), but the specks were few--only two or three--and
were supposed to be the advanced guard, and before the men of Fogia
knew where they were, the station was taken!"

Writing from Oomchanga near Fascher, the capital of Darfour, he says:--

"All this revolt is the fault of the Bashi-Bazouks. I said the
other day, 'If the people of this country were Ryahs or Christians,
I might understand your bad treatment of them, but I do not when I
see they are Mussulmans, as you.' Upon which the Darfourians were
delighted, and clapped their hands. Now the Darfourians were so
fanatical that they would never let a Christian into their country,
and now they ask me to send Christian Governors!"

Their hatred of the Bashi-Bazouks was well illustrated by an incident
Gordon mentions, which was told him by one of the officers. "An officer
declared to me," he said, "that a woman with an officer escaped with
the child he had by her, and taking the child to the chief of the
insurgents, asked him to kill it, as 'the child of a Turk,' which the
chief did."

On June 29 Gordon was able to write, "We have made peace with the
tribes around here half-way to Fascher;" but he records, "I speak my
mind, and I cannot help saying to some" (of the Darfourians who had
come in to ask for peace), "'You ought to pardon me.' Really no people
could have been treated worse than these people."

* * *

No sooner was one trouble settled than he was off on another
expedition, and this time his steps were directed towards Dara, the
stronghold of the great prince of slave-dealers, Zebehr Rahama. _En
route_ he was nearly starved as well as poisoned by putrid water.
Writing from Toashia on July 3, he says, "We have been two whole days
without meat," and he finds a garrison who for three years have been
without pay! He left Toashia on July 11 with 500 men, of whom 150 only
were any good. On this march there was a threatened attack, which
fortunately did not come off, but that he felt he was in great danger
we may gather from the extract: "We have, thank God, passed our
dangers. Whether they were imaginary or not, I do not know, but we were
threatened by an attack from thousands of determined blacks, who knew I
was here. Now very few Englishmen know what it is to be with troops
they have not a bit of confidence in.... I do not fear death, but I
fear, from want of faith, the results of my death--f