more fighting to do, took to highway robbery. Numbers of them hovered
about in the desert a few hours' distance from Omdurman, and amused
themselves by falling on caravans coming from Kordofan or Berber, and
pillaging and killing to their heart's content. Their depredations
became so constant that the Mahdi decided that he must employ them
somewhere, so he ordered Abu Anga to proceed with them to the still
independent Dar Nuba country, which he was to conquer, and obtain from
thence recruits for his Jehadieh, or Black Army.

But there was also another reason which induced the Mahdi to undertake
this campaign. During the siege of Omdurman a certain Baggara Sheikh, of
Birket, named Noaia, deserted, and gathering a number of malcontents in
Dar Nuba, he defied the Mahdi's authority. When I was at El Obeid there
were all sorts of strange stories current about the doings of Noaia, who
had gathered numbers of horsemen from the Howazma and Miserieh tribes,
and had made himself decidedly formidable. All those disappointed
slave-hunters and slave-dealers who--annoyed with the suppression of
their trade by the Egyptian Government--had flocked in numbers to the
Mahdi's standard, now had begun to find out that they were rather worse
off than before, and were, in reality, little better than the Mahdi's
slaves. These people sought every occasion to desert to Noaia. Abu Anga
therefore received orders to hunt him down and annihilate him. He
collected his men, quitted the now debauched and pleasure-loving
Omdurman, and proceeded to the Tagalla Mountain, at the foot of which he
encamped.

After the death of King Adam, his followers had again thrown off the
Dervish yoke and were now in open revolt; against these Abu Anga
conducted several successful expeditions, and captured numbers of
slaves, but suffered some loss as well. As long as Abu Anga was in the
neighbourhood, Tagalla was more or less in a state of submission; but
the moment he moved off they again broke out into active opposition.

Abu Anga now advanced on Noaia, whose adherents, alarmed by the presence
of the soldiers, dispersed. These blacks are greatly feared in the
Sudan, not only on account of their great bravery in battle, but also it
is well known that they are merciless to their conquered enemies.

Sheikh Noaia was eventually secured and thrown into chains, and a few
days later he died of small-pox. Abu Anga attacked almost all the Nuba
mountains; at times he was suc