1877-78. 163 been guilty, not only of oppression, but also of illegal trading on his own account, and immediately dismissed him.

Fresh trouble now arose on the Abyssinian frontier. In March, Walad Mikael attacked, defeated, and killed Johannes's general, Has Barion, and got possession of Gordon's letters, which revealed his real intentions. Mikael had been enabled to make this raid by the assistance rendered to him by Osman Pasha, Gordon's Vakil, who supplied him with ammunition, and in addition received a, congratulatory letter from the Khedive's Minister of War, urging him to press on his conquest. However, he did not follow this advice, and before long came to terms with the King, and all seemed quiet for a time, though further troubles were soon to crop up.

In July, 1878, Gordon heard of the revolt of Suliman, Zubehr's son, and despatched an expedition under Gessi to put it down. The history of Gessi's campaign will be narrated later on.

The railway scheme at this time occupied the Governor-General's attention. Tie considered that the natural outlet for the Sudan trade was from Berber to Suakin, and that the Nile railway idea was visionary. Under Ismail Pasha the work had been commenced, but had come to a standstill in 1877, after an expenditure of some £450,000, and the completion of about 50 miles of line from Wadi Haifa southward. Gordon's proposal was to utilise the river where navigable, for small steamers, and to lay tramways in the intervening spaces. The Controllers, however, did not take up his scheme, and the other affairs of his Government prevented him from giving further attention to the subject.

At this time the operations for stopping the slave trade were in active progress, as shown by the fact that within two months 14 caravans had been taken.

Towards the end of 1878, the Khedive determined to take the Harrar and Zeila districts out of Gordon's control.

In December, Walad Mikael started to make his i submission to King Johannes, and the latter entered into further negotiations with Gordon about the frontier.

One of the King's demands was for an Abuna, or Archbishop. An Abuna was always obtained from the Coptic (386) M 2