The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1899-04-19
SLATlN pASHA RETlRES.
The khalifa S Old Prisoner About to
Leave the Egyptian Service.

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The Khalifa S Old Prisoner About to
Leave the Egyptian Service.
Slatin Pasha, one of the
prominent figures in the his
tory of the Egyptian Sudan for
the last twenty years, has de-
cided to resign his commission
in the Anglo-Egyptian army
and return to his home in Aus.
tria. With the reconquest of
the Soudan he feels that his
task is at an end. In Septem-
Der last he witnessed the cap
ture of Omdurnan, where he
was for eleven years close
captive. He has taken part in
the past three years opera
tons which led to the fall of
the Khalifa, and now he in
tends to retire to the quiet of
his native land, after his many
years of adventure, peril and
hardship in tropical Africa.
A mans life is seldom SO
filled with vicissitudes as that
of Slatin. In all his career in
the Sudan he was either the
victim of Mahdism or it's foe in
the field. He had been Gov
ernor of the Derfue province
scarcely eight months when
the stream of Madhism that
had already overrun Kordofan
drifted into this territory. He
fought the Madhi until his am
munition was gone and had
lost the most of his troops.
Father Ohrwalder says that in
this campaign with an enemy
that outnumbered his force
ten to one Slatin was often in
the saddle twenty-four hours
at time with little or no food.
He slept on the ground beside
his native troops and lived on
dhurra soaked in water. His
powers of endurance were Won
derful, and in action he was
most heroic. One day bullet
shattered his fingers. He
seized the hanging remnant
with his other hand, ordered
the man standing next to him
to cut it off with his knife and
then joined again in the fight
ing. But beyond the reach of
all succor, as he was, he could
not hold out when troops and
ammunition failed him, and he
was forced to surrender after
twenty-seven hard fights.
Nearly fifteen years ago
Slatin was taken into the Nah
dis presence a prisoner. The
Nahdi had much respect for
brave men and treated the fall
len Governor of Darfur with
kindness, but Abdullah, in
whose custody he was placed,
threw Slatin into prison, where
he was kept in chains for about
a year. He suffered terribly
from hunger and ill-treatment,
and was informed that he
would soon be put to death.
But finally the Khalifa relaxed
his severity and told Slatin he
might thank his stars that he
was prisoner when Khartoum
was taken, for otherwise he
would have shared the fate of
Gordon.
In the nine remaining years
of his captivity Slatin was al
ways under the Khalifa's eye,
and as one of his bodyguard it
was his duty to render person
al service, and he was treated
as servant. He was lodged
in house next to that of the
Khalifa, and it was absolutely
forbidden him to exchange a
word with any one except by
permission of his master. Like
all the other white prisoners,
he was compelled nominally to
embrace Mohammedism and
unless he had done so he
would not have been permitted
to live. He was watched so
vigilantly that it was extreme
ly difficult for him to escape,
and, though secret agents from
Cairo were repeatedly sent to
Omdurman to help him to get
away, no opportunity promis-
ing success presented itself till
Feb. 20, 1895, when he contrived
to get out of the city in the
night to the rendezvous where
camels and attendants were
waiting for him, and then be-