EGYPT. 



319 



kowit, Sherah, Miahab, Migadoff, and Bishi- 

 rieh tribes, in the name of the Mahdi. Tewfik 

 Bey immediately summoned Digna to come to 

 him at Sinkat. He arrived on the 5th of Au- 

 gust, but accompanied by about 1,500 armed 

 followers, and demanded in the name of the 

 Mahdi the surrender of Sinkat and Suakin, with 

 all the arms and treasure they contained. This 

 being refused, Digna attacked, but was re- 

 pelled, and retired with a loss of sixty-three 

 killed and many wounded. 



On the 18th of October, 156 Egyptian sol- 

 diers and two officers were massacred in a 

 mountain-defile about twenty miles from Sua- 

 kin. They were on their way to support Tew- 

 fik Bey, surrounded by the rebels at Sinkat. 



On the 15th of November a body of Egyp- 

 tian troops, variously estimated at 250 to 500 

 men, was attacked near Tokar by a band of 

 insurgents and completely routed. Command- 

 er Moncrieff, her British Majesty's consul at 

 Suakin, was among the killed. 



Sinkat has since fallen, and the garrison with 

 its gallant commander was massacred in the 

 unsuccessful sortie. The battles of Tokar, El- 

 Teb, and Trinkitat, which followed, have added 

 prestige to the arms of the Prophet. 



News as late as the Yth of October of this 

 year from Suakin reports that Osman Digna 

 has been defeated at Kufeit, where he was 

 strongly intrenched and in force, by Eas Alou- 

 la, the commander of an Abyssinian army num- 

 bering 8,000 men, who was marching to the 

 relief of the garrison at Kassala. The con- 

 tending armies fought for several hours, when 

 the rebels were defeated with a loss of 3,000 

 men and retreated. 



The insurrection in the regions of the Tipper 

 Nile seems wrapped in mystery since the report- 

 ed death of the Mahdi. Mohammed-el-Khair, 

 the Emir of Berber, is said to have gone to 

 Khartoum to restore order there, for, since the 

 assassination of El-Thaiski, successor of the 

 Mahdi, the city has been given up to pillage 

 and anarchy. On the 15th of December the 

 rebels attacked Ferkat, near Dongola, and 

 burned and pillaged that and other villages. 



Gen. Gordon returned to the Soudan on the 

 18th of January, arriving there one month later, 

 as reported, amid the rejoicings of the people. 

 He went ostensibly to their rescue, but, after 

 sending away an inconsiderable portion of the 

 inhabitants, he elected to stay, and with him 

 the greater part of the population, who were 

 carried away with his generous distribution 

 of money, and proclamations re-establishing 

 slavery. It is significant that Lord Churchill, 

 in a speech at Birmingham on Oct. 23 of this 

 year, said that the Conservatives were respon- 

 sible for Gordon's mission to the Soudan. 



The Fall of Khartoum, Col. Kitchener, Chief 

 of the Intelligence Department of the English 

 army, has published a report made up from 

 every possible source. It is not conclusive as 

 to the death of Gordon, which has been ac- 

 cepted as a fact on account of a mass of evi- 



dence, but which is nevertheless absolutely con- 

 flicting. On the 14th of December, 1884, Gor- 

 don wrote that the city could not hold out 

 more than ten days. Since the 3d of Novem- 

 ber communications had been cut with Om- 

 durrnan, and rations were scarce. It appears 

 that on the 6th of January, 18S5, Gordon al- 

 lowed all the inhabitants who wished to quit 

 the city to go over to the camp of the Mahdi. 

 Out of 34,000, 20,000 took advantage of the 

 permission. On the 13th Omdurman capitu- 

 lated and fell into the hands of the Mahdi, who 

 treated the prisoners well, in order to encour- 

 age the garrison of Khartoum to desert. Be- 

 sides, he established batteries along the White 

 Nile, to close the river to Gordon's steam- 

 ers. The works of the enemy approached 

 nearer and nearer the southern defenses of the 

 city. Gordon attempted on the 18th a sortie, 

 and caused a great loss to the enemy, but with- 

 out being able to dislodge him from his posi- 

 tions. The famine was fearful; asses, dogs, 

 cats, and rats were eaten. The Egyptian troops 

 received now only a ration of gum, and bread 

 made out of the pith of the palm tree. In spite 

 of all suffering, Gordon was able to maintain 

 the morale of his troops ; he felt that the Eng- 

 lish army could not be far away. He kept this 

 before them, had his eyes everywhere, and dis- 

 played a feverish activity. All witnesses de- 

 clared that during the period of great danger 

 of the last fifteen days, he could not have slept 

 two hours at a time. 



On January 20th the news of the battle 

 of Abou-klea threw the camp of the Mahdi 

 into the greatest consternation. The rebels, 

 upon learning of the arrival of the English on 

 the river on the 22d, determined to make the 

 assault upon Khartoum. It is certain that the 

 Mahdi wrote to Ferig Pasha to propose to him 

 to give up the city and negotiate with him its 

 capitulation. It is also certain that the Egyptian 

 general informed Gordon of these propositions, 

 and supported them with great earnestness; 

 for on the 23d of January they had a violent 

 discussion, and Gordon went so far as to raise 

 his hand against his lieutenant. The latter 

 went away from the palace furious, and re- 

 fused all the attempts of his colleagues to 

 reconcile him to his chief. The morning after 

 there was a council of the Notables, to dis- 

 cuss the propositions of the Mahdi. Gordon 

 declared that the Notables were free to do 

 as they pleased; but, for his part, he would 

 not capitulate. On Sunday, the 25th, Gordon 

 was very much fatigued, and showed himself 

 but little during the day ; but he had several 

 interviews with the most influential inhabit- 

 ants. "Without a doubt he attempted to sus- 

 tain their courage. Every one understood that 

 the end was at hand. At night the distress 

 was so general that a great number of soldiers, 

 pressed by hunger, quitted the ramparts and 

 went through the city in quest of food. This 

 fact caused much uneasiness to the Notables 

 and inhabitants, many of whom went out to 



