The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-10-10
THE END OF ABDULLAH
ENGLAND's SUCCESS WILL TER
INMATE HIS CAREER.
he and Osmun Dignn VIII he
crushed by the Next Move
of the British.


be obliterated by the now assured success
OF the Anglo-Egyptian army in the work
OF reclaiinng TO civilization the ZOO DOC
square miles and the unknown millions of
inhabitants composing the great Egypt-
IAN Soudan. These two men are Abdullah
CT Ialshi, Khalifa, successor of the NAH
d. ana OSman Digna, the leading mill
tary spirit of the mahdist army.
When England first began the Soudan
campaign 1t was believed that her pur-
pose was merely to drive the mahdists
out OF Dongola and reclaim the district
which had been wrested from her by the
fal OF Khartoum and General Gordon's
murder. But now it seems that the
whole or the vast Soudan is to be brought
under the iron hand of the British en-
pre-. 1t Will be no light task and may
require years of fighting, but this will be
no novelty for England It took her more
imam three-quarters of a century Of
lghting to complete the conquest of In
ala, ana while the known riches of the
Soudan DO not compare with those of In
ana, the region is worth the struggle.
Dongola is now in possession of the En-
Sllsh, and the invading forces have the
Hahdlsts on the run. This marks the
nrst chapter of the fall of the Khalifa
and Osman Digna, two of the most unique
ana terrible characters the world over
century or two hence, when the people
read of the careers of these men, thew
VIII probably regard the close of the
nineteenth century as n barbarous age
Tor permitting such prodigious rascals to
survive
or the two, the bigger rascal is the
khallfa. In measure he is not unlike
the sultan OF turkey. He has urged the
massacre of tens of thousands of his
subjects simply because he regarded them
as obstacles to his continuance as the
mahdis successor. The mahdi died on
June p. 1885, after three years Of power.
and Abdullah as the chief khalifa. was
appointed to succeed him. Abdullah was
the mahdis choice for the throne. and
he was nominated for the place lust be-
Iore the mahdi died. The word of the
mahdi was law, but the choice was not
an agreeable one, and almost ended i'm
internecine strife, which would have dis
rupted the strangest nation on the face
of the globe.
The Baggara Tribe.
The opposition was due to the fact that
Abdullah was the chief of the Baggaras.
the most tyrannical. murderous and fear
1ul tribe in the Soudan. The elevation of
Abdullah meant supreme power for mis-
immediate followers. the Baggaras The
two other leading tribes, the Danaglas
ana Joalins. know the Baggaras would
show them small mercy, and the past Il
years has proven the truth of this pre-
dction.
The Danagla is the native tribe of the
Dongola region and the Joalin tribe be-
longs to the neighboring country. while
the Baggaras are interlopers Prior To the
accession of Abdullah the Danaglas ana
Joalins We're the rulers. Now they are
the ruled, the Baggaras having the whip
hand. During his reign of II years three
ttths of the population of the Soudan
nave persisted by war and famine. much
OF the misfortune being due to Abdullaa.
In times of famine he has given permits
sion to the Baggaras to plumber the other
tribes, and the Baggaras were fat and
strong wanting nothing, while the others
died by thousands, and the living ground
up the bones of the dead to make a kind
Of flour for bread.
City of Omdurman
The center of this strife is Omdurman.
where the khalifa lives. This is a city of
10000 inhabitants, Immediately across the
river Nile from the ruins of Khartoun
Omdurman will probably be the next OBJ
iective point of the invading army. and
the journey viii be a long one
Dongola, the place just captured. marks
the northern boundary of the khalifa's
domains. From Dongola his country runs
along the Nile in a southern direction for
,5UO miles. East and west the khalifa's
land is about $50 miles wide, running
from the western limits of Kordofan to
Abyssinia in the east. Omdurman is stu
lted half way between Dongola on the
north and the southern boundary of La
10. To reach Omdurman it will require
many months of weary travel even If the |
INVADERS are not hampered by Osman
Oigna and hordes of dervishes That the
English will be hampered is a certainty.
tor the first time they are now really in !
ne enemy's country. and the highly |
Praised valor of the dervishes will now be |
tut to the test
An Able General
OhuuTman' where the khalifa lives. has |
peculiar history 1t was built almost in |
day and has many fine structures. the |
most notable being the tomb of the mahdi |
ma the palace of the khalifa Abdullah |
a fanatic of the blacklist stripe. and |
when he became ruler his first step was |
o dot out every vestige and recollection |
II Egyptian rule in the land. Many of the |
hclehJ cities We're destroyed and new
tiles erected from the ruins a few hun
red yards away. A year after the NAH
death the llhallfa gave orders for
very one to move out of Khartoum with
D three days. on the morning Of the
curtin day great hordes of men were set
/ work tearing down the BUILDINGS and /
nhtefatlng every mark of the great city
ne work was thoroughly done. AS fast
s. a house was torn down the pieces
zero taken across the river and n new
ouse erected I'm a few days the new
iiy' omdurman was as great as Khar-
cum had been
The khalifa is only 46 years old. and
nile great soldier during the lifetime
[ the mahdi, he is now a gross volupu-
~, spending most Of his time with his
umerous wives. He has grown fat and
disinclined for outdoor work, but is
lore cruel and shrewder than ever Out
ardly he is not pleasant to look upon.
us face shows the raVages of smallpox,
Is eyes are bulging, and the eyelids
roop He is almost as dark as a negro,
nd Is unable to read or write. !
The Rise of Omdurmnn.
Osman Disna is as shrewd as his mas
y, but not as cruel He is now about GO