THE TROOPS.
The military force stationed in Kordofan consists of three battalions
of the first regiment of the line, each battalion being composed of
1000 men, further of 800 Bedouin horsemen, called also Mogghrebeen,
and of about 40 artillery men to serve the few guns employed in
the slave-hunting expeditions; to this number about 200 men of
the irregular Turkish cavalry were added, in the commencement
of the year 1839. The latter troops were removed from Dongola
to Kordofan, but for an indefinite time only; they were, indeed,
expecting orders shortly to return to their former quarters. The
staff is stationed at Lobeid, and the colonel of the regiment (the
Bey) whom we have before mentioned, is both civil and military
governor of the province. Two companies of the same regiment are
quartered in Sennaar. This regiment was originally the first which
Mehemed Ali formed of Negroes at Assuan in Egypt, and placed on
European footing; hundreds of Egyptians have, at various times,
been drafted into this corps, but they mostly fell victims to the
climate, or perished after a few years’ service in the razzias
or slave-hunts. The entire garrison consists of blacks: it is, in
fact, indispensably necessary that it should be so; for the white
men cannot accommodate themselves to the climate. Among all Mehemed
Ali’s troops, numbers of which I have seen in various parts of his
dominions, I never met with a regiment so wretchedly equipped, so
badly drilled, and so utterly deficient in discipline as the one in
question. The soldiers wear only a white cotton uniform, and it would
be injudicious indeed to clad them in cloth in this hot climate;
but when we come to consider that the negroes, by nature not over
addicted to cleanliness, do not trouble themselves with washing,
and are not even provided for this purpose with soap, an expense
they feel no inclination to defray from their own purses, and add to
this that they are in the habit of anointing their bodies frequently
with butter as a means for preserving their health, a pretty correct
idea of a trooper of Kordofan may be formed. On meeting one of these
foot-soldiers without his accoutrements a stranger is really at a
loss how to classify him, and before he has thoroughly accustomed
himself to the sight he would rather take him for a scarecrow than
a soldier.[52] The accoutrements, like the regimentals, are not in
the very best state; while the drill sergeants are as ignorant as
the recruits, and quite inadequate to their task, with the exception
that the latter have no conception of fire-arms; thus muskets may
be seen on which Time has set his tooth in the literal sense, so
weak in the barrel, not with over cleaning, but with over rust,
that they would never stand a charge. Instead of a flint a piece
of wood is frequently screwed into the lock, the soldier finding
it far more judicious to sell the former to enable him to buy a
little tobacco. To prevent desertion as far as it is possible,
the government encourages the soldiers in marrying; they do not
then live in barrack, but in separate huts of their own without
the precincts. It must not, however, be imagined that there are
barracks in Kordofan like those in Europe, or even in Egypt. Those
at Lobeid consist of about fifty detached huts built irregularly,
but surrounded with a fence of thorn; in the latter an aperture is
left, guarded with the branch of a tree, which forms the gate. The
interior arrangements correspond with the external appearance; beside
the angarebs and the knapsacks of the men, there is not a single
article of barrack furniture to be seen. There are three infantry
barracks of this description in Lobeid. When the men mount guard,
the women accompany them, or, if they happen to be unmarried, some
of their comrades follow, carrying the straw mats and pipes of the
detachment; for it is the first maxim among them to make their visit
to the guard-room as pleasant and comfortable as possible. This rule
extends even to the very sentry, who makes his duties as easy as he
possibly can; he does not stand sentry, but sits down whilst on duty,
and that the musket may not inconvenience him by its weight during
this important time, he lays it down at a few paces distance. If
an officer happen to pass by, the occurrence by no means disturbs
his equanimity; the sentinel at the most rises, but shouldering or
presenting arms is a mark of respect never heard of. In relieving
guard they do not wait for orders or other arrangements, but as
soon as the fresh detachment arrives, and the various posts have
been relieved, every man walks quietly home with his straw mat and
pipe under one arm, and his musket on the other, leaving it to his
superior officers to manage every thing else.
