THE MAHDI'S VICTORY OVER HICKS PASHA.
The European captives learn that General Hicks is advancing--Slatin
Bey's defence of Darfur--His heroism--The Mahdi prepares to resist
Hicks--The march of the Hicks Expedition--Extracts from the diary
of Major Herlth--Colonel Farquhar's gallantry at Rahad--Gustav
Klootz deserts to the Mahdi--Klootz's interview with the Mahdi in
which Ohrwalder and Bonomi act as interpreters--The expedition
advances towards Shekan--Is surrounded and annihilated--Description
of the battle--The Mahdi victor of Kordofan.
In our present miserable plight all our hopes were directed on Khartum,
from whence we expected succour. Hitherto we heard only vague rumours,
but the news of the defeat and death of Wad Makashef on the White Nile
encouraged us to hope on. We had no idea who commanded the Egyptian
troops in this action. We were quite uncertain as to what policy the
Government would adopt regarding Kordofan; and of course, at this time,
false reports were flying about everywhere, and it was quite impossible
to arrive at the truth. At first we were inclined to believe everything
we heard, but gradually we found that we lived in such an atmosphere of
lying and deceit that we arrived at believing almost nothing we heard.
The Sudanese proverb, "Consider all news to be good and true, even if it
be false," is universally acted on in the Moslem world; and those who
looked for help from the Government always hoped for good news, and
seized on the smallest pretext to give colour to their expectations;
their belief in dreams which never came true accentuated their misery.
It was useless to try and enlighten these poor ignorant people,
contradiction only made them annoyed. Fortune-tellers were often
consulted about the future, and naturally they foretold what they
thought their interrogators wanted to hear, and thus gave them hope for
a short time; but when it turned out incorrect--as was invariably the
case--it only increased their depression.
God, in His mercy, sent a ray of light into the darkness of our
captivity, which again kindled the hope of succour which had been
well-nigh quite extinguished. On the 21st of June, 1883, a man came into
our little hut and asked in a scared sort of way if we were the
missionaries. After repeated assurances that we were, the man took
courage and withdrew from his trousers a little note, which he had
concealed very carefully, and handed it to Father Bonomi, who at once
tore it open in nervous haste and eagerly scanned the few lines which
were to give us a new life. The note was signed by Marcopoli Bey, by
order of General Hicks, and was to the effect that we should not abandon
hope, for as soon as the winter season began, a large army would advance
into the Sudan to attack the Mahdi. We kissed that dirty little bit of
paper, and thanked God most heartily for sending us news so full of
comfort. We became reassured, and now our dark future gave place to
cheerful hopes which brightened the few months of anxious delay which
followed the receipt of this note. The letter was dated from the White
Nile, where the General had already gained a victory over Wad Makashef,
and soon the news of the intended expedition against the Mahdi spread
like wildfire through the camp.
[Illustration: HICKS PASHA.]
It appears that Consul Hansal also wrote a letter to the Mahdi, but the
latter said nothing to us about it. Amina, one of our black girls whom
the Mahdi had taken as a concubine, said she saw in the Mahdi's hand a
letter with a large seal, on which the "double-headed eagle" was
represented; but the Mahdi does not appear to have taken much notice of
it. In Darfur the news of the intended Hicks expedition had considerable
effect. Slatin, the Governor-General, had been fighting continuously
against the natives of Darfur and against the Rizighat, Habbanieh, and
other Arab tribes; he was now in the north, then in the south,
combating with bravery and unusual rapidity the various revolts which
sprang up throughout his province. He was a scourge to the Arabs and
killed thousands of them; he even pursued them into the almost
inaccessible hills and valleys of Jebel Marra. His powers of endurance
were wonderful, and he would often be twenty-four hours in the saddle,
constantly fighting, and with nothing to eat or drink. He slept on the
bare floor or ground beside his native soldiers, and lived on dhurra
soaked in water; he was just, never took bribes, generous, ever ready to
assist the poor and needy, and never refused admittance to old and young
who sought his help. In spite, however, of his having--as he himself
told me--fought in twenty-seven battles against the Arabs, he could not
crush them, for they were like fungus growing out of the earth.
