdel Maajid, 86, 121 - - Ahmed Youssef Kandeel, 346–348 - - Aid to wounded, 286–288 - - Ajjab Abou Jinn, 84, 102, 121 - - Ali Khaater, 180–182, 209 - - Alti, 182 - - Ansar, the, 42, 60, 97, 100–102, 130, 354 - - Arab tribes― - Ababdeh, 9, 153 - Alighat, 10, 23, 30, 31, 50, 60 - Baggara, 212, 217, 230, 264–269, 276, 277, 281–283 - Bedawi, 40, 55 - Dabaanieh, 83 - Danagli, 48 - Dar Hamad, 8, 13, 54, 55 - Digheem, 276 - Dinkas, 357 - Fellati, 171, 176, 209 - Gawaamah, 98, 139, 188 - Habbanieh, 276 - Hadendowas, 88, 89 - Hammadah, 84 - Jaalin, 37, 59, 231, 244, 260, 266 - Kabbabish, 2, 5, 8, 11, 22, 53, 54, 105, 167 - Rhizaghat, 276 - Shilluks, 357 - Shukrieh, 84 - Taaishi, 264, 267, 276, 346 - - Ardagh, Colonel, 5 - - Arsenal, 89, 178, 212, 226, 237–239 - - Assouan, 4–8, 52, 65, 77, 160–162 - - Atbara, battle of, 248, 249, 271 - - Austrian Consulate-general, 164, 168, 314 - - Austrian mission, 164, 233, 309 - - Awad el Kerim, 84; his three sons, 85 - - Awwad el Mardi, 226–239, 242, 244 - - B - - Bakah Wells, 53 - - Bakhita, 240 - - Beit-el-Amana, 264, 273 - - Beit-el-Mal (Treasury), 13, 33, 34, 36, 51, 85, 87, 100, 125, 155, - 157, 171, 174, 179, 206, 210, 214, 241, 276; Amin or Director - of, 46, 49, 64, 145, 147, 175, 210, 226, 234 - - Berber, 86, 155, 165, 193, 198, 237, 309 - - Blackmail (_see_ Nebbi Khiddr) - - Black population of Soudan, 351, 355 - - Burleigh, Bennet, 244, 279 - - Bussati Bey, 326 - - C - - Cairo, start from, 2–7; return to, 1, 290 - - Caravan, constitution of, 4, 8, 11, 12; betrayal of, 2, 3, 21, 22, - 60, 61, 68, 106, 167, 168 - - Catarina, 114, 116 - - Coinage, 171, 210–215, 223 - - Cromer, Lord, 247 - - D - - Dara, 310 - - Darfur, 181, 203, 350, 358 - - Derawi, 7–10, 245, 329 - - Dervishes, horsemanship of, 41, 44, 49; treachery of, 285, 288 - - Desert routes, 12, 15–23 - - Divorce laws, 123, 180, 190–192 - - Dongola, 10, 39–43, 54, 59, 66, 67, 328, 329; capture of, 232, 248, - 249, 346 - - E - - Earle, General, 3 - - Egyptian War Office (Intelligence Department), 105, 167, 168, 197, - 291, 295, 298 - - El Agia, 15, 16, 19–22 - - El Etroun, 15, 23 - - El Fasher, 203, 311 - - El Fun, 143, 144 - - El Kiyeh, 15, 22, 23 - - El Obeid, 10, 220 - - Elias, clerk to Neufeld, 8, 12, 14, 24–29, 35, 36, 43, 50, 66 - - Elias Pasha, 4 - - Emirs― - Abd-el-Baagi, 257, 261, 264 - Ahmed Fedeel, 176, 243 - Ali Wad Saad, 91 - Makin en Nur, 37, 59 - Mohammed Hamad'na Allah, 176–179, 186 - Mohammed Hamza, 27, 37–40, 43, 44, 59 - Mohammed Taher, 88 - Nur Angara, 70, 76 - Wad Bessir, 59, 121 - Wad en Nejoumi, 27–34, 39, 46–59, 64–67, 78, 118, 132, 139, 155, - 337, 346–348 - Wad Eysawee, 59 - Wad Farag, 27–35, 44, 59–61, 173, 174 - Wad Umma, 59 - Yacoub, 148, 