Their drill and exercise is at the same low ebb as their garrison
and field service. The recruits are drilled during a few weeks only;
they are quick of conception, and with the exception of the Shilluks,
very soon learn, but they as readily again forget what they have
acquired, for they do not consider it worth their while to keep
themselves in practice by repeated exercise. The drill is generally
performed singly, they very seldom exercise in large detachments,
and scarcely ever in companies. It is, therefore, not astonishing,
that a battalion cannot execute the most simple movement with
precision. I have seen the commanding-officer on a field-day not even
able to bring his battalion to form a square; he had, in fact, to
take each separate man by the arm, and lead him to the place where
the square was to be formed, and yet this is the only manœuvre
to which they are obliged to pay attention, because frequently put
in practice in skirmishes, in warfare with their neighbours, or on
those barbarous expeditions of slave-hunting. The intention of this
_quarré_ is to place the troops in readiness to receive their enemy,
who always attacks suddenly, sword in hand, because it was found by
experience that single detachments sent in advance were literally
cut up, notwithstanding the advantage Mehemed Ali’s regular troops
enjoy in the possession of fire-arms. According to the present
system, when an attack is expected, the troops form a quarré,
and prepare to receive cavalry; sometimes the square is hollow,
and all non-combatants, ammunition, and baggage, and frequently
also the cavalry, are enclosed within its precincts. When the first
shock has been sustained, and the enemy retreats in disorder, they
deploy and pursue. The nature of the attack of the negroes has
therefore induced the officers to have this manœuvre principally
practised. Of other movements, such as advancing in column, marching
in sections, wheeling to the right or left, forming detachments,
defiling, or other necessary manœuvres, be they ever so simple,
these soldiers have no conception, and should it ever enter the
head of the inspector at a review to order one of them, it is
executed with so much confusion, that the officer commanding
has the greatest trouble in re-forming his battalion from the
confused chaos. It is incredible how soon they forget every thing,
for this regiment formerly had an excellent French preceptor,
as lately even as the middle of the year 1837, at which period
he was obliged to leave the country on account of ill health. The
troops learn to shoot well; it is not, however, to be wondered at,
considering the wretched state of their muskets, if the best shot
frequently miss his aim. Ball practice, so essential a branch of
service, is but rarely resorted to, and in this country, indeed,
the soldier is treated more like a policeman than a military man,
for his services are required for enforcing the payment of taxes,
the arrest of prisoners, and for other duties generally devolving
upon the constabulary.
It would, moreover, prove a very dangerous experiment to trouble the
troops much with exercising and other matters of duty, and would be
attended with an incurrence of the very worst of hazards. An officer
dare not even venture to enforce his orders with the common rigidity
of discipline; they would not only not be obeyed, but the officer
offending in this manner must expect the worst. With kindness
every thing may be effected with these semi-barbarians, whilst
with harshness nothing is to be done; and to obtain obedience to an
order in which their services are required, it is necessary either
to rouse their ambition, or to persuade them by soft words. There
is, therefore, a wide difference between these negro soldiers
and the Egyptian troops. The latter, accustomed from infancy to
be driven with a stick to their duties, cringe before an officer,
like a worm upon the ground, in presentiment of the punishment they
are to undergo; whereas the negro who has been reared in liberty
boldly faces his superior, whilst awaiting his command. When he
has received his orders, provided his sense of dignity or freedom
be not impeached, the officer may rely upon their being punctually
executed. But woe betide the _martinet_ who should venture to force
a soldier by harsh words or ill-treatment to the performance of his
duty! His life would be endangered from that moment, and a revolt
amongst the whole troops might prove of the most serious consequence,
as has already been the case. The Turkish officers are well aware
of this, and are very careful not to say or do anything that might
irritate the negro soldiers.
The pay is the same as that of all other Egyptian troops, namely,
twenty paras (two-pence) per diem, and a ration consisting of bread,
meat, and butter in abundance; but for their actual pay they have
to wait frequently a whole twelvemonth, and their arrears are then
liquidated with slaves or camels.
