The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-08-05

presenting himself as the son of centuries o
expectation. Prophet and foretold Messiah o
Islam, VINO now with crusading army /!
steadily advancing from the SOudan along thu
Nile toward Egypt and the present scene o
strife.
To those who follow the motions Of Eastern
thought the appari,iOn of FL Mehdi is nc
matter Of surprise, since for while among
Mohammedan peoples there has been a visible
stlr--a gathering anxiety and unrest-ant
among the African and Asian tribes an arts
ing of holy hope and awful expectation fol
the time was drawing near when the tamou.
tradition, received by all sects of Mohamme
dams, should be fulfilled that II Centuries ago
on Il certain Friday, in the mosque at Medina
the Prophet MOhammed himself said when
there shall remain but one day of the days OF
the earth, God shall prolong that day, and
shall send forth from my house man bear
ing my name ard the.name of my father, and
he shall purify the earth from injustice and
fill it with that which Is right" More speci
tic traditions witnessed the coming of a
"Mehdl" and the final overthrow of the
Turkish power and CalIphate of Constantine
pie, in the year of the lIeglra 1900, which is
1882 of our era. More minute predictions
furthermore declared his lineage, and certain
personal peCullarities. One of his arms for
other he was to be hidden for u time before
his appearing, and he was suddenly to be re.
vealed. Another prophecy declared that his
vicercgent Is to be named Abdul otalleb (the
name OF the Prophet Mohammed's GRANDPA.
ther), and TINS is the name Of the presen, She
reef OF Mecca, now believed to be cOnspirlng
against the Sultan of Turkey.
An accepted prophecy OF this kind can of
course be trusted duly to fulfill itself. To es-
innate the effect OF Il tulfileut upon the eager
minds of The waiting Moslem tribes, it Will
be helpful to remember that the heightened
rule of the Turk, though making HIM appear
in Western thought rs the head and front Of
Islam has by no means established his title
with vast numbers OF Moslems Of Arabia and
Africa. In those unchanging lands, among
multitudes carefully preserving scores, or
even hundreds, Of pure lines OF descent from
MOhammed, the Sultan of Turkey is still a
foreigner and usurper. Six centuries have
passed since the grandson Of Genghis Khan
ended the line of temporal successors of Mo
manned in the slaughter at Bagdad Of the
Callph Mostasem, whose noble kinsmen Of
the house OF Abbas had relgned for 500 years.
Five centuries have passed since BaiaZet
bought the patent of Sultan from the Caliphs
serving In Egypt under the yoke of the Ma
meukes. Yet among the Moslems of the
desert these events are freshly remembered.
The Mussulmans Of pure blood know also
that the Ottomans can as little even claim
kindred with the Tartar khans of the line of
Genghis as they can style themselves success.
sors of the apostle OF God.
The prediction, therefore, and now the ap
pearance OF the man calling himself Ell Mehdi
have excited very different feelings at Con.
stantinople and among the Arabs and the
of India. The appearance of
the promised Messiah, coming, like true
MOslen, sword in hand, in u kingdom of this
world, rising as an autOcrat, and restoring the
primitive faith of Islam, means an attempt to
overthrow the Turkish power. The penetrat-
ing sagacity of the Sublime Porte has long
since employed every manner Of asserting the
rights OF the Sultan, as Callph, 70 command
the support of the faithful. The newspapers
of Constantlnople. especially those printed for
circulation IN India and Africa, are continually
filled with appeals 10 Mohammedans every
where to rally around the Caliph against
They denounce England and
call upon the Mussulmans of India to rise
against her. They denounce France and ap.
peat to the African Mohammedans to unite
and expel the Christians. These articles il
may be imagined, have far more 10 do with
the conflicting claims OF the Sultan and Ell
Mehdi than with any projected war against
AS the late Sir Henry BHlwer
said: "When the Turk does anything, con.
slider what IS the reasonable, straightforward
to place on that act. Then
eliminate absolutely that conclusion. Any
other may be possible; but that certainly will
not be-"
Meantime events are rapidly marching.
There have been several pretenders to the role
Of the Mehdi, one near Tunis, one IN South
ern Arabia, but the only one deserving serious
thought is the False Prophet" of the Soudan
called the false prophet by the unbelievers
who has already subjected that vast
ISOLATED province Of Egypt, and at the head of
4 large ana increasing army never yet checked
Dr turned by any force which has been sent
against 1t, is reported to be already halt way
from KhartOum to Cairo. This man appears
70 unite all the traditional marks of the Mehdi.
Reputed of the lineage OF Mohammed, OF the
ribe Of koreish and the family of Hashem,
he most il,rstrious Of the Arabs, Princes of
Mecca and hereditary guardians of the Caba,
he has the physical peculiarly of a right arm
reaching below the knee. He was born in the
Dongola country, near the great bend Of the
Nile. He was poor man, by trade o carpen-
Ter and boatbuilder. Following the tradition
he went into retreat, retiring to the island of
Abbas, about 200 miles south OF khartOum,
where he withdrew himself from the world
snd occupied himself with meditation and
prayer Issuing suddenly, he proclaimed
himself Ell Mehdi, dispatchlng letters through.
nut the country, and Immediately acquiridg a
arge following. An expedition sent against
lim by the authorities at Khartoum was de.
eated with great slaughter though the forces
If the prophet were armed only with spears,
against the Remington rifles of the troops.
81 Mehdi then retreated about 200 miles fur
her southwest and took u strong place of de-
ense among the mountains Here great
numbers of Arabs joined him. and being here
gain attacked by the government forces, he
defeated them so utterly that not one,enth of
hem escaped. A third expedition being sent
against him, he cut off and wholly destroyed
whole detachment. and, falling upon the
nam body, killed 1000 out of 5000 and cap.
ured 1900 rifles and four cannon, No force
lelng then left IN front of him. Ell Mehdi al.
'anced on khartoum, and has continued his