THE MAHDI'S LAST DAYS.
Ohrwalder's criticisms on certain events connected with the defence
of Khartum--The Sudan devastated by small-pox--The Mahdi gives way
to a life of pleasure--Description of his harem life--The Mahdi
sickens and dies--The effect on his followers--The Khalifa Abdullah
succeeds--Party strife and discord--Abdullah prevails--Events in
Sennar and Kassala.
Looking back on the events which occurred during the siege of Khartum, I
cannot refrain from saying that I consider Gordon carried his
humanitarian views too far, and that this excessive forbearance on his
part both injured the cause and considerably added to his difficulties.
It was Gordon's first and paramount duty to rescue the Europeans,
Christians, and Egyptians from the fanatical fury of the Mahdi, which
was specially directed against them. This was Gordon's clear duty, but
unfortunately he allowed his kindness of heart to be made use of to his
enemy's advantage.
Khartum during the siege was full of the wives, relations, and children
of men who had joined the Dervishes, and were foremost in their efforts
to harass and attack the town. These crafty people thus assured
themselves that should the Mahdi be victorious, their loyalty to him
would ensure the safety of their families and property in Khartum,
while, on the other hand, should Gordon be victorious then their wives
and families would be able to mediate for them with the conquerors. Thus
in his kindness of heart did Gordon feed and support the families of his
enemies. It was quite sufficient for a number of women to appeal to
Gordon with tears in their eyes, that they were starving, for him to
order that rations of corn should at once be issued to them, and thus
it was that the supplies in the hands of the Government were enormously
reduced.
Had Gordon, in the early stages of the siege, relieved Khartum of the
presence of these people, as he subsequently was forced to do, he would
have had supplies sufficient to prolong the resistance of his troops far
beyond the limits at which they had arrived when the assault took place,
and, after all, should not Gordon's first care have been for his troops?
His men clamoured against the lavish way in which Gordon distributed
what should have been their rations amongst the families of the
besiegers, but it was of no avail.
Gordon should have recognised that the laws of humanity differ in war
from peace time, more especially when the war he was waging was
especially directed against wild fanatical savages who were enemies to
all peace. He was entirely deceived if he believed that by the exercise
of kindness and humanity he was likely to win over these people to his
side; on the contrary, they ridiculed his generosity and only thought it
a sign of weakness. The Sudanese respect and regard only those whom they
fear, and surely those cruel and hypocritical Mahdiists should have
received very different treatment to civilized Europeans.
I also think that Gordon brought harm on himself and his cause by
another action which I am convinced led to a great extent to his final
overthrow. Such men as Slatin, Lupton, Saleh Wad el Mek, and others had
offered at the risk of their lives to come and serve him. It is almost
certain that some means could have been found of rescuing from slavery
these brave men who had defended their provinces with the greatest
determination against treachery from within and overwhelming numbers
from without, and they could have rendered him most valuable and useful
services. None knew better than these men the weak and the strong points
of the Mahdi's rule and his method of warfare, and it is quite possible
that they might have been able to alter the fate of Khartum. In the
Mahdi's camp they were looked upon as brave and skilful leaders, indeed
they were feared, and that is why they were put in chains, as it was
thought they might attempt to escape. Had they been permitted to enter
Khartum they would not only have been able to assist in the Mahdi's
overthrow, but they would have been able to encourage the garrison.
Gordon would not, however, even vouchsafe an answer to the letters of
appeal these men wrote to him. He could not have believed they were
traitors, such an idea could not have entered into the mind of an
European. The Mahdi never for an instant doubted their inclinations, and
treated them with the greatest mistrust; but even to these savages the
idea of killing men who had been loyal to the Government, and had fought
bravely for their provinces, was objectionable, unless they could have
produced a really valid reason for doing so. How was it possible Gordon
could be for an instant in doubt as to the inclinations and intentions
of these men? I feel strongly on these points, and therefore cannot
refrain from mentioning them.