It frequently happens on these occasions that a son receives his
father or his brother instead of payment. It might be imagined that
this would be considered a fortunate occurrence by both parties, and
that the slave would, as a natural consequence, be liberated; but
this is by no means the case, for the soldier has usually incurred
a debt on his arrears, and in the distribution of pay two troopers
very often become co-proprietors of one full-grown slave. Thus
little regard can be paid to filial or fraternal affection; the
soldier can only delay the sale of his father or brother for a few
days, but it must eventually take place. Officers themselves have
told me, that these scenes are of frequent occurrence, and that it
would move the heart of the most unfeeling man to pity, to behold
a son or brother concluding the bargain with the Djelabi for his
near relative, when they are forced to part for ever.
The soldiers’ boys receive pay from the day of their birth, and
having attained their eleventh year, are drafted into the ranks as
drummers or pipers; when they subsequently increase in strength
they advance to the musket. On the whole, a military anarchy may
be almost said to reign predominant; and it is indeed an arduous
undertaking for the colonel to keep order among these undisciplined
troops. Their present commander, however, appears to be better fitted
to the task, and also to have the design of paying greater attention
to the subject; for he insists upon a more rigid discipline, but will
tolerate no ill-treatment; and I am convinced that he is most likely
to succeed in bringing about an improved subordination, as everything
may be expected from the negroes by stimulating their ambition.
The Bedouins, those children of the desert, enticed by vain promises
from their native plains, to them still dear, though neglected by
nature, are to be pitied indeed; for they have but slight hopes
of ever being able to return to their homes; receive a miserable
pay after waiting for it for a long time, like the rest of the
troops; and are expected to find themselves in clothing, horses,
and accoutrements out of their own pockets. Their sheikh must supply
all deficiencies, and if a man lose his horse is forced to procure
him another, whilst the Bedouin has to resign all claims on pay,
until the sum the new animal cost is defrayed; and thus it often
happens that the poor fellow must serve during three or five years
gratuitously. The government allows no compensation, even if the
horse be killed on actual service. It will now be understood what
kind of services may be expected from these men. Although they are
not deficient in personal valour, in cases where it is required,
and are certainly equal to the rest of the troops in courage and
bravery, if they do not surpass them; yet they never confidently
meet the enemy, as a natural consequence of this absurd system,
for they are always thinking of their horses, on these occasions,
and often take to flight at the most decisive moment, to avoid
sustaining a loss. It has frequently even happened on slave-hunts
in which service they are generally employed, that the van-guard,
on being surprised by the enemy, has turned to the right about
in disorderly flight, and thrown the infantry, by which it was
to be supported, into confusion; so that the latter were obliged
to retreat in all haste, and to form again, in order to stand the
charge of the pursuing enemy. If the government were to treat the
Mogghrebeen like the rest of the cavalry, and when they had lost
a horse in service, were to provide them with another, or at least
to allow some proper indemnification, they would prove a far more
efficient body of men. This corps is, moreover, not treated as it
deserves; for if one of them happen to be on the sick list he is not
even admitted into the infirmary. Certainly, as far as my experience
bears me out, they are far better off in this respect than those
who have the misfortune to be received into the hospital at Lobeid,
whilst under the direction of medical men who have pursued the whole
course of their studies from beginning to end at Abusabel.[53] There
is more discontent among these Bedouins or Mogghrebeen, as they are
also termed, (although they constitute the less number of the body,)
than in any other corps. The greater part of them are quartered
at Lobeid, the rest are distributed over the country, where they
perform a species of gens d’armes duty. The circumstance of their
being used by the government as catchpolls, and the excess of which
they are frequently guilty in their ill-humour and discontent, render
them obnoxious to the natives, and they themselves take no pains to
heal the breach or to remove this ill impression. They are of robust
constitution, and can defy the climate and all weather. An instance
presenting the opportunity of convincing myself of their capability
of bearing more than ordinary men came under my own observation. It
appears, indeed, an adventure _á la Münchhausen_, but I can vouch
for the truth, for I was not the only person present at the time,
but several thousands witnessed the feat:—The governor held
a review of all the troops prior to a march, the occasion was a
slave-hunt. After inspecting the Mogghrebeen, he commanded them to
dismount; in the confusion attending this movement, a horse broke
loose and ran away. Some of the men pursued it on horseback, whilst
others endeavoured to catch it on foot: and thus it happened that
a Bedouin who tried to stop the animal came in collision with it,
his forehead, indeed, striking the front of the horse. Both man
and beast instantly fell, the horse dead on the spot, but the man
survived the shock for several days.
