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FEOM 
 
 KORTI TO KHARTUM 
 
 A JOURNAL OF THE DESERT MARCH FROM 
 
 KORTI TO GUBAT, AND OF THE ASCENT 
 
 OF THE NILE IN GENERAL 
 
 GORDON'S STEAMERS 
 
 BY 
 
 COL. SIR CHAELES W. WILSOl^ 
 
 K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.C.L., F.R.S., R.E. 
 
 LATE DEPUTY ADJUTANT-GENERAL (INTELLIGENCE 
 branch), NILE EXPEDITION 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS 
 
 EDINBURGH AND LONDON 
 
 MDCCCLXXXVI 
 
 All Bights reserved 
 
r'. 
 
 0^ 
 
 V^H 
 
 OdAJm^^ 
 
J 5 > > J 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The Journal of the march from Korti to 
 Gubat, and of the voyage in General Gor- 
 don's steamers to the junction of the two 
 Niles, forms part of a daily journal which 
 I kept whilst employed in the Sudan, and 
 sent home by nearly every mail. It was 
 written up from the field -notes after my 
 return to Korti whilst all the events which 
 it describes were fresh in my memory. It 
 was hastily written amidst many interrup- 
 tions ; sometimes the rough field-notes were 
 copied ; sometimes they were corrected to 
 
 5072-16 
 
VI PKEFACE. 
 
 agree with more recent information. In 
 preparing the Journal for publication, I 
 have omitted several passages which were 
 of interest only to myself and to my friends ; 
 and I have made many verbal alterations, 
 which were rendered necessary by the haste 
 with which it was written. The Journal 
 was not written with a view to publication ; 
 but on my return to England, some friends, 
 who had seen it, strongly advised me to 
 publish, as they thought that some fuller 
 account of the attempt to reach Khartum 
 in General Gordon's steamers than has yet 
 appeared should be given to the public. 
 My reluctance to publish has delayed its 
 appearance. 
 
 I thought at the time that, if we had 
 reached Khartum before it fell, the presence 
 of two armed steamers with a small detach- 
 ment of British soldiers (twenty) might 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 have turned the scale in General Gordon's 
 favour. The fuller knowledge which I now 
 possess of the condition of the garrison, and 
 of the determination of the Mahdi to attack 
 Khartum before the English arrived, leads 
 me to believe that if the steamers had left 
 Gubat a week earlier, the result would 
 have been the same ; and that even if it 
 had been possible for them to have reached 
 Khartum on the 25th January, their pres- 
 ence would not have averted the fall of 
 the city. 
 
 The failure of the Relief Expedition to 
 attain its object was deeply and sincerely 
 regretted by every one in the force — by 
 no one more so than by myself, for General 
 Gordon was not only a brother officer but a 
 personal friend. It failed ; but, to quote 
 Lord Wolseley's words, " this was from no 
 lack of courage or of discipline, of dash or 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 of endurance ; . . . all ranks worked as 
 
 hard as human beings could, hoping to 
 
 render the earliest possible assistance to 
 
 their heroic comrade who was besieged in 
 
 Khartum." 
 
 C. W. WILSON. 
 
 Dublin, October 31, 1885. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction, xv 
 
 KORTI TO JAKDUL. 
 
 Bivouac in the desert — Wells of Hambok— Scarcity 
 of water — Wells of Abu Haifa — Treatment of 
 camels — Wells of Jakdul, 
 
 JAKDUL TO ABU KLEA. 
 
 Jebel Sergain — Touch of the enemy — Night in the 
 zeribah — Abu Klea — Preparations — The battle — 
 The wells — Strength of the enemy — Papers found 
 on battle-field, 16 
 
 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 Preparations — The night-march — The enemy sighted 
 — A zeribah formed— The zeribah — Sir Herbert 
 Stewart wounded — Redoubts constructed — Cas- 
 ualties in the zeribah — The square formed — 
 Fight for the Nile — Arrival at the Nile, . . 46 
 h 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 BIVOUAC ON THE NILE. 
 
 Abu Kru occupied — Keturn to the zeribah — The 
 zeribab — Burial of the dead — The battle-field — 
 Return to Abu Kru — Bivouac at Abu Kru — 
 Condition of the force — The camels — The cavalry 
 — Fire at Abu Kru — Advance on Matammeh, . 82 
 
 IN FRONT OF MATAMMEH. 
 
 Arrival of Gordon's steamers — Gordon's soldiers 
 landed — Gordon's note of December 29 — Position 
 of British force — Withdrawal from Matammeh — 
 Major Poe wounded — Return to Abu Kru — Let- 
 ters from Gordon — Position of British force — Pro- 
 posed reconnaissance, 100 
 
 GUBAT TO SHENDY AND BACK. 
 
 In Gordon's steamers — Off Shendy — Mr Ingram — 
 Return to Gubat — Position at Gubat — Crews of 
 steamers changed, 116 
 
 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 Preparations — Start from Gubat — Gordon's steamers 
 — Native soldiers — Gordon's decoration — The 
 ' Bordein '—The ' Talahawiyeh '—Friendly Shagi- 
 yeh — Feki Mustafa — Stop for wood — Our pros- 
 pects — Wad Habashi — The * Bordein ' aground — 
 The ' Bordein ' aground again — An awkward 
 place — Shabloka — Jebel Royan — Report of Gor- 
 don's death — Action off Halfiyeh — Running the 
 gauntlet — Off Tuti Island — Action off Omdur- 
 
