HICKS PASHA'S EXPEDITION.
The Execution of Said Pasha and the Brave Defenders of El
Obeid--Spread of Belief in the Mahdi's Divinity--Sheikh Sennusi
is offered, but refuses, the Position of Mahdi's Khalifa--The
Mahdi begins to organise his Government--The Spread of the
Revolt in the Gezira--Criticisms on the Attitude of the Egyptian
Government--The Despatch of Osman Digna to the Eastern
Sudan--Hicks Pasha's Expedition enters Kordofan--Incidents on
the March--Gallantry of Colonel Farquhar--The Diaries of
Farquhar and Vizetelly--The Desertion of Gustav Klootz--The
Mahdists harass the Expedition--The Final Attack on the Doomed
Square--Incidents after the Battle--Extracts from O'Donovan's
Diary--The Mahdi's Triumphal Entry into El Obeid.
After the capture of El Obeid the Mahdi turned all his attention to
increasing his power. His adherents on the river kept him very fully
informed of all that passed. He was aware that Abdel Kader had applied
to Cairo for reinforcements, which had arrived, and he did not doubt the
Government would do all in its power to reconquer its lost provinces;
that was his reason for so constantly preaching the Jehad, and reminding
his followers that a great war was impending, in which they would be
victorious.
Giegler Pasha had been successful at Duem in November, 1882, and at the
end of January, 1883, Abdel Kader Pasha had scored a signal success at
Maatuk. But the Mahdi paid little attention to these defeats; he was
principally concerned with the news that an expedition was being
prepared in Khartum, under European officers, for the reconquest of
Kordofan.
Meanwhile Mohammed Pasha Said thought it his duty to draw up a report
justifying the surrender of El Obeid, which he intended to send to
Khartum. He exposed the courage and endurance of the garrison who had
been at length obliged to capitulate, after having been more than
decimated by famine and disease, and he explained that they were still
thoroughly loyal, and longed for the success of the Government arms.
This document was signed and sealed by all the officers, Said Pasha and
Ali Bey Sherif heading the list, and also by Ahmed Bey Dafalla and
Mohammed Yasin; it was then given to an Arab, who was promised a large
reward if he took it to Khartum. Amongst the officers who signed was a
certain Yusef Mansur, formerly police officer at El Obeid, but who had
been dismissed by Gordon, sent to Khartum, and afterwards allowed to
return to El Obeid, where he had settled. Fearing that the report might
be intercepted, and that he might suffer with the others, he, to show
his fidelity and submission to the Mahdi, fell at Khalifa Abdullahi's
feet, confessed everything, and earnestly entreated for pardon, which
was granted. On his way home he met another officer, named Mohammed Bey
Skander, whom he also urged to seek the Khalifa's pardon; and the
latter, although he cursed his friend for his cowardice, thought that
now the secret was out he had better save himself, so he, too, begged
the Khalifa's forgiveness. The Arab letter-carrier was intercepted and
thrown into chains, and of course the occasion was taken advantage of to
spread far and wide the story that the Mahdi had discovered this plot by
direct inspiration from the Prophet. This gave him a ready pretext to
make away with his enemies. All those who signed the document were
seized, and, after consultation between the Mahdi and his Khalifas, it
was decided they should be banished. Said Pasha was sent to Aluba, where
he was handed over to the tender mercies of Ismail Delendok; Ali Bey
Sherif was sent to Nawai, Sheikh of the Hawazma; while Ahmed Bey Dafalla
and Yasin were sent to Madibbo at Shakka. Of the other officers, some
were exiled to the Nuba mountains, and others to Dar Homr. Yusef Mansur
and Mohammed Bey Skander were the only officers allowed to remain at El
Obeid, and the former, in order to mark his fidelity to the cause, was
made commandant of the Mahdi's artillery.
