GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 16
their flocks. The wilder southern tribes chiefly live on the fruit of the dhoumpalm and thebaobab tree, though
someof them cultivate a little dhurra. When they can obtainanimal food, it is a matter of indifference to them
whether theydevourit raw or cooked, and they are said to polish a skeleton as cleanly as any pack of hyænas or jackals;this accomplished, they are apt to tepresstheir satisfactionin wildpicturesque dances.
When feeding, remarks the author of "The Wild Tribes of the Soudan," these peoplepresent anything but a pretty sight;and he goes onto describe how a party of Base with shouts and yells precipitated themselves upon the carcase of a buffalo," struggling for the pos- session of what they looked upon as tit-bits. The entrails and all parts that could not conveniently be transported were devoured raw on the spot, and the black hides of the BasfS soonbecamedyedin gore as they
wallowed in thehorrible mess." As though by wayof a corrective of their gormandising propensities, they have a singular partiality for medicine, delighting inagood strong emetic, or a powerful "aperient, the latter more especially in the form ofpills.
All the tribeshave theirparticular form of oath when making friends or sealing contracts, which afterwards they dare neither break nor infringe. Some tribes lay a naked sword on the ground, and after drawing their feet alongit,place the palms of theirhands on the blade; otherswill simply throw a stone, or extinguish a flame,
while horsemen frequently swear by the bridles of their steeds. The tribes of the White Nile have a peculiar way of reposing themselves while preserving an erect position. This consists inplacing the sole of their right foot against their left knee, in which almost impossible attitudetheywillremainfor aconsiderable lengthof time.
descendants of the ancient Cushites, and dwell in the mountains along theBed Sea andin the deserts between Suakim and Berber. To the east and south are their kindredthe Hadendowas, a numerous and warlike race,
whose pasturelands lie west of the Atbarariver. This tribe furnishes most of thecamel drivers belonging to the "caravans that are constantly traversing the different
desertroutes. In conjunction with their neighbours the Beni Amer, one of the largest andmost powerful tribes
of East Africa, thousands of them are to-day enrolled
under the banner of Osman Digna. Taka is mainly peopledby Bedja tribes,including the quarrelsome Basl,
whose negro featurespartake very much of the baboon type,and who, while inspiringterror in their neighbours, live themselves in constant dread of the latter. The Shukwie,anotherBedjatribe, whosesheikhhasplayed an importantpart in the present rebellion,inhabit the tract of country stretching from Gos Begeb to Khartoum, between the Atbara and the Blue Nile, and extending southwards as far as Suk Abu Sin. The inhabitants of Northern Senaar are descendants of the Fung, another branch of the hugeBedja family7, whileSouthern Senaar ispeopledby the Abu Boos. Otherneighbouring tribes are the Dabaina and the Hamadab.
The population of the province of Kordofan is made up,first, of Nuba negroes,who wTere the originalinhabi- tants;secondly of Dongolawis,immigrants from the east,
andwho are the principal husbandmenand traders; and thirdly', of nomadic Bedouins from Hedjaz. Chief amongst these are the mightyKababeesh in the north- east, the Hassanieyeh and their kindred the Beni Gerar
in the south-west, and the fierce and warlikeBaggaras. These last, who inhabit southern Kordofan near the Nile, derive their name from baquare, a cow, cattle- breedingbeingtheir principal occupation. Theypossess "great herds of oxen, mounted on which,and armed with four or five lances apiece, they flock in hundreds to the market at El Obeid. From these Arab tribes the bulk of the Mahdi's warriors w*ere recruited, the Has- sanieyeh and the Baggaras having followed the False
Prophetfrom the very first. Their modeof warfareis of the most daring character. "They never wait to be "attacked. Theironslaughtis furious. Theysweepdownon their foe in onesuddenrush,andtheirplan ofbattle is in-
variably7tothrowtheirenemyintoconfusionbytherapidity of the attack, whichalways takes 2"*lace in theopen."*
The wildtribes of the Soudan mostly go naked to the waist,witha scrap of cotton cloth wrapped round their loins, and occasionally an undergarment of leather. Those whostudypersonalappearancerunskewersthrough theirhair, and wearnecklacesandbraceletsof beads and
CHAPTEK III. Charles George Gordon.— Comes of a family of soldiers. — Is gazetted
to the Koyal Engineers.— His services in the Crimea and inChina. — Isappointedto the command of the "Ever Victorious Army." -— Crushes the Taeping rebellion.— Is decorated with the Yellow Jacket and the Peacock's Feather, and made aC.B.— Superintends the construction of the Thames defences.— His philanthropic efforts at Gravesend.— Proceeds to the Soudan as Governor- General of the Equator.— His energetic and beneficent rule.—
Gives a deadly blow to the slave trade.— Resigns his post and returns to England. Before describing Gordon's course of action in the Soudan, it willbe desirableto give a brief account of his previous career. Born at Woolwich on the 28th July, 1833,Charles GeorgeGordoncame of a familyof soldiers. His great-grandfather servedunder Sir John Cope, and
was taken prisonerby the Highlanders at Preston Pans. His grandfather,a godson of Butcher Cumberland, saw muchhardservice,and fought on the plainsof Abraham under Wolfe. His father, Henry William Gordon, an artillery officer,rose to the rank of Lieutenant-General,
whilsthis mother was the daughter of SamuelEnderby, a greatLondonmerchant andshipowner. Young Gordon enteredthe BoyalMilitaryAcademy at Woolwich, where it is saidhe was rebukedfor incompetence,and told that he would never make anofficer. Gazetted, to the Koyal Engineersin 1852, he sailed for the Crimea, and arrived
at Balaclavaon New Year's Day, 1855,in themidst of the terrible " black winter." He soon attractednotice "not merelyby his energy and activity," writes Colonel Chesney, "but by an extraordinary aptitude for war, developingitselfamidthe trench work beforeSebastopol, inapersonal knowledgeof the enemy'smovements, such
as no other officer attained." He took part in the first assaulton the Bedan, and in the capture of the quarries,
driedpalm leaves. It is apoint ofhonour with themall neverto be withouttheir arms, which consist of lances, long, straight, broad-bladed, double-edged swords, and round or oval shields of hippopotamus or giraffe hide. Only a few of thempossess guns. The womenand girls, who oftenhave handsome faces and graceful forms, wear no other clothing than a few yards of cotton cloth swathed round the waist and hanging to the knee. When they can procure them, they delight inbedecking
themselves with beads and cowrie shells, and with anklets madeof the skin of some animal. Earrings and noserings are also favouriteadornments. The food ofthe Soudanese, who are abstemious, rather from necessity
than choice, consists in the case of the nomadic tribes mainlyof"dhurra," or maize, obtained from the settle- ments in exchangefor skins, charcoal, and the surplus of * "With Hicks Pasha in the Soudan,"by Col. theHon. J. Col- borne.