 126 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 THE RETURN VOYAGE— KHARTUM TO 
 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 Khartum taken by Mahdi — The steamers turned — 
 A brave Sudani — The ' Talahawiyeh ' struck — 
 Out of range — The Sudanese despondent — Con- 
 firmation of Gordon's death — Effect on native 
 officers — Evidence of fall of Khartum — Attend- 
 ing the wounded — Low state of Nile — Repairing 
 damages — Descent of cataract — Wreck of ' Tala- 
 hawiyeh ' — Messenger from the Mahdi — The 
 Mahdi's letter — The Mahdi's messenger— Shagiyeh 
 reports — In the cataract — The ' Bordein ' aground 
 — Bad place in the cataract — Abd ul Hamid Bey 
 — Shagiyeh visitors — The last of the cataract — 
 Taking in wood — Abd ul Hamid — Wreck of 
 * Bordein/ 174 
 
 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 Proposed night-march — Sudanese will not move — 
 Wortley's boat-journey — The first night — Khashm 
 el Mus — The zeribah — The garrison — Call to 
 arms — Shagiyeh visitors — Loyalty of Khashm el 
 Mus — The second night — Boat -mending — Feki 
 Mustafa — Abd ul Hamid deserts — The last night 
 — Beresford's steamer sighted — Breaking up the 
 zeribah — Crossing the Nile, 206 
 
 MERNAT ISLAND TO GUBAT. 
 
 Established on the right bank — March down the 
 right bank — In action at Wad Habashi — Com- 
 municate with ' Es Safia ' — The nuggar aground — 
 The march continued — The nuggar aground again 
 — Exposed position of nuggar — Bivouac on the 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 Nile — The nuggar afloat — Junction with Beres- 
 ford — Loss of kit — Beresford's action — Keach 
 Gubat — Position at Gubat — Court of inquiry — 
 Parade of native soldiers — The native soldiers, 246 
 
 GUBAT TO KORTI. 
 
 Sir Herbert Stewart — Departure from Gubat — Wells 
 of Abu Klea— Abu Klea battle-field — Camp at 
 Jebel Sergain — Jakdul — Jakdul to Howeiyat — 
 Wells, of Howeiyat — Arrival at Korti — Telegram 
 from War Secretary, 265 
 
 POSTSCRIPT— THE FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 Privations of the garrison — Capture of Omdurman — 
 Action taken by the Mahdi — Entry of the Arabs 
 — General Gordon's death, 276 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. Letter from General Gordon to Lord Wolseley, 289 
 11. Extracts from Sir Herbert Stewart's instruc- 
 tions, 294 
 
 III. Organisation of the Sudan Camel Corps, . . 295 
 
 IV. Letter from Muhammed el Kheir to Muham- 
 
 med Zein, 297 
 
 V. Instructions to Colonel Sir C. Wilson, . . 300 
 VI. Approximate distribution of troops in the desert, 
 
 8th January 1885, 304 
 
 VII. General Gordon to the officer commanding 
 
 H.M. troops, 306 
 
 VIII. Letter from Muhammed Ahmed to British and 
 
 Shagiyeh officers, 307 
 
CONTENTS. XUl 
 
 TX. 1. Muhammed Ahmed to Khashm el Miis, . 310 
 
 2. Ahmed Mustafa and others to the Melik 
 
 Khashm el Mus, 311 
 
 3. Ahmed Mustafa and others to Khashm el 
 
 Mus, 311 
 
 X. 1. Muhammed el Mabarsi and Muhammed 
 
 Mansur to Khashm el Mus, &c., . ,312 
 2. Hassan Wad Khalid and Said Wad el Said 
 
 to Khashm el Mus and Abd ul Hamid, . 313 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 On the 16th December 1884, Lord Wolseley 
 reached Korti, and joined the camp which 
 had been established on the previous day 
 by Brigadier-General Sir Herbert Stewart. 
 The troops then in camp were the Guards 
 Camel Eegiment, the Mounted Infantry 
 Camel Regiment, and detachments of the 
 South Staffordshire Eegiment and of the 
 Eoyal Engineers. 
 
 The latest direct news from General 
 Gordon that the Expedition possessed at 
 that time, was contained in a letter,^ dated 
 
 1 Appendix I. 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 November 4th, which had been brought 
 by one of Major Kitchener's messengers, 
 who had succeeded in entering Khartum 
 on the 3d, and in returning to Debbeh 
 on the 14th November. In his letter 
 General Gordon gave the following import- 
 ant information : " At Matammeh, waiting 
 your orders, are five steamers with nine 
 guns." '' We can hold out forty days with 
 ease ; after that it will be difficult." " The 
 Mahdi is here, about eight miles away. 
 All north side along the White Nile is 
 free of Arabs ; they are on south and south- 
 west and east of town some way off; they 
 are quiet." " I should take the road from 
 Ambukol to Matammeh, where my steamers 
 wait for you." On the back of the letter 
 there was a small plan showing the dis- 
 tribution of the Mahdi's army (20,000 
 men), and the number and position of his 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVII 
 
 guns. Previous to our arrival at Korti we 
 had heard of the presence of five of General 
 Gordon's steamers at Shendy ; of the fight- 
 ing round Khartum ; of the frequent deser- 
 tions from the Mahdi to General Gordon; 
 of the sickness and want of food in the 
 Mahdi's camp ; of the defection of some of 
 the Baggara Arabs ; and of other details 
 which are mentioned in General Gordon's 
 Journal. There had been some raiding in 
 the desert between Debbeh and Khartum, 
 but no roving bands had been reported in 
 the desert between Korti and Matammeh. 
 
