When we came to construct saturation tanks, it was proposed to take the material from the walls of the Mission, but I told Hamad'na Allah and Wohatt that as we had to live in the place, it would be far better to repair than further demolish; so the necessary materials were brought from outside by the fifty to sixty slaves sent over to assist us in making the tanks and carrying the earth from the mounds. While the construction of the tanks proceeded, we had to extract saltpetre in the boilers, etc., sent to us at Halfeyeh, and which had been brought with us; we produced maybe four to five pounds per diem on an average during a period of six months—the time we were occupied in building the tanks. Perdikaki made some gunpowder with our first consignment; it was a failure. The good fellow, though, mixed it with some powder from the old Government stock, and sent us another warning. My chief, Abdel Wohatt, was the |180| son-in-law of Ali Khaater, the director of the Omdurman arsenal, to whom our saltpetre went in the first instance; Perdikaki telling him of the bad quality, Khaater, fearing for his son-in-law, mixed our next consignment with an equal quantity of saltpetre from the old Government stock in his stores, and thus it passed muster, although Perdikaki complained again that it was only half purified. However, the powder made with it would explode, though it did leave about 25 per cent. of ash. The Fellati, hearing of the success, came to Khartoum to examine our product, for the secret of producing pure crystals was believed to be in the hands of the Fellati only, and, as a matter of fact, in the Soudan, it is. Again he declared the crystals were useless for the purposes they were intended for; but as Abdel Wohatt had been a dispenser in the Egyptian Army, and as such was supposed to be a chemist, and I, as a medicine man, being similarly credited, we won the day. Fellati appealed to Perdikaki, but got no satisfaction in that quarter. But Perdikaki was not long to be troubled with the rival saltpetre makers; on the sixth anniversary of Gordon’s death, some tins of powder in his factory exploded, killing him and those working with him. Some time about June or July, 1891, our tanks were finished; in about two months’ time we produced between five or six cwts. of crystals, and then stopped work on account of the rains. These crystals were mixed with an equal quantity of good crystals from the stores, and were sent to the powder factory. It must not be imagined that at this time the Khaleefa |181| was actually short of powder or ingredients for its manufacture; there were, unknown to others in the town, very large stocks indeed, which Abdullah was keeping as a reserve, but he wished to add to that reserve as much as possible, and to expend only such powder and ammunition as was then and there produced.