The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-11

no light task, and may require years
Of fighting, but this will be no novelty
for England. Ut took her more than
three quarters of a century of fighting
to complete the conquest of India, and
while the known riches Of the Soudan
do not compare With those of India,
the region is worth the struggle.
Dong~la is now in possession Of the
Englisn, and = invading forces have
the Mahdists on the run. This marks
athe first chapter Of the fall OF the
Khalifa and Osman Digna, two of the
most unique and terrible characters the
Svorld over, A century or two hence,
Swalen people read of the careers of these
men, they will probably regard the
close of the nineteenth century as
barbarous age for permitting such pro-
digious rascal9 to survive.
OF the two, the bigger rascal is the
skhaEfa. In a measure, he is not I'M
like the sultan Of Turkey. He has urged
the massacre of tens of thousands of
ttlis subjects simply because ne regarded
Them as obstacles to his continuance as
the Matdi's successor. The Mahdi died
on June %, 1885, after three years of
power, and A-bdallaR, as the chief Kha-
Liza. was appointed to succeed him. Alb
duldala was the Mahdi's choice for the
Fhrone, and he was nominated for the
place just before the Mahdi died. The
word of the Mahdi was law, but the
choice was not AN agreeable one and
almost ended in internecine strife,
which would have disrupted the strong
est nation on the face Of the globe.
j THE BAGGARA TRIBE.
The opposition was due TO the fact
Mat Albdullah was the chief of the Bag
fgare.s the most Iyranical, murderous
.1and fearful tribe in the Soudan. The
elevation of Abdullah meant supreme
~power for his followers, the Baggaras.
The two other leading tribes, the Dan
aglas and Jcaiins, knew that the Bag
gaTas would show them small mercy,
and THE past eleven years has proven
the truth Of this prediction.
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 AbdulIah the Dan
aglas and JoalinS were the rulers. Now
they are the ruled, the Baggaras hav-
ing the whip hand. During his reign
of eleven years, three-fifths of the pop
ulatioE of the Soudan have persisted by
war and famine, much Of the misfor-
tune being due to Abdullah. In times
of famine he has given permission to
the Baggaras to plumber che other
tribes, and the BaggaIas were fat and
strong, wanting nothing, while the
Others died by thousands and the liv-
ing ground UP the bones of the dead
50 make a kind of flour for bread.
CITY OF OMDURMAN.
The center of this strife is Omdurman,
where the Khalifa. lives. This is city of
10000 inhabitants, Immediately across the
river Nile from the ruins of kha-toum.
Omdurman will probably be the next OBJ
Jeckive point of the invading army and
the journey Will be long one.
Dongola, the place just captured, marks
the northern boundary OF the khahfa'S
domains. From Dongola his country runs
along the Nile in a. southern direction for
1900 miles. East and west the Khalifa s
land is about $50 miles wide. running from
the western limits Of Kordofan TO Abys-
sinia in the east. Omourman is situated
half way between Dongola on the north
and the southern boundary of Lado. To
reach Omdurman it VIII require many
months of weary travel even if the in
vaders are not hampered by Osnan Dig
ma and hordes of dervishes. That the
English viii be hampered is certainty.
For the first time they are now really in
the enemy's country, and the highly prais-
ed Nalor of the dervishes viii now be put
to the test.
! THE RISE OF OMDURMAN.
Omdurmaa, where the Khalifa lives, has