 Between the 16th and 30th of December 
 the camp at Korti presented a busy scene : 
 troops were arriving daily by land and 
 river; preparations were being made for 
 the desert march ; and the advanced boats 
 of the river column were being sent on to 
 Belal, at the foot of the Gerendid Qatar- 
 
XVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 act.^ During this interval additional details 
 were received with regard to the fighting 
 round Khartum, and we heard that Gor- 
 don's steamers had recently been uj) to the 
 city with provisions ; ^ that there was a 
 force with firearms at Matammeh ; and that 
 the Mudir of Bahr Ghazal (supposed to 
 be Lupton Bey) had surrendered and been 
 sent to Obeid. We also obtained, through 
 our own agents, information respecting the 
 strength and distribution of the Mahdi's 
 army round Khartum, which agreed very 
 closely with that given by General Gordon. 
 On the 30th December, Sir Herbert 
 Stewart left with the Camel Corps to 
 occupy the wells of Jakdul. On the 31st, 
 
 ^ This name is not known in the country. I have re- 
 tained it here as it has become familiar from its adoption 
 on the War Department map used during the expedition. 
 
 2 This report apparently referred to the * Bordein,' which 
 left Khartum on the 1 4th December, 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 a messenger, who had been sent to Gene- 
 ral Gordon on the 29th October, returned. 
 He brought a piece of paper, the size of 
 a postage - stamp, on which was written 
 " Khartoum all right " ; it was signed 
 C. G. Gordon, and dated December 14, 
 1884. The messenger was told to deliver 
 a verbal message,^ of which the following 
 is the most important portion : " The 
 enemy cannot take us except by starving 
 us out. Our troops suffer from want of 
 provisions ; the food we still have is little — 
 some grain and biscuit. We want you to 
 come quickly. Do not scatter your troops ; 
 the enemy is numerous ; bring plenty of 
 troops if you can. You should come by 
 way of Matammeh or Berber ; only by these 
 two roads. Do not leave Berber in your 
 rear. Keep the enemy in your front ; and 
 
 1 See Parliamentary Paper, Egypt, No. 1 (1885), p. 132. 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 when you take Berber send me word, and 
 come by the east bank. Do this without 
 letting rumours of your approach spread 
 abroad." The messenger also stated that 
 General Gordon's steamers had gone up 
 the river to Wady Bishara to collect the 
 crops on the islands in the cataract.^ 
 
 On New Year's Day the first boats of the 
 Black Watch reached Korti ; on the 3d Jan- 
 uary General Earle, who had arrived on the 
 1st, left to join the advanced -guard of his 
 force; and on the 4th, the South Staf- 
 fordshire Eegiment passed the Gerendid 
 Cataract, and occupied Hamdab, where the 
 river column was to assemble before making 
 a forward movement. On the 5 th, Lord 
 Charles Beresford reached Korti with the 
 First Division of the Naval Brigade; and 
 
 ^ The steamers were really at Nasri Island, some distance 
 below Wady Bishara. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXI 
 
 on the same clay Sir Herbert Stewart 
 returned from Jakdul, where he had left 
 the Guards Camel Eegiment. The march 
 of the latter had been most successful ; 
 it had taken the enemy completely by 
 surprise; and there had been no opposi- 
 tion. The camels, with a few exceptions, 
 looked little the worse for their forced 
 march to Jakdul and back; but some of 
 us, who had had previous experience of 
 the '* ship of the desert," were afraid that 
 more had been taken out of them than 
 was apparent to the eye. Several pris- 
 oners, Awadiyeh Arabs from the neigh- 
 bourhood of Matammeh, were brought in; 
 they were not very communicative, but 
 they confirmed the report that there was 
 a force at Matammeh armed with rifles, 
 and that General Gordon's steamers were 
 on the river below the cataract. 
 
XXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 On the 7th January the Light Camel 
 Regiment, under the command of Colonel 
 Stanley Clarke, left for Jakdul with a con- 
 voy of 1000 camels; and on the 8th, Sir 
 Herbert Stewart's force commenced its 
 march across the desert. Sir Herbert 
 Stewart's instructions ^ were to attack and 
 occupy Matammeh, and then to return to 
 Jakdul, whence he was to continue for- 
 warding stores to Matammeh. The force 
 at his disposal consisted of — 
 
 First Division of the Naval Brigade. 
 
 One squadron of the 19th Hussars. 
 
 The Guards Camel Regiment,^ composed 
 of selected men from the three regi- 
 ments of Guards, and from the Eoyal 
 Marines. 
 
 The Heavy Camel Regiment, ''the 
 
 ^ Appendix II. 
 
 2 The organisation of the Camel Corps is given in 
 Appendix III. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXlll 
 
 Heavies," composed of selected men 
 
 from the three Household and seven 
 
 other cavalry regiments. 
 The Mounted Infantry Camel Eegiment, 
 
 composed of selected men from various 
 
 regiments, most of whom had served 
 
 with the Mounted Infantry in South 
 
 Africa or Egypt. 
 Half a battery Royal Artillery. 
 Detachment Royal Engineers. 
 400 men of the Royal Sussex Regiment 
 
 (old 35th), of whom 150 were to be 
 
 left at Jakdul. 
 One company of the Essex Regiment 
 
 (old 56th), destined to form a post 
 
 at Howeiyat. 
 The Bearer Company. 
 The Movable Field Hospital. 
 Transport details. 
 In all, about 120 officers and 1900 men, 
 
XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 with 300 natives, interpreters, camel- 
 drivers, &c. 
 
