Harûn, a relative of the late Sultan of Darfur, and a claimant to the throne, took advantage of the discontent caused by the misgovernment of the province to raise a revolt in February, 1877.1877. He had a very large number of men with him as the nomad tribes, who had not helped the Sultan when Darfur was conquered in 1874, now joined his standard.
These tribes were semi-independent under their own Sheikhs, and each of them could put from 2,000 to 6,000 horse or camel-men into the field. They were largely engaged in the slave trade, making raids on the negro tribes to the south, or buying slaves from other nomad tribes who lived out of range to the west. Though the traffic of the large slave caravans had ceased, yet there was still an extensive trade carried on by small dealers, which it was impossible to put down.
The Governor of Darfur at this time was Hassan Hilmi Pasha, who showed no energy, as up to May he had failed to render assistance to the stations of El Fasher, Dara, Kolkol, and Kebkebia, where the followers of Harûn had hemmed in the Egyptian garrisons. A force had, it is true, been sent from Foga for the purpose, but seemed unable to accomplish the task.
Gordon arrives in Darfur, June, 1877.Gordon arrived himself at Foga on the 7th June, having dismissed, before his departure from Khartoum, Khaled Pasha, who had been sent to him as second in command.
In addition to the revolt in Darfur, Suleiman, son of Zubeir, was now at the head of the slave dealers to the south, and, having a large force at his command, was displaying a threatening attitude. Shakka was his headquarters, and the nest of the slave trade in that part. Gordon, considering the country was scarcely worth keeping, determined to call in all the outlying stations of Darfur, and merely maintain garrisons along the trunk road through El Fasher. Harûn was at Tine, and Gordon intended to move against him with the force at his disposal, reinforced by the garrisons of Taweisha, Dara, and Kagmar, in all about 3,000 men. In July he was at Dara, and Harûn retreated to Tura, whence he ravaged the country to the north, but, seeing Gordon was too strong for him, disappeared for the time.
Meeting with Suleiman, August, 1877.Gordon was at El Fasher in August, but soon after left for Dara, where he heard that the slave dealers were gathering in force. Here he met Suleiman and ordered him to lay down his arms; after some hesitation Suleiman left a large number of his men with Gordon and returned to Shakka; to this place Gordon followed him about the middle of September, and sent him to the Bahr El Ghazal, while the other chiefs he dismissed to various places. The slave trade was thus broken up for the time being in this direction, and very large numbers of slaves were liberated. There were, however, upwards of 4,000 more slave hunters to be dealt with in the Bahr El Ghazal, but Idris, the chief of these, was friendly to Gordon.
Mikael again giving trouble, 1877.Gordon now returned to Khartoum, viâ El Obeid, and proceeded immediately to Bogos, where he heard that Mikael had resumed hostilities. In March, Gordon had proposed to King Johannes that Egypt should retain Bogos, but be answerable for the conduct of Mikael. Now, however, seeing that the latter was not to be trusted, he proposed to King Johannes to join him in seizing and sending him to Cairo. To this Gordon received no answer, and Mikael continued his aggressive action.
On December 26th Gordon writes:—“I am now waiting for a letter from Ras Barion, the frontier General . . . I want to get Johannes to give a pardon to Walad Mikael’s men, in order that, if I have to attack them, I may be able to give them the chance of getting away. If I attack them now, with Abyssinia closed to them, they would fight desperately.”
Visit of Gordon to Harrar, and dismissal of Rauf Pasha, the Governor, April, 1878.At the end of the year Gordon, getting no satisfaction, returned to Khartoum by Suakin and Berber, and, having paid a visit to Cairo, again started for the Red Sea provinces. Having touched at Zeila, he went on in April, 1878, to Harrar. Here he found Rauf, the Governor, had been guilty, not only of oppression, but also of illegal trading on his own account, and immediately dismissed him.
Fresh trouble now arose on the Abyssinian frontier. In March, Walad Mikael attacked, defeated, and killed Johannes’s general, Ras Barion, and got possession of Gordon’s letters, which revealed his real intentions. Mikael had been enabled to make this raid by the assistance rendered to him by Osman Pasha, Gordon’s Wakil, who supplied him with ammunition, and in addition received a congratulatory letter from the Khedive’s Minister of War, urging him to press on his conquest. However, he did not follow this advice; before long he came to terms with the King, and all seemed quiet for a time, though further troubles were soon to crop up.