The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-14

dcme). 1t was finished with ten large.
arched windows and two doors. and in the
| hexagonal portion were six skylignts. II
was whitewashed all over and surrounded
| by trelliswork fence.
Directly beneath the dome and over the
mahdrs grave a wooden sarcopha-u rs was
! erected covered with black cloth Before
| Slatin left Omdurman much Of the white
wash had been knocked off oy, the weather.
which spoiled its general appearance.
Above the apex OF the dome were three
| hollow brass balls. one above the other,
| connected with a lance. the head OF which
| forms the top ornament of the structure
| X was said that the khalifa erected this
| spear to show that ne was perfectly pre-
pared to declare war against the heavens
If his wishes were not carried out.
The mahdYs tomb was sadly damaged
by General Kitchener's artillery. The SOL
diers found The gilt balls an excellent mark
The latest accounts of the khalifa de-
scribe him as becoming during the last
three or four months very much thinner
and his hair growing gray and bald from
the worry and sleepless nights. for which,
no doubt, the srdar is responsible. He is
81 years old; his full name being Abdullah-
ibin Mohammed Jaaishi; for he belongs 10
the Jaaishi tribe, and the final "a is al
ways turned into an So to form the sur
name for all mem bers OF a tribe. This is
section OF the much larger and more
powerful cow-keeping tribe Of the Baggara,
from Southwestern Darfur.
He was the eldest of four sons, and had
one sister called Fatma. H eand one broth
er. named Yusef,, were the most unman-
ageabe, and their father had the greatest
difficulty in teaching them by heart the
few passages from the Koran necessary for
their ordinary prayers. The other two
were Of quieter disposition. learned treir
verses and commentaries, and helped their
father, who was a teacher of the Koran
and a healer of diseases and insanity by
means of heggabs or religious charms.
The family joined the Furs in combating
Zubeir's entry into Darflr; and the lat
ter relates how during the fight alta Shah
Ike he took Abdulahi prisoner, and was
about to have him shot, when some of the
Ulema craved pardon for him on the
grounds of his being weak-headed, which
was granted. Abdullahi. in gratitude,
subsequently sought out Zubeir secretly.
and announced that he had a dream in
which it had been revealed to him that he
(lubeir was the long-expected mahdi, and
that he (AbdullahD was to be his khalifa-
81 told him. relates Zubeir. that 1 was
not the mahdi; that 1 had heard that he
(AbdullahD had always been considered
poor fool, and that now I was sure of it;
that my mission was only to open roads
which had become blocked by the wicked
ness of the Arabs, and so to establish
trade"
Abdullahi after this rebuff departed. His
father, before dying, urged him to take
refuge with some religious sheik on the
Nile, then emigrate to Mecca, and never
to return to their country, evidently shar-
ing the common opinion as to his sons
intelligence.
On his journey. his wide cotton short
the distinguishing dress of his tribe, and
his dialect marked him in the Nile valley
as a stranger, and he was frequently
greeted with, what do you want? Go
back to your own country; there is nothing
to steal here" He was continually mock
ed and hooted. All his property consisted
of one donkey, which had gall on his
and bag Of corn. In one village the people
declared this donkey had been stolen from
them the previous year, and would not
have allowed it to be taken away had not
a holy man interposed. Some people gave
him food out Of sheer pity or he would
have starved. At length he reached Mes
sallamia, and found the mahdi (who was
then only known as Mohammed Achmed)
busily engaged in building the tomb Of the
late Sheik Ell Koreishi. He then repeated
the proposal he had made to Zubeir. Ach-
med thought it a good idea, and the bar
gain was struck. The people already re-
garded Achmed as a holy man, and Alb
dullahi had little difficulty in soon per-
suading them that he was the long-expect-
ed mahdi.
Such is the origin of Abdullahi, who
ruled for twelve years over a great African
empire. He reigned amid inconceivable
cruelty and debauchery. The British army
found the Soudan strewn with the bleach
ing bones of his victims. The Soudan
once had a great commerce. He plundered
every village and town not occupied by his
own followers. He enslaved or murdered
all the inhabitants. His debauchery was
liable and unspeakable. His followers
fought for him till death, with no desire
save to please him and so gain heaven.
He was not without personal attractive
ness. Slatin says:
81 scrutinized him carefully; he had
light brown complexion, a sympathetic
Arab face, in which the marks of small
pox were still tracea bic an aquiline nose.
- lii -
a fringe of hair on his cheeks. but rather
thicker on his chin; he was about middle
height, neither thin nor stout; was wear
ing a jibba Che mahdsts' dress) covered
with small square patches of different
colors and a Mecca takia. or skull cap,
round which was bound cotton turban; he
generally spoke with a smile and showed
a row of glistening white teeth"
The Khalifa treated Saun barbarously
for several years. Than he relaxed his
brutality and made sort OF secretary Of
him. Slatin was, to all appearance. per-
feet Mussulman-
At last he had so much liberty allowed
him that one night he rode ont OF On
durham on a camel The British officers
at Assuan, then the most advanced British
outpost in the Soudan. were greatly sur
prised one morning in March. 1855. % see
Slatin return to them as from the grave.
In 1895 the British government an
nounced that an Anglo-Egyptian force
would occupy the Soudan as far as Don
annual Sales over 6. ooo, 900 Boxes
nEEYsK a L.