I read this contract to some of his principal men, who fairly laughed
outright at the audacity of Abou Saood in subscribing to such utter
falsehoods.
Not only had he secretly fraternized with the enemy, instead of
assisting the government, but he had cautioned the Baris not to carry
our loads, and he had incited the Fatiko natives to attack us. The
supply of food was too ridiculous. Instead of giving to the troops, he
had been obliged to borrow corn from the government magazines at
Gondokoro for his own people, and I had given him 200 cattle to save his
men from famine.
The deceit and treachery of this man were beyond belief. He now came to
me daily at Fatiko, and swore by the eyes of the Prophet, eternal
fidelity. He wished to kiss my hand, and to assure me how little his
real character had been understood, and that he felt sure I had been
influenced against him by others, but that in reality I had no servant
so devoted as himself. He declared that he had only attacked the Shir
and stolen their cows in order to supply the government troops with
cattle according to contract. (Thus he had the audacity to assert that
the government would become the purchaser of cattle stolen expressly for
their use.)
In spite of these protestations, he could not explain his reason for
having returned the ivory to store, instead of transporting it to
Gondokoro. He therefore met the difficulty by a flat denial, as usual,
calling upon the Prophet as a witness.
Only a few days of his contract remained, at the expiration of which he
should have withdrawn his establishments from the country, according to
my written orders that had been given many months ago.
He had entirely ignored these orders, as he had never expected my
arrival; therefore he had concealed all such instructions from his
people, in the hope that my terms of service would expire fruitlessly at
Gondokoro, and that, after my departure, he would have little difficulty
in arranging for the future with his friend Raouf Bey, who would most
probably succeed to the command.
I at once issued written orders to the vakeels of his different
stations, that, at the end of the month Mohurram, the contract with Agad
would cease, and that all future action would be illegal.
I gave all employees of Abou Saood due notice, that they must either
quit the country, or become respectable subjects.
I granted them permission to settle at Gondokoro, and to commence farms
on the fertile islands of the Nile free of all taxation.
Or, should they wish to enter the government service as irregular
troops, I offered the same pay as the regulars, with the advantage of an
annual engagement.
I met several headmen whom I had known in my former journey. These men
found fault with Abou Saood for having left them in the dark respecting
the contract with the government; and they at once declared that they
should be happy to serve as irregulars at the expiration of the
agreement.
There was a great difficulty respecting the ivory, which comprised in
all the stations 3,200 tusks.
The cattle that had been given to the native carriers for the transport
of the ivory to Gondokoro had only partially been returned by the
disappointed Madi. Many of these people had killed and eaten the beasts,
and had declared that they had died, when they found the necessity of
restoring them.
It was now necessary to move the ivory, together with all the
establishments, to Gondokoro. This would require at least 6,000 cows. It
was a complete fix. There were no cattle in any of Abou Saood's
stations; they had all been consumed; and he now came to me with a
request that I would lend him eighty oxen, as his people had nothing to
eat.
It was clearly impossible to move the ivory. Thus, in spite of my orders
given to Abou Saood about ten months previous, the opportunity of moving
had been lost, and the time of departure was reduced to sine die. This
was a hopeless condition of affairs. There were no cattle in Abou
Saood's possession, and without cows the ivory could not be moved. At
the same time, it would be impossible for me to permit him to make
razzias upon distant countries, as I had arrived to establish
government, and to afford protection to all tribes that would declare
their allegiance.
I now discovered that the principal vakeel of Abou Saood, named Mohammed
Wat-el-Mek, had only recently started with a large force, by Abou
Saood's orders, to invade the Kooshi country on the west side of the
White Nile, close to its exit from the Albert N'yanza.
This was a tribe that could not possibly have interfered with Abou
Saood; but as the cattle had been exhausted on the east bank of the
river, he had commenced a series of razzias upon the west. The Koshi
were people with whom friendship should have been established, as they
were on the navigable Nile that would eventually be traversed by the
steamer, when constructed at Ibrahimeyah. It was thus that all tribes
were rendered hostile by the slave-hunters.
Mohammed Wat-el-Mek (son of the king) was the man who had first
discovered and opened up the countries south of Gondokoro. This person
was a curious but useful character that I had always wished to employ,
as he had great power with the natives, and he knew every nook and
corner of the country.
