CHAPTER V.
SPREAD OF THE REVOLT IN SOUTHERN DARFUR.
I arrive at Dara—Despatch of an Officer to Shakka—Character of Zogal Bey—Return to El Fasher—Causes of my Unpopularity with the Officers—Disturbances at Om Shanga—The Southern Tribes join the Revolt—I make Dara my Headquarters—The Power of a Woman's Tongue—Immorality of the Maalia Tribe—Sheikh Madibbo threatens Shakka—Cowardly Conduct of Mansur Helmi—I proceed to his Assistance—I commence my Campaign against the Southern Arab Tribes—The Night Attack on Madibbo's Camp—Mansur Helmi's Cowardly Retreat from Shakka—He deserts his own Men—Courageous Conduct of Ali Agha Juma—I decide to retake Shakka at all Costs—Difficulty of enforcing my Orders.
When I quitted El Fasher for Dara, early in 1882, I was accompanied by three hundred and fifty mounted men under Omar Wad Darho. This large escort was quite unnecessary, but I thought it advisable to show the Arabs that the Government had plenty of troops at its disposal to suppress any trouble on their part.
On arrival at Dara I visited poor Emiliani's grave, and put up a stone to his memory. Zogal Bey was administering affairs here as Acting-Governor in his place, and the general aspect looked very troubled. The southern Arab tribes—the Rizighat, Habbania, and Maalia—were in revolt; they held constant meetings, in which it was declared that Dervishes were flocking to the standards of the Mahdi, who had been sent by God to raise the Faith, and remove the oppression and tyranny of the hated officials; it was said that, armed merely with sticks, they had gained victory after victory over the Government troops. Emiliani, whom I had previously sent to Shakka to report on affairs there, had been driven to distraction by the constant quarrels between Madibbo and Egeil Wad el Jangawi of the Rizighat tribe, and had ended by discharging Madibbo and replacing him by Munzel, who had previously acted for many years as principal Sheikh. Madibbo, enraged at this insult, had joined his own section, the Aulad Mohammed, who had immigrated at that time towards the Bahr el Arab for pasture.
I now sent letters to both Madibbo and Egeil, ordering them to keep their Arabs well in hand and stop these meetings which were being held, and at the same time I instructed Madibbo to come and see me and talk over his personal and tribal affairs. Just at the time I was despatching these letters, news arrived that, owing to the disturbed state of Shakka, the forty soldiers previously sent by Emiliani to assist the Sheikh in collecting the taxes had been obliged to turn back, and were now within two days' march of Dara. I therefore ordered Mansur Effendi Helmi to proceed at once to restore order with two hundred and fifty regulars and twenty-five horsemen, and instructed Ismail Wad Barnu, who, it will be remembered, had been the intermediary between Gessi and Suleiman Zubeir, to accompany him. At the same time I sent word to Abakr, Sultan of the Begu tribe, who was thoroughly loyal, and particularly well acquainted with the Rizighat country, to join the expedition.
My instructions to Mansur Helmi were to act leniently with the Arabs, but at the same time with such discretion that the interests of the Government should not suffer. I gave him, however, full powers to put down disturbances by force if other means failed. He marched off via Kalaka, whilst I returned forthwith to El Fasher to collect the various detachments of troops which were out in the district gathering taxes, and prepare for all eventualities. Before leaving Dara, I had a long and serious interview with Zogal. I had known this man well when I had been Governor here, and it had come to my ears that he and Omar Wad Darho had had several talks about the Mahdi and his doings, and had agreed that should he continue to be victorious they would join him. These two men were the richest officials in Darfur, and exercised great influence in the country: their secession would have been very serious; I therefore thought my best plan was to show them great friendliness, and do all that was possible to avoid a breach occurring between us. In my conversation with him I therefore made no allusion to his meetings with Darho, but confined myself to pointing out that he, being a relative of the Mahdi and at the same time a high Government official, it behoved him to support lawfully constituted authority to his utmost. I reminded him that he had been born in Darfur and had been only an ordinary merchant, but that Government had recognised his capacity and had given him one position after another, which he certainly could not hope his cousin the Mahdi would be able to confer on him. I urged him not to be deluded by the exaggerated rumours he heard of the Mahdi's prestige, and above all begged him to put aside all idea of his being credited with a Divine mission. Sooner or later, I said, the Government must be victorious, and all those who had failed to support it in times of difficulty must expect severe punishment. I urged him to think of his women and children, who, by an ill-considered and thoughtless step on his part, might be placed in great difficulties; and I wound up by saying that I did not speak to him now as his official superior, but as to a friend who had worked together with me for long, and whose true interests I had at heart.
I think Zogal was favourably impressed by what I said; he admitted that as a relative of the Mahdi he could not help being struck by all that was going on, but at the same time he was most grateful for the favours bestowed on him by Government, and he would seize every opportunity to prove that he was truly loyal. When I asked him point blank whether he was in personal communication with the Mahdi, he denied it, but showed me letters which the Mahdi had written to several of the religious Sheikhs, inciting them to revolt, which he had intercepted. On inquiry, I found that the bearer of these letters had confessed to the battalion commander that he had received them from the Mahdi for distribution; I therefore ordered him to be tried by court-martial (the country being now subject to martial law). He was condemned to be shot, and in the interests of discipline I ordered the sentence to be carried out.
In saying good-bye to the officers and officials, I pointed out the absolute necessity of strict attention to their duties, and told them I would return from El Fasher as soon as possible; and, leaving the mounted troops in Dara, I departed for the capital, where I arrived after three days' march. The first news received was that the telegraph-station at Foga had been destroyed by the Homr Arabs, that the entire country in the neighbourhood of Om Shanga was unsettled, and that several people who were out in these districts collecting wood had been captured and enslaved by the Arabs.