The Portland daily press., 1897-10-02
Up The Nile.
The Resistless Advance Of the Brit.
ish Forces.
WHAT THEIR COMING MEANS TO
THE COUNTRY.
Letting More Light Into the Reoesses of
Darkest Africa-The Power of the
Mahdists Rapidly Disappearing-His-

-
Darkest Africa-The Power of the
Mahdists Rapidly Disappearing-His-
tory of Recent Years Recalled by the
Present Expedition.
If the Mahdi has submitted and Abysin-
MIA agreed to remain neutral, as stated
in the dispatches Great Britain has ao-
complished wonders at minimum ex-
penditure of life and treasure. The mill
tary operations on the Upper Nile have
been watched with interest, for it was
evident that the intention of the English
was, by the aid Of the Egyptian army,
to reconqueror the immense territory
which, more than twelve years ago,
was lost to England, Egypt and civiliza-
ton. 1t was the first effort at reconquest
that seemed to promise the least chance of
success, the occasion was suspicious, and,
indeed, the effort at recovering the lost
territory seemed imperative, for the
Abysinnian success against the Italian
armies gave a shock to the prestige of
every European nation that has colonies
or provinces in Africa, and it became
necessary, after the Italian failure, that
England should restore the authority of
the whites in the part of Africa from
which they were driven by thessArab ar
mics. The task which lay before the
Egyptian army operating under General
Kitchener was one of immense magnitude.
At the time of its greatest extent, Egypt
controlled, in name or in fact, the en-
tire valley of the Nile, the great province
of Equatoria, comprising most of the lake
region and the Egyptian Soudan, the
intermediate district between the lakes
and Khartoum. Over ,000, 900 square
miles were included in the two provinces
that were lost, and since the failure and
death Of Gordon, Egypt has been practi-
cally cut off from communication with
Central Africa.
The two principal cities through which
| the trade and travel of the Upper Nile
| and the lake region found their way to the
civilization were Khartoum and Kassala.
| The former has been SO often described
that 1t is well known to the general rea-
der. 1t was the heart of Eastern Africa.
| Situated at the junction of the White
and Blue Nile, every pound of gum,
every ounce OF gold dust, every tusk of
ivory, every oa1abash of palm oil from the
lake region came through Khartoum on
its way to Alexandria, and the merchants
who handled the products of the interior
handled also the guns and ammunition,
the cotton and linen cloths, the gay
colored apparel, the knives and axes, the
spears, the swords and the rum that
went from civilization to the barbarous
districts of Central Africa. The loss of
Khartoum was, therefore serious blow
to Egypt and England; it was regarded
as the downfall of civilization and the
triumph of barbarism. To regain Khar-
toum is, therefore, to recover not only
the traffic of the country, but the credit
of reconquering the city which is con-
Kassala, less known, but hardly less
important city, lies about halfway be-
tween Khartoum and the Red Sea. Stu
ated on one Of the largest aff1uents of the
Nils, Kassala, Berber, Khartoum and
Suakin form quadrilateral of fortified
cities, which, held by one state, would
effeotually prevent any further encroach-
ment of the Arabs on the Nile region.
Kassala has been an object of longing to
the Abyssinians for a great many years,
since by its possession their country
would have an outlet to the Nile which
it now does not possess, but the opera
lions against Khartoum seemed necessar-
lily to include the capture of Kassala,
which will, eventually, fall into the
hands of or be controlled by the Anglo
Egyptian force.
The spreading influence of France in
Central Africa was another potent reason
for the re-establishment of English power
In the Upper Nile. The French dream is
an African empire, extending from the
Atlantic to the Indian ocean. The
French sphere of influence now spreads
far east of Lake Tohad, and there are
rumors Of French political agents on the
Upper Nile. So confident are the French
maps of Africa, published in Paris, show
the French possessions as extending
entirely across the continent. Should
the French obtain control of the Upper
Nile Valley, it would be within their
power to embarrass, very seriously. the
English in Egypt, and there are some
geographers who believe, or pretend to
believe, that the French could divert the
waters Of the Nile SO as to prevent the
annual overflow, and thus bring about
the ruin Of Lower Egypt, which depends
upon the river for it's fertility and pros
perity. 1t is not probable that such
project as this is at all feasible, since 1t
would involve the construction of enor-
nous engineering works in country
where great difficulties are to be en-
countered, and would thus require an
outlay of millions, with possible failure
as the outcome. France has had one ex-
perienoe in engineering in foreign ooun-
tries, an the failure of the Panama Ca
nal will likely deter the French from
putting much money into an enterprise
where the outgo is certain and the in
come, SO far as can be known, would be