Now that I was alone, I had time to think over the situation. It was very probable we should succeed in retiring on Dara, we had over eight hundred rifles and guns. But I bitterly deplored the losses; all my best officers and advisers were killed, and I dreaded lest the news of our disaster should reach Dara before I could communicate, as, in the event of this, the effect might be most serious both on the garrison and amongst the inhabitants. I therefore woke up my clerk and ordered him to write two short notes,—one to Zogal, and the other to the commandant, Adjutant-Major Mohammed Farag, informing them that, in spite of heavy losses, we were well, and that we hoped to return to Dara in about a fortnight; but should fugitives come in and spread false and alarming news about our situation, they were to be arrested and kept under guard till I returned. I myself wrote a few lines to Gottfried Rott, describing the situation, and informing him that I hoped to return to Dara before long with the remainder of the troops; that he must not be down-hearted, but should do his utmost to keep up the spirits of all. I enclosed also a note to my mother, brothers, and sisters, bidding them farewell, as it was impossible to foresee what would be the end of all this trouble. In case I should fall, I begged Rott to send these on to my dear ones at home.
Taking the letters in my hand, I now went to Abdulla Om Dramo, Sheikh of the Messeria Arabs, who resided near Dara, and, waking him up, I said, "Where is your brother Salama?" "There he is," said he, pointing to the man lying beside him, and waking him up also. "Salama," said I, "you can render me a great service, which will also be of much advantage to yourself. You see these letters, you must take them to Dara and hand them over to the European Rott, whom you have often seen with me; I shall give you my own horse, which you always say is such a good one, for this mission. You must leave at once, and when you get near the line of the enemy encircling us, ride sharply through, for they are all asleep, and you will have disappeared in the dark before they can get their horses ready; once through their lines you will be safe, and in two days you should be in Dara. As a reward, I, will give you my black mare, which is in my stable." Whilst I was talking, Salama had tightened up the cloth round his chest and loins, and merely said, "Where are the letters?" I gave them to him, and, taking them, he said, "Please God and with the help of the Almighty I shall take these letters to their destination. But I prefer to ride my own horse; he may not be so swift as yours, but he is quite strong enough to take me home on his back. I know my horse, and he knows me. Mutual acquaintances are always an advantage on such expeditions." Whilst he was girthing up his saddle, I scribbled a line to Rott, telling him to give the bearer of these letters my black mare, and, handing it to him, I told him what I had written; then, leading his horse to the gate, we came to Said Agha Fula, who was lying restlessly and in pain on his angareb: he was wounded in the right leg and left arm. I told him about Salama's mission, and he then ordered the gate to be opened. In a moment Salama had mounted, and, holding in his right hand his long spear, and in his left his bundle of small spears, he started off. "I commit you to God's keeping," I cried. "I trust in God," was his reply. Going slowly at first, he approached the lines cautiously; then I heard the rapid clatter of hoofs, in a few minutes one or two rifle-shots rang out in the still night, then all was as silent again as death. "May God go with him!" we all ejaculated, and then re-entered the zariba. Exhausted nature now claimed me, and, utterly tired out, I was soon fast asleep.
When I woke up at early dawn I found the men already at work strengthening the breastworks, and, as I had anticipated, the enemy renewed their attack at sunrise. For some time a very brisk fire was kept up on both sides; but, owing to our dominating position the Arabs were at length forced to retire, after suffering considerable loss. On our side there were a few killed and wounded; amongst the former being Ali Wad Hegaz, a Jaali, and one of the best and bravest of his tribe. As it was our intention to remain here four or five days, the men busied themselves in strengthening the zariba, and we also buried the bodies of friends and foes in the immediate vicinity, as already the air was contaminated with the fetid smell of decaying corpses.
Amongst my men were two Bazingers whom on a former occasion I had employed to carry messages to my friend Lupton, who had succeeded Gessi as Governor-General of Bahr el Ghazal. It now occurred to me that it would be advisable to let him know the situation in Darfur, and ask him, should he be not otherwise occupied, to make an expedition against the Rizighat and Habbania Arabs, who in the wet season took their cattle into his province. I had ascertained that trouble had broken out in the Bahr el Ghazal as well, from a wounded Rizighat slave-hunter who had fallen into our hands; and he had told me that the Janghé tribe had revolted. Sheikh Janghé had attached Telgauna and sacked it; but having been subsequently defeated, he had joined Madibbo, and had been present with two hundred men in yesterday's action. However, I had no doubt that Lupton was better off than I was; and, provided the Government officials were loyal, I knew he had nothing to fear, for the tribes were too disunited to join in common action against the Government. Besides, the religious factor, which was the bond of union amongst the northern tribes, did not enter into the Bahr el Ghazal situation, where the majority of the Black tribes were pagans.