175, 176, 186, 216, 221, 235, 242, 249, 257, 263, 267, - 271, 273, 348 - - F - - Famine, 112, 116–119, 147 - - Fettering, method of, 72, 79, 80, 91, 93, 229, 235, 279 - - Fitton, Major, 261 - - Flogging, 41–43, 126, 127, 129–132 - - Forts, 239, 243, 244, 254, 266 - - G - - Gebel Ain, 8, 15 - - Gebel Ragaf, 111, 220 - - Gebel Roiyan, 68 - - German Consulate, 154, 160, 162–165, 168, 291 - - Germany, Emperor of, 354 - - Gordon, 68, 89, 212, 218, 228, 300–324, 325–328, 332–337, 340–345; - relief expedition, 3, 65, 132, 229, 247, 316–321 - - “Gordonizing,” 159 - - Grenfell, General, 347 - - Guides― - Abdallah, 197–201, 214 - Ali el Amin, 8, 12, 17–24, 31, 36, 49, 60, 67 - Darb es Safai, 21–29, 49, 50 - Hassan, 12–24, 30, 50, 60–62, 67 - Hassib el Gabou, 8–16, 22, 48, 52–58, 64, 106, 107, 255 - Hawanein, 196, 201, 207, 214 - Ismail, 11–26, 57, 61 - Mohammad Ali, 153, 154, 156, 163 - Moussa Daoud Kanaga, 54, 154, 156, 163–166 - Onoor Issa, 223, 226, 233, 239–244, 254 - Zecki, 220 - - Gunboats, 240, 250–256, 257, 265, 270, 290, 326 - - Gunpowder manufacture, 175–182, 209, 224, 232–241, 289, 296 - - H - - Halfeyeh, 176–178, 198, 261, 265, 270 - - Hamad Wad el Malek, 246 - - Hamaida, 234, 237 - - Hanafi, 110, 151 - - Hassan Bey Hassanein, 325–331 - - Hassan Hosny, 181, 209, 234 - - Hassan Zecki, 174, 177, 232 - - Hasseena, 4, 8–12, 25–29, 32–36, 40–46, 50–52, 68, 72, 81, 102, 103, - 108, 109, 118, 135, 185–194, 195 - - Hassib Allah, 59, 60 - - Hicks Pasha, 88, 101, 178, 309, 310, 313, 326 - - Hogal Dufa'allah, 4–14, 54, 58, 62, 78, 245, 255 - - Hunter, General, 293 - - Hussein Pasha Khaleefa, 308, 309 - - I - - Ibrahim Pasha Fauzi, 167, 208, 218, 224, 244, 260, 263, 266, 277, - 303, 332, 340–345 - - Ibrahim Wad Adlan, 121, 143, 145–159, 165, 166, 170, 216 - - Ibrahim Wad Hamza, 246, 260 - - Ismail Pasha Ayoub, 340, 350 - - J - - Jinns (spirits), 170–174 - - Joseppi, 141, 156, 157, 179, 200 - - K - - Kadis Hassein Wad Zarah, 222 - Ahmed 221 - - Kassala, 181 - - Kerreri, 248, 258, 260, 274 - - Khaleefa, Abdullahi― - His cruelty, 69, 73–75, 84, 85, 110, 353; his superstition, 99, - 103, 120, 249, 257, 263, 267; respect for Neufeld, 132, 143, 204, - 230, 353; objection to traders, 149, 155; encouragement of - marriage, 123, 139, 186–189, 224; relations with Slatin, 204–208; - his flight, 274–277; opposition to him among Mahdists, 66, 85, - 146–148, 245–247, 254–256, 305, 345, 346 - Ali Wad Helu, 44, 264, 273 - Shereef, 146, 264, 273 - - Khaleel Agha Orphali, 303, 332–337 - - Khaleel Hassanein, 89, 98, 178, 182, 212, 216, 235, 242, 249, 252 - - Khartoum, 29, 47, 83, 89, 175, 178, 181, 212, 218, 228, 266, 284, 303, - 309, 310 - - Khedive, 247 - - Kirbekan, battle of, 3, 89, 