Soon afterwards, in accordance with his orders, Said Pasha was killed
with axes, and Ali Bey Sherif was beheaded, while Abdullahi, who had, on
the day after Ahmed Bey Dafalla's departure, taken his wife as his
concubine, despatched one of his relatives, Yunes Wad ed Dekeim, to
Shakka with orders to have both Dafalla and Yasin executed in the
presence of Madibbo. Such was the end of the four men who had so bravely
defended El Obeid, and in truth they deserved a better fate!
It was about this time that Fiki Minna, of the powerful Gowama Arabs,
having quarrelled with Abdullahi, thought to make himself independent;
but the Mahdi, knowing how serious would be a split, did not hesitate to
send a large force against him under Abu Anga, Abdulla Wad Nur and
Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi. Fiki Minna was surprised, seized, and
instantly executed, and the Mahdi lost no time in at once despatching
proclamations ordering the tribes to leave their districts and join him.
To these assembled multitudes he now preached more fervently than ever,
urging them to renounce the pleasures of this life, and think only of
the life to come. "Ana akhreb ed dunya wa ammer el akhera" (I destroy
this world, and I construct the world to come), was his endless theme.
To those who were obedient he promised pleasures in Paradise beyond all
the heart could conceive; but the disobedient he threatened with condign
punishment and hell-fire. Circulars written in this sense were
despatched far and wide, and the Emirs were enjoined to allow only those
to remain in their districts whose services were absolutely necessary
for the cultivation of the lands, but that all others must forthwith
immigrate to him and range themselves under his banners.
Men, women, and children now flocked in hundreds of thousands to El
Obeid to see this holy man and catch even a word of his inspired
doctrine; and the ignorant multitudes saw in his face and person what
they believed to be truly "a man sent from God."
Dressed only in a jibba and sirual (drawers), with a belt of gus, or
straw, round his waist, and wearing a Mecca takia (skull-cap), round
which was bound a muslin turban, he stood with all humility before his
followers, preaching of love to God and the cause, and of the necessity
of renouncing the vanities of this world. But once in his house it was
quite another matter; here he lived in a state of grandeur and luxury,
and became a slave to those passions for food and women to which the
Sudanese are so addicted. Should any women, young girls, and slaves be
captured, they were brought before him, and all the prettiest and the
best found a home in his harem; whilst the maid-servants, who were
versed in all the arts of the most approved Sudan cooking, were
relegated to his kitchen.
After the siege of El Obeid he considered whom he should appoint as his
fourth Khalifa, and decided that Mohammed es Sennusi, the most
influential religious Sheikh in North Africa, should be nominated; he
therefore despatched Taher Wad Ishak, of the Zaghawa tribe, with a
letter to him to that effect; but Sennusi treated the offer with scorn,
and left the letter unanswered.
The Mahdi now set to work to regulate his government. His administration
was based on very simple lines. First of all he established the Beit el
Mal, or treasury, over which he placed his faithful friend Ahmed Wad
Suleiman. In this treasury were deposited the tithes (ushr) and the
fitra and zeka (alms for the poor, two and a half per cent) on all booty
taken in war as well as confiscated property, and fines for theft,
drinking, and smoking. There was no system to regulate the revenue and
expenditure. Ahmed Wad Suleiman was, therefore, free to give what he
liked to whom he pleased.
Jurisdiction was placed in the hands of the Kadi, who was called by the
Mahdi "Kadi el Islam," and several assistants. Ahmed Wad Ali, who had
formerly been Kadi at Shakka under me, and who had been one of the
foremost in the storming of El Obeid, was the first to hold this high
position. Of course the Mahdi and his Khalifas reserved to themselves
the right to punish all crime--more especially anything connected with
doubt or suspicion as to the Divine nature of the Mahdi--with death. As
such judgments were in entire opposition to the sharia (or Moslem
religious law) as taught, the Mahdi strictly forbade the study of
theology, and ordered all books of this description to be burnt; the
Kuran alone being allowed to be read, though even this he did not permit
to be openly expounded.