In action Slatin was most heroic. On one occasion he was struck by a
bullet which shattered one of his fingers; but, undismayed, he seized
the hanging remnant with his other hand and ordered the man standing
next him to cut it off with his knife; then he joined again in the
fight, and cheered his men on to victory. Not only in Kordofan, but
throughout the entire Sudan, he was celebrated for his bravery in the
face of the enemy. Still he was powerless to cope with the extensive
revolt in his province, and obtained little support from his Egyptian
officers, who were jealous and constantly intrigued against him; yet it
was the wonder of all that he succeeded in holding out so long. At
length, when his ammunition was almost finished, came the news of
Hicks's projected expedition, and to gain time he resorted to the
following expedient. His vakil was a man named Mohammed Zogal, uncle to
the Mahdi, and a man of sense; with him Slatin came to a private
understanding, and it was agreed that Zogal should pay a visit to the
Mahdi, inform him that Slatin was prepared to submit, provided he was
permitted to hold his present position, and then he was to return and
bring back full information regarding the Mahdi, his power, &c., and at
the same time endeavour to arrange for a suspension of hostilities
pending the arrival of Hicks. Should Hicks be victorious then Slatin and
Darfur would be saved, otherwise all would be lost; but this plan, if
successful, would enable Slatin to hold out until Hicks came, which he
could not otherwise have done. Zogal set out on his journey and arrived
at El Obeid early in September 1883, where he was warmly welcomed by the
Mahdi. The latter was much pleased with Slatin's proposition, and
ordered a salute of one hundred guns to be fired to announce his
surrender.
The Mahdi could now turn his entire attention to his preparations to
resist the advance of General Hicks, concerning the number of whose
troops the wildest reports were circulated. On learning of his departure
from Omdurman on the 9th of September, he issued a proclamation
instructing his emirs to read it to their followers. In it he, as usual,
styled himself the Mahdi sent by God to defeat the Turks, who were the
enemies of God and His Prophet, and that his mission was to conquer the
world; he extolled the virtues of holy war and promised paradise and its
joys to all those who fell fighting in the holy cause. He now quitted El
Obeid and pitched his tent under a large Adansonia tree outside the
walls; his three Khalifas and their followers copied his example, and
this was the signal for the whole town to be evacuated. The life of ease
and comfort was abandoned and people collected round their emirs' flags,
so that in a short time an enormous camp was formed in anticipation of
the great battle. Couriers were sent in all directions to proclaim that
anyone who refused to follow the Mahdi would have his hand and foot cut
off; all men joined willingly, the Mahdi's camp daily grew larger, and
straw huts (or tokuls) soon covered the plain, though the people were
allowed in turns to go back to the town at night. Detachments of troops
were sent to various parts of Kordofan to collect the Dervishes, and
whole tribes streamed from all directions towards El Obeid. Daily
manoeuvres and reviews were held, and guns fired repeatedly so that
the horses should get accustomed to the noise. Thus the Mahdi instilled
great enthusiasm into the masses, and we began to have some fear for
Hicks.
The Mahdi now despatched the three emirs, Abdel Halim Wad el Hashmi,
Hajji Mohammed Abu Girgeh, and Omar Elias Pasha, with their followers,
to Duem. They were instructed to watch the movements of Hicks's force,
and when it left the White Nile, to cut his communication; they were
then to harass his march as much as possible, but not to bring on a
general engagement. All these orders were admirably carried out.
General Hicks left Duem on the 24th of September, 1883, and marched in a
south-westerly direction through Shatt, Zeregga, Aigella, Shirkeleh,
and Rahad, which he reached on the 20th of October, leaving Tagalla and
Jebel Dair on the left. The inhabitants of the districts through which
the troops passed, quitted their villages and carried off all their
goods, so that when the troops arrived they found nothing but straw
huts, which the soldiers at first set fire to; but General Hicks soon
forbade this practice. The ill-fated army scarcely met a living soul,
but flocks of vultures followed them as if waiting for their prey.
