But the sufferings of thirst became more and more intense. The caravan saw that there was another means of salvation. They came in great crowds to the Shereef, and said to him,—“Thou must at once give us water, or we will take it by force. It is not just, even in the eyes of God, that thou shouldst have an abundant supply whilst we are dying of thirst.” The Shereef persisted in his refusal, so they burst into his tents, and distributed his water equally, leaving him only his exact share. His numerous slaves, therefore, soon began to suffer from thirst, and the greater part perished. The Shereef himself, however, with his children and three camels, contrived to push on to Jalou, and escape. From this place he, and the rest of the caravan, returned with hired camels to where they had been obliged to abandon their wealth, their bales of gum, their elephants’ teeth, and their ostrich feathers. The whole was transported to Bengazi and sold. But the Shereef Ahmed obtained an opinion from the Ulemas of Tripoli, that the caravan was responsible for all his losses. When he returned, therefore, to Wadaï with this opinion, and was restored to the viziership, he persecuted all his travelling companions, and cast them into prison and spoiled them, so that he obtained many times the value of what he had lost. For this conduct, however, he was punished after the death of Saboun; for the people, irritated by his tyranny, rose against him at Noumro, and killed him, and burnt his body, and cast the ashes to the wind.
It was from the Grand Kadi of Wadaï, who passed through Cairo in the year 1257 (A.D. 1841), that I got information about the death of Saboun, and the events which followed. It appears that the Sultan went out after dark, incognito, on a visit to his mother, who lived in a village about a quarter of an hour from Warah. He remained some hours, and returned on horseback. As he advanced, he saw two robbers driving away a cow, and riding upon them, frightened them away. He told two slaves who were with him to seize the animal, and went in pursuit of the thieves, who separated, one flying to the right and the other to the left. Saboun followed closely at the heels of one of them, who, finding he could not escape, turned fiercely round, and exclaimed,—“What wouldst thou with me? I have abandoned my prey.”—“I want to seize thee.”—“Take my advice, and go back.” Saboun paid no attention to these words, and rushed upon the robber, who cast a javelin at him, and inflicted a mortal wound. The slaves led him back to the palace, where he died in three days.
After him reigned first his son, named Abd-el-Kader, and then another son, named Kharifein, who so provoked the people by his tyranny, that he was murdered. To him succeeded his young son, named Rechib, chosen by the conspirators. But he soon died of the small-pox, and, being buried secretly, was replaced by a boy, who was instructed how to play his part. After another short reign, a younger brother of Saboun, with the assistance of a Darfur army, succeeded in placing himself on the throne of Wadaï, where he now reigns. A quarrel which arose with his allies was the cause that the pilgrim caravan of Wadaï, instead of passing through Darfur as usual, went by way of Aujalou to Egypt. But let us here check our pen, which hurries too far and fast over these historical events. Lengthy details engender weariness; God and the Prophet know what has been and what shall be.
CHAPTER IV.
Beauty of Wadaï — Compliments to its Fertility — Comparison with Darfur — The two Capitals — Contracted Characters of Fadhl and Saboun — Inhabitants of Wadaï — Beautiful Women of the Koukah — The Goran — White and Black Women — Government of Wadaï — Language — Recent Civilisation of Wadaï — Punishment of Adultery — A Bornouese Army — Love of Peace — The Fasher of Warah — The Osban Guard — Gates of the Palace — The Town.
The sovereigns and the peoples of Soudan look upon the establishment of the kingdom of the descendants of Seleih, or, in other words, the kingdom of Wadaï, as a most wonderful and memorable event. Their country, indeed, seems to be a rose amidst other flowers—a large garden in which streams wander, so bountiful has Providence been to it of its blessings. On all sides pure and limpid waters of argentine transparency, and gardens filled with brilliant flowers, are to be seen. On the banks of the rivulets the arrak weaves its branches into thick hedges, where the nightingale trills its song, rejoicing the heart and charming the soul.
Wadaï is broader than Darfur, but not so long. Its territory is much more generous. There is the same difference between them as between to-day and yesterday, between the sun and the moon, between a garden and a desert, between paradise and the great fire. There are, it is true, some few places in Darfur the soil of which something resembles that of Wadaï, but the greater part of the former country is sandy, and almost deprived of water. The Forians, therefore, who inhabit these deserts are puny, thin, and have a yellow tint in their complexion; they are, so to speak, always thirsty, and are compelled to portion out water as if they were in a ship that has lost its reckoning at sea. But in Wadaï, nearly everywhere there are springs of living water; nearly everywhere there are leafy trees filled with the songs of birds. From the province of Saba on the east, to the river which forms the extreme boundary of the kingdom on the west, there is no place where it is necessary to take in a supply of water. At each village, during the twenty-two days which the Traject requires, there are wells, and streams, and trees, and fields. The country is nearly everywhere thickly peopled; and one village gives more profit than ten villages of the neighbouring country. Compared to Wadaï, Darfur may be said to be ruined. The same distance separates them as separates the Pleiades from the earth. Whoever would depreciate Wadaï would act like the legitimate wives of a harem, who look upon a beautiful concubine just introduced, and exclaim in their jealousy and bitter hatred,—“How ugly she is!”
The people of Wadaï, although less civilised than the Forians, are of a more generous nature and a more hospitable character. All the princes of Soudan admit that the administration of no country is so well organised. The capital, Warah, is wonderfully situated and laid out; it is shut in by mountains, so well disposed that there are only two approaches, one of which could be defended by ten men and the other by two. The soil of its territory is excellent, neither too hard nor too sandy, whilst that around Tendelty reminds one of the plains of Arabia, the foot of the traveller sinking in, whilst dusty whirlwinds constantly arise. At Warah the dwellings are better constructed than at Tendelty. At the latter place both enclosures and houses are made of millet-stalks, except that the Sultan has two little brick warehouses where his most precious garments and weapons are kept, to preserve them from fire. But at Warah most houses, with their enclosures, are of masonry, and the palace of the Sultan is composed of a number of pavilions with solid walls, and bow-windows with trellis-work. A kind of rampart, instead of a hedge of thorns, surrounds it, as the halo surrounds the moon.
In Darfur there are no lands that are worth those of Wadaï, except in the western provinces. But all the districts of the latter country are rich and fertile, and well-peopled. In Darfur most of the villages are nearly devastated by the violence and tyranny of the governors. The few places that are well inhabited are those whose chiefs have sufficient power to excite fear. Beyond, all is desolation. The sufferings of the people, when I was there, were extreme. Mohammed Fadhl was yet young; he passed his time in pleasure, in riding, in drinking, and with women. His governors overwhelmed the people; every one feared to possess wealth; there were no longer any ranks or classes; the lowest kind of people were promoted to the greatest honours, slaves became viziers, the most respectable and revered men became humiliated.