Amongst the last letters which I had received, was one written in Arabic from the Austro-Hungarian Consul-General, Von Rosty, to the Khalifa, in which he thanked him for the kind treatment of the members of the former Catholic Mission, and, at the same time, asked his permission to send them a messenger, for whom he begged a free pass, as they were under Austrian protection, and as His Majesty the Emperor had a special regard for them. The Khalifa had shown me the letter, which he had left unanswered; but from that day he had looked upon the members of the Mission as my compatriots, and was now convinced that they had been assisted to escape by the aid of the Consul-General. I now remarked to the Khalifa that possibly merchants belonging to the frontier tribes, and who often came to Omdurman, might have taken advantage of the disturbances in order to help Ohrwalder and the Sisters to escape, so as to obtain some pecuniary reward for themselves. Abdullahi, who was still much pre-occupied with the revolt, came round to my opinion; and, after admonishing me to remain perfectly loyal, he dismissed me.
In spite of the reluctance of the Ashraf to surrender their arms, they were gradually obliged to give them all up; and, having achieved this much, the Khalifa now set to work to mature his scheme of revenge. Twenty days perhaps had passed since the beginning of the outbreak, but we were still kept in constant readiness, watching day and night over our master. He now summoned the two Khalifas, the Kadis, and the chiefs of the Ashraf and Danagla to a meeting. He reproached the latter severely, saying, that in spite of his previous pardon, they had shown great reluctance in obeying his orders, they seldom attended prayers, and were scarcely ever present at the Friday morning parades; he also had the Mahdi's proclamation read out to them. Then, true to the system adopted by his predecessor, of acting entirely in accordance with prophetic inspiration, he announced to the meeting that the Prophet had appeared to him, and had commanded him to mete out punishment to the disobedient, whom he had mentioned by name. Thirteen persons in all were included in this category: Ahmed Wad Suleiman, whom he detested, headed the list; then followed Shenudi, one of the Khalifa's secretaries, a Dongolawi who was under suspicion of sympathising with the rebels and giving them information of the Khalifa's plans. One by one, as each name was called, the unfortunate wretches had their hands tied behind their backs, were carried off to the prison, and thrown into chains; a few days later, the Khalifa sent them by boat, under a strong escort, to Fashoda, where Zeki Tummal had them closely confined for eight days in a zariba with scarcely any food or water, giving them only just sufficient to keep them alive; then, in accordance with the secret instructions he had received, he had them beaten to death with freshly cut sticks from thorny trees. The execution took place in front of the whole army, and, before this cruel operation began, their clothing was ruthlessly torn from their emaciated bodies.
Immediately the insurrection was over, the Khalifa despatched two of his relatives, Ibrahim Wad Melek and Saleh Hamedo,—the former to the Blue and the latter to the White Nile,—to arrest all the followers and relatives of the Ashraf, who, being absent, were not included in the general amnesty. In compliance with these orders, upwards of a thousand men were sent in shebas to Omdurman, where they were accused by the Khalifa of having taken part in the conspiracy. For many days, they were kept in close confinement, huddled together in the prison-yard, and in hourly dread of execution; but at length the Khalifa pardoned them, on condition that they should share all they possessed with him; and of course the poor wretches had to agree to these conditions. Orders were issued to carry out the distribution in accordance with the curious arithmetical rules instituted by the Khalifa, who, of course, received the lion's share; on their return to their villages, they found themselves divested of almost everything they possessed. Those who had been well off were left with a mere pittance; and the poorer members had nothing, whilst they found their daughters had been dishonoured, and their wives abused. Deprived of all their arms, they had to submit to the inevitable; but in their hearts they longed for some opportunity of revenge. The Khalifa, after having taken all he required of their property for himself and his brother, distributed the remainder amongst the western Arabs, and of these, the Jubarat section, to which he belonged, was given the largest share. This roused the discontent of the other tribes, to whom the Taaisha had for some considerable time been a constant source of annoyance; not only were they given the preference in almost every case; but they were over-bearingly insolent, and whenever complaints were made to the Khalifa or Yakub, the petitioners were invariably sharply rebuked. During all these disturbances, the natives in the provinces and the various garrisons had remained quiet; and their commanders had received secret instructions to gradually disarm the Danagla, of whose disloyalty there was no longer any doubt.
Abdullahi now turned his attention to the Mahdi's two uncles, Mohammed Abdel Kerim and Abdel Kader Wad Sati Ali. He affirmed he had received information that they were indignant about his actions, and had been guilty of instigating others against him; they utterly denied the charge, but were sentenced by Kadi Ali to imprisonment. The Khalifa ordered them to be put in chains, and sent on to Zeki Tummal, who, as usual, was provided with secret instructions.
Zeki's forces had dispersed all the Shilluk gatherings throughout the country, and destroyed their villages; but, an epidemic of typhus having broken out amongst the men, the Khalifa ordered him to quit Fashoda and come with his entire army to Omdurman, but, before doing so, to raid the Dinka tribe, who had already made their submission without fighting, seize their cattle and enslave their wives and children. These unsuspecting Blacks were summoned together under the pretext of a great feast; and, when all had assembled, they were massacred almost to a man, and their wives, children, and cattle carried off. Whilst on this expedition he met, near Gebel Ahmed Agha, the boat conveying the Mahdi's uncles; and, having perused the letters from Omdurman, he ordered the prisoners to be landed after sunset. The wretched captives, knowing the fate that was in store for them, besought pardon, but were only jeered at by Zeki Tummal; they were taken inland, and their heads were split open with the small axes which are used in the Sudan for lopping off branches of trees.
Zeki Tummal now returned to Omdurman laden with booty; he brought with him thousands of female slaves, and immense herds of cattle, the sale of which brought in a large sum of ready money. Most of Zeki's Emirs indignantly complained of his tyranny, and even asserted to the Khalifa that, if he could obtain sufficient followers, he would not hesitate to make himself independent; but the latter, by making rich presents of female slaves, money, and cattle to the Khalifa and his brother, succeeded in remaining in their good graces.
Whilst Zeki Tummal was in Omdurman, the Khalifa carried out a series of manœuvres between his forces and those quartered in Omdurman, and personally took the command; but as he had absolutely no idea of military science, and as the thirty thousand troops of whom he disposed were entirely without discipline, the manœuvres resulted in the most hopeless confusion and disorder; and the blame for this invariably fell on my devoted head, for the Khalifa employed me as a sort of aide-de-camp, and when he became inextricably muddled up he hurled abuse at me, and said I had purposely perverted his orders to make mischief. Of course, I did not dare remonstrate with him, and quietly continued to carry out his orders. At length he declared the exercises over, ordered Zeki Tummal off to Gallabat, and, as was usually the case, commended me for my services, and presented me with two Black young ladies as a proof of his good-will.
Meanwhile, Khalifa Sherif had heard of the murder of his two relatives, and openly protested against this tyrannical proceeding; thus giving Abdullahi an opportunity of taking the revenge for which he had so patiently waited. He declared him to be guilty of disobedience to the instructions which the Mahdi had so strictly enforced, and of inattention to the Divine inspiration of the Prophet. He therefore ordered Khalifa Ali and the Kadis to take him to task for the manner in which he had expressed himself, and to point out to him that the entirely false impression he had of his own rights as Khalifa had brought about the death of his own relatives and followers. Promptly assembling all the Kadis and principal Emirs, they decided that Khalifa Sherif should be immediately arrested; on the following day, the mulazemin being formed up in square on the open space between Abdullahi's house and the Mahdi's tomb, they went in a body to him, informed him that he was to be arrested, counselled submission, and advised him to come with them of his own free-will. Too late, he now realised what he had brought upon himself by his careless and ill-considered talking. Going outside, he was received by the mulazemin under the command of Arabi Dafalla; when he asked for his shoes, they were refused him; and, on coming out of the mosque, he was driven and pushed along at such a rate that he twice fell to the ground from pure exhaustion, arriving at length at the Saier in a deplorable condition. Here six irons were hammered on to his legs, so that he could scarcely move; and a small straw hut was allotted to him as his abode. Cut off from all intercourse with his fellow-creatures, and with only the bare ground to lie upon, he had ample time to realise that the sacred promises given by a Khalifa were of no avail when it was a question of upholding his authority, or satisfying his thirst for vengeance. The Mahdi's two young sons were sent to their grandfather, Ahmed Sharfi, who was ordered to keep them closely locked up in his house, and allow no one to see them. This Ahmed was an old man, and had made an immense fortune by robbery; fearing to lose it, he was as submissive as a slave to the Khalifa, and had thus to some extent gained his affection.
