MOHAWKS
on the Nile
MOHAWKS
on the Nile
Natives Among the Canadian Voyageurs in Egypt 1884–1885
CARL BENN
Including the memoirs of two Mohawk veterans of the campaign, Louis Jackson and James Deer, published in 1885
Copyright © Carl Benn, 2009.
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Editor: Jane Gibson
Copy Editor: Shannon Whibbs
Designer: Courtney Horner
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Benn, Carl, 1953-
Mohawks on the Nile : natives among the Canadian voyageurs in Egypt,
1884-1885 / by Carl Benn.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-55002-867-6
1. Khartoum (Sudan)--History--Siege, 1884-1885. 2. Mohawk
Indians--Sudan--History--19th century. 3. Canadians--Sudan--History-
19th century. 4. Jackson, Louis. 5. Deer, James D. 6. Mohawk
Indians--Canada--Biography. 7. Nile River--Navigation--History--19th
century. I. Title.
DT156.6.B45 2009 962.6’203 C2008-903970-X
1 2 3 4 5 13 12 11 10 09
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Printed and bound in Canada.
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For my family
Contents
Chapter 1: A Cablegram from London
Chapter 2: The Voyageurs on the Nile
Chapter 3: Coming Home
Chapter 4: Mohawks as Workers
Chapter 5: Mohawks as Allies
Appendix I: Memoirs of Louis Jackson
Appendix II: Memoirs of James Deer
Appendix III: Additional Primary Texts
Appendix IV: Annotated Roll of the Mohawk Voyageurs
Appendix V: Canadian Voyageur Contingent Strength
Appendix VI: Distances in Egypt and Sudan
Appendix VII: Chronology
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
An extraordinary event in the history of the Iroquois Confederacy occurred in 1884 and 1885 when about sixty men from the Mohawk nation participated in a British military expedition in Sudan, which at the time was a province within Egypt rather than the independent country that it is today. These men, drawn from native communities on the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, served in a force sent up the Nile River to rescue Major-General Charles Gordon from Muslim nationalists who besieged him in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. To transport the troops, the government of the United Kingdom deployed soldiers from both the Egyptian and its own armies, sailors from the Royal Navy, civilian employees and contractors, and boatmen from West Africa and Canada. Almost four hundred individuals formed the Canadian Voyageur Contingent (or Nile Voyageurs) to pilot specially designed whaleboats upriver, including Iroquois Mohawks from Kahnawake, Akwesasne, and Kanesatake. The aboriginal men proved their excellence on the treacherous waters of the Nile and won praise for their contributions from the army’s senior officers and a range of other observers. Today, the image of North American indigenous people taking part in a Victorian imperial adventure in Africa seems incongruous in comparison to how we normally perceive First Nations history. However, Mohawk service on the Nile fell within a number of important norms in Iroquois cultural practices, work patterns, and alliance relationships, which we will examine in the pages below along with exploring the fascinating events that unfolded between the late summer of 1884 and the spring of 1885.
This book presents several elements that I trust will capture the richness of the story of the Mohawks in the Sudan War for modern readers. The first and longest section comprises my historical narrative and analysis of the Iroquois adventure, focused on placing native involvement in a larger perspective. The two components that follow are memoirs written by Mohawk veterans of the campaign, Louis Jackson’s Our Caughnawagas in Egypt and James Deer’s Canadian Voyageurs in Egypt, both of which were published in 1885, and which present