The crowd was perfectly silent.
"I was obliged to commence the conversation by asking him `whether he
was really Quat Kare, the old king of the Shillooks? as I had heard his
death reported.'
"Instead of replying, he conferred with one of his wives, a woman of
about sixty, who appeared to act as prime minister and adviser. This old
lady immediately took up the discourse, and very deliberately related
the intrigues of the Koordi governor of Fashoda, which had ended in the
ruin of her husband. It appeared that the Koordi did not wish that peace
should reign throughout the land. The Shillooks were a powerful tribe,
numbering upwards of a million, therefore it was advisable to sow
dissension amongst them, and thus destroy their unity. Quat Kare was a
powerful king, who had ruled the country for more than fifty years. He
was the direct descendant of a long line of kings; therefore he was a
man whose influence was to be dreaded. The policy of the Koordi
determined that he would overthrow the power of Quat Kare, and after
having vainly laid snares for his capture, the old king fled from the
governor of Fashoda as David fled from Saul and hid in the cave of
Adullam. The Koordi was clever and cunning in intrigue; thus, he wrote
to Djiaffer Pacha, the governor-general of the Soudan, and declared that
Quat Kare the king of the Shillooks was DEAD; it was therefore necessary
to elect the next heir, Jangy for whom he requested the firman of the
Khedive. The firman of the Khedive arrived in due course for the
pretender Jangy, who was a distant connexion of Quat Kare, and in no way
entitled to the succession. This intrigue threw the country into
confusion. Jangy was proclaimed king by the Koordi, and was dressed in a
scarlet robe with belt and sabre. The pretender got together a large
band of adherents who were ready for any adventure that might yield them
plunder. These natives, who knew the paths and the places where the vast
herds of cattle were concealed, acted as guides to the Koordi; and the
faithful adherents of the old king, Quat Kare, were plundered,
oppressed, and enslaved without mercy, until the day that I had
fortunately arrived in the Shillook country, and caught the Koordi in
the very act of kidnapping.
"I had heard this story a few days before, and I was much struck with
the clear and forcible manner in which the old wife described the
history.
"Here we have an average picture of Soudan rule. In a country blessed
with the most productive soil and favourable climate, with a population
estimated at above a million, the only step towards improvement, after
seven years of possession, is a system of plunder and massacre. Instead
of peace, a series of intrigues have thrown the country into hopeless
anarchy. With a good government, this fertile land might produce
enormous wealth in the cultivation of corn and cotton. I arranged with
the king that he should wait patiently, and that I would bring the
affair before the proper authority; in the mean time, his people should
return to their villages.
"After a feast upon an ox, and the entertainment of the magnetic battery
and the wheel of life, I gave Quat Kare, and the various members of his
family, an assortment of presents, and sent them back rejoicing in the
No. 8 steamer. I had been amused by the stoical countenance of the king
while undergoing a severe shock from the battery. Although every muscle
of his arms was quivering, he never altered the expression of his
features. One of his wives followed his example, and resisted a shock
with great determination, and after many attempts she succeeded in
extracting a necklace from a basin of water so highly charged, that her
hand was completely cramped and paralysed.
"I have thoroughly gained the confidence of the natives, as vast herds
of cattle are now fearlessly brought to graze on the large island
opposite the camp. The natives assure me that all the male children that
may be born this year will be called the `Pacha,' in commemoration of
the release given to the captives.
"A soldier was caught this afternoon in the act of stealing a fowl from
a native. I had him flogged and secured in irons for five days. I have
determined upon the strictest discipline, in spite of the old prejudice.
As the greater portion of the Egyptian regiment is composed of felons,
convicted of offences in Cairo, and transported to the White Nile, my
task is rather difficult in establishing a reformation. The good taste
of the authorities might be questioned for supplying me with a regiment
of convicts to carry out an enterprise where a high state of discipline
and good conduct are essential to success."
I gave the name Tewfikeeyah [*] to the new station, which rapidly grew
into a place of importance. It was totally unlike an Egyptian camp, as
all the lines were straight. Deep ditches, cut in every necessary
direction, drained the station to the river. I made a quay about 500
yards in length, on the bank of the river, by which the whole fleet
could lie, and embark or disembark cargo. A large stable contained the
twenty horses, which by great care had kept their condition. It was
absolutely necessary to keep them in a dark stable on account of the
flies, which attacked all animals in swarms. Even within the darkened
building it was necessary to light fires composed of dried horse-dung,
to drive away the these persecuting insects. The hair fell completely
off the ears and legs of the donkeys (which were allowed to ramble
about), owing to the swarms of flies that irritated the skin; but in
spite of the comparative comfort of a stable, the donkeys preferred a
life of out-door independence, and fell off in condition if confined to
a house.