After the fall of Khartum only two strong places remained in the hands
of the Government, Kassala and Sennar, both of which were closely
besieged. The English had retired north, and the Mahdi could rest at
last, assured that he was now possessor of the Sudan.
The enormous multitudes around Khartum had been engaged during the whole
of the winter season in war, consequently cultivation was neglected, and
had it not been for the quantities of cattle available, a disastrous
famine must have occurred. As it was, there was a great deal of
distress, and numbers died of starvation. Famine and war had brought
disease in their train. In addition to fever and dysentery, small-pox,
which in the Sudan is endemic, increased with fearful rapidity. In
Omdurman hundreds died, and the principal business of the beit el mal
was distributing "kafans" (shrouds).
It was curious that the Sudanese, who much dread this disease, should
have attributed it to the English; but that they did so is a fact, and
this is how it came about. When the English retired, from Gubat, they
left behind them a quantity of preserved stores and tinned meat. The
Dervishes, in spite of the belief that they contained pork, which is an
abomination to them, were so hungry that they consumed almost everything
they found, and it is said that almost immediately afterwards they were
attacked by small-pox, which gave rise to the idea that the English had
mixed their food with the germs of the disease, and this was implicitly
believed in.
Owing to the prevalence of small-pox in Omdurman, many people fled to
Kordofan, Darfur, and other places, and consequently caused the disease
to spread over the whole country. Several false doctors, with the sole
object of making money, guaranteed to check the disease by inoculation;
but as the inoculated matter was frequently in itself diseased, the
epidemic was still further increased.
Notwithstanding this national calamity, the Mahdi now gave himself up to
a life of ease and luxury, in which the unfortunate women captured in
Khartum played a prominent part. He represented that all those who died
of small-pox were suffering God's punishment for being evil-minded or
having appropriated the booty. People believed what he said, and would
still believe him, if he were alive and told them even more incredible
things. The capture of Khartum had, of course, raised his prestige
enormously, and now the belief in his Divine message needed no further
confirmation. Before the assault took place he said that he would divide
the river into two parts, just as Moses had divided the Red Sea, so that
his followers could cross to Khartum on dry land if they failed to take
it by assault. His promise, too, that very few should fall by the sword,
not only encouraged them in the attack, but its verification served only
to further prove his divinity. His uncle, Sayid Abdel Kader, up to the
time of the fall of Khartum, still doubted that he was the true Mahdi;
but, once the town was taken, he doubted no longer.
[Illustration: AN EGYPTIAN HAREM WOMAN.]
All this success increased the adulation and worship of the Mahdi to an
extraordinary extent, and as for himself, although he was continually
warning his followers to despise the good things of this world, and to
abandon all luxurious modes of life, he surrounded himself with every
sort of comfort and luxury, appreciating to the utmost the very
pleasures which he declaimed so violently. He urged moderation in eating
and drinking, yet he secured for himself every dainty which Khartum
could possibly produce. He now wore shirts and trousers of the finest
material, and, before putting them on, his wives were obliged to
perfume them with incense and other costly fragrances. His wives
attended on him in turns, but no regularity was preserved. They anointed
his body with all sorts of precious unguents, but his speciality was the
expensive "Sandalia" (a perfume prepared from sandal-wood and oil), and
so saturated was he with these perfumes that when he went forth the air
was laden with sweet-smelling odours.
The courtyard of his harem was full of women, from little Turkish girls
of eight years old to the pitch-black Dinka negress or copper-coloured
Abyssinian; almost every tribe in the Sudan supplied its representative,
so that one might say the entire Sudanese woman-world was to be seen
here.
Amongst this vast concourse four only were lawful wives; the remainder
were considered as "ghenima," or booty, and were looked upon as slaves
and concubines. His principal wife was called "Aisha," or, as she is
better known in Omdurman, "Om el Muminin" (the Mother of the Faithful).
