Writings

[5100]
I arrived in Khartoum 20 days ago after a really long and gruelling journey. This lengthy experience prompted me to make the following decisions with regard to facilitating the journeys of Missionaries and Sisters in Central Africa. Thus journeys that have so far been wearying will henceforth become really enjoyable and comfortable trips from Cairo to Khartoum for Missionaries and Sisters.
[5101]
1. The departures of Missionaries and Sisters will take place only in the months of September or October and rarely in November. There will never be any departures in the other 9 months of the year.
[5102]
2. Missionaries and Sisters will always take the route to Suakin on the Red Sea although it costs more than the Nile route. They will take with them only their personal effects and the provisions necessary to live on as far as Khartoum. Thus the sisters will be able to reach Khartoum from Cairo in 40 days and will always find water and a comfortable freshness in the desert between Suakin and Berber.
[5103]
3. All the provisions, linen and necessary items for the various Missions in Central Africa will be shipped by a new Franco-Egyptian company which has recently been set up in all the ports of Europe and of Egyptian Sudan, one of whose centres is Khartoum.
[5104]
Since any provisions and packages shipped to the following address pay no customs fees either in Alexandria or in Suakin, here is the address that the Mother House should use to have the cases and baggage you will receive in Paris, Lyons and other parts of France on my behalf sent directly to me.
“To the Imperial Royal Austro-Hungarian Consul in Alexandria of Egypt for His Most Reverend Excellency, Mgr Comboni, Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa in Khartoum”.

[5105]
In this way I save many thousands of francs each year.
In Khartoum, as in all the Sudan, I found a frightful famine due to the lack of rain, so that for durrah which used to cost 7 francs the ardeb, I paid 60 francs in Korosko and Berber and 45 here in Khartoum. In Kordofan we pay 1 franc for one borma (4 litres) of water, and butter which cost half a franc the roll, now costs 2 francs, and 3 in Korosko and Berber. But St Joseph, my bursar, will be the remedy for everything. He will have to pour out thousands of coins from his beard.

[5106]
Now about us. I found my four dear sisters of Khartoum in a perfect state of health, especially Sr Severina who in two and a half years has never had a headache, although she works night and day.
Our four Sisters in Khartoum are a miracle of dedication and charity. Sr Severina is a true Mother, Sr Germana is a real missionary type; Sr Eufrasia is an angel; Sr Enrichetta is a real Sister of charity and succeeds in everything. These four have the true spirit of their admirable Congregation. In their simplicity and devotion, they have silently sustained all the work of this difficult Mission. They are four priests who do the work of eight.

[5107]
But we must take pity on them. At least four other sisters are necessary for Khartoum, in addition to the Mother Provincial or principal Superior of the Sudan, so that she can visit the other houses; and the two houses in El Obeid and Malbes need at least four more Sisters in addition to the four we already have in Kordofan.
So for the month of July or at least September, you must send me (I beg you with tears in my eyes) nine Sisters, that is, a Mother Provincial or principal Superior and eight Sisters. The Vicariate of Central Africa is the largest and most laborious on earth; here the Sister’s work is a priesthood. Wherever the Sisters are, there is a stable Mission.

[5108]
We have to create everything. Consequently the Sisters in Central Africa have a thousand more merits than those in all the other Missions throughout the world.
The Congregation of St Joseph, its courage and heroic devotion to Central Africa, has earned a high reputation in the loftiest and most enlightened minds. It has had its trials with the death of several Sisters, victims of their charity, but trials are followed by triumph.

[5109]
At the present time, the main obstacles that had prevented the Mission’s progress and sown disorder throughout the Vicariate have been removed. At the present time, I have banished from Kordofan Fr Policarpo who accompanied the last three Sisters to Khartoum, and who caused them great suffering. I have ordered him to come to Khartoum and from here I will send him back to his diocese.
[5110]
You will see that the house in Kordofan will go perfectly well. I know that Sr Anna and Sr Maria Giuseppa have asked several times to return to Europe, and I shall not be the one to refuse them this grace; for these Sisters have had to tolerate a lot of injustices, especially Sr Anna. They have worked hard for the Mission and have many virtues.
[5111]
Sr Anna has borne enormous suffering and humiliations in the cause of right, and has worked harder than two priests for the Mission. Sr Maria, with the other sisters, has kept the Mission in Kordofan going at the most critical moments, and they both have many merits before God and before Central Africa, as I said to the Pope and to His Eminence Cardinal Franchi. Since I know my people, I hope I shall find the house of Kordofan, under the wise and gentle direction of Sr Arsenia, as I found that of Khartoum.
[5112]
But, for the love of God, send me at least nine sisters this year. A Sister in Central Africa works with greater merit than ten sisters in other missions, because here we must create everything: here we are in the same state as Marseilles after the death of Jesus Christ, when St Lazarus arrived with his Sisters. Our Sisters have had their trials. They will have their triumph. God’s works must be born and grow at the foot of the Cross. The Congregation of St Joseph will have a thousand blessings from heaven for having been the first to come to the aid of the Vicariate of Central Africa, which is worthy of its dedication.
[5113]
Funeral services were held with solemn Masses for the repose of our dear Mother General in Verona, in Cairo, in Berber, in Khartoum, in Kordofan and in our large ship in Shellal, where I heard the sad news. Then we celebrated 65 Masses.
I must confess, for the truth of the matter, that I cannot explain why the Convention for our Sisters was not established between me and Mother General. As soon as she arrived in Rome this summer, we were in perfect agreement and it only remained for us to put everything in writing. Then there were the days in preparation for my consecration, she was ill and Sr Caterina died. Exhausted after my Consecration, I departed from Rome leaving my secretary expressly to wind up this matter with Mother General and Propaganda.

