In The Dead Of Night, While He Slept, The Crackling
Of Fire Was Heard, And Flames Burst Out Upon All
Sides of the dry
and combustible fodder; the Arabs had fired the straw in all
directions, and a roar of
Flame in a fatal ring surrounded the
Pasha's tent, which caught the fire. There was no escape! In the
confusion, the Arabs fell upon the troops, and massacred a
considerable number. After this success, Mek Nimmur succeeded in
retiring with his people and herds to Sofi, on the Atbara, to
which place we were bound; this was about twelve miles from
Tomat. The body of Ismael Pasha was found beneath those of some
of his women, all of whom that were within the inclosure having
perished.
After this calamity the Egyptians recovered Shendy, and in
revenge they collected a number of the inhabitants of all ages
and both sexes. These were penned together like cattle in a
zareeba or kraal, and were surrounded with dhurra-straw, which
was fired in a similar manner to that which destroyed the Pasha.
Thus were these unfortunate creatures destroyed en masse, while
the remaining portion of the population fled to the new
settlement of their chief at Sofi.
Within the last few years preceding my arrival, the Egyptians had
attacked and utterly destroyed the old town of Sofi. Mek Nimmur
had retired across the Atbara, and had taken refuge in Abyssinia,
where he had been welcomed by the king of that country as the
enemy of the Turks, and had been presented with a considerable
territory at the western base of the high mountain range.
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