Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1896-09-11
THIRTEEN YEARS AS A SLAVE.
Adventures Of an Italian Priest in the
Soudan.

Adventures Of an Italian Priest in the
soudan.
Father Paolo Rossignoli, who, after
long series of almost incredible adj
ventures and 10 years slavery in the
Soudan, succeeded in miraculously es-
Gaping from the hands of the callph,
has been received by the pope before
returning to Africe, to the scene Of his
former painful sufferings. He is a
broad, strong, well-built man, tanned
a deep brown by the African sun, and
wears a full beard, which is rapidly
turning white from the sutferings he
has gone through.
Father Rossignoli was priest of the
Austrian mission of I'll Obeid, in the
KOrdOfan, and went through the hor-
rors of the four and a half months
siege until January, 1888, when he was
taken prisoner. 1t would be impossible
to describe all he suffered for u long
years, until assisted to escape by the
Eaglishman, Maj. Wingate Bey and
Mgr. Sogaro, archbishop of the Sou
dan.
$50 you are really returning to Az
iica?" l said to him the day before he
loft.
'Oh, yes, and go back with pleas
ure, as Africa is to me now a second
fathcrland. ] feel that my work is
there; and, besides, think Of all the
prisoners, less fortunate than myself, |
whom ] left behind and whom 1 must |
do my utmost to deliver"
Are there still many?"
About so, including five Italians"
Are there no Englishmen?
NO; all of them died long ago.
Amonk those still alive are II Syrians.
ten Jews from Smyrna, some Greeks
and Swiss, few Germans and one Aus
uian, a certain Niefelit. who is the
most learned and intelligent person
now in the hands of the Soudanese. He
was banker at Assouan and three or
four years after the fall of Khartoum
he led an expedition to the center of
the Soudan, his purpose being to help
the kabbabish tribe on the other side
of the Dongola against the mahdi.
The latter, informed in time of his
plans, surprised the expedition, de-
feated it completely, the men being
mostly killed or taken prisoners,
among the latter the leader Niefelit,
who was condemned to death. The
rope had already passed around his
neck to hang him, when he was asked:
How do you die? As Christian or
?" Niefelit answered
quickly: I die a Mussulman.'
so his life was saved but he was
eft for years in chains until he gave
proof Of his ability and he was then
lsed by the caliph to manufacture =,
sltpeter and gunpowder He also en- "
Favored to make dies for coins and Y
esigned a beautiful tomb for the =
nahdi, which the caliph. however. did
OF approve of, considering it too (
and fearing that if executed .
.iefelit would acquire a certain i'm
in the eyes of the Soudanese."
Passing TO the situation in the Sou
an, Father Rossignoli said that ac-
ording TO the latest news received bv {
i'm it is most unhappy, because of the
'arful misery, dreadful anarchy and
idespread corruption ct is some
hing heartrending!" exclaimed the Il
visionary. at seems really that the u
and of God is striking and extermin-
ing that people, on whom lie so many
ms. England could now easily recon-
Ter the Soudan, especially as a large
lrtion of the inhabitants there would
vor it to escape the tyranny of the
liph.
There is, in fact, party strong
ough which wishes the Intervention
Egyptians, English or Italians, or LE
" stranger, in fact. to end the hor- u"
rs of which they are the victims and
tnesses. This party is becoming so
iportant that the caliph some time Mo
o mad all the so-called coffee houses W.
molished in which they were accus- A.,
ned to meet and threatened them We
tn a general massacre. However. il FIJI
my opinion that England win not Mo
conquer the Soudan until her occu- NJ
ton of Egypt IS permanent and r Hu
til she needs no pretext to justify Mo
presence on GNilc. After the re-
It defeats on the Red sea side the "
ldanese have holy terror of the Bes,
lans Also and their most terrible
sc is; May you be struck by an VIII
Ian ball Pail Mall Gazette. ~,