Fire and Sword in the sudan : a personal narrative of fighting and serving the dervishes, 1879-1895 . elymerchants, instead of to persons of high descent. Thesewere the reasons for the subsequent discharge of EliasPasha and Abderrahman from their official positions, andtheir substitution by Turks and Egyptians. As regards the Europeans, there were very few of us;but, as a rule, we were liked and respected, because thepeople trusted our word ; but I do not doubt that we alsogave them cause to be dissatisfied with us. With probablythe best intentions in the world, we would issue rules andregulat
Fire and Sword in the sudan : a personal narrative of fighting and serving the dervishes, 1879-1895 . elymerchants, instead of to persons of high descent. Thesewere the reasons for the subsequent discharge of EliasPasha and Abderrahman from their official positions, andtheir substitution by Turks and Egyptians. As regards the Europeans, there were very few of us;but, as a rule, we were liked and respected, because thepeople trusted our word ; but I do not doubt that we alsogave them cause to be dissatisfied with us. With probablythe best intentions in the world, we would issue rules andregulations entirely at variance with the manners, customs,and traditions of the Sudanese. There is also no doubtthat our attitude in regard to the slave question causedwide-spread discontent. The religion permitted slavery,and from time immemorial the ground had been cultivatedand the cattle tended by slaves. That slave-hunting andslave-driving led to the perpetration of the most horriblecruelties and bloodshed, I do not for a moment hesitate toadmit; but this was a matter of very little concern to the. ^:m- A Slave Dhow on the Nile. RISE OF THE MAHDI 57 slave-buyers, who, as a rule, did not illtreat their we, by our activity and energy, had not only made theexport of slaves from the Black countries almost impossible,but we listened to the complaints of slaves against theirmasters, and invariably set them free. Mohammed Ahmed cleverly seized the occasion of allthis discontent to act; he was well aware that religion wasthe only possible means of uniting all these discordant ele-ments and widely diversified tribes who were at continualfeud with each other; he therefore declared himself the* Mahdi el Muntazer, thus at once creating himself a per-sonality which must be superior to all others, and hopingby this means to drive out of the country the hated Turks,Egyptians, and Europeans. But still he thought the timefor an open declaration was not yet ripe; he therefore con-tinue
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