CHAPTER VII.
FROM 1900 ONWARDS.
1900.The new year opened auspiciously by the capture of Osman Digna on the 18th January by Captain F. Burges, Mamur Mohammed Bey, and a police patrol, in the Warriba Hills, some 90 miles south-west of Suakin. This notorious Emir was sent to Rosetta to join the other Dervish prisoners, and is now (1904) at Damietta.
Sudd and Survey expeditions.All the rivers were exceptionally low during the winter of 1899-1900, and the various expeditions and survey parties which were now started off had much difficulty in getting through to their posts.
Major Peake commenced clearing the sudd on the last day of December, and succeeded in opening a channel in the following April (vide [p. 304]). Sir W. Garstin also came up to study the Bahr el Jebel and Bahr el Ghazal rivers.
At the end of February parties of English (Uganda) (under Captain Gage), French (under Lieutenant Tanquedec), and Congolese (under Commandant Henry) troops arrived at Omdurman, having been found by Major Peake trying to cut their way through Block 3. The Uganda and Congolese parties were sent back, and the French (who were evacuating the Bahr el Ghazal) continued their journey to Europe.
Abyssinian Frontier.With the object of coming to an arrangement with Abyssinia regarding the frontier between that country and the Sudan, two surveying expeditions were sent out towards the end of 1899, under Major Austin, D.S.O., and Lieutenant Gwynn, D.S.O., respectively. The former, with Lieutenant Bright, surveyed up the Sobat and Baro Rivers to Gore, and thence in a southerly direction to the Gelo, returning viâ the Pibor River to Nasser. Owing to obstruction on the part of local Abyssinian chiefs Major Austin was unable to penetrate to Lake Rudolf, but the geographical results of his expedition were most useful. Lieutenants Gwynn and Jackson started up the Blue Nile to Famaka, thence south along the edge of the Abyssinian plateau, and across the Sonka to the Garre river, whence they returned viâ Nasser, after doing much valuable survey work.
On 22nd December, 1899, Sir R. Wingate was appointed Sirdar and Governor-General, vice Lord Kitchener, called to South Africa.