[5114]
But in spite of all the steps taken by my secretary and the full agreement of Mother and the Cardinal, nothing was done. Mother General was a great woman of the Gospel; she presented herself before God’s tribunal with the surprising spectacle of a 43-year apostolate spent in the missions and at the service of souls and of the Catholic Church.
What Bishops, what Patriarchs can present themselves before God with so many merits, so much work and so many achievements, undertaken for the Church and for the Faith? Oh, I believe St Peter will have opened all the gates of Heaven to Mother Emilie Julien, and he will have raised her to the highest place in heaven!

[5115]
But we have not concluded matters concerning Central Africa. It is you, good Mother, whom Heaven has designated to perpetuate the canonical existence of the Sisters in Central Africa which is a very different Mission from all others. This is why I think it is necessary to proceed in this way to establish a perpetual Convention with the Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa.
You will need to make the new Provincial or principal Superior of Central Africa, whom I hope you will send next September, responsible for establishing the above-mentioned Convention, after she has visited Khartoum and Kordofan and the field of activities of the present and future Sisters. The Convention which was drawn up is one Mother desired and which I accepted in order to reach our goal; but it is impracticable and impossible in Central Africa, and in the opinion of all the Superiors and all the Sisters of Central Africa.

[5116]
Grant me a good Provincial Superior and I will do everything she wishes after she has been a short time in Central Africa; I want the good of Africa and of my most courageous soldiers, that is, of the Sisters and of the Congregation that trained them for the apostolate.
I hope the Holy Spirit will elect Mother Eufrasia Maraval as Mother General, because you know the missions which are the principal character of the Congregation better than anyone else. You are the one who saved the Sisters of Cairo for me in 1869 and it will be you who will safeguard them for me in Central Africa, until the end of the world.

[5117]
In Berber there are five Sisters from my Institute in Verona. They are destined for a new Mission which I shall soon be founding. Here is my secret, based on my long experience of 21 years. In a Station or Mission where there are six or seven Sisters, I can only put two Missionary Priests, and two priests with six Sisters in a Mission in Central Africa will do more good than a Mission with twelve priests but without Sisters. This is a truth.
[5118]
Then a Mission here without Sisters is very bad for priests. The Sister is a defence, she is a guarantee for the Missionary here, where women are in the primitive state! All the women here are under the complete jurisdiction and in the total charge of the Mother Superior, and the Missionary has nothing to do with them except to administer the Sacraments to them. The Missionary is solely concerned with the male sex. You can clearly see that the Sister’s Mission in Central Africa will grow and will be increased by many candidates in Europe.
[5119]
While waiting, I shall be leaving for Kordofan in mid-June and you should always write to me in Khartoum at my episcopal residence. I beg you to send me as soon as possible the two Arab Sisters Mother General promised me in Rome and for whom, for their upkeep in the Noviciate, I gave Mother General 1,000 francs. I would be glad if there were others. You know the advantageous conditions I made for Mother Emilie, for the Provincial, for each Sister and for every Superior in the Sudan. Keep the 1,200 francs from the Parish Priest, Capella, which you have received, and the money you will receive, for the Sisters’ journey to Cairo.
[5120]
Please give my greetings to the General Secretary, to Sr Ignazia who promised to write to me, and to the Most Reverend Father Superior, while I shall always be, in the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
All yours

+ Daniel Comboni
Bishop of Claudiopolis i.p.i.
Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa


Translated from French.

[5121]
A most disagreeable incident offers me the welcome pleasure of spending some time with you, kindest friend, whose love for the Christian civilisation of the immense regions of Central Africa of which I am Bishop and Vicar Apostolic, binds me to you in sincere and unchangeable friendship.
With reference to the worthy Esploratore, issue 9, p. 278, I had a look at your article entitled: Slavery, a Government Monopoly, which you wrote in the best of faith and based throughout on information from journalists, excellent certainly, but on this, misinformed.

[5122]
Since I find myself on the spot and in a position, given my office, to be perfectly informed of all the acts and steps of the Governor General of the Sudan, H. E. Gordon Pasha, and since the best type of information on a country and history is the truth, I feel in duty bound to rectify with you, a great lover of the truth, a few errors and some of the information found in the above-mentioned article.
[5123]
It first appears from the article as a whole that our friends Gessi and Matteucci found Gordon’s government an obstacle to the success of their expedition. There is nothing more mistaken than this, since thanks to all the help Gordon gave his representative Osman Pasha, they could undertake with every possible facilitation the difficult journey from Khartoum to Fadazi, the last stronghold of Egyptian domination and influence in its vast possessions in the South East.
[5124]
They took this route equipped, among other things, with assistance and powerful recommendations from Many Bey, who is now mudir in Fazoglo and governor of the various cities and provinces found on this route, and it was he who, after many testing years, succeeded in opening communications with Fadazi (whose chief he had had hung before his eyes), a point which had never been reached by any European except Marno who, with the protection of this same Bey and the Egyptian government, managed to reach Fadazi a few years ago.
[5125]
To prove this fact I have read a great many letters, written by our beloved Matteucci and Gessi from many points on this route to Mr Rosset, vice consul of Germany in Khartoum, and to several others, in which they express profuse gratitude to the government of the Sudan and beg the above-mentioned vice consul to convey their sentiments to Gordon, Osman Pasha and the mudir of Khartoum. I could quote many letters, but since I know that some were sent to Alexandria and to Milan as you will certainly read in some journal or other, I dispense myself from quoting their texts. I therefore also dispense myself from mentioning the powerful protection granted by Gordon Pasha, and the local Government to Mr Junket, Mr Von Lucas and Mr Marno, because someone wrote in detail about this recently, and with all truth.
In the Sudan I was a witness to the whole Marno affair; I was with Marno on the steamer that went to fetch him in Berber on the orders of Gordon Pasha who provided the steamer free of charge from the latter station as far as Khartoum, and from Khartoum to Ladò.