In the Bahr el Ghazal the most important tribes, who are principally negroes and negroids, are the Janghé, Farogé, Kâra, Runga, Fertit, Kraitsh, Baya, Tega, Banda, Niam Niam, Bongo, Mombuttu, etc.; all these were entirely distinct from one another, having their kings or rulers, and there were continual feuds between them. It was this fact which enabled the Nile Arabs to enter the country with comparative ease, as Zubeir Pasha had done; it was a very simple operation to collect a number of the inhabitants, train them to the use of fire-arms, and utilise their services to invade a neighbouring tribe. These savage chiefs were too ignorant to understand that by combining in their opposition to foreign intrusion they would probably have been able to preserve their own integrity; but it is contrary to the traditions of these tribes to be ruled by any but their own chiefs, unless it be by Arabs or Europeans; and this fact accounts for the ease with which the slave-hunters pursued their nefarious traffic, almost unopposed, throughout the length and breadth of this vast province, which is peopled by the most warlike races in the Sudan, and who are capable of making excellent soldiers.
To Lupton, therefore, I decided to write, requesting him to advance against the Arabs on the Bahr el Ghazal frontier,—an operation which would certainly weaken the latter, or at least prevent them from entering Darfur. These few lines I concealed in a dry pumpkin gourd, and despatched by the hands of the two Bazingers.
We passed five days in the zariba, attacked once, if not twice, every day. During the action fought on the third day Koreina Nur, the commander of Madibbo's gun-bearers, and the bravest and boldest of his Arabs, was killed; and henceforth the enemy's attacks diminished greatly in vigour.
But now we had a new enemy to contend against,—famine. Almost everything eatable in the camp had been consumed; the camel meat, which had amply sufficed for the men, was now finished; there was not a grain of dhurra left; my officers and I had lived for some time on some old crusts of dhurra bread, which we had cooked with the leaves of a plant called kawal, and stirred up into a sort of tasteless porridge. We had no prospect of being relieved, to stay longer where we were was impossible, and already we were weakened by want of food; I therefore assembled the entire force,—consisting of nine hundred men, almost all of whom were armed with rifles and guns, except a few Arabs, who, being ignorant of fire-arms, prepared to trust to their lances,—and, addressing them in a few words, I told them that the blood of their dead officers and chiefs cried to them for vengeance; that their wives and children anxiously awaited their return, but that it was impossible to reach them without enduring troubles with patience, and facing difficulties with courage and endurance; and I closed my harangue by saying that those in whose hearts was fear had left us in the day of battle, but those now before me had bravely stood their ground against overwhelming odds, and that I had no doubt they would do so again, and that God would crown our efforts by victory.
A shout, and the shaking of rifles and guns over their heads, which is their usual method of signifying their obedience and courage, was their reply; and I then dismissed them, with orders to prepare to march the following day. I now took out the hammers from the percussion guns belonging to the killed, which lay heaped up in the middle of the zariba, and threw them into a rain pool; but of the stocks I made a bonfire. The filled shells for the gun I threw into the water, and as much ammunition as possible was distributed amongst the soldiers, each man carrying from sixteen to eighteen dozen rounds; but all the percussion gun ammunition I was obliged to destroy, in case it should fall into the hands of the enemy; the lead in the cartridges was removed, and some of the very severely wounded having just died, I placed it in the open graves, over which we laid the bodies of our poor comrades, as guardians of our precious metal.
It was on a Saturday, the seventh day after our disaster, and just after sunrise, that we marched out of the zariba, and, forming up in square with flank and rear guards, we began our retreat. The only two camels remaining drew the gun in the middle of the square, and I sent out two Arab horsemen as far as possible on each side to scout. We had one hundred and sixty wounded inside the square, and as many of them as could march did so; but the most severe cases we mounted on the few remaining horses, each horse carrying two or three men. I myself was prepared to walk; but, at the urgent request of my officers, I mounted, so as to obtain a better view over the country. We all knew that when we had marched some distance from the zariba we should most certainly be attacked; I therefore had the gun loaded, and we resolved to sell our lives dearly. We well understood the Arab mode of fighting, and were confident that if we succeeded in driving back the first two or three attacks, we should not be further molested. It was decided the line of direction should be northeast, as the ground was more open; but we were ignorant of the whereabouts of the rain-pools, as our guides were either killed or had deserted.