She was a woman of considerable influence, for the wives of all the
principal emirs visited her, and she was assisted by them in elaborating
an extensive system of espionage. Alas, how many unfortunate girls were
left weeping day and night for their miserable state, robbed by this
Aisha of their happiness and liberty!
The Mahdi's dwelling was built for the most part of the captured loot.
From the boards of General Hicks's stable he had two huts built, and
near these a hut made of mortar and a small magazine. This man, who
hitherto had but a small straw mat, now lay on fine bedsteads originally
brought from Jedda and captured in Khartum, while the floors were spread
with Persian carpets. Here was this Divine Mahdi leading indoors a life
of the most immoderate uxoriousness, whilst outside his fanatical
followers hailed him as the direct messenger of God, sent to purge the
world from the evil practices of the hated Turk.
Two persons whom I knew well, and who had visited the Mahdi less than
three weeks before his death, gave me an account of the sort of life he
was then leading. It was the month of Ramadan, the great fast, and any
one who failed to keep it strictly was punishable by death. From noon
till midnight people used to crowd to the mosque, which was then only a
large enclosure surrounded by a zariba. Thousands of Dervishes could be
accommodated in this large rectangular space, in which the clash of a
forest of spears indicated their impatience to see the Mahdi as he came
to prayers; they had seen him hundreds and hundreds of times before, but
they seemed never tired of gazing at him, and often fought to get a
place near the mihrab (niche) where he prayed.
Whilst the impatient murmur of thousands of voices indicates that the
time of his approach has almost arrived, let us for a moment turn into
the Mahdi's harem, and here is a true picture of what my friends there
beheld. The Mahdi reclining on a magnificent carpet, his head propped up
by a pillow covered with gold brocade; he is clothed in a linen shirt of
finest texture, a pair of drawers, and a gallabieh; his shaved head
covered by a takia of embroidered silk. Upwards of thirty women stand
around him; some fan him with great ostrich feathers, others gently rub
his feet (a practice in which the Sudanese delight), without in any way
disturbing his slumber; others gently smooth his hands, and Aisha lies
beside him, covering his head and neck with loving embraces.
Meanwhile hundreds of Ansar are shouting outside his zariba, impatiently
awaiting his blessing, and anxiously expecting to hear his voice. The
eunuchs are trying to drive off this importunate crowd with whips, but
they will not leave until they have obtained the earnestly sought
blessing. At length one of the eunuchs enters, and receives from Aisha
the blessing, which she gives without disturbing the Mahdi. He then
returns and tells the impatient crowd that the Mahdi is at present in
deep contemplation, but that he is graciously pleased to give them his
blessing, which is then repeated. This is the signal for a wild shout
of joy, and then they return to the mosque to range themselves in their
appointed lines for prayers. And now those who were not present to
receive the blessing press forward to touch the others, and thus obtain
some of its virtue.
The Mahdi is gradually sinking from his half doze into a sound slumber,
when Aisha very gently rouses him and tells him that the appointed time
for ablutions and prayers is already passed. The women now assist him to
rise, his red shoes are brought, and then he proceeds to the place of
ablution, followed by four women carrying his water-bottle. On his
return the women throw themselves down frantically on the spots which
his feet have touched, and struggle with each other in their endeavours
to embrace the ground on which he has trodden.
It is believed that the earth touched by the Mahdi's foot has healing
properties, and has, moreover, the effect of ensuring a quick and
painless delivery; it is therefore distributed amongst holy women, and
even to this day is carefully preserved for the purpose which I have
cited. Not a drop, too, of the water with which the Mahdi has washed is
allowed to be wasted, but is hoarded with the greatest care, and drunk
as an unfailing remedy for every sort of illness and malady.