[5126]
The Governors of Berber and of Khartoum were given orders, which they carried out, to provide Marno lavishly, at the government’s expense, with every comfort; and he was lavishly provided, because I was with him at table and in the best places and everything was put at our disposal. Then when Marno reached the Bari, he demanded that Gordon, immediately and at once, make more than a hundred soldiers available to him, and I don’t know how many animals, etc. Gordon, as a military man, refused, because he only had a small number of soldiers at his disposal, he did not have the animals requested, and money was very scarce. Indeed Gordon Pasha was in a most awkward situation during those days because in the Bari he had received only the minimum number of the soldiers destined for him and none of the animals that were promised him in my presence in Khartoum. It was utterly impossible for Gordon to satisfy Marno’s excessive demands; this consequently gave rise to the most unfounded and unjust complaints against the illustrious Gordon.
[5127]
Then the article’s assertion that since Gordon has been in power all the news from the African interior has been interrupted, is absolutely false. The Catholic Mission has existed for 30 years. There has never been a time when communications were more reliable and certain than since Gordon has been in power. If Gordon had done nothing else, it would suffice to see what he has been able to do to facilitate communications with Darfur, that today mail is as safe between Khartoum and El Fasher it is between Milan and Naples. Under Gordon, the telegraph was extended from El Obeid to Darfur and is now being extended as far as Fashoda and Ghalabat. We have a fairly regular postal service between the lakes and Khartoum.
[5128]
Mr Emin Bey, under Gordon’s protection, has already made two journeys between Khartoum and Nyanza Victoria, and the consuls of Khartoum, Mr Hansal and Mr Rosset and many others from here are in regular communication with the lakes; since I too will be moving in that direction, after the kharif, to establish a mission there, it will be above all under Gordon’s protection that I shall be best able to carry out my enterprise. It was Gordon who set up eight military posts between Ladò on the White Nile (three hours to the north of the former Catholic mission of Gondokoro) and Dufilé, to facilitate communications with Nyanza Albert; and our Gessi was of powerful help under Gordon’s auspices. The posts are: Ladò, Rejaf, Beden, Kiri, Mujji, Laboré, Ayù, and Dufilé. These stations between Ladò and Dufilé can be reached on foot in a week.
[5129]
One travels from Dufilé to Magungo, a post in Nyanza Albert, by steamer and it is a journey of 120 miles. The efforts made by Baker and by many others to set up these communications are well known. Now today one can travel from Khartoum to Nyanza Albert as safely as from Milan to Geneva. This is all to Gordon Pasha’s merit. From Nyanza Albert then to Victoria, Gordon has established various stations; and six Indian elephants have arrived in Rejaf, to transport a steamship that will cross the whole of Lake Victoria.
[5130]
Today the war and all the obstacles interrupting free communications between Nyanza Albert and Nyanza Victoria due to Kabarega, King of Unyoro, no longer exist. The king, thanks to the steps taken by Gordon, is now our friend and lets travellers pass freely, especially Europeans. Not long ago he received Colonel Mason in his former residence in Missindi; Emin Effendi was also welcomed and given courteous hospitality by this king, and to complete his studies stayed a long time in the new royal residence of Mpàro Niamòga or Bogàia (according to the ambassadors of the same Kabarega who have just come to present their respects to the Egyptian Government here in Khartoum).
[5131]
Today communications between Nyanza Victoria and Khartoum are so reliable and regular thanks to the efforts of Gordon Pasha, that Mr Wilson, now leading the expedition of the Church Missionary Society and who lives in Dubàga with King M’tesa, instead of sending his correspondence via Zanzibar uses the Imperial Royal Consul Hansal in Khartoum to send his dispatches to London, and lately the above-mentioned consul (who is also consular agent of France and Italy) received a very large packet of letters which he immediately sent to London. And it is by this means that we heard the news of that expedition, that is, that one of its members died of an illness on Lake Tanganyika, that two were killed by the people of Ukerewe Island in Nyanza Victoria, etc., and that they are now searching for the others of whom nothing is known.
[5132]
Briefly, in the short time that Gordon Pasha has been governor, free communications with the interior of every region are a most splendid fact. Formerly nothing was ever known about the government; now everything is known, and Gordon protects travellers more than anyone else has ever done.
[5133]
What more? There is now a magnificent plan afoot to set up full, free and direct commercial links between Europe and Nyanza, so that it will be possible to embark goods and passengers at Genoa, Trieste, and Marseilles for Ladò at fixed and limited prices, paying either in advance or afterwards, and merchandise is guaranteed to its destination. Caravans, co-ordinated with the steamers from Suez and Suakin, are to be arranged by Gordon between Suakin and Berber, at far cheaper prices that those charged until now. This is very important news for our traders who import rubber and tamarind from the upper valley of the Nile, because transport costs have been very high until today, both via Suakin and via the Nile.
[5134]
Government steamers or dahabias will be run from Berber to Khartoum, as well as a steamer from Khartoum to Ladò. From Ladò to the lakes, as above. If, as is certain, this is organised (and it will be within the year) I shall never make any more expeditions from Cairo to Khartoum, nor will my missionaries; taking berths in Suez, my missionaries will travel to Khartoum with this company; and the provisions for my Vicariate (shipping has cost so much until now) will be embarked at Venice, Trieste, Genoa, Naples, and Marseilles, etc., and sent directly to Khartoum. This operation alone would be enough in itself to illustrate the government of Gordon Pasha, and his success in establishing regular communications between Khartoum and the lakes, with so many difficulties, would alone be enough to show that he governs like a king.
[5135]
After this I add a single thought: Gordon Pasha does not have the necessary number of European figures beside him to be a reliable help; he does not have at his disposal sufficient means to govern the immense country entrusted to him, he has no properly trained army: on the contrary, to accomplish his lofty mission he has all elements against him. Since little by little he has to try and stamp out the slave trade, he has the same people to help him whom the government had previously, that is, those mudirs, sangiaks, pashas and beys who formerly either authorised or were themselves involved in this infamous business. I maintain it is a true miracle that Gordon, with the persevering force of his will alone, has today succeeded in giving a blow to the slave trade and to slavery.
[5136]
It is an undeniable fact that on the routes of Kordofan, Fashoda, Dongola and along the Nile today, one no longer sees the immense hordes of slaves I saw 20 years ago. Slavery continues and will continue for many years, since to stamp it out completely is the work of centuries; but it exists in smaller proportions, as can be seen in Upper Egypt and throughout the Sudan. This is a rare merit of Gordon’s, and the rumour which has been spread in many places that with Gordon’s knowledge the government sent people to Bahr El Ghazal to capture ten thousand slaves, is quite mad. These are the machinations of persons unable to make money from the government with impunity and to profit as before by slavery, who seek to discredit Gordon; but the truth must triumph. Gordon Pasha is the fiercest enemy of slavery; I could quote irrefutable arguments. But this is enough for now.
[5137]
When I have time, I will write to you on the topic of slavery, which Gordon has sublime merit for reducing. It is necessary to witness the struggles and obstacles he must face in order to free slaves in a country where slavery is an age-old scourge and exists since the world was made, in a country where the slave trade and slavery are among the country’s greatest resources. We have been fighting for many years to save slaves, etc., and can estimate the extent of the problems Gordon is encountering and will encounter in fulfilling this commitment of his lofty mission.
[5138]
Then, my dear friend, calculate the immensity of the dominion which Gordon Pasha governs as Hoccomdar or Governor General. He commands in countries which extend from the Tropic to the Equator, from Suakin to the distant Darfur, Massaua, Berbera and Zeila and to the lands recently annexed by the Egyptian government on the Red Sea and to the East of Shoa. A few days ago, for example, we received his telegrams from Berber, yesterday from Massaua, etc. Now isn’t his mission extraordinarily vast, laborious and difficult? And what people must this man govern? I think that such a man deserves supreme respect even if he cannot do all he wishes, because, among other things, it should also be noted that he is not always supported in his operations.
[5139]
Moreover I am of the opinion that Gordon is a great man, that he is equal to his vast, laborious, and difficult mission and that devout wishes should be made that he will not tire, but persevere for many years in his post and office; humanity will be grateful to him.
[5140]
We are waiting here for our friends Matteucci and Gessi, because it was impossible for them to go on beyond Fadazi. Their expedition was not well organised and lacked one of the principal elements of success: money. I am very sorry, especially for Matteucci on whom everyone was counting, that since it was his first journey he should have had to turn back: but never mind. They did well to return and this undertaking will serve as a lesson to them, to succeed from now on in more important enterprises. Matteucci is a very capable young man and full of high promise. He has learned to travel in Central Africa, which is certainly unlike travelling in other parts of the world.
[5141]
I am also sure that his timely and most prudent withdrawal will serve as a greater spur to him to prepare for more useful and outstanding undertakings in the future. As for Gessi, I will advise him to put himself again at the disposal of Gordon, who likes and esteems him because he has been really faithful to him. Matteucci must undertake another enterprise in the meantime, before seeing Europe again. They are both now in Fazoglo. It seems that they want to visit Kadaref and Gallabat; but, in view of the strong kharif, I have advised them to come directly to Khartoum.
[5142]
Both will write to you about how well and courteously they were treated and assisted by the government of Gordon, who did not feel easy until our beloved Gessi, on his arrival, had been to visit him. But it is my efforts which brought these two together, and this will be a blessing to both Gessi and Gordon.
Lastly, I end my letter by congratulating you on the magnificent journal, l’Esploratore, which corresponds to the tone of the sublime title it bears, and I also thank you very much for graciously sending it to me, I receive it regularly. When my many serious affairs and the inconveniences of this weather, which is certainly nothing like our Lombard climate, allow it, I will give you precise news of the Sudan.