Shortly after the annihilation of the army, a small and incomplete diary
belonging to an Austrian officer, Major Herlth, came into my hands, but
it was sufficient to give me an insight into the wretched condition of
this force. The facts were briefly as follows: It was expected that on
the arrival of the army at Shirkeleh, it would be joined by several
thousand Tagalla people, and it was hoped that this reinforcement would
inspire the troops with some life and energy, which they entirely
lacked; but these reinforcements never appeared.
Major Herlth described the troops as anything but good, and frequently
refers to the want of agreement between the two commanders--General
Hicks with his small body of European officers on the one hand, and Ala
ed Din Pasha, Governor-General of the Sudan, a man imbued with the old
Turkish system, on the other. The European officers were convinced that
the expedition would not be successful; the camels were badly looked
after, hundreds died every day, and their loads were piled on to the
others which were still alive; saddles were for the most part without
straw, so that the bare wood rubbing on their backs made terrible
wounds. Almost all the horses had died before the force reached Rahad.
General Hicks had also great trouble in keeping the men together;
numbers of them had recently been fighting against the English with
Arabi Pasha, and had been forcibly sent to the Sudan. It is also strange
that the shorter route from Duem to Bara, on which there was plenty of
water, was not chosen in preference to the long roundabout road they
took. While the latter route led through forests and long grass, the
former was entirely free from these obstructions, and, moreover, the
friendly Kababish tribe would have supported them on their northern
flank. There was still another circumstance which contributed to the
final disaster--the guides were treacherous, and led the army into the
hands of the Dervishes; indeed, it was an open secret in the camp at El
Obeid that the guides had been sent by the Mahdi.
At Rahad, Hicks expected to have been joined by five hundred Baggara
horsemen, and it is true a number of horsemen were seen in the distance,
and a white flag was shown; but the riders did not approach, and it was
soon evident that they were enemies. The force was in such a miserable
and wretched condition that the emir, Abdel Halim, begged permission of
the Mahdi to be allowed to attack it with his own followers; but this
the Mahdi would not permit him to do, as he wanted to have all the
honour and glory of victory for himself. Every day information about the
movements of the Egyptian troops was sent to the Mahdi; sometimes
reports reached him twice a day, and were always of the same tenour,
viz. that the men had no heart to fight. Had an expedition been coming
which had the elements of success in it, public opinion would have shown
itself by numbers deserting the Mahdi's standards; but they had heard
nothing of Hicks's early successes, and now the only reports that
reached them were that the army was in a hopeless condition. All this
only made the Mahdi's prestige the greater, and it must be remembered
that the latter was an adept at inspiring fanaticism. One of General
Hicks's spies was captured, and he was at once impaled on lances. The
following extracts, which I give from memory, from Major Herlth's diary
will show how demoralised the expedition had become. The camp was
pitched at Rahad on a small eminence near the Khor Abu Habl, whilst the
enemy, who were concealed on the opposite side in the high grass and
under the trees, fired incessantly at the Egyptians and killed a number
of them. One bullet entered Hicks's tent and struck the seat on which
he was sitting; he then gave orders that the grass and woods should be
at once cleared of the enemy. There was still a little water in the
Khor, and as it seemed to be deep, a consultation was held as to how it
should best be crossed. The discussion lasted an hour. At length a few,
more courageous than the rest, decided to try and wade across, and to
their intense surprise found that it was quite shallow and easily
fordable; they then crossed over and drove back the enemy, killing seven
of them.
While at Rahad, it was discovered that the camp out of which they had
marched the previous day had been entered, and everything that they had
left behind had been taken. It was now evident that the enemy were in
greater force than they had thought, and in consequence General Hicks
made an entrenchment and put guns into position, which were fired with
some effect, as one shell killed no less than thirteen men. This news
was sent to the Mahdi.
At El Obeid the slow advance of the troops could not be understood, and
this had a still more convincing effect on the Dervishes that the
expedition must be in a bad way. It was a matter of no surprise that the
troops had not been victorious, as it was known that every element of
success was wanting; as for the poor Egyptians, the capture of a cow was
an event of great importance, and General Hicks ordered every officer to
be given a piece of it.