Communication between the Mahdi and the inhabitants of the Gezira, who
now looked upon themselves as his most devoted adherents, was of course
frequent and detailed. He learnt of Abdel Kader's departure for Kawa and
Sennar with a large force in February. That town had been besieged by
Ahmed el Makashef; but the Pasha inflicted a defeat on him at Meshra ed
Dai, and had raised the siege. Saleh Bey had pursued the rebels as far
as Jebel Sekhedi, and had driven them into the waterless plain between
that place and Kawa, where numbers perished from thirst. This district
is still called by the local people, "Tibki wa teskut" (You cry and are
silent).
These defeats, however, in no way diminished the Mahdi's popularity;
they relieved the situation for the soldiers and officials, it is true,
but they only put off the evil day which was surely to come. Had
attention been paid to Abdel Kader Pasha's advice, the whole situation
in the Sudan might have been changed. He was against the despatch of a
large expedition to reconquer Kordofan, but recommended the
reinforcements coming from Cairo should be garrisoned in strong
defensive positions along the White Nile, and that for the time being
the rebels should be left to themselves. The military forces at his
disposal were quite sufficient to stamp out the revolt in the Gezira
(Island) between the Blue and White Niles, and to check the advance of
the Mahdists from the west. Had this plan been adopted, and the rebels
been left to themselves, it is more than probable the complete absence
of any regulated system of administration would have soon resulted in
discord breaking out, and gradually, at a later period, Government would
have been able to recover the ground it had lost. I certainly could not
have preserved authority in Darfur until that time; but even if that
province were lost, it would undoubtedly have been the lesser of two
evils. However, those at the head of the Government in Cairo thought
otherwise. The edict went forth that the prestige of the Government was
to be restored at all costs, and this was to be effected by an army
despatched under the English General Hicks, assisted by other European
officers; Abel Kader Pasha was recalled, and relieved by Ala ed Din
Pasha, formerly Governor-General of the Eastern Sudan. All these facts
were known almost at once to the Mahdi, and he took good account of
them.
Meanwhile Zogal had arrived at El Obeid, where he had received an
enthusiastic reception; one hundred guns were ordered to be fired in his
honour, and it was reported far and wide that Darfur had surrendered to
the ever-victorious Mahdi. Zogal's return to Darfur was considered quite
a sufficient guarantee for the preservation of the province as a
possession of the new ruler; consequently no force was despatched, and
the Mahdi now directed all all his attention to events on the Nile.
General Hicks shortly after his arrival proceeded with a portion of his
force to Kawa, inflicted a defeat on the rebels at Marabia (29 April,
1883), and killed Ahmed el Makashef.
Amongst the various emissaries despatched to different parts of the
country was Osman Digna, the former Suakin slave-dealer, who was
enjoined to raise the Jehad in the neighbourhood of his own town. The
Mahdi showed much astuteness in selecting this man, who subsequently
became so celebrated; and he rightly judged that a local revolt in the
Eastern Sudan would in all probability seriously embarrass the Khartum
Government, and delay, or perhaps put off altogether, the expedition
about to be sent to Kordofan. The details of the various encounters
between this redoubtable Emir and the Government troops are too well
known to require more than a mere passing reference here; suffice it to
say that the operations in the eastern districts, although successful to
the Mahdists, did not have the effect of causing the Government to alter
their intention in regard to the Kordofan expedition, and early in
September, 1883, the ill-fated Hicks left Khartum for Duem, on the White
Nile, where he joined Ala ed Din Pasha, who had been instructed to
accompany the expedition.
