As there was no officer of Mansur Helmi's rank in Dara, I sent him under escort to Fasher, with instructions to Said Bey Guma to deal with his case in accordance with the written depositions; at the same time I told him to send me two hundred infantry, also some ammunition and lead.
Meanwhile, I ascertained that Madibbo had returned to Deain, rebuilt his village, and concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Sheikh Abu Salama. On the day I arrived in Dara I sent back the faithful and brave Afifi to Kalaka. He was very anxious not to go; but I told him that should his tribe revolt, he had permission to bring his wife and children to Dara; in the meantime he had better be with his people.
In order to dissipate any idea on the part of the rebels that I intended to sit down quietly and watch events, I despatched Ali Effendi Esmet with one hundred and eighty regulars to Hashaba, two days' march south of Dara,—one of Abu Salama's villages,—with orders to wait there till I had collected my forces. The news from the Om Shanga district was satisfactory. Omar Wad Darho, with his four hundred horsemen, succeeded in keeping the Arabs under; he had several skirmishes, and once or twice some losses, but on the whole he was successful. The continual strides now made by the revolt in Kordofan made postal communication more difficult than ever; all I could do was to send short cypher messages, very few of which ever reached their destination. One of my principal objects in keeping Darho at Om Shanga was that, in the event of the troops in Kordofan being successful, he could advance east, and, combining with them, reopen the post-road.
Zogal Bey, who was with me in Dara at this period, was performing his duties in a satisfactory manner. He was opposed to my getting reinforcements from El Fasher, saying I need not be so mistrustful; however, there was no doubt he had received letters from his relative, the Mahdi, but I do not think he answered them in writing: in fact, affairs in Darfur were not altogether unsatisfactory, and he was now certainly more careful and attentive to his duties.
During my stay here I did my utmost to collect Bazingers, and by promises to the Gellabas I succeeded in getting many of them to place their servants at the disposal of the Government. I also utilised the services of an old officer named Abdel Kader Wad Asi, who had formerly commanded the irregular cavalry in Dara, to collect as many horses as he could; and in a few days he got together upwards of one hundred and fifty. Meanwhile I had written to Sultan Abakr el Begawi—head-Sheikh of Berket—and to the Messeria and other tribes, to get ready and follow me to Shakka. Some of these readily obeyed the call; and as to those who hesitated, I did all I could, by working up tribal jealousies, to increase the ill-feeling between them and our enemies. Abder Rasul Agha, who had fled from Murrai with Mansur Helmi, I had imprisoned; but as he had on previous occasions shown capacity, and as my available officers were getting scarce, I released him, and put him in command of the Bazingers who were to remain behind in Dara, and told him to do all he could to procure more. Most of the arms in store at Dara were old double-barrelled guns, flintlocks, and a few damaged Remingtons; these I had roughly repaired, and distributed to the Bazinger recruits. I had not much ammunition, and urgently ordered more to be sent from El Fasher. About a fortnight later, one hundred regulars duly arrived under Said Bey el Fula, a brave Sudanese, who brought me letters from Said Bey Guma. In these, my representative at the capital informed me that he could not send the ammunition, as he had no camels, and if he took them by force from the people, he feared the result; as soon as he could procure camels he would send me the ammunition and the other hundred men. In reply to this I wrote back somewhat shortly that the despatch of the ammunition was an urgent necessity, and that if he could not obtain the camels from the Arabs, he must get them from the officers and employés on payment; I told him that I had to do this in Dara, as there were no other camels available in southern Darfur. It was perfectly clear to me that orders sent to El Fasher were not carried out with expedition. It was useless to waste more time; I therefore quitted Dara,—leaving behind an adequate garrison,—and set off for Hashaba, where it had been arranged the various friendly tribes would meet me.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SIEGE AND FALL OF EL OBEID.
Said Pasha, Governor-General of Kordofan, prepares to defend El Obeid—The Mahdi attacks the Town, but is repulsed with Great Loss—The Missionaries at Delen fall into the Mahdi's Hands—The Siege and Fall of Bara—The Horrors of the Siege of El Obeid—Said Pasha is forced to surrender—His Interview with the Mahdi—The Search for Treasure—The Mahdi's Miracles—Effect of the Fall of El Obeid on the General Situation.