There are two sorts of locusts, the yellow and the bright red, and they have infested the whole country from Kordofan to Dongola and to Tokar. They came in such swarms that at times the sun was obscured; on one occasion they passed through Omdurman, and took from two to three hours to do so. The rushing sound they made alarmed the people greatly, and wherever they established themselves they left the place completely bare. They demolished the hard palm leaves so completely that it seemed as if they had been cut with a pair of scissors; even the bark of the trees they did not spare. Where-ever they settle they look like a big cloud, which completely covers streets, roofs, and walls. Sudanese, as a rule, sleep out of doors, so that their beds were covered as well, and as soon as one swarm was driven off another settled.
Locusts are considered by the Sudanese as a great delicacy, and when well roasted in butter they taste like fried fish; the locusts generally came between June and September, just when the harvest is ripening or the new crops sprouting after the rains. There is no attempt made to destroy their eggs. Another plague was mice: these little animals, which are of a reddish colour, came in such quantities as to drive the cultivators to despair. No sooner was the seed in the ground than the mice had rooted it up and eaten it. Often the fields had to be planted two and three times over; and then when a heavy rain came the mice would all be drowned, and as the water subsided the ground would be covered with the dead bodies of these little animals.
It seemed as if the entire Sudan lay under a curse. The people knew it too, and looked upon it as God's righteous judgment on them for the evil deeds they had been prompted to do at the instigation of a wicked and false Mahdi.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE KHALIFA AND HIS GOVERNMENT.
The Khalifa's system of government—His household—An outline of his character—His system of prayers in the mosque—His visions and dreams—His espionage system—His household troops—His great activity and circumspection—The great Friday review described—The emigration of the Baggara and western tribes to Omdurman—The flight of Sheikh Ghazali—Management of the beit el mal—System of taxation.
This chapter I propose to devote to a brief description of Khalifa Abdullah and his system of government.
Abdullah is a Baggara of dark chocolate-coloured complexion, with a long and prominent nose; he wears a short beard cut according to the Moslem custom. When I first saw him at the siege of El Obeid he was very thin, but now he is extremely stout, and his skin hangs in great folds underneath his eyes; he has a strong clear voice, and though well instructed in Arabic, he cannot conceal his Baggara dialect and accent.