The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-10-16
THIRTEEN YEARS AS A SLAVE.
Adventures of an Italian Priest in the
Soudan.

Soudan.
Father Paolo Rossignoli, who, after
long series of almost incredible ad.
ventures and 13 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 Africa, to the scene of his
former painful sufferings. He is q
broad, strong, well-built man, tanned
q deep brown by the African sun, and
wears a full beard, which is rapidly
turning white from the sufferings he
has gone through.
Father Rossignoli was O. priest of the
Austrian mission of Ell Obeid, in the
Kordofan, and went through the hor-
rors of the four and half months
siege until January, 1888, when he was
taken prisoner. 1t would be impossible
to describe all he suffered for 13 long
years, until assisted to escape by the
Englishman, Maj. Wingate Bey and
Mgr. Sogaro, archbishop of the Sou
dan.
80 you are really returning to Af-
lica?" said to him the day before he
left.
"Oh, yes, and go back with pleas
ure, as Africa is to me now a second
fatherland. 1 feel that my work is
there; and, besides, think of all the
prisoners, less fortunate than myself,
whom l left behind and whom must
do my utmost to deliver"
"Are there still many?"
GA ho11t :yo1116;no fvo Tfa1;oncO -
"Are there no Englishmen?
"No; all of them died long ago.
Amonk those still alive are 12 Syrians,
ten Jews from Smyrna, some Greeks
and Swiss, few Germans and one Aus
trian, certain Niefelit, who is the
most learned and intelligent person
now in the hands of the Soudanese. He
was a 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
Mussulman?" Niefelit answered
quickly: I die Mussulman.'
$50 his life was saved, but he was
left for years in chains until he gave
proof of his ability and he was then
used by the caliph to manufacture
saltpeter and gunpowder. He also en-
deavored to make dies for coins and
designed beautiful tomb for the
mahdi, which the caliph, however, did
not approve of, considering it too
European and fearing that if executed
Niefelit would acquire q certain i'm
portance in the eyes of the Soudanese."
Passing to the situation in the Sou
dan, Father Rossignoli said that ac-
cording to the latest news received by
him it Is most unhappy, because of the
fearful misery, dreadful anarchy and
widespread corruption. "It is some
thing heartrepding!" exclaimed the
missionary. "It seems really that the
hand of God is striking and extermin-
ating that people, on whom lie so many
sins. England could now easily recon-
Guer the Soudan, especially as large
portion of the inhabitants there would
favor it to escape the tyranny of the
caliph.
There is, in fact party strong
enough which wishes the intervention
of Egyptians, English or Italians, or
any stranger, in fact, to end the hor-
rors of which they are the victims and
witnesses. This party Is. becoming so
important that the caliph some time
ago had all the so-called coffee houses
demolished in which they were accus-
tened to meet and threatened them
with general massacre. However, it
is my opinion that England will not
teconquer the Soudan until her occu-
patton of Egypt is permanent and
until she needs no pretext to justify
her presence ON the Nile. After the re-
cent defeats on the Red sea side the |
Soudanese have q holy terror of the |
Italians also, and their most terrible |
curse is: May you be struck by an
Italian ball. Pail Mall Gazette,