Surely the situation in Kordofan must have been misunderstood by the
Cairo authorities if they imagined that, by the despatch of this
expedition, they would succeed in overturning the Mahdi, who was then
supreme ruler of these western districts in which every man was his most
devoted adherent. Did they not realise that the annihilation of Rashed,
Shellali, and Lutfi, as well as the fall of Bara, El Obeid, and a host
of other towns had placed the Mahdi in possession of a far larger number
of rifles than those disposed of amongst Hicks's force of ten thousand
men? Were they not aware that these rifles were now in the hands of men
who thoroughly understood how to use them,--men who had been owners of
Bazingers, who were elephant and ostrich hunters, and had now at their
command contingents of reliable fighting material? Besides, were there
not now enrolled under the Mahdi's banners thousands of regulars and
irregulars who had been formerly in the Government service? Did they
imagine for a moment that all these men, when the chance came, intended
to desert and join Hicks? No; they seemed to realise nothing of this,
and, on completely wrong presumptions, they risked the lives of
thousands. Surely there were those amongst the Government advisers who
had sufficient knowledge of the Sudan to realise how fully the negro
proverb applied in this matter: "Illi beyakhud ummi hua abuya" (He who
marries my mother is my father). The Mahdi had conquered the country,
and had thus metaphorically married their mother; him, therefore, they
had fully accepted as their lord and master. What do those people care
about good actions and kindnesses previously done to them? I do not, of
course, deny that to this general rule there are not exceptions; yet
unquestionably my remarks, severe as they are, apply to the majority.
Ten thousand men in square formation, with six thousand camels in their
midst, were to march through districts overgrown with vegetation and
grass taller than a man's height; at most they could not see more than
two hundred or three hundred yards to their front, in the little open
patches where the sparse population had cultivated small clearings. They
must be ready at any moment for the attack of an enemy far more numerous
and as well armed as themselves, besides being infinitely better
fighters, and who to this day pride themselves on their bravery and
headlong dash. Along almost the entire route by which the army was to
march there were scarcely any wells, though plenty of stagnant
rain-pools; and when they had drunk up the water in them, what were they
then to do?
Had they adopted the northern road, _via_ Gebra and Bara, they would at
least have had the advantage of open ground and a good supply of water
at certain places, which, if insufficient, could, with modern
appliances, have been made amply sufficient for the whole force. At the
same time the support of the powerful Kababish tribe against the
Mahdists would have been assured, and the enormous train accompanying
the force could thus have been greatly diminished.
Six thousand camels, huddled together in the centre of a square,
presented a perfect forest of heads and necks; it was impossible for a
bullet fired by one of the enemy from behind a tree to altogether miss
this gigantic target: if it failed to strike in front, it would most
certainly have its billet in the centre or rear. Then again an advance
might have been made by detachments, and the great baggage-train left
under strong guard at either Duem or Shatt, the men merely advancing in
light marching order, clearing the road north, south, and west, and
establishing a military post whenever they had subdued a district. Of
course this plan would have taken some time--perhaps a year--to execute;
but there was no hurry. Then internal dissensions were rife,--Hicks and
his European officers on the one side; Ala ed Din Pasha, his officials,
and most of the Egyptian officers on the other.
And were not the troops composed mostly of the disbanded rabble of Arabi
Pasha's army, which had just been defeated by the British? General Hicks
no doubt fully understood matters; and, replying to a question put to
him by one of his friends at Duem as to what he thought of the
situation, he replied quietly, "I am like Jesus Christ in the midst of
the Jews." Still, he marched off; perhaps he thought that if he refused
to advance, his honour might be impugned.
Slowly moved the great mass of men and animals onward; the few
inhabitants who lived in this part of the country had long since fled.
Now and then in the far distance Arabs were seen watching the advance,
and then disappearing from view. On one occasion Hicks, looking through
his glasses, observed some horsemen amongst the trees; halting the
square, he ordered a division of irregular cavalry to advance and attack
them. A few minutes later they returned in hopeless confusion; they had
lost some killed and many wounded, and reported they had been attacked
by a greatly superior force. Hicks then despatched Colonel Farquhar with
half a battalion of regulars to examine the spot where the skirmish had
taken place. He reported that he found six cavalrymen lying dead, shot
in the back; they had been completely stripped, but nothing was to be
seen of the "powerful enemy;" there were the hoof-marks of at most ten
horses, and no doubt by these the cavalry division had been put to
flight.
