THE SIEGE AND FALL OF EL OBEID.
Said Pasha, Governor-General of Kordofan, prepares to defend El
Obeid--The Mahdi attacks the Town, but is repulsed with Great
Loss--The Missionaries at Delen fall into the Mahdi's Hands--The
Siege and Fall of Bara--The Horrors of the Siege of El
Obeid--Said Pasha is forced to surrender--His Interview with the
Mahdi--The Search for Treasure--The Mahdi's Miracles--Effect of
the Fall of El Obeid on the General Situation.
Inspired by his numerous victories, and encouraged by Elias Pasha's
urgent appeal that he should proceed to El Obeid, the Mahdi left Gedir,
and, joined by thousands upon thousands of fanatical Arabs and
slave-hunters, he advanced to Kaba, a village on the outskirts of the
town.
From here he despatched horsemen to reconnoitre and summon all those who
were willing to join his banners. He also wrote to Mohammed Pasha Said,
calling on him to submit. His letter was read out before the officers;
and at the suggestion of Mohammed Bey Skander and the majority of the
officers the bearers of the letters were sentenced to be shot. Said
Pasha himself was averse to this decision, but eventually gave way and
confirmed the sentence, which was immediately carried out.
The secret emissaries were more successful; they had an easier task
amongst the local population many of whom really believed in the Mahdi,
and those who did not, well knew the weakness of the Government and the
very critical state of affairs. Besides, as I have already related, the
hostility of Elias Pasha to Said Pasha and Ahmed Bey Dafalla had the
effect of bringing over to the rebels the majority of the civil
officials and principal merchants,--consequently, in a few days the bulk
of the population moved bodily out of the town and joined the Mahdi.
The latter had previously written to them that they had only to shut up
their houses and leave all their property as it was, and when he entered
the town he would guarantee that nothing should be touched. These
injunctions they obeyed implicitly, taking with them, or burying in the
ground, their money only.
On Ahmed Bey's advice, Said Pasha had divided up the town in such a
manner that the evacuation of a large part of it by the merchants and
others would not seriously affect the question of its defence; and he at
once ordered the soldiers to collect all the corn they could find in the
houses and store it in the citadel,--an operation which was carried out
with considerable alacrity, and full advantage was taken of the occasion
to freely loot the dwellings of the trustful populace, who had counted
somewhat prematurely on the Mahdi's protective powers. Minni, of the
Gowama Arabs, also freely pillaged the deserted town.
Mohammed Ahmed now spared no effort to rouse the fanatical spirit of the
masses by whom he was surrounded. He preached day and night to a rapt
audience on the heavenly joys in store for all those who joined the
Jehad, and on Friday morning, September the 8th, this seething mass of
human beings, armed only with swords and spears, rolled like the waves
of the sea towards the town. All the arms taken in Rashed's and
Shellali's expeditions had been left behind at Jebel Gedir, and the
rifle fire of the defenders soon began to play with deadly effect on the
crowd, who, utterly undeterred, and seeking only for blood and plunder,
continued their advance, swarming into the ditches and up the parapet,
and entering the deserted town. At this critical moment Major Nesim
Effendi told his bugler to sound the advance; and the signal being taken
up by the other buglers, the soldiers, clambering up on to the tops of
the walls and houses, brought a murderous fire to bear on the
assailants. Slowly the surging mass, under this hail of lead, was driven
back, leaving behind them thousands of killed and wounded. Once more
they rallied and attempted again to storm; but again were they driven
back with still greater slaughter, till at length the survivors retired
out of range, and the gallant garrison was completely victorious.
In this assault the Mahdi's brother Mohammed, Khalifa Abdullahi's
brother Yusef, the Kadi, and a host of Emirs were killed. The Mahdi
himself, during the attack, took up a position out of range, behind a
small house; and had Said Pasha taken Ahmed Bey Dafalla's advice to
pursue after the Dervishes had been routed, in all probability he would
have been taken, and the subsequent bloodshed and horrors thus avoided.
But Said Pasha contented himself with this temporary success, believing
that the Mahdi was too crushed to again attempt an attack, and that this
defeat would probably destroy his influence. The Mahdi's relatives and
near friends also realised this, and on their advice he removed his camp
to Gianzara, a hill lying beyond range to the northeast of the town; and
in this position maintained an open investment, while awaiting the
arrival of the arms and ammunition for which he had sent to Jebel Gedir.
The mission station at Delen, which had been founded some eight years
before, and which was guarded by eighty men of the slave guard, had long
been in a critical position. Whilst on his way to El Obeid, the Mahdi
had sent one of his adherents, Mek Omar, with instructions either to
capture or kill all persons found there. The missionary Fathers, Joseph
Ohrwalder and Luigi Bonomi, had arranged to flee with the troops and all
the mission to Fashoda; but their plan fell through, owing to the
cowardice of the captain commanding the troops. They were eventually
obliged to submit, were robbed of all they had, and were marched as
prisoners to El Obeid. Here the Mahdi and Khalifa Abdullahi made every
effort to convert them and the sisters who were with them; but they
remained firm. The following day they were taken, accompanied by
thousands of howling Dervishes, to an open space where a great review
was held. After momentarily expecting death, they were at length told
their lives were spared, and they were handed over to the care of a
Syrian named George Stambuli, who had joined the Mahdi from El Obeid.
At this time a most wonderful comet appeared, which was taken by the
Sudanese as a sign from Heaven that the Government was about to be
overthrown, and that the true Mahdi had appeared on earth.
An expedition sent under Ali Bey Lutfi to relieve Bara and El Obeid,
when on the march and suffering from thirst, was attacked by the Gowama
Arabs under Fiki Rahma, and of the two thousand men of which it was
composed, two hundred only succeeded in escaping to Bara. Soon after
this Tayara was attacked, and its little garrison, after resisting
manfully, was obliged to submit at the end of September.
Bara fell next, after a long and well-sustained siege. The garrison had
inflicted considerable loss on the rebels, but a fire had broken out and
burnt up almost all the corn. Hunger and disease had done their work,
and, hopeless of any succour, Surur Effendi, the commandant, Nur Angara,
and Mohammed Agha Japo, at the urgent request of the garrison, were
forced to submit early in January, 1883, to Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi,
and were conducted by him to Gianzara. On arrival here they received the
Mahdi's pardon, and Surur Effendi, who was an Abyssinian by birth, but a
particularly religious Moslem, was allowed by the Mahdi to have back a
portion of his confiscated property; Nur Angara, being a Dongolawi, was
also well received; and Japo, whose exploits during the retreat from
Ashaf had reached the Mahdi's ears, was given back one of his own
horses. The troops, who were all Blacks, were made over to Khalifa
Abdullahi, who subsequently transferred them to Hamdan Abu Anga, who was
made Emir of the force.
The astute Japo was not slow to show devotion to his new master, and
begged for his blessing and for permission to get married, as hitherto
he had lived a single life. The Mahdi, flattered that an old and
irreligious man like Japo should show such complete submissiveness to
his will, at once granted his request. A few days later, however, Japo
came before the Mahdi with a very sorrowful face, and told him that the
money he had given him for his marriage had been spent to no purpose, as
he had divorced his wife. "What!" said the Mahdi, "why should you have
done this? Is she not pretty, or has she a bad character?" "No," said
Japo, "she has a far more serious fault: when I tell her to say her
prayers, she refuses to do so; and a wife who does not pray is an
abomination to me." So delighted was the Mahdi with his supposed
conversion that he gave Japo a large sum of money to get married again,
and presented him with sufficient means to keep him from want for a long
time. Some years later, after the Mahdi's death, I met Mohammed Japo in
Omdurman, and I laughingly reminded him of this story. "Yes," said he,
"in spite of all the harm and evil done by the Mahdi, he was not, after
all, such a bad man,--one could get something out of him; but I pity the
man who relies on Khalifa Abdullahi's benevolence." Japo was quite
right.
The Mahdi celebrated the capture of Bara with a salute of one hundred
guns, and the unfortunate garrison of El Obeid, hearing the sounds,
thought that a relieving army was approaching; but when they learnt that
Bara had fallen, they became greatly disheartened. For months they had
been suffering all the horrors of famine; food had risen to fabulous
prices; no steps had been taken to lay in a stock of provisions, and
there was a great scarcity of corn. A month before the capitulation
dukhn had risen to four hundred dollars the ardeb; only the most wealthy
could supply themselves with a little meat. The price of a camel rose to
fifteen hundred dollars, a chicken might be had for thirty or forty
dollars, and an egg for a dollar to a dollar and a half. But my comrades
in captivity, Fathers Ohrwalder and Rosignoli, have already described
the horrors of that long and terrible time, and I need not repeat them
here; suffice it to say that after a five months' siege, during which
the most terrible privations were endured, and in which a very large
proportion of the remaining population and garrison died of starvation,
Mohammed Pasha Said was at last forced to capitulate. He wished to blow
up the powder magazine; but the officers begged that their wives and
children might be spared, and he was obliged to give way. He therefore
wrote to the Mahdi that he was prepared to surrender the town. The Mahdi
replied that he and his officers need have no fear, and the following
morning sent a deputation of leading merchants, under Mohammed Wad el
Areik to Said Pasha, with instructions that he, the superior officers of
the garrison, and the chief merchants should present themselves before
him. The deputation had brought with them jibbas (the patched shirt
adopted as a uniform by the followers of the Mahdi), which had now to be
worn, and, mounting on horses, the sad cavalcade, led by Said Pasha,
filed out of the fort which they had defended so long and bravely. With
him were Mohammed Bey Skander, the commandant, Major Nesim Effendi,
Ahmed Bey Dafalla, Mohammed Bey Yasin, and several other officers.
Seated on his angareb, on which a goat's skin was spread, the Mahdi
received them kindly, gave them his hand to be kissed, and pardoned
them. He told them that he of course understood they had been deceived
in regard to him, having doubted his Divine mission; but that he forgave
them, and now required them to take the solemn oath of allegiance, and
complete submission to him and the cause. This formality over, he gave
them dates and water, and urged them to renounce the pleasures of this
world, and think only of the world to come. Turning to Said Pasha, he
then said: "I do not blame you as a Turk for having done all you could
to defend the post confided to you; but you did not do well to kill my
messengers, for it is not right that messengers should be punished."
Before Said Pasha could reply, Skander Bey quickly answered, "Master and
Mahdi, Said Pasha did not do this, but it was I, in my capacity as
commandant of the fort, who ordered the execution, as I considered them
rebels, and in this I did not do well, as you truly say." "I did not
mean by my question to ask you to justify yourself," said the Mahdi. "My
messengers have obtained what they most desired; when they took the
letters from me they sought the death of martyrs, and their wish was
fulfilled. The merciful God has granted them their hearts' desire, and
now they are in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of Paradise. May God
grant that we may follow in their footsteps."
During this conversation, according to a plan prepared beforehand, Abu
Anga and his men had occupied the fort, powder-magazine, and Government
buildings, whilst the Emirs installed themselves in the officers'
quarters. The Mahdi now told Wad el Areik, who happened to be a personal
friend of Said Pasha, to take him and his officers back to their houses;
but on their return they found them occupied, and were given to
understand that their property had now been confiscated. Soon afterwards
the Mahdi himself entered the town to inspect it, and ordered the
garrison to quit the entrenchments. The women and children, who had so
patiently waited for relief, were now ordered out to the Mahdi's camp,
and were allowed to take nothing with them. Even the women were searched
to the skin, in a most revolting manner, and anything found was
instantly taken off to the Beit el Mal (Mahdi's treasury), where the
property was subsequently distributed amongst the Emirs and other high
personages. In searching for gold and treasure the most heart-rending
scenes were enacted, and weeping and wailing was heard on all sides, as
the unfortunates were flogged to make them disgorge.
Said Pasha himself was called upon by Ahmed Wad Suleiman, the Mahdi's
Emin Beit el Mal (or treasurer), to hand over all his money; but he
replied that he had none. It was well known that he was a very wealthy
man, but he obstinately denied he had anything. When the Mahdi heard
this, he instructed Wad Suleiman to make every inquiry of Said Pasha's
servants; and while he was occupied in doing this, the Mahdi continued
conversing with Said Pasha on the precepts of religion, and frequently
asked him, before the assembled masses, why he refused to disclose the
hiding-place of his treasure, and Said Pasha as persistently denied that
he had any money whatever. In this way some time passed, and at length
Wad Suleiman, who had meanwhile succeeded in getting one of the female
servants to admit that her master had concealed the treasure in the
wall, returned to the Mahdi, and whispered in his ear that they had
found it. The latter, beckoning him to sit down, continued to talk of
the vanities of this world, and the great necessity of renouncing them;
and then, turning suddenly to Said Pasha, he said, "You swore a most
solemn oath of allegiance; why, then, do you refuse to say where your
money is? Money is the root of all evil. Do you now expect to gather
more riches?" "Oh, sire," replied Said Pasha, "I have neither money made
honestly, nor money made dishonestly; do with me what you like." "Do you
take me for an ordinary man?" replied the Mahdi. "Do you not understand
that I am truly the 'Mahdi el Muntazer,' and that the Prophet has
revealed to me the hiding-place of your treasure, which you have
concealed in the wall of your house? Go, Ahmed Wad Suleiman, to his
house. Enter his room, and on the left side, near the door, remove the
plaster from the wall, and there you will find the Turk's treasure.
Bring it here." During Wad Suleiman's absence Said Pasha sat
disconsolately, close to the Mahdi, frowning deeply. He knew his
treasure had been discovered, but he was too proud to admit that he had
told an untruth, and he refused to join in the conversation. In a few
minutes Suleiman returned, dragging behind him a large tin box, which he
placed before the Mahdi, who opened it, and found it full of gold,
packed up in small bags. Over £7,000 was counted out. "Mohammed Said,"
said the Mahdi, "you have told a lie; but I will forgive you. Ahmed,
take the money to the Beit el Mal, and distribute it amongst the poor
and needy." "You, who preach renunciation, have now got my money; do
what you like with it," said Said Pasha, turning on his heel and
marching off. The Mahdi, frowning darkly, muttered, "Di ma biyenfa
maana" (This man won't do for us).
Said Pasha turned to Ahmed Bey Dafalla, who had witnessed this scene,
and the Mahdi then addressed the latter in the following words: "Do not
follow in the footsteps of your old friend; he has an obstinate
disposition. Be honest and true to me, and I will give you all you
require. I secretly warned your brother Abdalla, but it was God's will
he should be overthrown. He blindly espoused the cause of God's enemies,
the Turks, and fought against me. The merciful God has destroyed them.
They were blown like chaff before the wind, and are now suffering all
the torments of hell-fire. Ahmed, save your soul while you may. Be
faithful to me, and when this life is over you shall enjoy the
everlasting pleasures of Paradise, and God will receive you into His
heavenly kingdom."
"Oh, Mahdi," said Ahmed Wad Dafalla, "I shall certainly not enter the
heaven in which my brother Abdalla is not." And with that he rose and
left the meeting.
Not a word did the Mahdi say, but it seemed to be quite understood that
his sentence had been pronounced. Signing to his followers that the
meeting was over, the latter now lost no time in complying with their
master's wishes, which, though unexpressed, they well understood. In a
few minutes it was known far and wide that the cursed Turk, Mohammed
Said, had refused to disclose the hiding-place of his treasure, but that
the Prophet had revealed it to the Mahdi. For some days tongues never
ceased talking of this wonderful miracle; and far and wide spread
Mohammed Ahmed's repute as the true Mahdi, sent from heaven to destroy
the hated Turk.
Directions were now given to supply Said Pasha, Ahmed Bey, Ali Sherif,
and the other officers with their beds, cooking-pots, clothing, and some
money, until the Prophet further revealed to the Mahdi what he should do
with his prisoners.
Mohammed Ahmed now occupied himself in writing letters and proclamations
to all parts of the Sudan, announcing the capture of El Obeid, and
enjoining on all the necessity of activity and endurance in the great
religious war which had now spread over the country. He called on the
faithful to renounce the pomps and vanities of this world, and to think
and work only for the joys to come. He also issued very stringent
regulations against smoking and drinking, imposing terrible penalties on
any one found wilfully disobeying. Special instructions were also issued
regarding marriage ceremonies, dowries, etc., and every effort was made
by the Mahdi to follow the example set by the Prophet in his early
wars.