 The Light Camel Regiment, " the Lights," 
 composed of selected men from nine 
 Cavalry regiments, was employed 
 almost entirely on escort duty with 
 convoys. 
 When the column left Korti on the 8th, 
 the position was nearly as follows : — 
 
 British. — The river column assembling 
 at Hamdab ; Jakdul held by the Guards 
 Camel Regiment; General Gordon's four 
 steamers ^ on the Nile below the Shabloka 
 Cataract; and Khartum and Omdurman 
 holding out. 
 
 1 No communication was received from the steamers ; 
 the commander, Nashi Pasha, appears to have made only 
 one attempt to communicate with Lord Wolseley, and 
 that failed. Messengers could have been sent from the 
 steamers by Wady Bishara and Bayuda without much 
 difficulty. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 Enemy, — Birti held by the Monassir and 
 dervishes from Berber ; no one in the desert 
 between Korti and Matammeh, except the 
 Arabs living there; at Matammeh a force 
 variously reported to be from 300 to 3000 
 men armed with rifles, and two guns; at 
 Berber a force supposed to be small, but 
 known to be partly armed with rifles, and 
 two steamers ; at Shendy a small force ; 
 and round Khartum the Mahdi's army of 
 20,000 men. 
 
 The plan of the Mahdi appears to have 
 
 been to try and crush the British column 
 
 at the end of its desert march ; and as soon 
 
 as the occupation of Jakdul was known, his 
 
 troops were set in motion. The following 
 
 dates show what occurred : Jakdul was 
 
 occupied by Sir Herbert Stewart at 6.45 
 
 A.M. on the 2d January; on the 4th, 
 
 Muhammed el Kheir, the Emir of Berber, 
 c 
 
XXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ordered his men to proceed to the assist- 
 ance of the Emir of Matammeh.^ Omdur- 
 man fell between the 6th and 13th, and 
 the battle of Abu Klea was fought on the 
 17th. The enemy had thus thirteen days 
 to concentrate his troops at Abu Klea. 
 Matammeh, the immediate objective of the 
 British column, was 176 miles from Korti, 
 and only about 90 miles from Berber, and 
 98 miles from Khartum. 
 
 The country between Korti and Matam- 
 meh is not a desert in the true sense of the 
 term. After the first twenty miles from 
 Korti, there is an abundant supply of 
 savas grass, excellent food for camels, at 
 short intervals, and a fair quantity of 
 wood — acacia and mimosa. There is good 
 water at Howeiyat, Abu Haifa, Jakdul, and 
 Abu Klea, as well as in some of the ravines 
 
 1 Appendix IV. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXVll 
 
 in Jebel Jilif; and water would probably 
 be found by digging in many of the dry 
 water- courses. The torrents which descend 
 from Jebel Jilif during the rainy season, 
 have formed an alluvial plain, a few miles 
 to the south-west of the road, on which 
 crops of dura are raised every year; 
 and judging from the numerous tracks 
 seen, the Arabs of this district must 
 possess large herds of cattle. The road 
 throughout is excellent ; there are no hills ; 
 the country is open ; and, with the excep- 
 tion of a few patches of sand between Jak- 
 dul and Abu Klea, the ground is firm, and 
 presents no difiiculty to the passage of 
 troops whether mounted or on foot. 
 
 The weather, up to the end of February, 
 was almost perfect ; the nights cold, and 
 the mid-day heat always tempered by a 
 cool breeze. 
 
c c c 
 
 <^%lU\ybj 'iic. 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 Jan. 8, 1885. — In the morning I re- 
 ceived Lord Wolseley's instructions^ for 
 Gordon and myself, which had been read 
 to me yesterday. In the afternoon I joined 
 Herbert Stewart's column ^ with Dickson 
 of the Eoyals, who was to be left at 
 Khartum with Gordon, and Verner, Eifle 
 Brigade, who was to sketch the road, and 
 be left at Matammeh as intelligence officer. 
 The column formed up on the desert behind 
 the village of Korti, and after having been 
 inspected by Lord Wolseley, moved off about 
 
 1 Appendix V. ^ Appendix VI. 
 
 A 
 
2 KORTI TO JAKDUL. 
 
 two. We were all in high spirits at copa- 
 mencing, at last, the real business of the 
 campaign, and started with many good 
 wishes for success from those we left behind. 
 We camped in the desert a little after sun- 
 set, in a long line, headquarters and ad- 
 vanced-guard in the centre, with the other 
 divisions to the right and left. Outposts 
 were thrown out, fires lighted, suppers 
 cooked and eaten, and then we lay down 
 to sleep, with reveille at 12.30 a.m. to dream 
 of. 
 
 Jan. 9 th. — We had not much rest after 
 all, for Dickson's camel broke loose, and 
 started off, with Dickson, Verner, and ser- 
 vants in hot pursuit. They first went over 
 the *' Heavies," then doubled back on head- 
 quarters, and finally finished their hunt in 
 the Naval Brigade. I think they roused 
 up pretty nearly every one, and they were 
 followed by a copious flow of that strong 
 language which Tommy Atkins has in- 
 
BIVOUAC IN THE DESERT. 3 
 
 herited from his forefathers who fought 
 in Flanders. By the time we had had a 
 cup of chocolate the moon was well up, 
 and there was a good light ; yet as we were 
 waiting for the order to march, Dickson 
 and I with the guides a little in front of 
 the centre, the whole of the right wing 
 marched across our front, in a direction 
 nearly at right angles to our proper road. 
 Who originated the movement I never 
 heard, but it caused a long delay and 
 some confusion. It was cold enough be- 
 fore daylight to make ulsters and jerseys 
 acceptable, but very enjoyable, and the sky 
 was more than usually fine with moon, 
 Venus, Southern Cross, False Cross, Sirius, 
 Orion, Great Bear, and Pole-star above the 
 horizon at the same time. The great column 
 moving silently along under the moonlight 
 was a sight not easily forgotten. Our 
 marches yesterday and this morning had 
 been over firm gravelly ground with sparse 
 