Colonel Farquhar, chief of the staff, did all he could to raise the
courage of the soldiers. On one occasion some horsemen were seen a short
distance away sitting fearlessly on their horses as if challenging
anyone to come out and fight them. When Farquhar saw them he mounted his
horse and advanced straight on them. When he approached they began to
retire, but he went in pursuit, and coming up with them killed two, the
third he pulled off his horse, and capturing the horses brought them
back to camp. In spite, however, of such a gallant example, the men were
listless and out of heart; the long marches had thoroughly exhausted
them.
[Illustration: COLONEL ARTHUR FARQUHAR.
(_Chief of the Staff._)]
At Rahad, Gustav Klootz, a native of Berlin, deserted the army. He was
Baron Seckendorf's servant; but at Shirkeleh he quitted his master's
service, and became the servant of Mr. O'Donovan, correspondent of the
_Daily News_. Klootz had certain socialistic tendencies, which caused
him to change masters, and there is no doubt that these ideas had much
to do with his desertion. He and a native of Saxony determined to escape
secretly, and on the plea of gathering wood outside the camp, these two
men succeeded one evening in passing the outposts. No sooner had they
gone beyond the line than they heard firing, and the Saxony man, fearing
a sudden attack, at once turned back to camp, whilst Klootz continued
his flight. When he had gone a short distance he fired two shots, one to
make the Egyptians believe that the enemy was close to them, and the
other to make the enemy think that they were close to the Egyptian
outposts. When night came on he lay down under a tree to sleep,
regardless of the fact that he was between two enemies; and the next
morning he began to debate with himself whether, after all, it would not
be better to return. He would not have hesitated for an instant had he
not thought that perhaps the Saxony man had betrayed his desertion. At
length he decided there was nothing for it but to go on towards the
Dervishes.
After going some distance he saw three dirty-looking men who pointed
their rifles at him; but he signed to them that he was not coming as an
enemy, and to further reassure them, he threw down his rifle and
revolver on the ground, and advanced towards them. The Arabs also
approached; but Klootz, who did not understand a word of Arabic, called
out, "Dervish--where is the Dervish?" (by "Dervish" he meant the Mahdi.)
The Arabs understood perfectly what he wanted to say, but at that moment
they were thinking much more of the loot they saw before them than of
the Mahdi; so they seized the little money Klootz had, and took
possession of his watch, rifle, revolver, and even his boots. Klootz
soon realised into whose hands he had fallen, for these Arabs, having
taken everything from him, then directed him towards the Dervish camp.
On he plodded barefooted, through the long grass, and often over thorns,
until at last he met an old woman, who made him understand by gestures
that he was close on the camp. A few moments later several horsemen
appeared, and, surrounding him, took him in triumph to Abu Girgeh; for
they thought at length they had captured a hated Englishman. Klootz, to
his astonishment, now found himself in a large entrenched camp, where
the Dervishes were living in perfect safety. The horsemen had told Abu
Girgeh that they had found him sitting in a tree writing, so he was at
once put in chains, tied tightly to a bedstead, and then interrogated
about Hicks's troops. At the same time a messenger was sent to the Mahdi
to inquire what should be done with the Englishman. The Mahdi ordered
that he should be at once brought to El Obeid; the chains were therefore
removed, and a rope put round his neck, by which he was drawn by
horsemen to the Mahdi's camp. The journey lasted a day and a half, and
he was obliged to walk the whole way barefooted in the burning sun, so
that when he reached El Obeid his feet were swollen up and in a dreadful
condition.
As swift as lightning the news now spread through the camp that an
English officer had been captured. Who could the unfortunate man be? we
wondered. When Klootz was brought before the Mahdi all he could say was
that he was Nimsawi (a German). The Mahdi therefore summoned Stambuli,
Bonomi, and myself, to act as interpreters. When we entered the crowded
enclosure everyone understood the object of our coming; most of them
were busy cleaning their lances, and shouted out after us, "Mind you
make careful inquiries of him." There was such a crowd in front of the
Mahdi's tent that it was almost impossible to make our way through; but
at last there was a cry of "Ahl Delen" ("Here are the Delen people"),
and they made way for us. We took off our shoes, and were shown into the
Mahdi's presence. I was intensely anxious to see who this Englishman
might be; we had seen nothing but black faces for so long, that had he
been a creature from the other world, we could not have been more
interested; then we were on tenter-hooks to know how the expedition was
progressing, whether it was under English command, &c., &c. Of course
General Hicks's name was well known, but we knew nothing about the
composition of his force.