Their arms consist of a long gun, two pistols, and a sabre;
their colours are a green silk flag, which they regard as sacred,
and two kettle-drums attached to the saddle-bow of the drummers
are beaten on a march by way of music, which is, of course, very
monotonous. These troops are irregulars, and their attacks are
always made with impetuosity, and in the greatest disorder. Hence
the first moment is decisive, whether they shall keep the ground,
or seek their safety in a precipitate flight.
The third detachment of troops, stationed in Kordofan, consists of
about forty men of artillery. I have been present at their ball
practice, and have, therefore, had the opportunity of convincing
myself of their performances. Of fifty balls scarcely one hit the
target, and even the successful shot must be ascribed to perfect
chance, for the men have not the slightest conception of charging or
pointing their guns. The pieces of ordnance are in a most lamentable
condition; the carriages, warped by the excessive heat, give no
firmness to their bearings, and the officers and men have no idea
of remedying the defect. Repair is totally out of the question,
and thus these field-pieces are dragged about from place to place,
as long as it is possible, when their services are required,
charged, pointed at hazard at the object against which they are
employed, and fired without further consideration. The effect of
their balls may be easily guessed; during the first slave-hunts,
when they attacked a hill, several shots were generally fired at
an object without one ball ever taking effect. The negroes were,
indeed, alarmed at the terrible report, and even put to the rout;
but they soon became accustomed to the noise, and, subsequently,
paid but little attention to it, when they perceived no other
effect than noise and smoke. The artillery men are all Turks, and
when they are enlisted at Cairo no one questions what their prior
occupation consisted in; it is, in fact, all the same whether they
were shoemakers or tailors by trade, they are enrolled as artillery,
and must, henceforth, act in that capacity.
The military, in general, have a great deal to suffer, for,
besides being hated by the people, as the executioners of the cruel
punishments to which the poor natives are frequently condemned by
the government, they do not lead the most agreeable life themselves,
inasmuch as they are only paid once a-year. They are obliged to serve
for the term of their natural lives, and are nothing but slaves in
the strictest sense of the word. If a man fall sick, he is, indeed,
admitted into the hospital, but this is a perfect place of horror
to the soldier, for, as soon as he enters the infirmary, he may
make his will and prepare for his latter end, so few are fortunate
enough to escape with their lives. It would really be more humane
to allow the soldiers to cure themselves after their own fashion;
and I am convinced that the majority of those literally murdered
by the doctors and apothecaries from sheer ignorance, would be
yet living to put them to the blush. Before I was aware of the
frightful mortality in the hospitals, I expressed my sorrow for the
poor Mogghrebeen who are refused admission, and severely censured
the government for its cruelty; but I subsequently convinced myself
that they have every reason to think themselves fortunate in not
being received into those houses of slaughter. I procured, indeed,
the bills of mortality of the regiment, and that of the corps of
Mogghrebeen, compared the number of deaths amongst the three thousand
troops of the line and the number of patients in the hospital,
with those of the eight hundred men, Bedouins, who receive no
medical relief, but cure themselves by domestic remedies, and found
a result of twenty-seven per cent. of deaths among those killed
in the hospital above the rate of mortality of the Mogghrebeen,
who are left entirely to themselves. The Egyptian doctors and
apothecaries, scarcely escaped from the elementary schools and
placed on their own footing, treat the sick soldiers like cattle,
never dream of diagnosis, prescribe whatever enters their heads,
and care very little whether they save a man’s life or murder him.