4 KORTI TO JAKDUL. 
 
 vegetation, a little grass, and a few mimosa ; 
 but a little before ten we reached Wady Abu 
 Gir, where there was abundance of grass 
 and numbers of mimosa. We halted four 
 hours for breakfast and rest, and then went 
 on again until sunset, when we reached a 
 valley with good grass for grazing : there 
 was not much chance, however, for the 
 camels, as they were all tied down tightly 
 directly they came in, and had no time for 
 grazing. Very hot in middle of day, but 
 more from reflection upwards than from 
 direct rays of sun. All went well, and the 
 sailors, with Beresford on his white donkey, 
 in high spirits, very amusing and nautical. 
 " Quartermaster, can't you make that gun 
 sit a little better on the camel ? " '' Can't, 
 sir ; camel's got his hump all a-starboard," 
 was the ready reply. 
 
 Jan, 10th. — Started in the dark, and 
 much straggling of camels in consequence. 
 One of the native camel-drivers managed to 
 
WELLS OF HAMBOK. 5 
 
 drink all the water out of my water-skin, 
 which was lying close beside me, and another 
 succeeded in stealing my water-bottle : rather 
 bad losses for the second night in the desert. 
 Some of the Sussex Eegiment were short of 
 water, and suffered a good deal. They had 
 come up to Korti in boats, and had their 
 camels and water-skins given to them only 
 two or three days before starting ; many of 
 the skins were bad and leaky. Missed our 
 way twice in the dark this morning ; several 
 things left behind, including a camel with 
 its entire load. The drivers slip loads un- 
 seen in the dark ; and it saves them trouble 
 afterwards. 
 
 Soon after daylight we reached the wells 
 of Hambok, in an open valley where there 
 was much vegetation — tall *' savas " grass 
 and mimosa - bushes. There were only a 
 few cupfuls of water in the wells, so we 
 continued to El Howeiyat, about nine miles 
 farther on. By the time we got there it 
 
6 KORTI TO JAKDUL. 
 
 was very hot, and many of the men were 
 suffering much from thirst. I rode on in 
 front, and found the wells had been drained 
 by Stanley Clarke's column, the end of 
 which I just saw crossing a hill in the dis- 
 tance. Our column was halted a short dis- 
 tance from the wells, and some of the re- 
 serve water was served out for breakfast ; 
 sentries were then placed over the wells, 
 and as they gradually filled, the men were 
 marched up by companies to have a drink 
 of the pure but muddy water. The men 
 behaved very well, but it was difficult to 
 keep the natives in order; however, they 
 were better than the Egyptian soldiers with 
 Stanley Clarke, who, I was told, almost 
 mutinied. 
 
 In the afternoon we started for Abu 
 Haifa, as we were too short of water to go 
 on to Jakdul. Just after sunset fires were 
 seen in the distance, which Stewart took to 
 be Stanley Clarke's camp-fires ; and wishing 
 
SCARCITY OF WATER. 7 
 
 to pass him, he continued the march long 
 after dark over some rough country. Finally, 
 in trying to get round the camp, the head 
 of the column came right up against some 
 rough stony ground. We were at once 
 halted, and bivouacked in column as we 
 had marched. The way in which the un- 
 fortunate camels tumbled about in the dark, 
 and loads came oflF, and the strong language 
 that was used, were things to see and hear. 
 The column got mixed up in the dark, and 
 it was over an hour before our servants 
 reached the head of the column with some- 
 thing to eat. After all, the camp turned 
 out to be that of Barrow and the 19th 
 Hussars, who had left us at Howeiyat and 
 marched straight on to avoid the tiring 
 halts. 
 
 Jan. 11th. — Want of water much felt 
 last night by the Sussex and some others. 
 March in the dark with usual confusion and 
 false start, part of the column moving off 
 
« KORTI TO JAKDUL. 
 
 in the wrong direction before the guides. 
 Barrow pushed on with his horses, as water 
 was necessary for their existence ; and a 
 very thirsty column followed him to the 
 wells of Abu Haifa, where we found much 
 less water than we expected. There was 
 one pond of dirty water almost black with 
 mud, and a few holes in the gravel with 
 better water. We set to work to open new 
 holes, into which the water ran quickly ; 
 but the men were so wild with thirst that, 
 directly the water began running in, we 
 had to give the holes up to them and begin 
 digging others. The men behaved admir- 
 ably. Officers and men were marched up, 
 and each received a pint; they then 
 moved off to their camping- grounds, and 
 were afterwards allowed to come and draw 
 water for cooking. We managed to get 
 three tin biscuit-boxes sunk in the ground, 
 to act as rough filters and reservoirs, from 
 which the men could bale out water ; but it 
 
WELLS OF ABU HALFA. 9 
 
 was hard work. It was a curious scene, as 
 the camels, donkeys, and ponies rushed for 
 the water directly they arrived, and had to 
 be kept back by main force. All the after- 
 noon there was a continuous stream of 
 men going down for water, and it was kept 
 up the whole night. Some of the officers 
 worked hard in the hot sun digging new 
 wells and distributing water to all comers. 
 The Mounted Infantry, all old soldiers, 
 looked after by picked officers, did not 
 suflPer at all. They had as much as they 
 wished to drink on the road, and brought 
 in a large quantity of spare water. This 
 shows what can be done with a little 
 management. The Abu Haifa valley is 
 prettily wooded, and the granite hills to- 
 wards its head are more broken and diver- 
 sified than any we have yet seen. 
 
