ABANDONMENT OF THE SOUDAN.
The camp at Kavalli--Letter from Stanley to Jephson--Arrival
of Jephson--Emin’s letter to Stanley--Meeting of Stanley
and Emin--Determination to evacuate--Concentration at
Kavalli--Council of war--Emin’s hesitation and Casati’s
scruples--Egyptian attack upon the camp--Preparations for
departure.
When, for the second time, Stanley reached the Lake, on January 16th,
1889, he placed his camp, not as before at Nsabé on the shore, but
upon a plateau overlooking the plain, near Kavalli’s village. With
his usual tact he at once succeeded in gaining the goodwill of the
natives, who are numerous in that district, so that friendly relations
and active trade were soon established between them and the members of
the expedition. The second day after his arrival Stanley wrote to Mr.
Jephson:--
“KAVALLI, _January 18th, 1889_.
“MY DEAR JEPHSON,--I now send thirty rifles and three
of Kavalli’s men down to the Lake with my letters, with urgent
instructions that a canoe should set off, and the bearers be
rewarded....
“Be wise, be quick, and waste no hour of time, and bring Buiza
and your own Soudanese with you....
“If the Pasha can come, send a courier on your arrival at our
old camp on the Lake below here to announce the fact, and I will
send a strong detachment to escort him up to the plateau, even
to carry him, if he needs it. I feel too exhausted after my 1300
miles of travel since I parted from you last. May to go down to
the Lake again. The Pasha must have some pity for me.
“Don’t be alarmed or uneasy on our account; nothing hostile can
approach us within twelve miles without my knowing it. I am
in the thickest of a friendly population, and if I sound the
war-note, within four hours I can have 2000 warriors to assist
to repel any force disposed to violence. And if it is to be a
war of wits, why then I am ready for the cunningest Arab alive.
“I have read your letters half a dozen times, and my opinion of
you varies with each reading. Sometimes I fancy you are half
Mahdist or Arabist, and then Eminist. I shall be wiser when I
see you.
“Now don’t you be perverse, but obey, and let my order to you
be as a frontlet between the eyes, and all, with God’s gracious
help, will end well.
“I want to help the Pasha somehow, but he must also help me, and
credit me. If he wishes to get out of this trouble, I am his
most devoted servant and friend; but if he hesitates again I
shall be plunged in wonder and perplexity. I could save a dozen
Pashas if they were willing to be saved. I would go on my knees
to implore the Pasha to be sensible in his own case. He is wise
enough in all things else, even his own interest.
“The Committee said, ‘Relieve Emin Pasha with this ammunition.
If he wishes to come out, the ammunition will enable him to
do so; if he elects to stay, it will be of service to him.’
The Khedive said the same thing, and added, ‘But if the
Pasha and his officers wish to stay, they do so on their own
responsibility.’ Sir Evelyn Baring said the same thing in clear
and decided words, and here I am, after 4100 miles of travel,
with the last instalment of relief. Let him who is authorised to
take it, take it. Come; I am ready to lend him all my strength
and wit to assist him.
But this time there must be no hesitation, but positive yea or
nay, and home we go.--Yours very sincerely,
“HENRY M. STANLEY.”
Jephson arrived at Kavalli on February 6th. Stanley wrote to Emin on
the following day, and a week later a messenger from Nsabé brought a
letter from the Pasha, the contents of which quite electrified the camp.
“NSABÉ, _February 13th, 1889_.
“_To_ HENRY M. STANLEY, Esq.,
_Commanding the Relief Expedition_.
“SIR,--In answer to your letter of the 7th inst., for
which I beg to tender my best thanks, I have the honour to
inform you that yesterday, at 3 P.M., I arrived here
with my two steamers, carrying a first lot of people desirous to
leave this country under your escort. As soon as I have arranged
for cover of my people, the steamships have to start for Mswa
station, to bring on another lot of people awaiting transport.
“With me there are some twelve officers anxious to see you, and
only forty soldiers. They have come under my orders to request
you to give them some time to bring their brothers--at least,
such as are willing to leave--from Wadelai, and I promised them
to do my best to assist them. Things having to some extent
now changed, you will be able to make them undergo whatever
conditions you see fit to impose upon them. To arrange these I
shall start from here with the officers for your camp, after
having provided for the camp, and if you send carriers, I could
avail me of some of them.
“I hope sincerely that the great difficulties you have had to
undergo, and the great sacrifices made by your expedition in its
way to assist us, may be rewarded by a full success in bringing
out my people. The wave of insanity which overran the country
has subsided, and of such as are now coming with me we may be
sure.
“Signor Casati requests me to give his best thanks for your kind
remembrance of him.
“Permit me to express to you once more my cordial thanks for
whatever you have done for us until now, and believe me to be,
yours very faithfully,
“DR. EMIN.”
The _Khedive_ and the _Nyanza_ were now at anchor off Nsabé,
and their crews were preparing a camp upon the shore. Emin landed next
day, accompanied by Captain Casati, the physician Vitu Hassan, Selim
Bey, the defender of Dufilé, and seven other officers, who were a
deputation from the troops of the Equatorial province. The Pasha was in
mufti, but the deputation were in uniform. They were attended by about
sixty-five people, consisting of soldiers and servants. The whole party
mounted the slope leading to the plateau, and reached the camp where
Stanley was awaiting them.
It was an affecting meeting. No longer, as in the previous April, was
it a question between maintaining a footing on the Upper Nile and
making a retreat; now, by the avowal of the brave but unfortunate
governor himself, the idea of evacuation was already to the fore; the
first signal of retreat had already been given.
In order that his force should be concentrated in the event of any
hostile attack, Stanley had sent a message to the rear-guard that he
had left in Mazamboni’s country with Messrs. Stairs, Nelson, and Parke,
ordering them to come on at once to Kavalli, and on the 18th they all
arrived.
All the white men, eight in number, and the principal members of Emin’s
faithful staff, were now summoned to a divan to be held next day, when
the plans for the future should be discussed.
The evacuation of the province was definitely decided on, but it was
arranged that a reasonable time should be allowed to enable the troops
in the various stations to be informed of the decision, so that they
might embark themselves and their families, and all who were willing to
leave, on board the steamers, and muster at the Nsabé camp on the Lake
shore.
On the 25th the two steamers returned from Mswa with a fresh detachment
of refugees, and about the same time Emin received a despatch from
Wadelai, stating that in the absence of Selim Bey the rebels had again
broken out into revolt, Selim had been deposed from his command, and
several of the rebel officers had been promoted to the rank of Bey.
These tidings completely nullified any hopes that the Pasha might have
entertained of re-establishing his authority, and made him determine to
leave his own camp and join Stanley on the plateau. It was decided that
a month would be sufficiently long to allow the faithful troops to
rally round their chief, so that the final departure might take place
in six weeks’ time, that is to say, about the 10th of April. Selim Bey
and the officers then left Kavalli in order to collect all the people
who desired to leave for Egypt.
[Illustration: MADI VILLAGE ON THE NILE BELOW WADELAÏ.
(_From a Photograph by Herr Richard Buchta._)]
Thirty days after Selim Bey’s departure, a steamer appeared before the
Nyanza camp, bringing a letter from that officer, and one from all
the rebel officers at Wadelai, announcing themselves ready to make
submission to the “Envoy of the great Government,” and requesting
to be allowed to return to Egypt under Stanley’s escort. Emin was
also informed that Selim had already despatched one steamer full of
refugees to Tunguru, and that since that time he had been engaged
in transporting people from Dufilé to Wadelai, which he was making
his rallying point. The Pasha, when he imparted what he called this
“encouraging” news to Stanley, expressed his opinion it would require
three months more to complete the concentration of the people at
Kavalli, and desired to know what Stanley had determined on under the
new aspect of affairs.
It was evident that Emin did not know how to tear himself away from
the land where he had resided for eleven years, and which seems to have
a kind of fascination for Europeans. He hesitated, too, about leaving
the soldiers, who, until some foolish fancy had warped their reason,
had always served him faithfully and well. He had scruples about
following Stanley; he seemed thereby to be breaking his promise to
Gordon, his venerated chief, that he would shed the very last drop of
his blood in the Soudan in the cause of civilisation and progress.
Stanley, however, was not so much enthralled by the fascinations of a
country in which his experiences had been so rough, where he had run
so many fatal risks, and where he had seen his companions die around
him by the score. He was fully sensible of the import of the events
that had transpired, and he represented, with much show of reason,
that in the present state of anarchy, a handful of Europeans, however
valiant they might be, could do nothing for the cause of civilisation
at Wadelai, which by this time was probably in the power of encroaching
Mahdists, mutinous soldiers, or hostile natives.
Moreover, his mission was to rescue Emin from danger, and he
considered that it was the Pasha’s duty to take advantage of the
deliverance that was offered him. As a practical man, he saw no good
in a useless sacrifice. The difficulties that had to be overcome in
persuading Emin and Casati to make their retreat, and the incidents
attending them, may best be told in the explorer’s own words:--
“I summoned the officers of the expedition together--Lieutenant Stairs,
R.E., Captain R. H. Nelson, Surgeon Parke, A.M.D., Mounteney Jephson,
Esq., and Mr. William Bonny, and proposed to them in the Pasha’s
presence that they should listen to a few explanations, and then give
their decision, one by one, according as they should be asked.
“Gentlemen, Emin Bey has received a mail from Wadelai. Selim Bey, who
left the post below here on the 26th February last, with a promise
that he would hurry up such people as wished to go to Egypt, writes
from Wadelai that the steamers are engaged in transporting some people
from Dufilé to Wadelai; that the work of transport between Wadelai and
Tunguru will be resumed upon the accomplishment of the other task. When
he went away from here we were informed that he was deposed, and that
Emin Pasha and he were sentenced to death by the rebel officers. We now
learn that the rebel officers, ten in number, and all their faction,
are desirous of proceeding to Egypt; we may suppose, therefore, that
Selim Bey’s party is in the ascendant again.
“Shukri Aga, the chief of the Mswa station--the station nearest to
us--paid us a visit there in the middle of March. He was informed on
the 16th of March, the day that he departed, that our departure for
Zanzibar would positively begin on the 10th of April. He took with
him urgent letters for Selim Bey announcing that fact in unmistakable
terms. Eight days later we hear that Shukri Aga is still at Mswa,
having only sent a few women and children to the Nyanza camp, yet
he and his people might have been here by this if they intended to
accompany us.
“Thirty days ago Selim Bey left us with a promise of a reasonable
time. The Pasha thought once that twenty days would be a reasonable
time. However, we have extended it to forty-four days. Judging by the
length of time Selim Bey has already taken, only reaching Tunguru with
onesixteenth of the expected force, I personally am quite prepared
to give the Pasha my decision. For you must know, gentlemen, that the
Pasha having heard from Selim Bey ‘intelligence so encouraging,’ wishes
to know my decision, but I have preferred to call you to answer for me.
“You are aware that our instructions were to carry relief to Emin
Pasha, and to escort such as were willing to accompany us to Egypt.
We arrived at the Nyanza, and met Emin Pasha in the latter part of
April 1888, just twelve months ago. We handed him his letters from the
Khedive and his Government, and also the first instalment of relief,
and asked him whether we were to have the pleasure of his company to
Zanzibar. He replied that his decision depended on that of his people.
“This was the first adverse news that we received. Instead of meeting
with a number of people only too anxious to leave Africa, it was
questionable whether there would be any except a few Egyptian clerks.
With Major Barttelot so far distant in the rear, we could not wait at
the Nyanza for this decision. As that might possibly require months,
it would be more profitable to seek and assist the rear-column, and
by the time we arrived here again, those willing to go to Egypt would
probably be impatient to start. We, therefore, leaving Mr. Jephson to
convey our message to the Pasha’s troops, returned to the forest region
for the rear-column, and in nine months were back again on the Nyanza.