But to return to my friends' description. The Mahdi's ablutions over,
his son Bashra runs up to him and shows him a golden ring his mother has
given him. Bashra asks permission to wear the ring, but the Mahdi, who
has by this time noticed the presence of two strangers, says, "Oh, my
son, only the Turks wear such ornaments, because they love the things of
this world; but it is not becoming in us to wear such ornaments, which
are perishable; we strive to obtain things imperishable. Give the ring
back to your mother." The little hypocrite well understands what his
father means, and obeys.
Aisha then clothes the Mahdi in his Dervish jibbeh, girdle, and turban,
and in this godly raiment he marches off to the mosque. As he quits the
palace, his bodyguard surround him and keep off the crowd. On reaching
the mihrab he is received with a shout by the assembled multitude. After
prayers he gives a short sermon, and then returns to his wives.
Thus did the Mahdi enjoy the sweets of victory indoors, whilst outside
he practised the most abominable hypocrisy. Most of his principal emirs
(with the exception of his uncle, Sayid Abdel Karim, who had been sent
to reduce Sennar) followed in their divine master's footsteps, and led a
life of pleasure and debauchery. Sometimes the Mahdi used to cross over
to Khartum and disport himself in Gordon's palace, whither he ordered a
portion of his harem to be transferred.
But all this good living and unbridled sensuality were to be the cause
of his speedy dissolution. He grew enormously fat. The two visitors,
whom I mentioned above, saw him only eight days before his death, and
told me that they believed then he could not live much longer. Early in
Ramadan he fell sick, and soon became dangerously ill. The hand of God's
justice fell heavily upon him; and it was decreed that he should no
longer enjoy the empire which he had raised on the dead bodies of
thousands of the victims to his wretched hypocrisy and deceit.
It is, indeed, terrible to think of the awful misery and distress
brought upon his own country by this one man. His disease grew rapidly
worse; he complained of pain in the heart, and died, on the 22nd of
June, 1885, of fatty degeneration of the heart. Some say that he was a
victim to the vengeance of a woman who had lost husband and children in
the fall of Khartum, and who repaid the Mahdi's outrage on her own
person by giving him poison in his food. This may be so; and it is true,
poison is generally used in the Sudan to put people out of the way; but
I am rather inclined to think that it was outraged nature that took
vengeance on its victim; and that it was the Mahdi's debauched and
dissolute mode of life which caused his early death. He died in the
mortar hut, which I previously described; and his adherents gave out
that he was about to travel through the heavens for a space of three
years. People were not allowed to say "The Mahdi is dead," but "El Mahdi
intakal" (_i.e._ "The Mahdi has been removed").
The shock of his death was terrible. The wild fanatics were, so to
speak, struck dumb; their eyes were suddenly opened; and their very
confusion showed that they had realized, the Mahdi was a liar. Omdurman
was full of suppressed murmuring; and the people were collected in
groups, talking of this awful catastrophe.
Those who were oppressed believed that the sudden collapse of Mahdieh
must result in a revolution. No one believed that the Mahdi's party
could continue ruling in his name. Would that some good man could have
been found to rapidly seize this opportunity of putting himself at the
head of the anti-Mahdiists; he must have been successful!
The confusion in the Mahdi's household was beyond description; his women
wept and wailed in the wildest grief. Ahmed Wad Suleiman and the Mahdi's
nearest relatives prepared a grave immediately beneath the bed on which
he had died; the body was washed, wrapped in a shroud, according to the
Moslem custom, and, in the presence of the Khalifas and all the members
of the Mahdi's family, it was lowered into the grave, amidst the
lamentations and wailing of the enormous crowd collected outside the
building. Before the grave was filled in, the body was sprinkled with
perfumes; then each person present took a handful of earth and threw it
into the grave, amidst murmurs of "Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim!" (_i.e._ O
merciful, O gracious God!) A simple monument was erected over the tomb.
Thus ended the Mahdi--a man who left behind him a hundred thousand
murdered men, women, and children, hundreds of devastated towns and
villages, poverty, and famine. Upon his devoted head lies the curse of
his people whom he had forced into a wild and fanatical war, which
brought indescribable ruin upon the country, and which exposed his
countrymen to the rule of a cruel tyrant, from whom it was impossible
to free themselves.