 Some talk with about the night- 
 marches, as to which we differ. He says 
 truly that the camels march much better 
 
10 KORTI TO JAKDUL. 
 
 at night, and tliat men and camels suffer 
 from the heat when they march by day. 
 
 1 contend that sleep by day is not so re- 
 freshing as sleep by night for the men; 
 that when the camels are loaded in the 
 dark the loads are badly put on, and that 
 sore backs are started before the loads can 
 be properly adjusted by daylight ; that 
 owing to the constant long halts, necessary 
 to keep the column together in the dark, 
 the loads remain on the camels' backs for 
 an excessively long time, fifteen or sixteen 
 hours out of the twenty - four ; that the 
 camels start on empty stomachs, contrary 
 to the habit of the beast ; that much harm 
 is done to the camels by marching, in close 
 order, in the dark over rough ground ; that 
 the camels get neither proper rest nor food ; 
 and that men cannot stand marching from 
 
 2 A.M. to 10 or 11 A.M. with nothing in- 
 side them. I cannot think why we violate 
 all the dictates of common-sense in our 
 
TREATMENT OF CAMELS. 11 
 
 treatment of the camel, and believe we 
 should get much more out of ours if we 
 worked them more as the Arabs do. The 
 desert is not a desert in the proper sense of 
 the term. There is ample water, abundant 
 vegetation, and an almost limitless supply 
 of savas grass, the best of feeding for 
 camels ; and here ours are failing before 
 we have commenced, simply because we 
 will not give them time to feed, and when 
 in camp tie them down so tightly they can- 
 not move. I do not think more than 500 
 camels should ever travel together, and 
 300 would be a safer limit. It would be 
 heresy to say the camelry is a mistake ; but 
 if Tommy Atkins cannot march in such 
 a climate as this, we had better give up 
 fighting. 
 
 Jan. 12th. — This morning, as we had 
 only a short march to make, we did not 
 load up until daylight, and those who were 
 not over-thirsty had a good night's rest. 
 
12 KORTI TO JAKDUL. 
 
 Our road lay at the foot of the long range 
 of Jebel Jilif, which is broken by numerous 
 ravines, in nearly all of which there is 
 water ; at times there must be heavy rain- 
 storms, as the torrent-beds are well marked 
 a long way out on the plain. We reached 
 Jakdul in good time, and found it a very 
 curious place. Leaving the plain, we turned 
 up a wide valley with good grass, and then 
 turning to the left, passed through a narrow 
 opening into a sort of punch-bowl, or crater- 
 like place, into which three or four ravines 
 drained : in one of these are the two pools, 
 one level with the floor of the punch-bowl, 
 with water only fit for camels, the other 
 higher up, with pure fresh water. The 
 Guards had been left by Stewart to hold the 
 wells after his seizure of them, and we were 
 surprised at the amount of work they had 
 done. Two stone forts had been built, the 
 ground had been laid out for us to camp 
 on, paths made, and signboards put up, so 
 
WELLS OF JAKDUL. 13 
 
 that we easily fell into our places. Dor- 
 ward and Lawson, R.E., had been working 
 hard at the watering arrangements. They 
 had made a small canal, into which water 
 was pumped for the camels ; and a reservoir 
 of biscuit-tins, into which water was pumped 
 from above, for the men. It did not, how- 
 ever, come fast enough for the thirsty crowd 
 that came in ; and all the afternoon there 
 was a string of men going up and down the 
 rock to and from the upper pool, whence 
 they had to draw the water with buckets 
 and ropes, as it is surrounded on all sides, 
 except the lowest, by cliffs. I passed most 
 of the afternoon with Kitchener, who had 
 established himself in a cave on the side of 
 the hill. He had caught several men carry- 
 ing dates to the enemy, but had little news 
 of any kind from the front, except that 
 Khashm el Mus was still at Shendy with 
 three steamers,^ and that there were 300 men 
 
 ^ He was really at Nasri Island, below Wady Bishara. 
 
14 WELLS OF JAKDUL. 
 
 at Matammeli under Wad Sad, the Mahdi's 
 Emir; he had sent out messengers, but 
 none had returned. He was very sore at 
 the order I brought him to return to Korti 
 with Stanley Clarke's convoy. In the even- 
 ing the Guards gave us a capital dinner, 
 to which we did full justice. Gordon Gum- 
 ming had had his usual success amongst the 
 gazelle, and many sand-grouse had been 
 secured as well, so there was a pleasant 
 change from "bully" beef, and the thirst 
 which it begets. 
 
 Jan. 13th. — A busy scene all day water- 
 ing camels, filling up water-tanks, and 
 organising the convoy for the onward 
 march to-morrow. The Guards had to be 
 remounted, as they had been obliged to 
 send back their camels to bring up the 
 Sussex Regiment and stores. The supply 
 of camels is much too small, and we are 
 already beginning to feel the eflect of the 
 fast-and-loose game played with regard to 
 
WELLS OF JAKDUL. 15 
 
 the purchase of camels in October, Novem- 
 ber, and December. At one time an order 
 came, buy away ; then stop buying ; then 
 again, buy away, — and so on. Carmichael, 
 5th Lancers, who was on watering duty last 
 night, told me he had never seen such a 
 curious scene as that at the upper pool, 
 where the men were drawing water all 
 night by the light of lanterns ; luckily, 
 no one fell in. Jakdul is not a pleasant 
 place. It is a regular frying-pan ; the rocks 
 get heated up, and there is no breeze, but 
 about 2 A.M. a hurricane comes down the 
 hillside, and nearly pwUs the blanket off 
 one ; then it gets quite cold till sunrise, 
 when the caldron heats up again. Stuart- 
 Wortley joined me for service at Khartum 
 with Gordon. Burnaby also came in with 
 a convoy, and brought Gascoigne,^ whom he 
 
 1 Captain Gascoigne had previously travelled in the 
 Eastern Sudan, and collected much information respect- 
 ing the country on the Abyssinian frontier, which he had 
 placed at the disposal of the War Department. 
 