But instead of discovering a camp of people anxious and ready to depart
from Africa, we find no camp at all, but hear that both the Pasha and
Mr. Jephson are prisoners, that the Pasha has been in imminent danger
of his life from the rebels, and at another time is in danger of being
bound on his bedstead and taken to the interior of Makkaraka country.
It has been current talk in the province that we were only a party
of conspirators and adventurers, that the letters of the Khedive and
Nubar Pasha were forgeries concocted by the vile Christians, Stanley
and Casati, assisted by Mohammed Emin Pasha. So elated have the rebels
been by their bloodless victory over the Pasha and Mr. Jephson, that
they have confidently boasted of their purpose to entrap me by cajoling
words, and strip our expedition of everything belonging to it, and send
us adrift into the wilds to perish.
“We need not dwell on the ingratitude of these men, or on their intense
ignorance and evil natures, but you must bear in mind the facts to
guide you to a clear decision.
“We believed when we volunteered for this work that we should be met
with open arms. We were received with indifference, until we were led
to doubt whether any people wished to depart. My representative was
made a prisoner, menaced with rifles, threats were freely used. The
Pasha was deposed, and for three months was a close prisoner. I am told
this is the third revolt in the province. Well, in the face of all
this, we have waited nearly twelve months to obtain the few hundreds of
unarmed men, women, and children in this camp. As I promised Selim Bey
and his officers that I would give a reasonable time, Selim Bey and his
officers repeatedly promised to us there should be no delay. The Pasha
has already fixed April 10th, which extended their time to forty-four
days, sufficient for three round voyages for each steamer. The news
brought to-day is not that Selim Bey is close here, but that he has not
started from Wadelai yet.
“In addition to his own friends, who are said to be loyal and obedient
to him, he brings the ten rebel officers, and some 600 or 700 soldiers,
their faction.
“Remembering the three revolts which these same officers have
inspired, their pronounced intentions against this expedition, their
plots and counterplots, the life of conspiracy and smiling treachery
they have led, we may well pause to consider what object principally
animates them now--that from being ungovernably rebellious against
all constituted authority, they have suddenly become obedient and
loyal soldiers of the Khedive and his ‘great Government.’ You must be
aware that, exclusive of the thirty-one boxes of ammunition delivered
to the Pasha by us in May 1888, the rebels possess ammunition of the
Provincial Government equal to twenty of our cases. We are bound to
credit them with intelligence enough to perceive that such a small
supply would be fired in an hour’s fighting among so many rifles,
and that only a show of submission and apparent loyalty will ensure
a further supply from us. Though the Pasha brightens up each time he
obtains a plausible letter from these people, strangers like we are may
also be forgiven for not readily trusting those men whom they have
such good cause to mistrust. Can we be certain, however, that if we
admit them into this camp as good friends and loyal soldiers of Egypt,
they will not rise up some night and possess themselves of all the
ammunition, and so deprive us of the power of returning to Zanzibar?
With our minds filled with Mr. Jephson’s extraordinary revelations of
what has been going on in the province since the closing of the Nile
route, beholding the Pasha here before my very eyes--who was lately
supposed to have several thousands of people under him, but now without
any important following--and bearing in mind ‘the cajolings’ and
‘wiles’ by which we were to be entrapped, I ask you, would we be wise
in extending the time of delay beyond the date fixed--that is, the 10th
of April?”
“The officers one after the other replied in the negative.
“‘There, Pasha,’ I said, ‘you have your answer. We march on the 10th of
April.’
“The Pasha then asked if we could ‘in our consciences acquit him of
having abandoned his people,’ supposing they had not arrived on the
10th of April? We replied, ‘Most certainly.’
“Three or four days after this I was informed by the Pasha--who pays
great deference to Captain Casati’s views--that Captain Casati was
by no means certain that he was doing quite right in abandoning his
people. According to the Pasha’s desire I went over to see Captain
Casati, followed soon after by Emin Pasha.