[5143]
It will be possible to come freely to Fadazi when I have founded a mission in one of the most suitable places which I am choosing in the territory around the Blue Nile, perhaps Fadazi itself: but I will not be able to do this before founding the stations I hope to establish on the lakes which come under my jurisdiction. However, you well know that it is one thing to undertake an exploration as a traveller who passes through the explored places like a meteor, and another to establish a regular Christian mission with the wise rule we have, to communicate an enduring good to the Africans, change their habits and teach them the good things of our religion and civilisation.
[5144]
You who are thoroughly familiar with the history of Central Africa, should estimate with your acute gaze the millions spent and the many explorations that have succeeded one another in Central Africa, from the first explorers to Stanley in 1877. What true and enduring good remains which has really been able to influence the morality, civilisation and progress of the inhabitants of Central Africa? Almost none, apart from the memory in Europe of the distinguished explorers, the description of some geographical point or other, etc., but very little real good, civilisation, or moral, intellectual and material progress. It is the Catholic missions which have the advantage of establishing, continuing and perpetuating good; and the Catholic missions of Khartoum, Kordofan and Jebel Nuba are an important monument to the European civilisation which exists in Central Africa today.
[5145]
Science and religion must now kiss each other on the forehead, help one another and together produce that improvement, regeneration and true civilisation which must be the goal of the sublime impetus which is science’s objective. Not to mention the noble efforts of many distinguished Englishmen, Italians, Germans and Americans, we note in particular the great and noble initiative of the King of Belgium, Leopold II, who has been nobly followed by almost all the civilised nations.
[5146]
It is necessary to follow with constant and persevering enthusiasm this noble impetus aroused in Europe for Central Africa, nor should the great enterprises that will be undertaken for this sublime goal ever be given up for the sake of the terrible trials and disasters and problems it will encounter. The acquisition of practical experience will follow the errors, disappointments and misfortunes; it will point to the most effective ways and means to reach the noble objective. And if constancy dominates the spirit of the principal actors, a perfect triumph will be achieved.
[5147]
There is a terrible famine here: the price of food has quadrupled; and durra (a kind of maize) which is the principal nourishment of the country and of the poor, from the seven francs an ardeb (sack made of date leaves) it used to cost, is now bought for no less than 60 francs an ardeb.
You can now imagine the damage this famine causes me with regard to durra alone, which is the slightest thing. Every year I have to buy more than a thousand ardebs of durra for my houses and establishments… Water in Kordofan (I received letters today) costs, as was paid for it last week, 11 piastres (about 3 francs) a borma (about 4 litres); so that in Kordofan, where I have three establishments, water costs more than wine in Lombardy. We must be patient should it go on like this; but every day the shortage of water increases.
I take this opportunity to offer you my affectionate esteem and consideration, declaring myself
Your most affectionate and devoted friend,