16 JAKDUL TO ABU KLEA. 
 
 introduced to me as "a young man who 
 knew his way about in the Sudan." All 
 day long the same busy scene at the wells, 
 watering camels and filling up water-tanks 
 for the journey. 
 
 Jan. lith. — Stanley Clarke left early in 
 the morning with the return convoy for 
 Korti, Kitchener going with him, much to his 
 disgust. The Guards went on with us, and 
 Colonel Vandeleur was left with a strong 
 detachment of the Sussex to hold the wells. 
 We formed up, with our unwieldy convoy, 
 a little before 2 p.m. in the valley outside 
 the Jakdul crater, and travelled for about 
 three hours. Just before we started a Eem- 
 ington rifle was found on the rocks close by, 
 the first trace of an enemy we have seen. 
 As we got out on to the* desert, however, 
 we saw some recent horse-tracks a little ofi" 
 the road to Matammeh, so it was clear our 
 advance was known. 
 
 Jan. 15th. — Started at daylight, and 
 
JEBEL SERGAIN. 17 
 
 passed over a tract of loose sand where the 
 track was occasionally quite covered by 
 drift-sand. It was not, however, nearly so 
 bad as we expected to find it, and there is 
 such a good landmark in an isolated hill of 
 sandstone that no one could lose his way. 
 During the day we saw very distinctly the 
 recent tracks of horses passing to and from 
 Matammeh, evidently those of some of the 
 enemy's scouts who had been watching us, 
 and in the distance we saw three or four 
 of their camel-men. We have no news from 
 the front, and have met none of our mes- 
 sengers coming back. We camped for the 
 night near Jebel Sergain, the camels tied 
 down, and everything prepared for an at- 
 tack should one be made. In one or two 
 places the country was prettily wooded, and 
 for a loDg distance there was an abundance 
 of savas grass ; but alas ! the camels had 
 no opportunity of eating it, and the supply 
 of dura we could carry was but small. 
 B 
 
18 JAKDUL TO ABU KLEA. 
 
 Jan. 16th. — This morning we started 
 before daylight with the usual result. As 
 I was waiting with the guides for orders to 
 start, a part of the column went away to 
 the left, out into the darkness, and it was 
 over half an hour before they got into their 
 places again ; then we got into some rough 
 ground with high tufts of grass, amongst 
 which the camels tumbled about. Here 
 there were more halts and delays, and fully 
 an hour was lost altogether, during which 
 the camels had their loads on. When day- 
 light broke we found ourselves on a vast 
 plain, scantily covered with savas grass, 
 with the hills of Abu Klea in front of us in 
 the distance. Barrow was ordered to push 
 on with his Hussars and occupy the wells, 
 and with him rode Diekson and Stuart- 
 Wortley; we followed more leisurely with 
 our camels. Between ten and eleven, just 
 before reaching the foot of the hills, we 
 halted for breakfast, and about eleven Bar- 
 
TOUCH OF THE ENEMY. 19 
 
 row reported that he had found the enemy 
 in force between ns and the wells. One of 
 his officers had a narrow escape. He had 
 started with three or four hussars in pur- 
 suit of some of the enemy's scouts, and 
 followed them into the Abu Klea valley, 
 where he actually caught hold of one 
 man; but a lot of spearmen jumping up 
 from the long grass, he had to drop his 
 prisoner and ride for his life. After break- 
 fast we all mounted, much excited at the 
 idea of a fight. After ascending the pass 
 which leads to the Abu Klea wells, I went 
 out with Stewart to see what could be seen 
 of the enemy. After a short time he re- 
 turned to select a good place to halt the 
 convoy, and I went on to reconnoitre, first 
 to some hills on the left, whence about fifty 
 horsemen could be seen, and then to the 
 advanced picket of hussars down the valley. 
 From this latter point I could see a long 
 line of banners fluttering in the breeze and 
 
20 JAKDUL TO ABU KLEA. 
 
 stretchiDg right across the road. There was 
 a large tent, and we could hear the " tom- 
 toms" or war -drums beating vigorously, 
 whilst some white puffs of smoke in the 
 distance showed that their riflemen were 
 firing at us. It was, however, too far, and 
 no bullet reached us. I then returned to 
 Stewart and told him that he had a large 
 force in front of him, of which part at least 
 must belong to the Mahdi's army, and that 
 he would have something more serious to 
 deal with than desert Arabs. I found he had 
 halted the column on a stony plateau. He 
 now gave orders to form a zeribah, and sent 
 pickets out to occupy two hills on our left. 
 I then went back to the hussar post where 
 I had left Dickson, and found the enemy's 
 riflemen were creeping up on the right, and 
 that there was some movement amongst 
 the men in the valley. Stewart soon after- 
 wards came out, and as the afternoon was 
 getting on, determined not to advance until 
 