The following day three horsemen again appeared in sight, when Colonel
Farquhar, accompanied only by his servants, galloped at them, killing
two, and bringing in the third a prisoner. I was told of both these
episodes by the survivors of the expedition, and they related how the
huge square crawled forward like a tortoise. Under the circumstances it
was impossible to send out the camels to graze; they had to eat anything
they could pick up in the square, and that was very little; of course
they died in quantities. They used to eat even the straw pads of their
saddles, and consequently the hard wood came down on their haunches and
galled them till they became in a truly pitiable condition; still they
dragged along, carrying not only their own loads, but those of their
broken-down companions in misery.
No doubt Colonel Farquhar, Baron Seckendorff, Major Herlth, the other
European, and some of the principal Egyptian officers did all they could
to help General Hicks in this critical situation, but the bulk of the
army appeared to be utterly regardless of the impending catastrophe.
Poor Vizetelly made his sketches, and O'Donovan wrote his diary; but who
was to send them home to those who were so anxiously awaiting them?
No sooner did the Mahdi learn that the expedition had started than he
again sent proclamations to all the tribes, summoning them instantly to
the Jehad, with the usual promises of reward to those who obeyed, and of
punishment to those who hung back. Quitting El Obeid himself, he
encamped under an enormous Adansonia tree near the town, and there he
awaited the approach of the Egyptians; his Khalifas and Emirs followed
his example, and soon a gigantic camp of tukuls (straw huts) was formed.
Reviews were held daily, war-drums beaten, guns fired, and men and
horses trained in all sorts of exercises, in preparation for the great
battle. The Emirs Haggi Mohammed Abu Girga, Omar Wad Elias Pasha, and
Abdel Halim Mussaid had already been sent to Duem to watch the enemy's
advance and cut their communications; but they were strictly forbidden
to attack the main body of the army. Before leaving, the real condition
of the advancing force was known, and they begged the Mahdi's permission
to attack it, but it was refused.
Shortly before the expedition reached Rahad, Gustav Klootz, a German
non-commissioned officer, formerly Baron Seckendorff's, and latterly Mr.
O'Donovan's, servant, foreseeing the almost certain annihilation of the
force, deserted, with the intention of joining the Mahdi. Ignorant of
the country, he wandered about, and the next morning was found by a
small party of Mahdists, who were about to kill him; but he endeavoured
to make them understand, in his broken Arabic, that he wanted to be
taken to the Mahdi, and, after robbing him of all he possessed, he was
sent under escort to El Obeid, three days distant. Although clothed only
as a servant, thousands of people crowded round to see this English
general who had come to ask for terms of peace. He was brought before
the Mahdi, and, through the other Europeans present, was questioned
about the state of the expedition. Gustav did not hesitate to say that
it could not be worse, and that neither courage nor harmony existed
amongst its ranks. Naturally this news greatly pleased the Mahdi; but
Gustav added that the army would not submit without a fight, and that in
all probability it would be annihilated. Immensely cheered by this
information, the Mahdi now summoned Gustav to be converted to Islam, in
which he of course readily acquiesced, and he was then handed over for
further care to Osman Wad el Haj Khaled.
So confident of victory had the Mahdi become after Gustav's statement
that he had hundreds of summonses written out and distributed along the
road, calling on Hicks and his officers to surrender. Of course they
were left unanswered; but at the same time they had their effect on many
who were concerned about their own safety. Others, on the contrary, used
these papers in a manner which so irritated the Mahdi that for long he
visited his wrath on the unfortunate survivors who had dared to put to
such contemptuous uses documents in which divinely inspired words were
written.
[Illustration: A Dervish Emir.]
Prior to his departure from Duem, Hicks had been informed by the
Government that he would be joined _en route_ by six thousand men from
Jebel Tagalla, as well as some hundreds of Habbania Arabs; and he daily
expected to meet these, and thus revive the flagging courage of his
demoralised men. But he waited in vain,--not a man came to him, nor did
he ascertain a word of news. On quitting Rahad he advanced to Aluba in
Dar Ghodayat, in the hope of obtaining an abundant supply of water
there; and on the 3rd November he reached Kashgeil, some thirty miles
southeast of El Obeid.
Meanwhile the Mahdi had worked up his fanatical followers to a pitch of
the wildest enthusiasm, and had told them the Prophet had announced to
him that on the day of battle they would be accompanied by twenty
thousand angels, who would attack the unbelievers. On 1st of November he
quitted El Obeid for Birket, where his followers, uniting with the force
previously despatched to watch the square, now worried the tired and
thirsty Egyptians incessantly. On the 3rd November Abu Anga and his
Black Jehadia, concealed in the thick forest and broken ground, poured a
continuous fire on the square, which was forced to halt and zariba; and
here human beings and animals, huddled together, offered a target which
none could fail to hit. Every moment a weary man, horse, camel, or mule
would fall to the bullet of an invisible enemy; and for hours this
decimation continued, whilst the wretched troops suffered agonies from
thirst, and were unable to move in any direction. It was not till the
afternoon that the enemy drew off just out of rifle range, and from this
position kept careful watch on the square, as a cat would play with a
mouse. Their losses had been insignificant; one or two Emirs, amongst
them the son of Elias Pasha, had fallen,--and no wonder! his fanaticism
had induced him to dash up almost alone to within a yard of the zariba.
How terrible must have been the feelings of poor Hicks! Instead of
water, his wretched men received a hail of lead,--yet only a mile off
there was a large pool of rain water; but none in that doomed square
knew the country, and even had they known, it was now too late to reach
it. Abu Anga and his men, under cover of darkness, crept close up to the
zariba, and all night long poured an incessant fire into this seething
mass of men and animals. Utterly demoralised, poor Hicks's troops
moaned, "Masr fein, ya Sitti Zenab dilwakti waktek!" (Where is Egypt!
Oh, our Lady Zenab, now is your time to help us!) while the hardy
Blacks, lying flat on the ground within a few yards of the zariba,
unharmed by the shower of bullets which passed overhead, would answer
back "Di el Mahdi el muntazer" (This is the expected Mahdi).
The next morning (4th November), Hicks continued the advance, leaving
behind him a heap of dead and dying and a few guns, the teams of which
had been killed; but ere he had proceeded a mile, he was attacked by at
least one hundred thousand wild fanatics concealed amongst the trees. In
a moment the square was broken, and a wholesale massacre took place. The
European officers, with a few Turkish cavalry, alone attempted to make a
stand under the wide-spreading branches of a large Adansonia tree; but,
attacked on all sides, they were eventually killed almost to a man. The
heads of Baron Seckendorff (who wore a full, light-coloured beard) and
General Hicks were cut off and sent to the Mahdi, who at once summoned
Klootz (now known as Mustafa) to identify them; but this seemed hardly
necessary, as it was well known they had been killed.
With the exception of two or three hundred who had escaped death by
hiding themselves under the heaps of dead bodies, the entire force had
been annihilated. Little mercy was shown; a few of the survivors were
pardoned, but the majority of them were subsequently executed. Ahmed ed
Dalia, the Mahdi's executioner, told me that he and Yakub, Khalifa
Abdullahi's brother, with a few hundred horsemen, came across a party of
about one hundred Egyptians who showed fight. Through Dalia, Yakub sent
them a message that their lives would be spared if they gave up their
arms; but no sooner had they done so than he and his men, calling them
unfaithful dogs, charged, and killed every one. One Egyptian owed his
life entirely to his presence of mind; becoming separated from the rest,
he fled, but was followed by some Gellabas, who caught him up. "Do not
kill me, O friends of the Mahdi," he cried, "I know an art which will
make you all wealthy men." Their cupidity now aroused, they spared him,
and promised to do him no harm if he would tell them his secret.
