The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-11-29
The Annihilatlon of an Army.

tween the fanatlcal forces OF III Mailul,
the False Prophet, and the Egyptian army
of Hicks Pasha. For two days, from the
Sd to the 5th, the conflict waged, and at
it's close the Egyptian forces, numbering
10000, were swept from the face OF the
earth, only one man being left to tell the
tale.
The army of Ell Mahdi is said to be Il
wild horde of religious fanatics, composed
of heterogeneous mass of negroes from
the Soudan, and Arabs and Bedonins from
the desert. Under the leadership of man
who claims to have been divinely COM
missioned as the restorer Of the faith and
the scourge of the iniidel, two hundred
thousand of these mad fanatics are now
marching on the Notifications of the Nile,
with view to the establishment OF the
Mohammedan religion throughout all the
country surrounding. For two years Ell
Mahdi has been gathering around him
bands of ignorant adherents who believed
in his coming as the fulfillment OF q
prophecy that leader would appear who
would conquer the enemies of Islam, re-
store the purity of the faith and reign SUI
preme in the world He was to come, ac-
cording to Mohammedan belief, clothed
with the authority of the last prophets,
and amid signs and wonders that would
make manifest to the faithful the
sanctity of his mission. In his person,
| the False Prophet claims that the proph-
ecy is seeking it's fulfillment, and raising
the sacred green banner of Mahomet, he
proclaims a religious war, and guarantees
| to all who enlist under its folds the re-
wards which await the faithful. Soudan.
the scene of his exploits, is an extensive
region south of Egypt, which has of recent
years come under the rule Of the VicerOy.
1t comprises Lower Nubia, the provinces
Red Sea. Ell Mahdi undertook to release
his followers from all responsibility to any
authority save adherence to his cause, and
thousands of the superstitious and fanat-
ical flocked to his banner. Various expe-
ditions have been sent out against him
during the past two or three years, but all
have proven more or less unsuccessful, while
the forces of the False Prophet continued
to grow, and the fanaticsm he inspired
spread throughout the length and breadth
of the Mohammedan land. His recent
victory will but strengthen his pretensions
and more thoroughly arouse the religious
| which 70 a tanv]a cunb G no lno6C
renders them insensible to danger, and
eager to meet death for a cause deemed
so holy. AS his army advances, it vii
receive accessions at every turn, for the
country will rise with him. 1t is now
more powerful than any force in Egypt
and may prove serious menace to thu
commerce of thu Red Sea-
The story of the False Prophet, as w
gather it from accounts of him, is an in
teresting one. His fathers name was Mo
manned and he was u carpenter. Young
Ahmed followed his fathers calling, ant
while pursuing it cut off the fingers of hi:
left hand. This mishap proved to be TIN
making of young Ahmed, for he then ful
filed all the conditions of u prophecy
which read that son the LIST of the montl
of Maharrem in the year 1900 Nov. 18th
1882, will appear FL Mahdi or Messiah
He will be exactly forty years of age AM
of noble bearing. One arm will be longe
than the other. His fathers name will b
Mohammed and his mothers name Fati
ma, and he will be hidden for time prio
to his manifestation.
Ahmed is described as knowing how t,
read and write and possessed of certain
eloquence.
He gave up carpentering and took t.
reading the Koran in the public places an,
haranguing the crowd. He then travele,
all about the country, making '.stum
speeches. on religious subjects. The pee
pie used to listen to him at first through
curiosity. Soon he made himself respected
and in few years he acquired an enor
NOUS ascendency over his ignorant fol
lowers, who had never before heard sucl
an orator. People used to come on foo
hundreds of miles to see him. The Shell
travelled about like second Peter tn
Hermit but, unlike Peter, he gave him
self up to personal ambition. There wa
constant rivalry among his hearers as t.
who could lay before Sheik Ahmed tn
richest offering. The prudent Sheik store'
up these presents, and having becOm
wealthy he set himself up as a prophet
The motto which he adopted was, ''Th
whole world shall follow me and obey me.
Endowed with no ordinary imagination, b
uttered certain predictions, to which hi
credulous but already submissive disciple
attached implicit faith. According to on
of his prophecies, on November IL. tn
first day Of the new Mussulman century
1900 after the Hegira-he himself was t.
be proclaimed, at Khartoum, prophet an,
ruler of the Soudan. Having convince
his followers that he was in direct com
muncation with the Almighty, he used
while addressing them, suddenly to becOm
silent, and, closing his eyes, to remain mo
tionleSs for several minutes. He carrie
this trick to such perfection that not tn
slightest movement was perceptible Will
' he simulated CONF. after which he ap
peared to recover from a state of profoun
, lethargy, cast wondering chances aroun
him, and exclaimed, with al air OF con
viction IL come from Paradise. where
have been with Allah and His Prophet
, How would like to tell you of all | sa,
, and heard. but you would not be able t
understand it. His followers became s
uCFOuCu w Hill gu a. ois3iesi lloL illu
they were ready to sacrifice their lives
At, last the Mahdi announced that ALA
; had definitely chosen him to he His prophet
, which caused such enthusiasm among hi
adherents that he seized the opportllnit
to surround himself by kind of court
The expense incident thereupon was read
, | lily betrayed by his partisans. 1t was the
T that Reuf Pasha, at the time Governor o
the Soudan, determined to arrest tn
Mahdi and put an end to his proceedings
At first an: attempt was made to dsarn
him by persuasion, but afterward 200 mel
were sent to take him prisoner. The Mahd
had, however, already large number o
followers, and the small detachment o
troops was ANONYMOUSLY put to flight
; That was the beginning of the revolt il
the Soudan.
The December number of the Virginia.
will contain an article urging the Legisla
ture of Virginia to enact general railroad
law, and to provide for census of tn
State in 1885. The first proposition is ON,
that we have long favored and pressed i
upon the Legislature in the memorabl,
session of 1912, when the lobby tool
possession of that body in the in
terest of certain railroad charters. Tn,
most forcible argument that can prevail
in its favor is that it would do away en-
tirely with corruption funds to DrOcur,