Daniel Comboni
Bishop of Claudiopolis i.p.i.
Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa

[5148]
Famine! This terrible scourge which has been devastating some parts of the world is making itself keenly felt and producing its disastrous effects in Central Africa.
Having left Cairo for my Vicariate with a numerous band of Missionaries, Sisters and Coadjutor Brothers on 28th January this year, I realised that the famine had reached the fertile valley of the Nile and starvation prevailed. The countryside, normally green in this season and luxuriant with the harvest, is now squalid and as bare as the mountain chains on its fringes: the many Fellas always active on their Nabars, are now sitting inert on the bank and begging passers by for food: the land owners themselves are dumb and silent on their angarebs, totally unconcerned about the work in the fields; the price of all articles and every kind of necessity has rocketed.

[5149]
I found that poverty increased as we proceeded. Reaching Korosko on the edge of the great desert I feared I should have to turn back or make a halt because of the lack of camels. I was told they had nearly all died of hunger, and it was only through the powerful recommendations of H.E. Gordon Pasha, Governor of the Sudan, whom I fortunately met in Aswan, and because of my long-standing friendship with the Sheikh or great chief of the desert, that I was able to obtain 50 camels, that is, a third of the number I would need to cross the desert, paying an exceptional price for them. And what camels! They were all emaciated, ulcerated and tired; they could only be loaded with half the usual weight, and nonetheless many collapsed and died on the journey, adding to the number of white skeletons and bones scattered along the way.
[5150]
When I reached Berber and Khartoum I found things much worse in proportion, the durra (a kind of maize commonly eaten in the country) which had cost seven francs an ardeb (sack) had rocketed to 50 and even 60. Butter, from one franc a roll (45 grammes) had risen to three and even four. Milk had increased from 10 centimes the ghera (a gourde which contains about a litre) to one franc. For meat which in the past cost 50 centimes per kilo, one now has to pay three and even five francs. There is more! In Kordofan my Missionaries and my Sisters are forced to buy water, to drink, to cook and to wash, at one and a half francs and two francs a borma (about 4 litres); as a result, water in this land costs more than ordinary wine in Europe. The villages are abandoned in their hundreds by starving and desperate people, and the local government is in the worst financial trouble for not having been able to collect the ordinary taxes. The cause of such wretchedness and of such a terrible shortage of everything vital to life is the lack of rains last year. No one can remember a period of such scarcity.
[5151]
The Nile is several metres below its usual level, therefore the sowing of crops was scarce and the harvest poorer. There is great poverty and it threatens to last who knows how long. Animals are more than decimated: landowners have neither money nor grain to sow which means that the next harvest in December, even should the season turn out promising, can only be very scarce. We have exhausted all our provisions and have also spent all our money on feeding the many establishments we have in Khartoum, Berber, Obeid and Jebel Nuba.
[5152]
We have gone to the aid of the many families of our Christians who are in the greatest need: we have also helped, as far as we could, the neediest Muslims, because charity in such cases makes no distinction between the Greek, the Arab or the Syrian; but we are now forced to close our doors in the face of many unfortunates who come and beg for bread. This also causes us spiritual harm, prevents conversions and could even cause defections, for the heroism of the faith is not the heritage of all Christians and converts.
[5153]
If my heart was frequently wrung in reading the tragic descriptions of the famine and starvation painted by my confrères, the other Vicars Apostolic, the Missionaries, Governors and travellers in China and Mongolia and the East Indies, everyone can imagine how my heart is wrung when I see these scenes reproduced under my eyes in these unhappy regions entrusted to my care! God’s works must always be born at the foot of Calvary; crosses and afflictions are the badge of holy undertakings. The Holy See entrusted to my weakness the formidable task of setting up Christ’s Cross among the countless tribes of Central Africa on which the tremendous anathema of Canaan still weighs. The hour has struck for the redemption of Africa, and one of the signs that this hour has struck is the present trial that oppresses my Vicariate which is the largest, the most laborious and most densely populated in the world.
[5154]
That is why, aware of the important aid so many souls send to the most distant regions of the globe for the relief of all these wretched peoples afflicted by the famine, I turn confidently to that sublime charity which burns in the hearts of Catholics, and warmly implore them, to deign to cast a compassionate glance on the unfortunate sons of Ham too, and to rescue them with abundant donations. All eyes in the world are turned to Central Africa today; numerous European States and various societies send explorers there to become acquainted with these unknown lands and introduce the lights of civilisation there; but what good is it to make so many sacrifices and to pay such sums of money if in the meantime these peoples are left to die of hunger?
[5155]
Ah! I am sure that many charitable souls, sensitive to this cry of immense pain, will hasten to relieve from such grievous miseries these most unfortunate people who, although their colour, customs and country are different, are still our brothers. May the Lord hear my humble and fervent prayer; may he bless my desires and console this immense flock of the unhappiest peoples in Central Africa, entrusted to my care by the Holy Apostolic See.
[5156]
These arid sands cover the bones of many zealous Missionaries, flowers of apostolic zeal and endowed with eminent virtues, with whom I had the honour and the fortune to share the efforts of the most difficult and trying apostolate in the world. Oh! May the venerable names resound of Gosner, Pircher, Woveider, Überbacher, Lanz and all the other deeply fervent Missionaries, Tyrolean laymen and Franciscans, whose glorious sweat made this most unhappy Central Africa bear fruit. But sanguis martyrum semen Christianorum. With death and sacrifice they won the consolidation of the arduous apostate in Africa. I commend myself to their intercession so that generous Catholics will imitate their example, and that those who stay in their homeland will help to alleviate our mission with their charity and their offerings.
Given at our principal episcopal residence in Khartoum, 12th May, Feast of the Protection of St Joseph, 1878.

