The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-08-18
THE FALSE PR0PHET OF THE SOU
DAN

tiE FALSE PkOPHETO OF THE SOU
DAN.
Mohammed Achmct, the false prophet
of the Soldan, is the product at once of
an intense religious fanatieism and an
oppressive system OF government His
aim is thus religious and political while
his religious pretensionS are probably AS
sumed only rs means To gain politi-
cal end. He has posed rs n savior of the
people at atime when Aioslem famiticism
has become greatly revived. ana when
the country was ripe for an insurrection.
The worst clelnent az q discontenfedE Ehnl
naturally turbulent population have
gathered aronHl5 him. Circumstances
have favored him in the SOudan much as
they have favored Arab pasha in Egypt.
tie is now at the head of 4 revolution
which for the Egyptian Soudan is as
great. ifnot greater, than that which Is
running Egypt itself. What connection
he may have, if. any. with the party of
revolution in,EgyPt, il is dillieHlt-to say.
After again aud again defeating the.
troops sent against him. he is at last coal
plete master of the situation Erylpt
has, for the present at least, lost her
harlly-won possessions in the Soudau,
which, if they ever belong to her again,
or if they are ever again opened to com
merce, or TO any civiIizing and religious
influence, must be reconluered with a
large army and mach expenditure of life
and money. 1t may be interesting, there
fore, briefly to- note some of the causes.
which have letbto tliis rsvolutioTi. and to
trace the career of its victorious leader.
The Soudan is a generalyterqn appiiea'
to that vast and vaguely defined region
of Central Africa lying between the equa-
tor on the south aud the Great Desert on
the north, and stretching from east to
west nearly across the continent The
Egyptian Soudan is generally supposed
to begin ut Assouan, or the first cataract
of the Nile on the North, but perhaps
might more properly he said TO COM
mence Mt thepoint where the Nile makes
its great westward bend. 1t extends to
the Great Lakes on the south, and from 1
Abyssinia on the east,.t to and inclusive /
of Darfur and the provinces of the Bahr
FL GuaZal on the west. This extensive |
region, many times larger than Egypt
itself, was not conquered by tie Egyp-
tians all at once, but has been annexed
piece by piece, and ut no, time. can it be
said to have been thoroughly subdued or
fully occupied The Egyptian sGovern-
ment at Cairo was continually short of
funds, and the Soudan, in company with
the remainderof Egypt, was the. victirn
of many abuses. The Government as
sumed the monopoly of almost every
thing on the White Nile, even 10 the sale |
of seven poor parrots, one of which was
blind and another lame. Contracts were
sublet to the farmers of taxes. Each !
agent made handsome profit for him
self, so that when the taxes, which coy
cred every conceivable means, of indus |
try down to the wheel which raised the
water from the Nile, were paid by the
laborer, they were many times larger
than the orIgiiIal cxhorbitant apportion-
ment, and we even heard of cases on the
White Nile where the same taxes were col |
lected two and three times oyer by differ
ent efficiaIS Such being the methods
of the Government, made. doubly
obnoxious by the corrupt officials who
carried them out, it is not to be won
dered at that there was very general
spirit of discomfort; but never had there |
appeared leader who for any length of |
time could maintain successful opposi- |
tion to the Egyptian Government till Mo |
hammed Achmet proclaimed himself the |
Mundi. or successor of the Great |
Prophet, the expected teacher and savior |
of the people. This claim was suggested |
oy tne general beiiet existing. among the
Mosiems tnat toward the end OF the
woriu successor anu expounder OF the
frophet. and fuller reycaler of the |
will of God, was to appear. This be-
mel IS founded on various passages and |
intimations IN the Koran, like the fol-
lowing; say unto those OF Mecca:
ihis IS my way: invite you unto God
by an evident ntdemonstration; both | and
he who followeth me. The popular
superstitioa prescribes certain signs and
evidences byrwhich this prophet is to be
identifleuF some of which Mohammed
Achmet'1 said to have shown While he !
has failedln others Several such pre-
tenders lare5 alfeady appeared one IN
the vicfn5y ~ ,iunis' anothersiH'Ss Ssout n
ern ARABIA. pu. none OF. then nave. sue
ceeGed IKE Nohammed Acnmet
Inns man was porn IN the reglop OF
Dongoia, on the western ibank " the
Nile' where 1t makes Its great bend. lie
was poor man. carpenter and-ooat-
ouiiuer pl ..raee. he Irst came inl2 no.
toriety on tne large island OF Aooas' SIT
uated ABOUT zvV miies soutn OF hfareoum,
Here, after the fashion OF the iaklrs and
noly men, nc Withdrew from society ana
deVoteq nimseii 10 prayer anu ineuita-
uon- he soon had a large Following;
anu PIoclaiinee hlinseiI lne eAPec,so