The seven thousand Arabs which had been reported did not appear, for they had gone to swell the force at Kordofan and the real enemy confined itself to the Arabian domains in the province. The west stations were strongly fortified. Several of the unimportant ones had been abandoned, but Amadi, a strong frontier fortress and the bulwark of Lado, was surrounded by ramparts and had a large garrison. It could resist the onrush of the enemy possibly until the rainy season, but after that help must come from Khartoum.
Meanwhile the days slipped quietly by without bringing any decisive result, good or bad. Emin had grown gray from anxiety. He would not surrender his province to the enemy at any cost, but was it in his power to drive back the Mahdists when they came by hundreds of thousands? On the other hand, there were all his faithful ones, his negroes, who loved him like a father, exposed to an uncertain fate. He resolved to do everything possible to hold the government of this beautiful country, though he knew not whether there was still a government.
The governor concealed his anxieties and doubts from his officials so as not to dishearten them and determined upon an undertaking which should divert the thoughts of the people from the uncertain future. He decided to strengthen the defences of Lado and with the help of the soldiers and natives to dig a deep moat around the station and utilize the dirt thrown out as trenches. The work was directed by Mahmoud Effendi, an Egyptian officer, who had served in the last Russo-Turkish war and was a very skilful engineer. Hundreds of men worked from morning until night and by the end of October the moat was extended to the river. The Nile was then at its high stage and the water flowed into this new canal, in which later draw wells were made for watering. At the main entrance to the station, from the west, a passageway was left. Dr. Junker advised the construction of a small drawbridge at that point and Mahmoud Effendi supervised and constructed it very skilfully, notwithstanding his scanty material. Emin and Dr. Junker in turn daily supervised the work, which was now progressing satisfactorily. Some little pieces were played by their trumpeter for the encouragement of the soldiers and Emin Pasha himself often enjoyed it among his sugar canes and lemon trees.
In the meantime there was a lack of the most necessary things. They lived principally upon the red durra, a species of millet, which had a bitter and unpleasant flavor. There was a certain amount of meat on hand, far from sufficient, however, and in place of other drinks they were supplied with a liquor made by themselves and served in such abundance to the soldiers that it resulted in universal drunkenness. The coffee was almost too bad to drink, being adulterated with mallow seeds. Sugar had long given out and honey was used in its place. Emin had made a valuable collection of ivory with which in Europe he could have procured himself and his officials the choicest dainties and all imaginable pleasures. There, however, it would purchase nothing and it was unlikely that the valuable stuff could be taken to the coast and made of any use.
Their clothing was in rags. Wool was spun by the negroes, but unfortunately the material was lacking. Skins were tanned and used as garments and they imitated a practice of the savages. They stripped the bark from certain trees and by careful scraping it produced a pliant stuff of a beautiful red or yellow color which hung from their shoulders in picturesque folds. Their shoes were very neat, for a skilful negro made them precisely like the European. Shoes were really indispensable there as the roads are so rough that unshod feet are easily injured.
The Christmas festival drew near, but it brought no pleasure. Emin and Junker sat together one evening. They had not a drop of wine. For a year and a half they had had no news from the outside; not a word of encouragement had reached them. Many a time they felt as if they should never again meet with their own kind, as if they were spellbound in a strange world among fierce savages and bloodthirsty men. Their simple and often scanty dinners were marked by a ceremoniousness and an expense in service which would seem amusing to an unprejudiced spectator. On New Year’s Day, 1885, Dr. Junker put on a fine, light gray European dress, saved over from better days, and came to wish the governor good luck. The officials went to the divan to greet him and were received in order according to their rank and served with sherbet, coffee, and cigarettes, treasures set apart for this day’s pleasure which gave all the more satisfaction as they had been so long deprived of them.
During all this time Emin Pasha never left Lado. Notwithstanding all his anxiety his scientific activity remained unabated. He took observations of the weather every morning and entered them in his diary. He paid a skilful Arab, Gason Allah, for keeping up his collection of stuffed birds. The Arab came early in the morning to receive his orders concerning hunting expeditions and sometimes the region thereabouts was traversed a week at a time to secure birds of different kinds. Emin Pasha himself was too shortsighted for hunting; indeed he could hardly recognize a person ten steps away. His warm interest in scientific studies helped him pass away these lonesome hours.
Thus we see the genial man in the midst of the alarming dangers which menaced him on all sides and the pressing cares which weighed him down, sitting quietly like a true philosopher and statesman and attending to his duties. Nothing can disturb his lofty thought, his proud calmness, his unshaken self-composure. He presents the type of a man whose mighty influence these uncultivated Arabs and negroes could not resist, and which strengthened all in holding out against the danger encompassing them on every side.
Chapter V
The Enemy Approaches
Thus patiently waiting, each daily duty was accomplished. Then came alarming news from the north. Kerem Allah spread broadcast this proclamation of the Mahdi written in the bombastic style of the Orient: