Seven Yeat's in the Soudan.

to his son, and wliicli were seized at Berber and forwarded to Khartoum. They contained forty Turkish saddles, richly ornamented in gold and silver, of the value of 1000 to 1500 francs each, and several swords richly inlaid with gold. For whom were these things destined ? At Khartoum horses are not to be found except on rare occasions, and in Bahr-el-Ghazal they are entirely wanting. They could only have been meant for the great chiefs at Darfour, who certainly would also take part in the rebellion as soon as it broke out. This outbreak was not the result of a simple accident, but rather planned in such a way that, at a given day, all the province of the Soudan was to rise in open rebellion. Farther on I shall say more about the subject, giving the clearest explanation of the reason why Bahr-el-Ghazal alone had revolted.

I had proposed to Gordon, with the intention of quelling the revolt, to send out an expedition, and to assemble all the proprietors of scribe who resided at Khartoum and procure their commands for their agents in Bahr-el-Ghazal to place themselves under my orders, so that I could make use of them in pacifying the revolution. For this purpose each proprietor was to send a delegate to join my expedition. One of the most influential merchants on the Gazelle river, a certain El Arbab, proprietor of the seriba of Gangi, who ruled over more than twelve liundred armed men, had been named Vekil of Bahr-el-Ghazal. He was a great friend of Ziber Pasha and his son, who looked upon him as a father.

When the four relations of Ziber knew of the. dispositions taken by the Government against Suleiman, they spontaneously offered to come with me as mediators, for the purpose of obliging Suleiman to submit to the Viceroy. They signed a document in which they declared that they would use all their influence, and they guaranteed the good result of their mission, for they said the greater part of the