When we entered we saw the Mahdi, the supposed English officer, and
Ahmed Wad Suleiman sitting on a straw mat. We saluted the Mahdi, who
returned our salute in a most gracious manner. He was smiling, and
seemed much pleased. He introduced the Englishman to me, and asked me
to question him about his coming. My imagination, in which I had
pictured an Englishman, received a rude shock, for I beheld before me a
young man with blonde hair, blue eyes, a sunburnt face, and a nose from
which the skin was peeled off. He wore a dirty tarbush; his clothes were
made of rough canvas, and he looked very much like the fireman of an
engine. Before anything else I expressed to him my sincere pity at his
having fallen into the hands of savages, for I did not then know that he
had come of his own accord. I asked him his name; he replied, "Gustav
Klootz, of Berlin," and said that he was the correspondent of an
important newspaper. He afterwards gave me a true account of himself. I
translated everything to the Mahdi. I then asked him about the state of
the army. He said that it consisted of barely 10,000 men, and he added
that it was generally believed by the European officers that they would
be defeated. It was with the greatest difficulty that I concealed the
blow to my feelings which this news occasioned. I asked him why he
deserted, and he excused himself by saying that he did so to save his
life. I now knew that he could be no soldier; but, of course, I did not
translate to the Mahdi the wretched account he gave of the army. At this
moment I received a kick in the ribs from Ahmed Wad Suleiman, who cried
out, "Ask him how many guns are in possession of the unbelievers?" I was
then given a small book, which turned out to be Klootz's diary, and was
told to translate it. There were only a few leaves, in which the date of
departure from Shatt and other places was noted; the number of camels
that died daily; a few observations on his master, and sundry other
things.
The Mahdi then asked whether, if he wrote to Hicks, he would be likely
to surrender, to which Klootz naturally replied that he was sure nothing
would induce him to do so.
The Mahdi further asked whether Klootz thought he or General Hicks was
the more powerful, to which Klootz answered that he thought the Mahdi
would be successful; but that he would probably lose a number of his
followers, as Hicks's force was well supplied with good firearms, to
which Wad Suleiman added, "Death will be our reward."
The Mahdi seemed delighted with the news he had received, and ordered a
plate of fried meat to be brought, which he shared with us, eating with
his fingers. It was considered a very high favour when he touched the
plate with his hand, and handed a small piece of meat to those who sat
with him, and this favour he conferred on us. It was rather striking
that he should have done this, for many Moslems consider it wrong even
to eat in the presence of Christians. When the meal was over he
dismissed us, and Klootz was handed over to Stambuli till further
orders.
Just as we got outside the hut, Klootz and I were called in again. The
Mahdi was now quite alone. He ordered us to sit down on the floor, and
then whispered in my ear, "Tell this man he may count on the best of
treatment if he will turn Moslem; if not, he must die." I explained this
to Klootz in German, and he replied that he was quite prepared to do
anything the Mahdi required; whereupon the latter presented him with his
shoes and a jibbeh, and named him "Mustafa," as it struck him that there
was a similarity of sound between Mustafa and Gustav.
When we left the hut we found an enormous crowd of people all clamouring
to know what the Englishman had said. Of course everyone wanted to see
him, and it was impossible for us to move a step. Stambuli, therefore,
procured a horse, mounted Klootz upon it, and in this manner we
proceeded to Stambuli's house.
We did not at first believe in Klootz's statement, and thought that he
must have purposely given the Mahdi false information, so as to gain
favour and save his own skin; but when we were alone together, I bound
him by a solemn oath to tell me the absolute truth, and, to my
astonishment, he told me he had nothing to add to what he had already
said. It is impossible to describe our misery when we heard Klootz's
report. We had counted for months on the success of the expedition to
deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and now all our bright hopes
were rapidly fading away, and again a gloomy future yawned in front of
us.
