Possibly the natives, if entirely relieved from their
oppressors, might refuse to acknowledge government taxation! At all
events I determined to proceed cautiously.
[*Footnote: The corn tax was thus established. Each house was taxed to
pay a small basket of corn every full moon. All old and infirm people
and also strangers were exempted from taxation. The headman of each
village was responsible for the tax, and he delivered a bundle of small
pieces of reed, the size of drawing pencils which represented the number
of houses belonging to able-bodied men. This tax was always paid
cheerfully, in gratitude for the protection afforded by the government.]
The first step was to summon Abou Saood and to hear his defence from his
own mouth.
I had given the prisoners their choice, of either enlisting in the
government service, or returning to Khartoum.
Of course they ought to have been shot in a batch; but I could not
afford to shoot them. I had to catch and tame my wild beasts instead
of destroying them.
A considerable number agreed to serve under Wat-el-Mek.
I wrote, on 5th August, a letter addressed to Abou Saood, summoning hum
to appear instantly at Fatiko: at the same time I promised him a free
exit; without which written assurance I might as well have summoned the
"man in the moon".
It was difficult to procure natives who would accompany the new
irregulars with the letter, as news had arrived that Abou Saood's people
were plundering and laying waste the neighbourhood of Fabbo.
