Kordofan. This province was then administered
by a Magdum appointed by Sultan Musallem, of Darfur, who, hearing of the
advance of the "Turks," collected a large force, and awaited the
invaders at Bara. Spies had told him that it would be impossible to
fight the Turks, as they used fire; but the Magdum laughed at the idea,
and said he had no fear of fire. Moreover, to prove his word, he had an
immense quantity of thorns and brushwood collected, which he set fire
to, and then ordered his cavalry to dash through it; these bold and
fearless riders did so, and received no great harm. Thus did he impress
his followers that they need have no fear of the Turks; but the good man
had no notion of firearms and what they were. He met the attack of the
Turks in the most heroic manner; but he and most of his followers fell,
and the province became an Egyptian possession, though no steps were
taken to establish a government there.

It was not until August 1874, that the bold slave-hunter Zubeir Pasha
attacked and took the ancient kingdom of Shakka, and thus did Ismail
Pasha extend the Egyptian authority over Darfur.

From that date the country knew no peace; there was a constant series of
little wars. Slatin had fought no less than twenty-seven battles. Then
after the defeat of Hicks Pasha came the Dervishes, and Zogal became
Emir of Darfur, residing at El Fasher; but his rule was not peaceful.
The Sultan Dudbenga was fought, overcome, and sent to Omdurman a
prisoner in 1884; thence he was sent to Galabat, where he died. After
this, Zogal was left undisturbed, and succeeded in accumulating a
considerable amount of riches; but when the Mahdi died, Zogal, as we
have seen, was summoned to Omdurman, and left Darfur in the hands of
Sultan Yusef, Dudbenga's son; this sultan was entirely submissive to the
Khalifa; and when Sheikh Madibbo, of the Rizighat tribe, revolted
against Karamallah, the Dervish Emir of Bahr el Ghazal, and fled to
Jebel Marra, Sultan Yusef took him prisoner, and sent him back to
Karamallah, who passed him on to Abu Anga, by whom he was decapitated in
El Obeid.

But Abdullah did not wish Darfur to continue in this semi-independent
state; he therefore instructed Karamallah to raid the country from
Dara. Yusef sent word, begging that their respective boundaries might be
adhered to, but Karamallah only raided the more. In self-defence Yusef
sent out his army, and thus a war broke out, which was just what
Abdullah wante