Before his death, the Mahdi had nominated the Khalifa Abdullah as his
successor; he saw that this was the only man capable of holding in check
the rapacious Sudanese tribes, and of governing the strange empire which
he had raised; but the selection of this "foreigner" was a bitter
disappointment to the Danagla and Jaalin, who, hitherto rulers, had now
to become the ruled; and from whose hands their authority was
transferred to the cruel and tyrannical Baggaras, who henceforth became
the conquerors of the Sudan, and who governed its inhabitants with a rod
of iron.
In nominating the Khalifa Abdullah, the Mahdi threw the firebrand of
discord amongst the hitherto united ranks of Mahdieh, and thereby
greatly weakened his cause. It was hard for the Mahdi to die, just when
he had established an empire stretching from the Bahr el Ghazal to
Egypt, and from Darfur to the Red Sea; he had neither had the time nor
the inclination to try and govern it; his mission had been the
destruction of all existing forms of government; and he had carried it
out to the letter.
Immediately after the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa Abdullah summoned a
meeting, and then and there insisted on the two Khalifas and the Ashraf
acknowledging him as the Khalifat el Mahdi (or Mahdi's successor). After
a long discussion it was at length agreed to, and he gave a solemn
assurance that he would follow absolutely in the Mahdi's footsteps. Just
at this time the agitation was too great for him to think of introducing
the selfish and ambitious plans which he had already formulated.
Moreover, Sennar and Kassala were still holding out; it was therefore
the first necessary step to be most conciliating on all sides, and to
all parties.
The Mahdi's name was still paramount in inspiring fanaticism; and
therefore the Khalifa's watchword became "Ed din mansur" (Religion is
victorious); thus he sought to establish unity and concord by means of
the new religion which the Mahdi had founded, and which, now that its
originator was dead, he sought to make unassailable.
Nevertheless, discord very soon sprang up. The Khalifa Sherif and the
Ashraf were furious at being out of power, and they could not long
conceal their discontent. Each Khalifa now did his utmost to show his
independence of the other; each of them rode about in Omdurman in the
greatest splendour, as if he were a king, and ordered his own great
war-drum to be beaten. Jealousy, hatred, and discontent spread rapidly
amongst the people; and soon Omdurman was divided into two distinct
camps: Khalifas Sherif and Ali Wad Helu in the one, and Khalifa Abdullah
in the other.
Both parties now prepared for battle. Abdullah had the Baggaras and
blacks, under Fadl Maula (Abu Anga's brother). There were frequent
disputes in the market-place; and every day it was thought a fight must
take place. At length matters reached such a stage that Abdullah
challenged the two other Khalifas to fight on the open plain, on which
the great reviews usually take place, just outside the town.
The two parties collected their entire forces; but it was evident the
Baggaras were by far the stronger; and as they marched out they shouted
"Môt el Gellaba" ("Death to the Gellabas!" _i.e._ the Danagla, in
contradistinction to the Baggara). Khalifa Wad Helu now acted the part
of mediator, and went across to confer with Abdullah; the troops of the
latter were drawn up in battle-array, and quite prepared for the fray.
Khalifa Sherif feared to enter the lists alone, and therefore he
submitted; he was obliged to hand over his soldiers, arms, ammunition,
flags, and war-drums, which Abdullah took possession of, and was allowed
to retain only fifty men, with firearms, as a bodyguard.
Thus Abdullah constituted himself the one and only ruler, and showed
that he was quite resolved to allow no one else to share his authority
with him. Gradually he reduced the power of the two other Khalifas and
of the Ashraf, and in a short time they became men of little influence.
The Mahdi's two uncles, Abdel Karim and Abdel Kader, who showed the most
open and violent animosity, were at once thrown into chains, their
houses destroyed, and themselves declared enemies of the Mahdi; and, as
we shall presently relate, he ordered Abu Anga to secure Zogal and put
him in prison.
Whilst all these disturbances were going on in Omdurman, the two places,
Sennar and Kassala, in which Government troops were still holding out,
were now in the greatest straits; and I will here give a brief account
of the events which occurred.
Sennar had suffered from the Mahdiists for a very long time. Ahmed Wad
el Makashef had besieged it in 1883; Abdel Kader Pasha, Governor-General
of the Sudan, had advanced to its relief with a large force, had
defeated the Makashef, and then raised the siege. Abdel Kader himself
was wounded in this fight, and his watch was broken to pieces by a
bullet. Sennar and Khartum were once more in communication. It is
unfortunate that Abdel Kader, who was greatly feared by the Sudanese,
was recalled to Egypt.
In 1884 the rebels again attacked Sennar, but were repulsed. It was then
besieged by El Mehrdi Abu Rof, who succeeded in defeating the Egyptian
troops under Nur Bey. I shall presently relate how this Mehrdi was
afterwards treated by the Sudanese.
Some say that the fall of Khartum had a very discouraging effect on the
gallant garrison of Sennar; but this was not so--they determined to make
a stand. The Mudir, Hassan Sadik, who had been put in chains by Nur Bey,
volunteered, if he should be released, to attack the rebels, and, in
fact, he succeeded in driving them off; but on his return to the town he
fell into an ambush and was killed. Brave Nur Bey again pursued the
enemy, and succeeded in inflicting a further defeat on them.
Abdel Karim now arrived with a large force, and summoned the garrison
to surrender. Nur Bey refused, and on the 16th of June the city was
assaulted; but Abdel Karim was driven back, and was himself wounded in
the thigh. He then decided to make the garrison capitulate by famine.
The siege was pressed very closely, and on the 18th of July Nur Bey made
a successful sortie, inflicting considerable loss on the enemy; but he
too was wounded in the leg, and was rendered permanently lame.
The determined defence of the town now induced the Khalifa to despatch
Wad En Nejumi with large reinforcements. Meanwhile the garrison had been
suffering greatly from famine, and Nur Bey had decided to make a last
sortie, which should be under the command of Hassan Bey Osman; but this
proved unsuccessful, the commander was killed on the 19th of August,
1885, and Nur Bey was forced to capitulate. Of the 3,000 men of whom the
garrison had originally consisted, 700 only remained--a tangible proof
of the vigorous and determined resistance they had made.
It is thought throughout the Sudan that the defence of Sennar was most
praiseworthy. Nur Bey still lives in Omdurman. Only last year his old
wound was cut open to remove the splinters of bone. He was better again
when I escaped, but is still lame. Wad En Nejumi arrived two days after
the fall of the town and found it in ruins. All that is left of Sennar
are a few mud and sand heaps, and its very name has ceased to exist,
although early in this century it was better known even than Dongola or
Kordofan.
Kassala alone was left. This town is situated on the Khor el Gash, not
far from the Atbara River, and about midway between Khartum and
Massawah. It had a population of 13,000, and was surrounded by a wall.
Here the celebrated moslem, Sid el Hassan, is buried, and a dome is
erected over his grave. This man was greatly venerated in the Eastern
Sudan; and if any one swears by his name, it is believed that he must be
speaking the truth. One of his pupils, whom I met in Omdurman, told me
of his miracles, of which I will quote one or two examples. One day he
was preaching a sermon; and when it was over, several of the listeners
came to him and begged for alms. Sid el Hassan struck his knee, and
forthwith a number of dollars fell out--the exact sum for which the
beggars had asked. Amongst the bystanders was a poor shame-faced man,
who immediately begged that he might have one dollar. Sid el Hassan
again struck his knee, and one dollar fell out, which he at once handed
to the man, saying, "This is for the poor shame-faced one." The man at
once fell at his feet and gratefully kissed his hands. All who were
present were greatly astonished at this miracle, and some, bolder than
the rest, approached Sid el Hassan and touched him, when they found, to
their wonder, that he felt just like a sack full of dollars.
On another occasion two travellers arrived, with the intention of making
a map of the country. Having failed in their purpose, they applied to
Sid el Hassan for advice, and, after offering them food and drink, he
handed to them the map they required. He performed many different
miracles, and was, moreover, a very tolerant man, rendering the
Government many valuable services, especially when he succeeded in
stopping a revolt of the soldiers. During all the recent events, his
relations remained perfectly loyal.
But to return to my narrative. When Osman Digna came to the Sawakin
neighbourhood, he sent the emir, Mustafa Hadal, to commence the siege of
Kassala; but, as the Shukrieh tribe supplied quantities of corn, it was
enabled to stand a very prolonged siege. In January 1884, it was
assaulted, and the Mudir suffered serious loss. The Arabs, who had
hitherto remained loyal, seeing no hope of help from the Government,
also deserted.
The siege was now more closely pressed, and the suburb of Khatmieh was
nearly captured; but the enemy were at length driven back. A treaty was
concluded with Abyssinia to relieve the Egyptian garrisons and bring
them through that country to Massawah; and though at that time all the
donkeys in the town had been eaten, they still hoped for relief.
In June 1885, the city was hemmed in on all sides, and was in a
desperate condition. Nevertheless the attempted assault on the 15th of
the month was successfully repulsed, and the Mudir pursued the enemy, of
whom he killed 300. He also succeeded in capturing 1,000 head of cattle.
This enabled the town to hold out for a short time; and the news of the
Mahdi's death served to further encourage the garrison.
But at last the town was reduced to absolute starvation, and, on
condition that the lives of the inhabitants should be spared, the Mudir
surrendered. No sooner, however, were the arms given up than the
conquerors began to pillage the town and inflict all sorts of cruelties
on the people. Osman Digna, who was at that time furious on account of
his defeat by Ras Alula on the 22nd of September at Kufit, vented his
wrath on the unfortunate Mudir, Ahmed Bey Effat, Hassan Agha, and
Ibrahim Eff Shawki, and also on two Greeks, Stello Apostolidi and Tadros
Manioseh, whom he caused to be beheaded on the 30th of September, 1885.
From that time Kassala remained under Osman Digna; but in 1886, when the
latter was fully occupied in his operations against Sawakin, the Khalifa
sent Abu Girgeh there as emir. When Abu Girgeh was subsequently sent to
Tokar, Sayid Hamed became emir of Kassala, which from that time formed a
part of the province of Galabat, of which Sheikh Nasri, of the Bederieh
tribe, became emir.
Abu Girgeh was eventually sent to Berber to replace Osman Wad Dekeim,
who had fallen into disgrace. This Osman was very anxious to marry a
pretty woman he had seen in Berber, and had frequently visited her in
the hope that she would consent; but the woman, who did not want to
marry him, decided on a stratagem, and agreed to have a rendezvous on a
certain day. She, however, told her brothers and relations to lie in
wait; and when Osman arrived at the appointed hour, and was almost sure
that he had succeeded, the brothers suddenly broke into the hut and
thrashed him so soundly that he made off, and resolved not to urge his
suit a second time.
Abu Girgeh did not long remain on good terms with this low Arab, and
soon they were both recalled to Omdurman; the former was again sent to
Kassala, where he accused Nasri of having oppressed the inhabitants, and
appropriated a quantity of money; the latter fled to Omdurman, where the
Khalifa pardoned him.
Sayid Hamid also quarrelled with Abu Girgeh, and just before I left the
Sudan I was told that the Khalifa had recalled him on suspicion that he
was in league with the Italians. It is generally believed in the Sudan
that Italy will shortly take possession of the weakly defended Kassala,
but accurate information of occurrences in the Eastern Sudan is more
likely to be received in Cairo than in Omdurman.