Chapter XXII: Letter XIX: Chartûm, the 21st March, 1844

Here, for the first time, we received more exact intelligence of the military revolt in Wed Médineh, which was of a most serious nature, and would have infallibly thrown us into the greatest danger had we remained two days longer in that town. All the black soldiers revolted while Emin Pascha was residing there. The drill-sergeant and seven white soldiers were killed immediately; the Pascha was besieged in his own house, which was briskly fired into; his negotiators were repelled, and the powder magazine seized. All the arms and ammunition, with the two cannons, fell into the hands of the negroes, who then selected six leaders for themselves, and set out in six divisions on the road to Fazoql to take refuge in their mountains. The regiment in this place, which has about 1500 blacks in it, was at once disarmed, and will be kept within the barracks. The most serious consequences are dreaded, as Ahmed Pascha Menekle has been so inconsiderate as to take almost all the white troops along with him to Taka; otherwise I should rejoice at the desertion of the blacks, as they are treated in the most revolting manner by their Turkish masters. Yet the insurrection may easily bring the whole country into a state of disorder, and then, also, have an injurious influence on our expedition. The blacks will undoubtedly endeavour on their road to draw over to their own party whatever country people they meet, especially the troops of Solimân Pascha in Sennâr, and of Selîm Pascha in Fazoql. The whites are far too few to offer them effectual resistance. News has just arrived that between five and six hundred slaves of the late Ahmed Pascha, belonging to the indigo factory at Tamaniât, a little to the north of this, have fled with their wives and children to the Sudan, and intend to join the soldiers; the same is reported of the factory at Kamlîn, so that we necessarily feel anxious about our friend Bauer, who was not, indeed, cruel as the Turks are, but yet was a strict master.

_26th March._—The news is spread that the troops in Sennâr and the people belonging to Melek Idris Adlân, have put the negroes to the sword. It is also said, that the slaves of Tamaniât have been overtaken by the Arnauts, and murdered or dragged back, and that the revolt in Kamlîn has been suppressed. Still we cannot build much on this, as the intelligence reached me through our Kawass from the people belonging to the Pascha, and the desire was also expressed that I should spread the news still farther, and write about it to Cairo.

Yesterday, as we were walking in the dusk of the evening, in the large and beautiful garden belonging to Ibrahim Chêr, in whose cheerful and pleasantly-situated house I write this letter, we saw tall dark clouds of sand rise like a wall on the horizon. A violent east wind has also been blowing to-night ever since, and still blows, enveloping all the trees and buildings in a disagreeable sandy atmosphere, which almost takes away our breath. I have closed the window-shutters firmly, and barricaded the door with stones, to be in some measure secured from the first assault; nevertheless, I am constantly obliged to cleanse the sheet of letter paper from the covering of sand which is incessantly thrown down on it.

I returned in such a tattered condition from my hunting excursion to Sennâr, that I was at length obliged to assume the Turkish costume, which I cannot now soon exchange again. It has its advantages for the customs of this country, especially for sitting on coverlets, or low cushions; but the Tarbusch, which lies so flat upon the head, is very ill-adapted to this sunny sky, and the fastening of the innumerable buttons and hooks is daily a most wearisome trial of patience.

_30th March._—We intend to leave Chartûm as soon as this packet of letters is handed over to the Pascha. The revolution is now completely suppressed in all parts. It would doubtless have had a far worse result had it not, from a particular cause, broken out in Wed Médineh several days too soon. It had been planned and secretly arranged for a long time past in the whole of the south, and was not to have broken out before the 19th of this month simultaneously in Sennâr, Wed Médineh, Kamlîn, Chartûm, and Tamaniât. The precipitate movement in Wed Médineh had, however, disarranged the whole plan, and had especially given time to Emin Pascha to send messengers to Chartûm, by which means the negro soldiers here were consigned and disarmed before news of the outbreak had reached their ears. Emin Pascha, however, seems himself to have been totally helpless. The victory is said to be solely due to the courage and presence of mind of a certain Rustan Effendi, who with 150 devoted soldiers, chiefly whites, pursued the negroes, who were 600 strong, overtook them beyond Sennâr, and after attacking them three times, defeated them, with great loss of life. Above a hundred of the fugitives have surrendered, and have been taken to Sennâr in irons; the remaining number were killed in the action, or leapt into the river and were drowned there.

But the news arrived here at the same time, that an insurrection had also broken out on account of the taxes in Lower Nubia, in Kalabsche, and another village, that both villages had on that account been immediately destroyed by Hassan Pascha, who is to come to Chartûm in place of Emin Pascha, and that the inhabitants had been killed or driven away.