GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 148 Dongola, the fall of Khartoum was due not only to the treachery of FaiaghPasha, but also to that of several of the Mahdi's followers,whomade their wayinto Khartoum and sowed dissension among the garrison. For some days before Gordon's gallant straggle ended large numbers of therebelswererovingabout the town, andpaving the way for the betrayal of the garrison. Faragh according to this account, had the command of the western gate of the garrison— that is to say, the gatecommanding* the Mahdi's position at Omdurman, his duty being to admitinto the town andlook after alldeserters from the Mahdi's camp. Those who obtained admission in this way werevery considerable in numbers,particularly just before thebetrayal tookplace,allthe fugitives pretending that they had left the rebel camp owing to the famine that prevailed there. They were hospitably entertained at Khartoum,and, at their ownrequest, weredistributed overthe westernfortifications of the garrison, under the traitor Faragh Pasha. They appear to have behaved well enough in repelling the attacks of the Mahdi's followers, and on this account Gordon does not seem to have suspected any possible treachery on their part. On January 21 Faragh informed Gordon that the famine in the Mahdi's camphad reached its acutest stage, and that the rebels would desert by hundredsif they could only safely cross the White Nile.* Gordon accordingly ordered two of his steamers to cruise about before Omdurman for the purpose of taking up any fugitives whomight wantto cross overtoKhartoum. Thecaptains ofthe steamers,however, were bribedby the Mahdi, and on the night of January 25 conveyed across the White Nile, from Omdurman to Khartoum, several hundred rebels, who were admitted through the western gate of the garrison by Faragh Pasha at four o'clock on the morning of January 26,Faragh being assisted by those under his command, w-ho had gained admission into Khartoumas fugitives. Various natives stated that it was by the southernor Messalamia gate thatthe rebels entered,andaccording to informationcollectedby Khasmel-Moos, the first to enter the city werethe Gaulin tribe.

Another versionsuppliedbyColonelBoscawen was to the effect that"one of the treacherous pashas marched the garrison to the Omdurmanside of the city, telling them that anattack of the Mahdi's troops wasexpected there. Meanwhilethe otherpashaopenedthe gates ofKhartoum, allowing the rebelsto enter."

Whatever mayhave been theparticular circumstances, itis at least certainthat the rebelsgained admittanceby.

treachery. On that point all accounts agree. As to what followed, however,there is a considerable amount. of conflicting testimony. Two natives informed Sir Charles Wilson,onhis way down the Nile, that General Gordonand M. Nicola,the Greek consul, had shut themselves up in the Catholic church of Khartoum with 500 Greeks, some men of the Shagiya tribe, a large store of ammunition, and a certain quantity of food. As this positionwasknownto be very strong, there seemedto be yet a fainthope of savingGordon— providing, of cotu*se, that the informationwas correct. It was certainly confirmed by some other natives who were questioned by Khasm-el-Moos, but all hope vanished when they declared that the Mahdi after summoning Gordon to surrender, which the latter declined to do, had shelled the church and reduced it to ruins,everyone inside it being killed.

A verydifferent andfar morecircumstantial account of tainty, as the accounts furnished by different refugees and messengers varied in important particulars. The Mahdi's partisans pretended that the whole affair was a miracle,and the Ameer of Berber sent aletter to that effect to all the generals under his command. One of these letters, foundinthe saddle-bagof a rebelmessenger, ran as follows:— "In the name of God, &e.— From Mohammed Kheir Abdullah Khoy Fali, Ameer General of Berber, to his friend Abdul Magid Abiel-Lckalek andall his men.— Iinform youthat to-day, after the midday prayer, we received a letter from the faithfulKhalifa Abdullah Eben Mohammed, in which he tells us thatKhartoum was taken on Monday, the OthRabi, 1302,onthe side of El Haouiin the following manner:— iiiki \1 1■- i. "The Mahdi prayed uponhis Dervishes and his troops to advance against the fortifications, and entered Khartoum in a quarter of an hour. They killed the traitor Gordon, and captured the steamers and boats. Godhas made the Mahdiglorious. "Be grateful, and thank andpraise God forhis unspeakablemercy. Iannounceit to you. Tell your troops."

Whatever reports,however, the Mahdimayhave been pleased to spreadabroad in view of enhancinghis saintlyprestige and thefanaticismof his adherents,there canbe no doubtbut thatKhartoum wascaptured through the treacheryof Faragh and other pashas. Gordonhimself stated inthe privateletterbefore referred tothatFaragh and AhmedGelabBey werenegotiatingfor the surrender of the city to the Mahdi. It is alleged that he had always mistrusted Faragh,treason having been proved againsthimon a previous occasion,inrespect of whichhe w-as condemned to death. Yielding,however,to Faragh's reiteratedprayersfor pardon and professions of devotion, Gordon eventually forgave him, For many months Faragh's conduct was above suspicion;but it is thought that he was induced to re-open negotiations with the Mahdiby the fear that punishment would overtake him on the arrival of theEnglish. Theposition had,moreover,becomeextremelydifficult at Khartoum by reason of the capture of Omdurman by the Mahdi. Provisions were very scarce, and fear of starvation acted as an incentive" to treachery. The Egyptian soldier, whose narrative of the siege,published by theDailyNeivs,has beenfrequently quotedin these pages,stated that there were traitors within the city who met and took counsel together against Gordon. " He was warned,but replied, 'Suffer it to be so.' The plan was to deliver over the city whenever the English drew near. The number of traitors increased daily as the people became hopeless. Another thing, and this decided many:afterthe battle of AbouKlea the rebels went downand collected all the helmets they could find. Theyshowed these to us, waving them outside the trenches, and saying,'Thus and thus have we eaten up the Feringhees*.' Thus even faithful men were sorely tempted, and became sick at heart. At night timethe enemy often came to thesouth end, within speaking distance; andweusedtorevileeach other. We werecalledthecursedrebels whospoke evil of the fathersand motherstothethirdand fourthgeneration. Inreturn we calledthem'sonsof dogs,'and shouted'Allah bourouGehenna,yerebelliousones;maledictionson your fathers;departtoGehenna;'andthey wouldmake answer 'Ye areslaves of theinfidels;ye too are infidels,asyou do not believe in ourbook. We willcat you up, and wipe youfrom the face of the earthof Allah.' Thus and thus didwe call out to eachother during thelongnight."

According to the Mubashir, a paper published' at * Gordon's Admiral, Khasm-el-Moos, confirmed this statement in part, mentioning thatthe Mahdi had anumber of helmets made,like the English ones,and had sent his men to parade them in sight of the townspeople, while shouting that they were the helmets of soldiers they had killed in battle.

* This account does not tally withthe statement that provisions were very scarce in Khartoum. The rebels would have been even worseoff for food inside thecity thanoutside it.