Ismail in 1874 appointed Gordon to be Governor of
the Equatorial Province in succession to Sir Samuel Baker. The name of
the General was a sufficient guarantee that the slave trade was being
earnestly attacked. The Khedive would gladly have stopped at the
guarantee, and satisfied the world without disturbing 'vested
interests.' But the mission, which may have been originally instituted
as a pretence, soon became in Gordon's energetic hands very real.
Circumstances, moreover, soon enlisted the sympathies of the Egyptian
Government on the side of their zealous agent. The slave dealers had
committed every variety of atrocity for which the most odious traffic
in the world afforded occasion; but when, under the leadership of Zubehr
Rahamna, they refused to pay their annual tribute, it was felt in Cairo
that their crimes had cried aloud for chastisement.

Zubehr is sufficiently described when it has been said that he was the
most notorious slave dealer Africa has ever produced. His infamy had
spread beyond the limits of the continent which was the scene of his
exploits to the distant nations of the north and west. In reality, his
rule was a distinct advance on the anarchy which had preceded it, and
certainly he was no worse than others of his vile trade. His scale
of business was, however, more extended. What William Whiteley was in
respect of goods and chattels, that was Zubehr in respect of slaves--a
universal provider. Magnitude lends a certain grandeur to crime; and
Zubehr in the height of his power, at the head of the slave merchants'
confederacy, might boast the retinue of a king and exercise authority
over wide regions and a powerful army.

As early as 1869 he was practically the independent ruler of the
Bahr-el-Ghazal. The Khedive resolved to assert his rights. A small
Egyptian force was sent to subdue the rebel slaver who not only
disgraced humanity but refused to pay tribute. Like most of the
Khedivial expeditions the troops under Bellal Bey met with ill-fortune.
They came, they saw, they ran away. Some, less speedy than the rest,
fell on the field of dishonour. The rebellion was open. Nevertheless it
was the Khedive who sought peace. Zubehr apologised for defeating the
Viceregal soldiers and remained supreme in the Bahr-el-Ghazal. Thence he
planned the conquest of Darfur, at that time an independent kingdom. The
Egyptian Government were glad to join with him in the enterprise. The
man they had been unable to conq