286 - - Kordofan, 2, 4, 7, 61, 146, 289, 310, 350 - - Korosko, 65 - - L - - Lupton, 295, 313 - - M - - Macdonald, Colonel, 271, 274 - - Mahdi, 3, 66, 69, 78, 86, 98, 103, 273, 309–318, 330, 341, 345, - 351–353 - - Mahdieh, 70, 85, 88, 99, 101, 110, 145, 205, 257, 260, 262, 273 - - Mahdi’s Ratib, 94, 271 - - Mahdi’s Tomb, 44, 70, 151, 155–157, 267 - - “Mahdism,” 300 - - Makkieh, 141, 178, 185, 192 - - Mankarious Effendi, 77, 152–154, 160, 195 - - Marriage customs, 86, 121–123, 126, 135–138, 189 - - Maxwell, Colonel, 281 - - Mecklenburg, Duke of, 291 - - Mehkemmeh, the, 105, 110, 163 - - Metemmeh, 68, 247 - - Mihrab, 267 - - Mimbar, 267 - - Mohammad Ali Pasha, 349, 350 - - Mohammad Effendi Rafai, 167 - - Möller, 68, 153, 154, 160 - - Moxley, Hewett, 298 - - N - - Nahoum Abbajee, 114, 186, 188–190, 209, 226–232, 323 - - Nebbi Khiddr, 101–104, 112, 113, 120, 128, 173, 216 - - Negroid population, 351 - - Neufeld― - Official accounts, 1–4, 53, 61, 68, 167; newspaper accounts, 1, - 79, 134, 166, 169, 291–299; as trader, 3, 9, 10, 46, 47, 76, - 105, 149, 168; as Government spy, 37, 46, 47, 53, 145, 156, 239; - letters to his manager and Mankarious, 77, 152–154, 160–165, 199; - letter to General Stephenson, 294, 338, 339; named Abdallah, 77, - 91, 102, 151, 269; interview with the Khaleefa, 76, 79, 90, 92; - practises medicine, 106, 124, 130, 175, 197, 224, 240, 250, 272; - plans to escape, 107, 143, 152–157, 160–169, 198–201, 227, 293; - floggings, 127, 131; relations with Hasseena, 4, 10, 40, 108, 109, - 118, 135–139, 185–194, 290; conversion, 132, 150, 167, 205, 224; - not a German subject, 162, 293; native wives, 139, 167, 186–189; - English wife, 4, 163, 166–169, 194, 289; furnishes information - to Government, 239, 243–245, 254, 261, 289; employed under the - Khaleefa (_see_ Coinage, Arsenal, and Gunpowder Manufacture); - offers from publishers, 291, 299; reception in Cairo, 290–299; - relations with Gordon, 3, 132, 228, 305; views on missionaries, - 321–323; views on trade, 356–359 - - Newnes, Sir George, 299 - - Nubar Pasha, 342 - - O - - Ohrwalder, 6, 114–116, 119, 182, 187, 223; his escape, 183, 280, - 295; his book, “Ten Years’ Captivity,” 300, 306–323; criticisms of - Gordon, 306–323, 325 - - Ombeyehs (war-trumpets), 72, 73, 76, 158, 257, 275, 277 - - Omdurman, 1–3, 54, 62–65, 67, 69, 71; battle of, 44, 258, 265–277, - 281, 326, 354; looting of, 281 - - Osman Digna, 243, 248, 254, 264 - - Osta Abdallah, 224, 235–239, 242, 249, 252 - - P - - Perdikaki, 177–181 - - Pink, Colonel, 274 - - Prison (Saier)― - Horrors of, 2, 81, 93–96, 116–119, 218; Idris es Saier, 82, 91, - 98–105, 112, 121, 127, 130, 135, 138, 158, 171–174, 216, 262, 266, - 272, 277, 278; the Umm Hagar, 94, 95, 106, 113, 128, 218, 262, 266, - 269; the Bint Umm Hagar, 221; escape from, 96, 107, 120–123; food, - 112, 113, 116–119, 143; subordinate gaolers, 123, 127–129, 173, - 174, 262; women’s prison, 125, 126 - - R - - Rossignoli, 132, 134, 197–201, 205 - - S - - Sabalooka, 243, 249, 257 - - Said Abdel Wohatt, 175, 178–182, 209 - - Said Gumaa, 91, 203 - - Selima Wells, 11–15, 19–23, 59, 78 - - Sennar, 84, 350 - - Shayba (yoke), 38, 219 - - Sheiks― - Ahmed Nur ed Din, 54, 105–109, 111, 127 - Ed Din, 130, 233, 264, 271, 273, 274 - Hamad El Nil, 85, 102, 103 - Mahmoud Wad Said, 83, 90, 118, 121, 247 - Saleh Bey Wad Salem, 2–6, 11–22, 28, 31, 46–49, 55–57, 61, 68, 77, 105 - - Shereef Hamadan, 201, 216, 231–233 - - Shwybo, 171–174, 228 - - Sirdar, 225, 228, 262, 271, 276–279, 290, 321, 345; rumours - concerning, 97, 155, 232, 233, 259; advance of, 240, 245, 247; - charges against, 284, 286 - - Sirri, 230, 233, 251, 326 - - Slatin, 6, 70, 71, 76, 79, 91, 110, 280; his escape, 87, 201–207, - 214, 220, 223, 295, 315, 345; kindness to Neufeld, 119; Austrian - Consul’s letter, 164; his letter to the Khaleefa, 202, 295; - position with the Khaleefa, 204; conversion, 205; his wives, 206; - reception at Cairo, 295, 308; his book, “Fire and Sword,” 300; - relations with Said Bey Gumaa, 203, 310 - - Slave Trade, 350, 354 - - Soudan, future of, 322, 323, 349–359 - - Spies― - Government, 62, 106, 150, 158, 244, 250, 255, 256, 261, 305 - Mahdist, 62, 65, 66, 82, 97, 150, 244, 259, 305, 346 - - Stanley, Emin, expedition of, 139 - - Stephenson, General, 2–6, 47, 48, 56, 76, 145, 261, 294, 338 - - Stewart, Colonel, 324, 325–330, 343 - - Sulieman Haroun, 153 - - Surghani hill, 273 - - T - - Toki, battle of, 139, 156 - - Torpedoes, 243, 249, 251–256, 280 - - Tuti island, 228, 243, 265 - - Typhus fever, 108 - - U - - Umm es Shole, 188–190, 193, 198, 217, 222, 224, 239, 242 - - W - - Wadi El Kab, 8, 15, 19, 22, 23, 33, 56–60, 67 - - Wadi Halfa, 5–13, 30, 31, 42, 48–51, 57, 61, 65, 71, 77, 89, 141, 280 - - Wakih Idris, 3, 135 - - Wass, Count, 164 - - Wilson, Sir Charles, 69 - - Wingate, Major, 223 - - Wood, Sir Evelyn, 342 - - Worrak, 245, 261 - - Y - - Youssef Jebaalee, 114, 116 - - Youssef Mansour, 205, 220, 244, 250, 252, 256 - - Yunis, 264, 274 - - Z - - Zecki Tummal, 221 - - Zobheir Pasha, 176, 202 - - Zoghal, 203, 310 - - Zubeir, 349 - - -THE END - - -PRINTED BY - -WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, - -LONDON AND BECCLES. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE - - -This transcription is based on the first edition of this book, -page scans of which are available from archive.net; 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