The hospital consists of a few hovels of clay, covered with a
straw roofing; they are ill-ventilated, and, in the wet season, the
rain beats in upon the sick soldiers through the narrow windows,
as they are not furnished with glass; the cold nights, moreover,
prove very severe trials, especially to those who are suffering
from small-pox. The invalid lies on an angareb, and is left to his
fate. The medical man hurries through the whole hospital in one
single visit, which he pays after sunrise, prescribes what he has
been reading up for the occasion at home, without inquiring into
the disease, and every order is given on the principle of “Allah
kerim!” I have several times had the opportunity of convincing
myself of the unparalleled neglect with which the hospital patients
are treated, for, on my arrival at Lobeid, I found but one European
medical man, Dr. Iken, a native of Hanover, who was too ill to
do duty, and shortly afterwards died. It is a common saying, that
an apothecary is no physician, and, _vice versâ_; but we know by
experience that there are many apothecaries who are sufficiently
well educated to be able to prescribe a remedy in cases of urgent
necessity; we may, however, form an idea of the want of medical
knowledge of an Arabian apothecary, when the doctor of medicine is
himself ignorant, and we may also guess what the poor patients who
fall into their hands have to expect or suffer between them. In
Europe, the sick soldier is desirous of being admitted into the
hospital, because he is convinced that he will there receive speedy
and certain relief. In Lobeid, the contrary is observed, for the
invalided men are obliged to be dragged to the infirmary by force,
because they stand in so much awe of this terrible place, that every
disease increases as soon as they know that they are to enter the
establishment; and thus the greater number keep their sufferings
secret as long as they possibly can. The apothecary who performed
the duty of the medical man in the infirmary paid his visit once
daily, and, on his arrival there, it depended, properly speaking,
on the nurses what medicines the patients should take. Of these
subordinate functionaries, even, there was a great deficiency, for,
as fast as they arrived from Cairo, they were taken off their duties
and employed by the doctor and apothecary in private practice;
for by these means they were enabled to earn more than their pay,
for which they always had to wait twelve months. This extensive
apothecary, who acted in the capacity of pharmaceutist and medical
man, usually commenced a categorical conversation with the nurse,
without seeing any one of the patients; the following dialogue took
place during one of my visits to the establishment.
_Apothecary._—“How is No. 1?”
_Nurse._—“He is still feverish.”
_Apoth._—“It cannot be helped, for I have not had a drachm of
quinine for several months past, and I have no other febrifuge;
he will get better in time without physic. How is No. 2?”
_Nurse._—“He died last night.”
_Apoth._—“And is No. 3 no better?”
_Nurse._—“He wants nothing further, for in two or three days
he will be dead.”
_Apoth._—“How is No. 7?”
_Nurse._—“I don’t understand his complaint. The patients
tell me he has not been able to sleep for the last four nights;
he has no appetite, and is continually vomiting.”
_Apoth._—_(Making up some tincture of opium, which he gives to
the nurse.)_ “There, that is to make him sleep. I know nothing
about the other symptoms. What does No. 8 say for himself? has his
dysentery diminished?”
_Nurse._—“No, it has rather increased, and it will probably
be all over with him this evening, so he wants nothing more; but
No. 9 may be discharged to-day.”
_Apoth._—“How is No. 35?”
_Nurse._—“I think he ought to be bled, for the inflammation
increases.”
_Apoth._—“I will have nothing at all to do with venesection,
for I might be placed in the same unpleasant position as Dr. Ali
Effendi, from whose pay three hundred piasters were deducted,
because he divided the artery in performing the operation, and the
soldier was invalided. Is there no increase?”
_Nurse._—“Three patients; two fevers, and I don’t know what
is the matter with the third, but my comrades think it is gout.”
From this short dialogue, we may conclude how the hospital at
Lobeid is managed, and what condition the poor patients who are
sighing for relief must be in. No medicine, no attention, and a
hard couch! My heart misgave me every time I entered this place
of misery, and saw the cool deliberation with which the poor sick
soldiers are murdered, in the strictest sense of the word. If the
other inhabitants of Lobeid died in the same ratio, the capital of
Kordofan would be totally depopulated in less than fifty years.