"Certainly I shall do so," he answered. "You have spared my life, you
deserve to know my secret; but I am too exhausted to tell you now, take
me before your master the Mahdi, whom I long to behold; let me seek his
pardon, and then I shall have rest and be able to make myself useful to
you." Taking him in their midst, they brought him before the Mahdi, to
whom they explained he was a man who had long since been convinced of
his Divine mission, but had not succeeded in coming to him before; he
was pardoned, and swore to become henceforth his most devoted adherent.
No sooner was he dismissed from the presence of the Mahdi, than his
captors surrounded him, and insisted on knowing his secret. Sitting on
the ground, he now said quite simply, "I used to be a cook, and know how
to make very good sausages." Irritated and insulted to a degree, the men
would now have killed him; but he at once made his way to the Mahdi,
told him what had occurred, and begged for his protection. The Mahdi
laughingly called his would-be persecutors his compatriots, and ordered
them to take every care of their fellow-countryman.
[Illustration: The Death of Hicks Pasha.]
After this immense victory, the Mahdi and his Khalifas now returned with
their troops to Birket, literally drunk with success.
Several Emirs and their men had been left on the battle-field to collect
the plunder and bring it to the Beit el Mal. The thousands upon
thousands of dead bodies which lay piled up in heaps, were divested of
every stitch of clothing. Some time later the note-books of Colonel
Farquhar and Mr. O'Donovan were sent to me. I read all they contained
most carefully, and terribly sad reading it was! They both wrote much
about the discord that existed, and of the quarrel between General Hicks
and Ala ed Din Pasha. Farquhar attacked his chief somewhat severely for
his military mistakes. Both had foreseen what had now occurred, and
Farquhar reproached him bitterly for having ever started with a force
whose condition and _morale_ were such as to warrant certain disaster.
The European officers got little assistance; apparently one of the few
Egyptian officers who helped them was a certain Abbas Bey. One passage
in Colonel Farquhar's diary I well remember; he wrote, "I spoke to Mr.
O'Donovan to-day, and asked him where he thought we should be eight days
hence? 'In Kingdom-Come,' was his reply." O'Donovan's journal was also
written in much the same strain; he was greatly annoyed about Klootz's
flight, and quoted it as an instance of the general feeling existing in
the force. "What must be the condition of an army," he remarked, "when
even a European servant deserts to the enemy?" In another passage he
wrote, "I make my notes and write my reports, but who is going to take
them home?"
Some fifteen days afterwards, when all the plunder had been deposited in
the Beit el Mal, the Mahdi returned to El Obeid. Besides the guns,
machine-guns, and rifles, a considerable sum of money had been found;
but quantities of loot were carried off by the Arabs, in spite of the
barbarous punishments for theft enacted by Ahmed Wad Suleiman: it was no
uncommon thing for a thief to have both his right hand and left foot cut
off. The cunning Blacks had secreted quantities of arms and ammunition
in the forests and in their own camps, which at a later period proved
very useful to them.
Nothing could have exceeded the savage grandeur of the Mahdi's triumphal
entry into El Obeid after the battle. As he passed along, the people
threw themselves on the ground and literally worshipped him. There is
not the slightest doubt that by his victory at Shekan, the Mahdi had now
the entire Sudan at his feet. From the Nile to the Red Sea, from
Kordofan to the frontiers of Wadai, all looked to this holy man who had
performed such wonders, and they eagerly awaited his next move. Those
who had been already convinced of his divine mission were now of course
more than ever his ardent supporters, and spread his fame far and wide;
those who had doubted, doubted no longer; and the few who in their
hearts understood the imposture, decided amongst themselves that if
Government was not strong enough to send a force sufficient to uphold
its authority even in the Nile districts, they must, against their own
convictions, side with the stronger.
Several Europeans and some Egyptians living in the large cities and
towns now realised the seriousness of the situation, and lost no time in
making the best of their way out of the doomed country, or at any rate
despatched north as much as they could of their portable property, well
knowing that it was impossible to stay any longer in the Sudan, across
which the Mahdi's hands now stretched from east to west.