(L.S.)

+ Daniel Comboni
Bishop of Claudiopolis i.p.i.
Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa


[5157]
I am sending this Appeal to Fr Bortolo, drawn up by Fr Antonio and approved and signed by me. We sent a facsimile to France, Germany, Austria, England, etc. Just to inform you of how much we are doing. For the rest, trust in God, in the Virgin, in St. Joseph, and pray and get others to pray.
I greet you in the name of everyone, Fr Antonio. Pray and sweat, and St, Joseph will sweat Guineas.
Write to Fr Paolo to ask whether he is publishing the Annals or not, because Fr Antonio left him all the material.
Tuiss

+ Daniel Bp.

[5158]
I arrived here in my principal residence a month ago. The journey from Cairo to Khartoum was very difficult, and it lasted 72 days. When I reached Aswan which is the last point in Egypt and where my Vicariate begins, I had the luck to meet H.E. the Hoccomdar, Gordon Pasha, Governor General of all the Egyptian possessions in the Sudan and on the Red Sea as far as the borders of Shoa. He told me that it was impossible to find camels because almost all had died of starvation, and urged me to return with all my caravan to Cairo and to take the route via the Red Sea and Suakin.
[5159]
Since I was extremely loath to follow his advice, I begged him with insistence to move heaven and earth to have me provided with at least the camels I needed to transport the staff to Berber and Khartoum, and he was so good as to send many telegraphic dispatches, ordering the great desert chiefs (Sheikh Caliph) and the Mudirs of Sudan to give me 80 camels. When I reached Korosko I found a large number of merchants who had been waiting there for camels for between four and six months. But thank God, in four days, out of a few hundred ulcerated and exhausted camels, 50 were chosen and in 11 days I crossed the desert of Atmur as far as Berber.
I sent the rest of my caravan via Dongola, that is, with 190 camels, and I am expecting it here in Khartoum towards the end of May.

[5160]
I have temporarily settled in Berber five Sisters of the Congregation of the Devout Mothers of Africa which I founded in Verona in 1872. They are destined for the Mission in Jebel Nuba where they will probably arrive in the coming December or January.
Here are their names:

1. Sr Teresa Grigolini from the Diocese of Verona
2.SrMarietta Caspi " " "
3. Sr Maria Giuseppa
4. Sr Concetta Corsi from the Diocese of Trani
5. Sr Vittoria Paganini from the Diocese of Padua.

[5161]
They are the vanguard of the new Institution destined to exercise its apostolic activity in the many regions of Central Africa. May God alone be their inspiration and their guide!
[5162]
The Congregation of the Devout Mothers of Africa in Verona shares the apostolic efforts of the woman of the Gospel in the Vicariate of Central Africa with the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition of Marseilles whom I have designated for Khartoum and the kingdom of Kordofan, where they have worked for several years with admirable self-denial and dedication and made enormous sacrifices.
To make the work of St Joseph function better, I have established with Propaganda and the Mother General that a Provincial or principal Superior, resident in the episcopal city of Khartoum, should exercise full jurisdiction over all the Sisters and Superiors of the existing Institutes of St Joseph and those to be founded in the Vicariate of Central Africa in the future.

