Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-07-23
Life at Obied.


piacod by square. ill-proportioned hut.
| constructed Of corn-stalks, and rooted
with rude mats woven from straw or
palm leaves; o mass of dismantled mud
houses rising In the center, with here
and there cluster Of palm leaves, and
you have fair idea OF the picture pre-
sented by Ell Obcid, the headquarters of
the new Mussulman prophet. FL Obeld
owes its present name to legend which
attributes to white ass the discov-
cry of water In the locality. The orig
| inal name of the town was Kordofan,
and Il Is still alternately known by that
name. On this point there seems TO be
some confusion In the public and official
mind, as Kordofan Is frequently spoken
of rs having separate and distinct ex-
istence. This is not SO. Kordofan be-
fore Il became historical as Elbe Old
was fourishiDg town Of some thirty
thousand inhabitants, and the chief CEN
ter Of trade with the province Of the
same name and the southwestern re-
gions Of Darfur The legend relates
| that at a, time when the water difficulty
was pressing, u white ass of the town
used to 90 into the neighboring desert,
and, digging up the sand with his fore
feet, supply himself with water 1T few
inches from the surface. This trick
| was In time discovered, and. the people
Of the region profiting by the discovery,
the town Of Kordofan was enabled to
extend and grow to importance. The
| legend which attributed this important
discovery to Fl Homar ell Abbiyad Chat
is, "the White Ass,") grew at the same
time. The event became celebrated in
common speech Us LEI Abbiyad," the
White. and this in the local dialect is
pronounced FL Obeid. Hence the new
name, which Is likely not soon to be
forgotten. On tho capture of Ob9d by
the Mehdi's followers, the distributing
trade of which 1t had been the center
almost disappeared, and rs many Cd
| the principal merchants rs could get
away fled to KhartoIm, Berber,
Dongola, or Darfur. 1t Is calculated
that the normal population fell from
| thirty 60 twenty thousand. This loss,
however, was moro than made good by
the arrival Qf from thirty-iive 60 forty
thousand of the Mehdi's army, who
campcd In the place and still surround
their chief. These are the core of the
Mehdfs forces. Wherever he goes they
accompany him, and act the part of a
oorps d'elito whenever there is heavy
fighting to be done. AS these men are
animated ut once with the religious and
socialisthc fanaticlsm which the Mchdi
has succeeded in awakening, their
presence In Obeid Is not likely to lead
to any permanent extension of the town,
II II should not, on the contrary, lead to
its disappearance. For ii must be re-
mcmbercd that the socialism of the
Mehdi's followers differs considerably
from the socialism OF the Paris fall-
bourgs. Their ideal Is essentially Arab.
They do not pine after national work
shops and regulation by Government OF
every act OF their lives. What they
desire Is that there should be no Gov
eminent except the Government OF
Allah and the Koran, and of course
their prophet. They want no soldiers,
no pashas, no bimbashas to bully and
rob them. II there Is any fighting TO be
done they will do II themselves; and as
for police, with their spear and shield
they will do their own police duty, too.
The tendency, therefore. of the present
movement Is to destroy towns, and
with them the evils which grow with
their growth, and to return to what
seems 10 them the natural state of man
the free, wandering life Of an Arab en-
campmcnt With these views, it is not
wonderful that almost tho first act OF
tho Mchdi on capturing Obcid was, as |
have already stated, to issue orders
that no one should live in house.
However disagreeablc this ukase may
have been, il had to be obeyed. Most
Of the houses are in ruins, and if no
event should happen to disturb the reign
of tho new prince of Kordofan, " it is
probable that Obeid will exist only as
On Arab encampment. To the wild
man Of the south even garden is an
abomlnation, and at Barra. the many
beautiful gardens which existed before
the war have been almost wholly dc
stroyed, the Arabs cutting down the
fruit trees aud giving their branches a,
fodder to their camels. The regular
followers of Mohammcd Ahmed have
constructed for themselves huts o.
straw, such as may be seen IN any BE
douin encampmert IN the desert abou
Obeid, so that in the mere matter of eX
tent the town has assumed the proper
tons d o city of straw.-Cor. LOnHol
Nous.