“Questions of law, honour, duty, were brought forward by Casati, who
expressed himself clearly that _moralemente_ Emin Pasha was bound
to stay by his people.
“I had to refute these morbid ideas with the A B C of common sense.
I had to illustrate the obligations of Emin Pasha to his soldiers by
comparing them to a mutual contract between two parties. One party
refused to abide by its stipulations, and would have no communication
with the other, but proposed to itself to put the second party to
death. Could that be called a contract? Emin Pasha was appointed
governor of the province. He had remained faithful to his post and
duties till his own people rejected him, and finally deposed him. He
had been informed by his Government that if he and his officers and
soldiers elected to quit the province they could avail themselves of
the escort of the expedition which had been sent to their assistance,
or stay in Africa on their own responsibility; that the Government
had abandoned the province altogether. But when the Pasha informs
his people of the Government’s wishes, the officers and soldiers
declare the whole to be false, and for three months detain him a close
prisoner. Where was the dishonour to the Pasha in yielding to what was
inevitable and indisputable? As for duty, the Pasha had a dual duty to
perform, that to the Khedive as his chief, and that to his soldiers. So
long as neither duty clashed, affairs proceeded smoothly enough; but
the instant it was hinted to the soldiers that they might retire now if
they wished, they broke out into open violence and revolted, absolved
the Pasha of all duty towards them, and denied that he had any duty to
perform to them. Consequently the Pasha could not be morally bound to
care in the least for people who would not listen to him.
“I do not think Casati was convinced, nor do I think the Pasha was
convinced. But it is strange what strong hold this part of Africa
has upon the affections of European officers, Egyptian officers, and
Soudanese soldiers!...
“The day after I was informed that there had been an alarm in my camp
the night before; the Zanzibari quarters had been entered by the
Pasha’s people, and an attempt made to abstract the rifles. This it was
that urged me to immediate action.
“I knew there had been conspiracies in the camp, that the malcontents
were increasing, that we had many rebels at heart against us, that
the people dreaded the march more than they feared the natives; but I
scarcely believed that they would have dared to put into practice their
disloyal ideas in my camp.
“I proceeded to the Pasha to consult with him, but the Pasha would
consent to no proposition, not but what they appeared necessary and
good, but he could not, owing to the want of time, &c. Yet the Pasha
the evening before had received a post from Wadelai which brought him
terrible tales of disorder, distress, and helplessness among Selim Bey
and his faction, and the rebels and their adherents.
“I accordingly informed him that I proposed to act immediately, and
would ascertain for myself what this hidden danger in the camp was,
and, as a first step, I would be obliged if the Pasha would signal for
general muster of the principal Egyptians in the square of his camp.
“The summons being sounded, and not attended to quickly enough to
satisfy me, half a company of Zanzibaris were detailed to take sticks
and rout every one from their huts. Dismayed by these energetic
measures, they poured into the square, which was surrounded by rifles.
“On being questioned, they denied all knowledge of any plot to steal
the rifles from us, or to fight, or to withstand in any manner any
order. It was then proposed that those who desired to accompany us to
Zanzibar should stand on one side. They all hastened to one side except
two of the Pasha’s servants. The rest of the Pasha’s people, having
paid no attention to the summons, were secured in their huts, and
brought to the camp-square, where some were flogged, and others ironed
and put under guard.
“‘Now, Pasha,’ I said, ‘will you be good enough to tell all these Arabs
that these rebellious tricks of Wadelai and Dufilé must cease here, for
at the first move made by them I shall be obliged to exterminate them
utterly.’
“On the Pasha translating, the Arabs bowed, and vowed that they would
obey their father religiously.”
From that time the evacuation was determined on, and preparations were
made for an immediate start. Of Emin’s people there were 84 married
women, 187 female domestics, 74 children above two years, 35 infants
in arms; these with the men made up a total of about 600. The relief
expedition numbered 550, and 350 native carriers had been enrolled from
the district to assist in carrying the baggage, so that on the 10th of
April the caravan set out from Kavalli in number about 1500.