[5163]
With the next expedition in September, I am expecting the new Mother Provincial to replace the former one who died last year here in Khartoum. She is Sr Emilienne Naubonnet from Pau, an admirable woman who spent 30 years in Syria and Cyprus as Superior, and who did so much good, especially at the time of the massacre and cholera in Saïda.
[5164]
When I arrived in Khartoum I was solemnly received both by Christians of all rites and by Muslims. It was a real triumph of the faith of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. I sent some staff to reinforce the Missions of Kordofan and of Jebel Nuba; I solemnly administered Baptism and Confirmation to many adults and I pontificated on Easter Day. It was the first time that Central Africa saw its Bishop, the Vicar Apostolic.
[5165]
But the external poetry of a brilliant reception, a good number of conversions made and prepared and the splendour of the pontifical Masses, soon became the prose of the grim shortage and terrible famine which hold sway over a large part of my Vicariate, and I found a good number of debts, the result of these terrible scourges.
[5166]
As soon as I entered my Vicariate at Shellal, I noticed an enormous difference in the prices of vital items. In Korosko I paid 65 francs the ardeb for maize (which previously cost just over 7 francs); there was no butter or meat. Not to speak of everything else, I shall only mention the additional amount I had to spend for camels. Previously a camel hired to cross the desert cost 40 francs and could carry about six kantars (600 pounds or 200 kilos). Camels now cost 70 francs each and can only carry two kantars (200 pounds or 67 kilos); and at least three of ten camels hired die on the way from hunger and exhaustion.
[5167]
I needed 80 camels for my expedition, calculating according to the former prices. As a result, I had thought I could cross the great desert for 3,500 francs (in addition to the price of the camels, 4 piastres per camel must be paid for its care, the two guides and tips). But the camels, by carrying only a third of the weight, obliged me to triple their number and almost double the cost, so that instead of paying the 3,500 francs they should have cost, I spent 12,000, and I shall have to pay more than 4,000 francs towards the end of the month when my caravan arrives in Khartoum from Dongola. From Khartoum to Kordofan, camels used to cost 7 Megids (33 francs) each: last week it was extremely difficult to come by camels for 15 Megids (70 francs) each.
[5168]
I beseech you, Mr President, to be good enough to compare what I have just said about the camels and what is contained in my Appeal to the Propagation of the Faith, to Catholic charity (if you think it appropriate, I beg you to have Mgr Laverrière publish it in Missions Catholiques and as soon as possible) with the Appeal I enclose.
Between Berber, Khartoum and Kordofan, I discovered that, during my absence, they had amassed 38,000 francs of debt. I examined everything, and after the most rigorous scrutiny found that they had been spent on the strictest necessities, and that my Missionaries and my Sisters had suffered the greatest privations and made numerous sacrifices; they had not spent a single centime uselessly. The cause of it all was the terrible famine and the heart-rending lack of victuals which is devastating these lands.

[5169]
After all that I would not have the courage to ask for an extraordinary donation of a few thousand francs, especially after the considerable sums and substantial aid the Propagation of the Faith has donated to Central Africa. It has given life to this very important Mission. However, considering the gravity of the extraordinary circumstances of the famine which is ruining my beloved Vicariate, I dare to make you the following two requests:
[5170]
1. To grant me extraordinary aid for this year, in addition to the ordinary allocation which the eminent charity of the Propagation of the Faith grants Central Africa. I will be very pleased with the sum you grant me, if in accordance with the regulations and the spirit of the Work, my desire can be satisfied;
2. that you permit the above-mentioned appeal, if you deem it opportune, to be published in Missions Catholiques by Laverrière.

[5171]
For the rest, this terrible trial, far from discouraging us, increases our courage and we are convinced that this is a dear and adorable cross that the Sacred Heart is giving us, the better to consolidate the great work for the redemption of Central Africa.
Oh, what joy is experienced by a devout person whose heart is dedicated to suffering for Jesus Christ and the salvation of the most abandoned and unfortunate souls in the world! It really seems that God revealed more love and wisdom when he made the Cross than when he created the world. It is the Cross that will save Africa. It is the Cross that gives us new strength, and keeps us faithful to our war-cry: Africa or Death!

[5172]
We constantly pray for the Propagation of the Faith that this divine Work will prosper and survive unharmed the damaging times in which we live.
Mr President, please accept the homage of my profound veneration and my eternal gratitude, with which I will ever be
Your most devoted servant,

+ Daniel Comboni
Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa


[5173]
P.S. I will let you know, when I have time, about the studies being undertaken at the moment for a new demarcation of the borders of Central Africa, should the exploration of the Missionaries of Algiers achieve some results in Equatorial Africa. In order to open a new field for these zealous Missionaries’ apostolic activity, I am very pleased to be able to cede them all the territories to the South of the Nyanza Lakes, to form two great Missions, that is:
[5174]
1. The Vicariate of Kazembe (empire or the union of several states including Lake Tanganyika);
2. The Vicariate of Muati-Yanvo (empire or the union of several states which are 200 leagues from Tanganyika). In Central Africa it is harder to cover 200 leagues than to travel from Lyons to Australia. The foundation of an ordinary Catholic Mission in Equatorial Africa is far more difficult than a simple journey of explorers like Stanley, Burton, Livingstone, Speke and Grant, etc.

[5175]
When the courageous Missionaries of Algiers have founded and consolidated the two above-mentioned large Missions, then if I have not founded the Mission of the Nyanza Lakes we will discuss this matter, since all that counts is the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Moreover, the Nyanza Lakes are the natural objective of the old Mission of Gondokoro and Holy Cross, where I spent two years in 1858, and it is a journey of 8 days from Gondokoro to Nyanza Albert. A large part of the Lakes territory is under Egyptian rule and Gordon Pasha has transported two steamers there from Khartoum: one has been functioning for two years on Nyanza Albert and the other has already arrived in Kubaga [Rubaga], the capital of the kingdom of Uganda and the residence of King M’tesa.
[5176]
This steamer left Khartoum and arrived on the White Nile at Rejaf (a bit further than Gondokoro) and was transported via Fatiko to Kubaga (three hours from Nyanza Victoria), hauled by six elephants.
[5177]
After my return from my visit to Kordofan and Jebel Nuba, next January or February, if the Providence of the Propagation of the Faith grants me assistance, I shall leave to found a Mission on Nyanza Albert, because we have been preparing for the foundation on the Lakes for some time. This is the way from Khartoum to:
From Ladò to
Rejaf
Beden
Kiri
Muggi
Labor
Ay ù
Dufilé

on the right side of this list there is a note: from Ladò to Dufilé one travels on foot because camels and donkeys die and this journey can be completed in ten days.

