Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-11-25
The False Prophets Advance.

tNftNEp lttYe&.
The London Standard prints a long ex-
tract from letter written by DIR. Schwein
furth, the celebrated African exDlorer. as
to the operations of the Mahdi. the False
Prophet, in the Soudan. It brings us the
nrst authentic intelligence concerning
TINS remarkable person, and although the
letter was written in the latter part of
october, nothing has transpired since its
date to lnyalidate any of its statements.
At the time Of writing DR.. Schweinfurtb
says that the whole SOudan is on fire and
that everything that the march Of civiIiza-
tlOn has done for that country
during the last three-quarters of
a century Is now in danger of
being lost All the provinces south and
west of khartOum are in the hands of the
Mahdl's insurgents, and khartOum it.
sell, which IS the most advanced strong
mold OF Egyptian power, is in danger.
Inc Egyptian army has been reduced one
ha1 by decentralization, desertiOn and de-
Ieat. The vast mass Of the population Ofthe
SOudan believes in the False Prophet In
June last the Egyptian army was COM
manded by an incompetent general. 1t was
half starved, and was exhausted with
long marches, and in this condition was led
against the ferOciOus troops Of the Mahdi.
ana 5000 Of them were massacred like
sheep. lie has 10000 of these troops un-
der him, all good hOrsemen. though not
we'll armed. but they fight, it is said, with
desperate bravery. as they are urged on
by religious fanaticism. As to the MahdTs
future plans, DR.. Schweinfurth SAYS:
''As soon as Obeid, which they are now
besie@ing, shall have fallen. the army is
expected to march on hhartOum, where
Abd-el-kader Pasha. the Governor Gen
eral, is doing all he can to strengthen his
position. The spirit, however, that reigns
amongst the people cannot allow us to
hope for much. many Of the inhabitants of
the capital being secret partisans of the
Mahdi. Abd-el-kader has consulted the
Ulemas in order to take their opinion as
to the orthodoxy Ofthe False Prophet. The
Ulemas have proved from the Koran that
the Alahdi, of whom the Prophet spoke.
the Redeemer of the world, would come
from the East. Now, MOhammed Hamed
as the Mahdi Is called, comes from the
West (DOngOla). The verdict of the Ule-
mas has been printed and 5000 copies
have been distributed among the govern
ors Of the provinces; but the people believe
that this Is only a trick of the govern
ment, and that the Ulemas have not so
decided. 1t is said the Mahdi wherever
he goes cOmpels the population to confess
their belief in him. When the saw ''AIIah-
in-Allah,'' etc, he requires that they
should add to the phrase the name Of
Mahdi; whoever refuses is cut down with
Ottl pAAN 4 iAt ltitd bA the MdlQl IS TO
make himself master of the whole SOudan:
to invade Lower Egypt. convert its inhabi-
tants, and march against the Turks,
whom lac regards as inidels. Having
succeeded in this, he Will proceed to Mecca
IN order to establish the millennium reign
and to convert the universe"
The triumphant progress of the Mahdi
reminds one of the victorious marches of
MahOmet and the summary manner in
which he surmOmHed every obstacle that
stood in his way. The religious excite
ment which seems to have spread through
the SOudan also has its parallel in that
which MahOmet's revelations inspired on
his return from Medina to Mecca, but here
the parallel ends. MahOmet fought idol
ateTs no better armed than himself and
ready TO desert at any time when promised
slaves and booty. The False Prophet may
advance To khartOum. and even bevOnd.
while fighting his own kind, but
when he comes in contact with Euro
pean civilization he and his hOrdes will
soon disappear. Even religious fanati-
cism cannot make headway against drilled
and disciplined troops, Krupp guns and
long range rifles. The False Prophet will
never get far beyond the confines of the
SOUdan ON his road To Mecca against the
power of the khedive, who cannot afford
the loss of his provinces, the power of the
Sultan. who cannot allow any one to wrest
the Holy Places from him. and against
the power of England, who cannot afford
to have Egypt menaced by any outside
force, whether political or religious. a
few regiments of troops led by European
officers Will restore order in the SOudan.