General Hicks left Rahad on the 26th of October, and arrived at Aluba on
the 29th; here he received the Mahdi's letter summoning him to submit.
Of course this was taken no notice of, and on the 3rd of November the
army advanced towards Kashgeil, which is about twelve miles south of El
Obeid.
In the meantime the Mahdi had been collecting his followers, and doing
all in his power to inspire them with wild fanaticism; anyone who saw
the enormous hordes of savages which were brought together, must have
trembled for the fate of Hicks. It was said that the Mahdi had been
promised the assistance of 40,000 angels from paradise, and everyone
quite believed in the truth of this assertion. Anyone beholding this
immense multitude of fanatics of every race and age, even though he had
formerly been a disbeliever in the Mahdi, must now have been convinced
of his divinity. The uneducated masses of the Sudan are entirely
governed by the influence of external appearances, they had never heard
or seen anything of this description before; now heralds were going from
end to end of the camp foretelling the death of everyone who refused to
follow the Mahdi.
On the 1st of November, Mohammed Ahmed quitted El Obeid, and
everyone--man, woman, and child--followed him. Every house was
evacuated, and woe to him who attempted to hide himself! Wad Gubara and
his flag alone remained behind as garrison of El Obeid. The throng,
noisy bustle and din of the camp suddenly gave way to almost absolute
silence--the silence of the grave. The days which followed were for us a
period of terrible anxiety. Although we felt almost certain that a
terrible catastrophe was about to take place, yet we still had a slight
hope that, with the help of European leaders, good rifles, and
machine-guns, the result might be different. Abu Anga, who had
separated from his Jehadieh (black troops) just the day before, now
joined the powerful division of Abdel Halim, and on the 3rd of November
the Mahdi's followers also joined this division, whilst the Mahdi
himself, accompanied by his Khalifas, set out for Birket.
It was on the 3rd of November that the action actually began, for, in
accordance with the Mahdi's orders, his followers had gradually
completely encircled the troops, who were now opposed by black soldiers
with Remington rifles, Wad en Nejumi's Gellabas, and the flags of Abdel
Halim, Sherif Mahmud, and many others. In the attack which occurred on
this date, the Dervishes were forced back with the loss of Fauzi, one of
the Mahdi's katibs, Elias Pasha's son, and the son of Hajji Khaled; but
General Hicks's losses were considerably greater; he had also run short
of water, and was doing his utmost to dig wells, though he did not know
that within fifteen minutes' walk of him there was a large reservoir of
rain-water. What days of terrible anxiety these must have been for the
principal officers, and especially for General Hicks, on whom the entire
responsibility rested!
Major Herlth's diary stops abruptly on the 4th of November; he writes on
that day that Dr. Georges Bey was wounded the previous day and died
shortly afterwards. As far as I can remember, the Major then
continues:--"These are bad times; we are in a forest, and everyone very
depressed. The general orders the band to play, hoping that the music
may enliven us a little; but the bands soon stop, for the bullets are
flying from all directions, and camels, mules, and men keep dropping
down; we are all cramped up together, so the bullets cannot fail to
strike. We are faint and weary, and have no idea what to do. The general
gives the order to halt and make a zariba. It is Sunday, and my dear
brother's birthday. Would to God that I could sit down and talk to him
for an hour! The bullets are falling thicker...."
Here the writer suddenly breaks off; possibly a bullet had penetrated
his weary heart.
The ring of encircling Dervishes was gradually drawing in and enclosing
the ill-fated troops. The greatest destruction was done by Abu Anga's
men who may be said to have destroyed the army; hidden behind shrubs and
bushes, they fired incessantly at very close range into the midst of the
Egyptians. One of Abu Anga's men told me that he alone had fired one
hundred and fifty rounds. On that terrible Sunday General Hicks had to
abandon a number of guns, for he had no mules to carry them. Dire
confusion prevailed everywhere, the troops were suffering terribly from
thirst, discipline was gone, and the men could not even lay their guns
properly.
Klootz, whom the Khalifa Abdullah took with him, told me that he was
some way from the place where the actual fighting was going on, and that
the shells were striking the branches overhead. It would seem that the
army made three attempts to break through the Dervish lines, but failed,
and Klootz told me that the bodies were scattered in three large heaps
extending over a distance of nearly two miles. The largest heap was in
the forest of Shekan near Kashgeil, and it was here that the Dervishes
fell on the remainder of the force and the European officers, and killed
them with their lances on the 5th of November.
According to the evidence of the Dervishes themselves, the European
officers fought most heroically. General Hicks was one of the last to
fall; he had emptied his revolver, and, holding his sword in his right
hand, waited for the rush of the enemy; he was soon surrounded and his
horse wounded in the back; he then dismounted and fought most gallantly
with his sword until he fell, pierced by several spears. The heroism of
these brave men was the admiration of all. After the massacre the bodies
were stripped and mutilated. Even long after the battle those who were
present used to talk of the terrible spectacle of all these bodies lying
with their mouths gaping open and covered with blood. These savages used
to plunge their spears into the bodies of the dead so as to dip them in
the bloody entrails of their enemies, and for long after they talked
and revelled over the yellow-looking fat of the "Turks," which protruded
through their gaping wounds. Baron Seckendorf, who was remarkable for
his enormous size, had been beheaded, and his head was taken to the
Mahdi; it was thought that he must have been General Hicks. A few
escaped by hiding themselves under the heaps of dead bodies or behind
guns or waggons; at the end of the action these were all collected, and
numbered one hundred persons. During the actual fighting no quarter was
given. An Egyptian soldier pursued by some Dervishes fled towards the
Khalifa Sherif and begged to be spared; but the latter laughed at his
fear, and he was at once despatched with spears.
The Dervishes then collected their dead and laid them out in a line. It
seems almost incredible to say so, but there were only three hundred and
fifty in all killed. The Mahdi offered up a prayer over them, and then
they were buried.
The dead bodies of the Egyptians were left a prey to the vultures and
hyenas. Klootz, who said that he understood doctoring, was permitted by
the Mahdi to collect all the medicines in the field, and when doing so
he was enabled to examine the bodies of the Europeans. He told me that
it was with the greatest difficulty he kept himself from breaking down
when he saw the mutilated corpses of those with whom he had but a short
time ago laughed and spoken. The body of a soldier was seen hanging
between earth and sky; he had evidently climbed up an Adansonia tree in
search of water, when a bullet must have killed him, and in falling he
was caught by the branches.
Amongst those who escaped was a man named Abderrahman Ben en Naga Bey,
whose father, then in El Obeid, had entreated the Mahdi to spare him. A
few days before the catastrophe he was found writing letters to Omar Wad
Elias Pasha, then with Abdel Halim's force; in consequence he and his
men had been put in irons, and it was Ala ed Din Pasha's intention to
execute him; but Hicks would not allow it, saying that he would be
fairly tried after El Obeid was captured. Ben en Naga was in the
thickest of the fight, and had already lost an eye, when his father's
slaves succeeded in reaching him and saving his life.
[Illustration: A BAGGARA EMIR, PRESENT AT THE ANNIHILATION OF THE HICKS
EXPEDITION, AND AFTERWARDS CAPTURED AT TOSKI.]
The Mahdi and his followers were greatly delighted, for they had not
calculated on such a complete victory, and a messenger was at once
despatched to El Obeid to order a salute of one hundred guns to be
fired.
It was early on Tuesday morning, the 6th of November, that the thunder
of the guns was heard in the camp, and our alarm at this terrible news
can well be understood. Our bright hopes, which enabled us to support a
wretched existence for more than a year, were rudely dashed to the
ground. We now gave up all idea of the Government sending a second
expedition. It was clear that Khartum must look to its own safety, and
as the Mahdi had in the first instance gained possession of Kordofan
through his victory over Yusef Pasha Esh Shellali, so now his
annihilation of General Hicks's force placed almost the entire Sudan in
his hands.