Like him, they were detested by the local tribes. Like him, they
were foreigners in the land. But, like him, they were fierce and brave and
strong. His dangers, his enemies, his interests were their own. Their lives
depended on their loyalty.
Here was the motor muscle which animated the rest. The Taaisha Baggara
controlled the black Jehadia, once the irregular troops of the Egyptians,
now become the regulars of the Khalifa. The black Jehadia overawed the Arab
army in the capital. The army in the capital dominated the forces in the
provinces. The forces in the provinces subdued the inhabitants. The
centralisation of power was assured by the concentration of military
material. Cannon, rifles, stores of ammunition, all the necessities of war
were accumulated in the arsenal. Only the armies on the frontiers,
the Taaisha tribe, and the khalifa's personal bodyguard habitually carried
firearms and cartridges. The enormous population of Omdurman was forced
to be content with spears and swords. Rifles were issued to the Soudanese
whenever safe and necessary; cartridges only when they were about to be
used. Thus several millions of warlike and savage people, owning scarcely
any law but that of might, and scattered about a vast roadless territory,
were brought into the firm grip of a single man.
The third principle of government which the Khalifa was compelled,
or inclined, to adopt was to keep the relative power of the various tribes
and classes conveniently proportioned.