Soon after this occurrence, I passed through a period of considerable excitement. Yunes had sent on a man from Dongola to the Khalifa; he had come from Cairo, and was charged with important information from the Government. He was received personally by the Khalifa in the presence of all the Kadis. I had a foreboding that the man's arrival was somehow connected with me, and I endeavoured to discover from one of the Kadis, who was a friend of mine, what had happened; he hurriedly told me that I had nothing to fear, and advised me not to show the slightest interest in the matter, lest I might be suspected. After prayers, the Kadis and the messenger were again summoned before the Khalifa, and, to my great relief, I saw the man soon afterwards tied hand and foot and carried off to prison. My comrades were quarrelling amongst themselves as to the cause of the man's imprisonment; but, mindful of the advice I had received, I was careful to abstain from any interference. The following day, when I had gone to my house for a short time, I was suddenly summoned by the Khalifa, and found several of the Kadis with him. In compliance with his orders, I seated myself down with them, and he began to speak. Turning to the assembly, he informed them that he had continually urged me to be loyal, that he cared for me as a father cared for his son, and that he had steadily refused to believe the numerous accusations which were, from time to time, brought up against me; and then, turning to me, he completed his speech with the Arabic proverb, "Where there is no fire, there is no smoke," adding, "but with you there is a great deal of smoke. The messenger said yesterday that you are a Government spy, and that your monthly salary is paid to your representative in Cairo, who forwards it to you here. He affirms that he has seen your signature in the Government office in Egypt, and that you assisted Yusef el Gasis to escape; he adds, moreover, that you are pledged to the English, in the event of an attack on Omdurman, to seize the powder and ammunition stores, which they know are situated opposite to your house. We have at once had the man imprisoned, for he formerly escaped from here; what have you to say in your defence?"
"Sire!" I replied, "God is merciful, and you are just. I am no spy: I have never had any communication with the Government; and it is absolutely untrue that I receive a salary which is forwarded to me here. My brothers, your mulazemin, who go in and out of my house, know that I am often in the greatest want, and it is only my deep respect for you which prevents me from complaining; but if he states that he has seen my signature, then he is guilty of a second lie, for I am certain that he is quite unable to read any European language. I will, if you wish, write on a paper several names, and amongst them my own; if he can discover it, then it will be a proof that he can read our language; but that will not necessarily prove that I am a spy." "And what else have you against the man?" asked the Khalifa. "What service has the man rendered to Government," I continued; "that, supposing I am a spy, I should trust this fugitive with my secrets. As far as Yusef el Gasis is concerned, you, my master, well know that he escaped at a time when it was absolutely impossible for me to have any communication with him. I, who am always near you, have no intercourse with people who assist others to fly; and even supposing I had, and that I were a traitor, it would certainly be much more natural that I should have escaped myself. It is quite possible the English may know that my house is opposite to the powder magazine; for the man who, with your kind permission, brought me the letters from my brothers and sisters knew it, and, in all probability, told them about it. It is also possible that my relatives with whom, at your express command, I have ceased to have any communication, should make inquiries about my welfare through the Government clerks and merchants who sometimes go from here to Cairo, and who probably know the position of my house; but the assertion that, in case of war, I had engaged myself to seize your ammunition stores, is quite ridiculous. As far as I can judge, the Government would never dare to attack you, who are the ever victorious and unconquerable Khalifa, in your own country; and if this well-nigh impossible event should take place, how do I know that I shall be in my present house at that time? Moreover, at such a critical period, my hope and desire is to stand in the front rank of your victorious troops, and there seek an opportunity of proving my loyalty and devotion by shedding my blood in your cause. Sire, I rely upon your justice, which is well known to all; will you sacrifice one who has been for so many years your devoted servant, to the whim of a Dongolawi who is one of your enemies?" "How do you know that the man who has given evidence against you is a Dongolawi?" asked the Khalifa, quickly. "Some time ago I saw the man at your gate with Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi esh Shahid ("the martyr," as he was called after his death),[16] and owing to his forwardness and impudence I had to call on your mulazemin to remove him by main force; no doubt he now wishes to revenge himself, and at the same time curry favour with you, by casting suspicion on me. You to whom God has given wisdom to govern your subjects, will also judge me righteously and fairly."