uer, they found it expedient to
assist. The operations were successful. The King of Darfur, who was
distinguished no less for his valour than for his folly, was killed.
The whole country was subdued. The whole population available after
the battles became slaves. Zubehr thus wielded a formidable power. The
Khedivial Government, thinking to ensure his loyalty, created him a
Pasha--a rank which he could scarcely disgrace; and the authority of
the rebel was thus unwillingly recognised by the ruler. Such was the
situation when Gordon first came to the Soudan.

It was beyond the power of the new Governor of the Equatorial Province
at once to destroy the slave-hunting confederacy. Yet he struck heavy
blows at the slave trade, and when in 1877, after a short visit to
England, he returned to the Soudan as Governor-General and with absolute
power, he assailed it with redoubled energy. Fortune assisted his
efforts, for the able Zubehr was enticed to Cairo, and, once there, the
Government refused to allow their faithful ally and distinguished guest
to go back to his happy-hunting grounds. Although the slave dealers were
thus robbed of their great leader, they were still strong, and Zubehr's
son, the brave Suliman, found a considerable following. Furious at his
father's captivity, and alarmed lest his own should follow, he meditated
revolt. But the Governor-General, mounted on a swift camel and attired
in full uniform, rode alone into the rebel camp and compelled the
submission of its chiefs before they could recover from their amazement.
The confederacy was severely shaken, and when, in the following year,
Suliman again revolted, the Egyptian troops under Gessi Pasha were able
to disperse his forces and induce him to surrender on terms. The terms
were broken, and Suliman and ten of his companions suffered death by
shooting [von Slatin, Baron Rudolf Karl. FIRE AND SWORD IN THE SOUDAN,
p.28.] The league of the slave dealers was thus destroyed.

Towards the end of 1879 Gordon left the Soudan. With short intervals he
had spent five busy years in its provinces. His energy had stirred the
country. He had struck at the root of the slave trade, he had attacked
the system of slavery, and, as slavery was the greatest institution in
the land, he had undermined the whole social system. Indignation had
stimulated his activity to an extraordinary degree. In a climate usually
fatal to Europeans he discharged the work of five officers. Careless