THE MADMAN OF HOUR

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12999, 15 December 1902, Page 6

THE MADMAN OF HOUR

The report of the assassination of tho Mad -Mullah still lacks confirmation, and even if Haji Mahomed Abdullah has disappeared from the scene of his sensational earthly career it is by no means certain that his spirit, inhabiting the body of some other fanatic, will not continue to lead the turbulent Somali tribes. It is some four years since Mahomed began to disturb the peace in East Africa, and, though little is known of his earlier history, he has lately furnished plenty of material for official and journalistic reports. He is described as being “a. tall dark man, with a small goatee beard,” a fairly obvious portrait that would fit live out of /every sis; men in Somaliland. He. began, as most African reformers have begun, on the side of moderation and peace, his various jour- ' neys to Mecca having given him a reputation for extraordinary piety and wisdom. Until 1899 ho was quite friendly to the British, hut in July of that year Colonel! Sadler, the. British Consul-General, reported to tho Foreign Office that the Mullah had “gone off his head.” Since then Mohamed has kept Somaliland in a stir, and has carried on a guerilla campaign witn considerable success. He proclaimed 'himself the deputy-head of a particularly pious sect, enjoining on his followers greater regularity in the hours of prayer and stricter observance of forms and ceremonies, and interdicting the chewing of an intoxicating leaf, popular 'among the Somalis and coast Arabs. His madness from the beginning took -the form of active hostility to the British. He claimed supernatural powers, too, and, as he had obtained some firearms, it was not long before ’ the Dolbahanta tribes acknowledged bis temporal and spiritual supremacy. Effective British control did not reach so far from Berbera, and Mohamed terrorised the districts along the borders of the British Protectorate. The Protectorate officials, unwilling to disturb the whole country, .'pdoevoured to maintain order without re-

sorting to arms, but when the . Mullahr. seized a couple of Protectorate towns and proclaimed himself the Mahdi, Colonel Sadler thought it time to take action. Mohamed was proclaimed'an outlaw, but this only drove him into open and active hostility. His methods were simple and effective. He seized the 'head men of tribes that had not declared for him and looted all the movable property. The men ho flogged until they promised to bring in all their followers. His raids enabled him tol purchase arms freely from smuggler? on the coast and in Italian territory, and a? hi* power increased he raided indiscriminately, into Abyssinia, and British and Italian Somaliland- Last year’s operations against him, as far as they went, were quite successful. The curious feature of the little' war was the fact that, though constantly beaten, the Mullah did not lose his hold over his troops. Assuming from the despatches that the Mullah’s power was ■ broken, the Foreign Office last year direct? ed Colonel Swayne to abandon the pursuit* . and the native levies, who had worked Well in the desert, were disbanded. It is alleged that Colonel Swayne’s retirement was ordered from London against the expressed , judgment of Colonel Sadler and Colonel' Swayne himself. Be that as it may, the fact is clear that the retirement was a, costly mistake. Within a few months the Mullah was as strong and as active as ever* and a second expedition,, hurriedly sent against him, had to return to the coast to refit after an indecisive action. It is the third expedition that is now engaging at? tention, and this time troops from India; arc" being used to “stiffen’ 1 the Somali levies and the African regular?. - What is needed most in Somaliland seems to be aa able commanding officer, who should be given a free hand* with all the military, support he needs. Of course,'if Mohamed -. Abdullah is dead the situation is materially, altered, but this campaign seems likely to prove an unusually costly and difficult „ “ little war.”