Calm Before the Storm
It is a proof of Emin's personal honor and importance, as well as of the
confidence reposed in him by the negroes and Arabs, that this revolt
could spread for a whole year without affecting Hat-el-Estiva more than
by disquieting reports. It was natural for the natives to make common
cause with the Mahdi, for the Egyptian government had burdened them with
heavy taxation. But such was Emin's high sense of justice, his
compassion for the oppressed, and his strict dealing with unfaithful
officials or plundering Dongolans that there was no thought of revolt.
Here and there, however, he discovered traces of disquiet, but could not
find who or what caused it. Meantime he learned that the Mahdi had
captured Kordofan. Governor Lupton Pasha was forced by his own people to
give up Bahr-el-Ghazal. The enemy was near by. The non-arrival of the
steamer increased his embarrassment. The government at Khartoum was in
the greatest danger and could be of no help to him and he was greatly
incensed at his seeming neglect.
At last treason and revolt began to appear in Emin's province. The worst
thing was the great uncertainty and the daily conflicting rumors. Now it
was reported that seven thousand Arabs were approaching and several
stations had been lost. On the next day messengers appeared from Bor and
Schamlee, very important points, some of whom said that these places had
been captured, others that they were all right. The bad news, however,
proved to be true. Here and there rebellious Arabs with their servants
and slaves were making their way through the country to join the
Mahdists at Kordofan. The garrisons of stations again found it necessary
to levy upon provisions, whereupon the negroes attacked and killed them.
Finally, a fugitive from Kordofan told a strange story. The Mahdi
informed his followers that a great commander had come to Khartoum from
the north with sixty thousand soldiers. He meant Gordon. Then he showed
them three baskets and said in the most ecstatic manner: "In these
baskets are the souls of all these strangers. The earth will swallow up
twenty thousand of them. Twenty thousand will disappear in the air. The
rest will be slain by the Mahdi, the true Prophet." Emin was encouraged
by the first part of the story. That so great an army should be near
gave him courage and hope for release.
The seven thousand Arabs which had been reported did not appear, for
they had gone to swell the force at Kordofan and the real enemy confined
itself to the Arabian domains in the province. The west stations were
strongly fortified. Several of the unimportant ones had been abandoned,
but Amadi, a strong frontier fortress and the bulwark of Lado, was
surrounded by ramparts and had a large garrison. It could resist the
onrush of the enemy possibly until the rainy season, but after that help
must come from Khartoum.
Meanwhile the days slipped quietly by without bringing any decisive
result, good or bad. Emin had grown gray from anxiety. He would not
surrender his province to the enemy at any cost, but was it in his power
to drive back the Mahdists when they came by hundreds of thousands? On
the other hand, there were all his faithful ones, his negroes, who loved
him like a father, exposed to an uncertain fate. He resolved to do
everything possible to hold the government of this beautiful country,
though he knew not whether there was still a government.
The governor concealed his anxieties and doubts from his officials so as
not to dishearten them and determined upon an undertaking which should
divert the thoughts of the people from the uncertain future. He decided
to strengthen the defences of Lado and with the help of the soldiers and
natives to dig a deep moat around the station and utilize the dirt
thrown out as trenches. The work was directed by Mahmoud Effendi, an
Egyptian officer, who had served in the last Russo-Turkish war and was a
very skilful engineer. Hundreds of men worked from morning until night
and by the end of October the moat was extended to the river. The Nile
was then at its high stage and the water flowed into this new canal, in
which later draw wells were made for watering. At the main entrance to
the station, from the west, a passageway was left. Dr. Junker advised
the construction of a small drawbridge at that point and Mahmoud Effendi
supervised and constructed it very skilfully, notwithstanding his scanty
material. Emin and Dr. Junker in turn daily supervised the work, which
was now progressing satisfactorily. Some little pieces were played by
their trumpeter for the encouragement of the soldiers and Emin Pasha
himself often enjoyed it among his sugar canes and lemon trees.
In the meantime there was a lack of the most necessary things. They
lived principally upon the red durra, a species of millet, which had a
bitter and unpleasant flavor. There was a certain amount of meat on
hand, far from sufficient, however, and in place of other drinks they
were supplied with a liquor made by themselves and served in such
abundance to the soldiers that it resulted in universal drunkenness. The
coffee was almost too bad to drink, being adulterated with mallow seeds.
Sugar had long given out and honey was used in its place. Emin had made
a valuable collection of ivory with which in Europe he could have
procured himself and his officials the choicest dainties and all
imaginable pleasures. There, however, it would purchase nothing and it
was unlikely that the valuable stuff could be taken to the coast and
made of any use.
Their clothing was in rags. Wool was spun by the negroes, but
unfortunately the material was lacking. Skins were tanned and used as
garments and they imitated a practice of the savages. They stripped the
bark from certain trees and by careful scraping it produced a pliant
stuff of a beautiful red or yellow color which hung from their shoulders
in picturesque folds. Their shoes were very neat, for a skilful negro
made them precisely like the European. Shoes were really indispensable
there as the roads are so rough that unshod feet are easily injured.
The Christmas festival drew near, but it brought no pleasure. Emin and
Junker sat together one evening. They had not a drop of wine. For a year
and a half they had had no news from the outside; not a word of
encouragement had reached them. Many a time they felt as if they should
never again meet with their own kind, as if they were spellbound in a
strange world among fierce savages and bloodthirsty men. Their simple
and often scanty dinners were marked by a ceremoniousness and an expense
in service which would seem amusing to an unprejudiced spectator. On New
Year's Day, 1885, Dr. Junker put on a fine, light gray European dress,
saved over from better days, and came to wish the governor good luck.
The officials went to the divan to greet him and were received in order
according to their rank and served with sherbet, coffee, and cigarettes,
treasures set apart for this day's pleasure which gave all the more
satisfaction as they had been so long deprived of them.
During all this time Emin Pasha never left Lado. Notwithstanding all his
anxiety his scientific activity remained unabated. He took observations
of the weather every morning and entered them in his diary. He paid a
skilful Arab, Gason Allah, for keeping up his collection of stuffed
birds. The Arab came early in the morning to receive his orders
concerning hunting expeditions and sometimes the region thereabouts was
traversed a week at a time to secure birds of different kinds. Emin
Pasha himself was too shortsighted for hunting; indeed he could hardly
recognize a person ten steps away. His warm interest in scientific
studies helped him pass away these lonesome hours.
Thus we see the genial man in the midst of the alarming dangers which
menaced him on all sides and the pressing cares which weighed him down,
sitting quietly like a true philosopher and statesman and attending to
his duties. Nothing can disturb his lofty thought, his proud calmness,
his unshaken self-composure. He presents the type of a man whose mighty
influence these uncultivated Arabs and negroes could not resist, and
which strengthened all in holding out against the danger encompassing
them on every side.