I have now got all the “telegrams,” European, “sent from” and “received in Soudan” for “1883-84,”—splendid collection, full of interest. What would the Standard give for them? However, I think I can afford to be generous, and so I shall send them down with this Vol. VI.[215]
The fort at Omdurman captured twenty-one cows this evening; this is splendid—forty-one cows in two days.
The only original document I kept here, and which I was as near as possible giving to Stewart, is the Firman I have already mentioned, which I send with this,[216] proclaiming the abandonment of the Soudan by Towfik.[217] If the Mahdi had got this he would have crowed, though he may know of it, for I showed it, not knowing well its contents, to Hussein Pasha Khalifa (vide Stewart’s Journal, which went down, and in which I criticise my having done so). I felt inclined to give it to Stewart, who, I felt confident, would get down, because I thought if found with me the Mahdi might say, “Why, you had the order to give up the country from Towfik, and you did not”; but, then, I thought as I shall be killed ere he takes the town it does not make much difference if here or with Stewart, so I kept it. I call attention to the fact that every document (except above-mentioned telegrams, of which Stewart had taken copies) went down with him (Stewart), and that will show how sure I felt that he and Power would get down, for otherwise, if I had doubted, I would never have let my original instructions go; now I have not a single paper. I cannot quote textually: all went with Stewart; but I have my memory, and I even give you the Telegrams. I have not written any dispatch concerning Stewart or Power. I dare not, with my views, say their death is an evil;[218] if true. I am sorry for their friends and relations. Stewart was a brave, just, upright gentleman. Can one say more? Power was a chivalrous, brave, honest gentleman. Can one say more? Herbin, I liked very much; he was a most agreeable and gentlemanly Frenchman, and very sharp. The diplomatic ... called him names in a telegram; but I found him fairly just,[219] though naturally with a French bias. For my part I cannot see what harm the French can do us if they had a voice in Egypt; and I can see much good arising from it. I declare if they had had a voice in Egypt the present state of affairs would never have existed. If you can find no chivalry in your own house, you had better borrow it from your neighbour. We fired yesterday 41,000 rounds of Remington ammunition, and we fired less than the Arabs.
November 10.—This morning forty Arabs came down near Omdurman Fort, and fired on it—angry about the capture of cows last evening.
One soldier and one slave came in from the Arabs at Omdurman. Seven Arabs on camels went across from the Blue Nile towards Halfeyeh. I fear a reconnoitring party, previous to their putting a post there. To day is the day I expected we should have had some one of the Expedition here. Hicks’ defeat was known at Cairo on the 21st or 22nd November, since which reinforcements to extent of nine persons reached this place (up to date) from Cairo—“for which the Egyptian Government” (according to the fiction) “is solely and entirely to blame”!!!!!
The man who was wounded by the mine is dead. If man knew what the future would bring forth he would be pretty miserable. Look at the telegram on other side, written in December 1883.[220] I would not read those telegrams, or Stewart’s Journal, for a good deal, when I think how we kept feeding on delusions for so many months. A soldier and slave have come in from the Arabs at Omdurman; five more soldiers and three slaves came in later on in the day; they say Slatin is released from his chains; that there is a rumour of the advance of the Expedition direct on Kartoum from Debbeh; that Luigi and Yusef, two priests, are still in Obeyed, having refused to become Muslim; that the Arabs lost heavily at Bourré the day before yesterday. Why Kitchener[221] did not tell me the route the Expedition would take is inexplicable, for it could have done no possible harm, seeing the Mahdi has his spies everywhere, and it was easy to have couched this information in terms I could have understood, and the Mahdi could not have understood. The Fellaheen soldier did go to the Mahdi.[222]
November 11.—This morning, 6 a.m., 200 Arabs came to north of Omdurman Fort, and fired vollies towards the village of Tuti and the Fort; the Fort answered, and the footmen of the Arabs retreated; then the Arab horsemen made the footmen go back again, and so on, four or five times; at last they retired. We had three soldiers and one woman wounded; only one wound was at all serious. Arabs must have fired five thousand rounds; evidently they do not wish much to fight. Nineteen Arabs came along the right bank of the White Nile from Halfeyeh to Goba, and captured a donkey, this even the Shaggyeh could not stand, and so I suppose one hundred sallied out and some fifteen horsemen; then came a running fight across the plain, but it was evident the horsemen would not head the Arabs; however, from the roof, it was evident four or five Arabs were killed, and the pursuit is still going on. You may imagine the Arabs have a good deal of confidence, for their nineteen men were distant at least ten miles of desert from their camp and were at a. They were going along b b when they were discovered with the captured donkey. Five at least of these Arabs got away. The Arabs are sure to come down to avenge this. Noon.—Arabs coming down from their camp. Ismailia getting steam up. North Fort reports (?) “Captures, 3 Remingtons! 3 spears! 3 swords! and the killing of 20? 5 got away?” The Arabs are halted on the sand hills. Five soldiers and one woman came in from the Arabs at Omdurman, report, “Arab rocket-tube broken; carriage of gun broken; the Arabs deserting; rumoured advance of the expedition; quarrels going on; Slatin in chains.” The Shaggyeh say they killed twenty Arabs, but they only say they captured nine arms, so eleven must have been unarmed!!!
It appears 93,000 okes + 166,000 okes = 259,000 okes of biscuit have been stolen in the last year, only found out now; however, we have now quarter of a million okes, which will see us only for a month or so. It appears that more than thirty of the principal merchants are engaged in the above robbery of biscuit. The process is not finished. One of the greatest problems will be what to do with those Shaggyeh, those Cairo Bashi Bazouks and fellaheen soldiers, whose courage is about equal,—perhaps the palm is due to the Shaggyeh. The twenty cows I mentioned as captured by the men of Omdurman Fort (making up forty-one captured cows, page 309) were driven in by five soldiers escaping from the Arabs and were not captured. They do not stick at a lie (and, in this, resemble some people in high places I know). 259,000 okes of biscuit was a good haul, nearly 2½ million pounds: worth £26,000 now, or £9000 in ordinary times.[223]
November 12.—Last night three slaves came into Omdurman. At 11 p.m. they reported Arabs meant to attack to-day at dawn. It was reported to me, but the telegraph clerk did not choose to tell me till 7 a.m. to-day. We had been called up at 5.30 a.m. by a violent fusillade at Omdurman. The Arabs came out in considerable force, and, as I had not been warned, the steamers had not steam up. From 5.30 a.m. to 8.30 Arabs came on and went back continually. All the cavalry were out; the expenditure of ammunition was immense. The Arabs had a gun or guns on the bank. Details further on, as the firing is still going on.