[5178]
The steam boat starts from Dufilé. After a day’s journey on the river it enters Lake Nyanza Albert and calls at Magungo, where Gordon Pasha has founded a military station. From Khartoum to Lake Victoria one is protected by the Egyptian Government. From Zanzibar to Nyanza the journey is harder, even though the eminent King of Belgium has assured me it is easier.
Of the eight Anglican Missionaries belonging to the Church Missionary Society who set out in 1876 for the Nyanza Lakes and who had 12,000 pounds sterling a year, one died in Tanganyika, two were killed on the island of Kerewe in Nyanza Victoria, there is no news of four, and the eighth, Mr Wilson, is in Kubaga, at the residence of King M’tesa; he has full relations with Khartoum and sends all his correspondence for London from here.

[5179]
Two of the five members of the Belgian expedition died in Zanzibar, that is, Crespel and Maës.
I hope that all this scientific attention focused on Central Africa, solicited above all by the great enthusiasm of the excellent King of Belgium, will turn out, after all the trials and experiences, to be for the greater glory of God and of the Catholic Missions.
After a long series of experiences, people should be convinced that without the immediate action of the Church and the Catholic Mission, it will never be possible to civilise Central Africa. Providence is directing all things well.
All yours, your devoted

+ Daniel
Bishop and Vicar Apostolate


Translated from French.

[5180]
I am sending you this modest appeal, warmly begging you to publish it in the Museum and to pray for charity for Central Africa, oppressed by the most terrible famine. I wrote this appeal on the 12th of this month, the feast of our dear St Joseph. But from that day until today, that is, in only a fortnight, things have been deteriorating. From the letters I received yesterday from Kordofan, I see that water is so scarce that it will soon be unobtainable at any price. The poor Sisters with a few girls, get up at 4.00 a.m. and go to the wells; and sometimes they have to wait there until 10.00 a.m. to obtain and purchase brackish water at the price of 4 and even 5 francs the borma (5 litres) that is, murky, dirty, salty water costs more than one franc a litre, in other words, it is more expensive than Barolo wine.
[5181]
You can imagine, Canon, the state of my heart, the extraordinary expenses, the debts that we are forced to make in order to give brackish drinking water to the Missionaries and Sisters; and we are lucky when we succeed in slaking our thirst with this dirty water. But do not think that my soul is discouraged at such wretchedness. No, Africa or death! We will fight until our last breath; this is my war cry. The universal devastation of the largest, most densely populated and laborious mission in the world which is Central Africa, is a sure sign of victory; because the Cross is the seal of the stability of God’s works which must all be born at the foot of Calvary and it will be blessed by God and converted. Oh! How beloved are our crosses when they touch where it hurts, for they are omens of true happiness. We are in the season of the Passion; the day of resurrection and life will dawn.
[5182]
Moreover, I put my whole trust in the Heart of Jesus Christ and in Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, to whom this colossal mission is consecrated, and in St Joseph, Patron of the Catholic Church and of Central Africa, who will certainly come to our aid.

+ Daniel Comboni


Introduction to the Appeal for the famine

[5183]
I have received your revered letter of 28th March containing my faculties that were renewed by the late Pius IX and signed on 27th January. I thank you very much.
I will not speak in this letter of the development and real progress of the Vicariate, nor of the good that is being done in all the missions. Nearly all my activity is directed to bearing like a true apostle of Jesus Christ the terrible blow, the frightful tribulation that has been invading the Vicariate for more than six months – I mean the famine, the drought and the utter lack of everything – and I am trying to deal with the results.

[5184]
Already nearly all the animals, oxen, goats and camels have died for lack of grass and forage. The durrah (a local staple grain) which previously I bought for about six francs an ardeb (sack) can now hardly be bought for sixty. Meat, milk, butter and items of prime necessity can scarcely be found and fetch astronomical prices. In the kingdom of Kordofan, where we have three establishments which are saving many souls, it is a great problem to find brackish and dirty water at the price of three francs a bormah (a jar containing about four litres); so that water for preparing food, cooking, drinking and washing is more expensive in Kordofan than wine from the Castelli Romani. Furthermore, for the last two weeks, epidemic diseases, typhoid and smallpox have been raging in Khartoum and the whole of Nubia. There are abandoned villages by the hundreds, the starving populations are wandering in search of sustenance, people are dying like flies of hunger and thirst and bodies are left unburied. Never in human memory has the Sudan experienced such a famine. The only mission exempt from this scourge is that of Jebel Nuba. The cause of such a frightful famine and drought is the lack or scarcity of the rains last year; and I foresee that next year will be terrible too, because there will be no seeds to sow and the harvests will be nil or scarce.
[5185]
The works of God must be born and grow at the foot of Calvary. Our present troubles are a further proof that the work for the regeneration of Africa is God’s work. The Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, to whom Central Africa is consecrated, will protect their work. I have used up all my resources and incurred debts to the tune of more than 40,000 francs. For a long time my expenses have tripled, although the Muslims and the Pashas help the mission. Yet Your Eminence should be certain that St Joseph, the bursar of Central Africa, will put everything right within one year and will support the mission.
[5186]
Within one year St Joseph will make up the balance; not the balance, of course, so pompously promised by the Minghettis, the Lanzas, the Sellas, the Depretis and all the rest of them at the trough in Italy, but the real balance, so that the mission will not have a penny of debt and will be able to continue towards its exalted goal. The best among my Missionaries share my hopes, my certainty, my faith. In the meantime, we pray with all the conditions willed by God, and the famous petite et accipietis is more certain and sure than all the treaties and congresses of the powers of this world and even than the famous congress at Berlin, which it seems will take place to modify the treaty of St Stephen.
Prostrate, I kiss the Sacred Purple and remain with every respect
Your Most Reverend Eminence’s most humble, grateful and respectful son

+ Bishop Daniel,
Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa