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]
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