TOUCH OF THE ENEMY. 21 
 
 the morning. The riflemen who had been 
 creeping round on the hills to our right 
 now got within range, and Dickson and I 
 began to hear the whistle of bullets about 
 our heads. At first the bullets were few and 
 far between, but they gradually increased 
 until they got too numerous for the picket, 
 which was in an exposed position and had 
 to be withdrawn. The riflemen still kept 
 working round our right, and as they ad- 
 vanced the cavalry vedettes were with- 
 drawn. It was nearly sunset when we got 
 into the zeribah, and by this time a party of 
 the enemy's sharpshooters had established 
 themselves on a high hill to our right, from 
 which they opened fire. Just before dark 
 they got the range pretty well, and a man 
 of the Hussars and several horses and 
 camels were hit. All night long they kept 
 up their fire, but luckily it was very dark, 
 and there were few casualties ; the whistling 
 of the bullets overhead was, however, too 
 
22 JAKDUL TO ABU KLEA. 
 
 near to be pleasant, and the vagaries of 
 the tom-toms in the valley, which now ap- 
 proached and now retired, kept us con- 
 stantly on the alert. I do not know a 
 more curiously deceptive sound than that of 
 tom-toms ; it is almost impossible to localise 
 it, especially when any wind is blowing. I 
 slept near Stewart and his staff, close be- 
 hind the Guards, who were in the front 
 line of the zeribah, and in one of the lines 
 of fire; fortunately there was a little dip 
 in the ground which sheltered us, the 
 bullets striking the opposite slope — thus. 
 
 We slept at A, and the bullets kept striking 
 the ground at B. 
 
 Jan. 17th. — The enemy must have kept 
 a sharp look-out last night, for as one of the 
 surgeons was performing an operation in 
 the hospital, the man holding the lantern 
 
NIGHT IN THE ZERIBAH. 23 
 
 incautiously turned it towards the hill occu- 
 pied by the riflemen; a volley of bullets 
 was the immediate answer, succeeded by a 
 steady fire, which luckily did little harm. 
 An attack was expected in the morning, 
 and we all stood to our arms as Venus rose, 
 that being the signal by which we had heard 
 the Arabs generally attacked. We waited 
 thus till daylight, when the fire from the 
 hills became hotter, and some of the Guards 
 and Mounted Infantry were sent out as skir- 
 mishers to keep it down. Several of the 
 enemy showed great boldness, running down 
 the hill and creeping up towards the zeribah, 
 whilst others kept on firing from the hill, 
 where they were well protected by low 
 stone walls. Stewart had talked about 
 occupying this hill last evening, but thought 
 it too far ofi" for the enemy to do us any 
 harm ; we did not realise that we had such 
 good shots in front of us. We could see 
 that the enemy in the valley had come 
 
24 ABU KLEA. 
 
 much nearer to us during the night, and 
 the tent had disappeared, but they showed 
 in no large masses. We waited some time, 
 hoping they might attack us, and a few 
 officers and men were hit near the point 
 B : first Gough, commanding the Mounted 
 Infantry, who was hit on the side of the 
 head, the bullet passing through his helmet 
 and puggery, but not breaking the skin — 
 a very narrow escape ; then Dickson, shot 
 through the leg just below the knee. I was 
 standing at the time close to the Guards, 
 and went over to him as soon as I heard 
 of it. It was bad luck to get hit so 
 early in the first fight; but what he felt 
 most was, that it was now impossible for 
 him to go on to Khartum with me. He 
 was very cheery as he was carried ofi" to 
 hospital, but anxious to know what the 
 report on his wound would be. Some 
 horsemen now came round our right, but 
 they were soon dispersed by a few rounds 
 
PREPARATIONS. 
 
 25 
 
 of shell ; and as it became evident that the 
 enemy intended to keep up a harassing fire 
 on us, and not deliver an attack, Stewart 
 determined to march out and give battle, 
 leaving a force behind to hold the zeribah. 
 The square was then formed up, and we 
 marched down the valley towards the row 
 of flags which stretched across it, whilst 
 Barrow with the cavalry moved off to the 
 left to keep the enemy on the hills in 
 check. The square was formed up thus : 
 Guards and Mounted Infantry in front, the 
 
 Infantry. 
 
 Guards. 
 
 Camels 
 and Guns. 
 
 and Naval Brigade. 
 
 Heavies and Sussex Eegiment in rear, and 
 the Naval Brigade with the Heavies. As 
 we moved on, the firing continued, and 
 
26 ABU KLEA. 
 
 St Vincent, adjutant of the Heavies, was 
 badly hit. We halted several times and 
 returned the fire with Martinis and the 
 screw guns : these had some effect, for we 
 could see numbers of men streaming ofi' 
 from the enemy's right in the valley. We 
 kept to the right until we got out of the 
 grass and had clear ground round us ; and 
 then moved on, with Campbell's company 
 of Mounted Infantry out as skirmishers on 
 our left front. When the skirmishers got 
 within about 200 yards of the flags, the 
 square was halted for the rear to close 
 
 A To Matammeh. 
 
 Enemy. 
 
 Square. 
 
 up, and at this moment the enemy rose 
 from the ravine in which they were hidden, 
 in the most perfect order. It was a beauti- 
 
THE BATTLE. 27 
 
 ful and striking sight, such a one as Fitz- 
 James must have seen when Eoderick Dhu's 
 men rose out of the heather ; nothing could 
 be more applicable than Scott's description. 
 How they managed to conceal their horses 
 I know not, but they did so very effectually. 
 The formation was curious, a sort of variety 
 of the old phalanx. It was as if there were 
 portions of three phalanxes with rows of 
 
 Front. 
 
 men behind. At the head of each rode an 
 emir or sheikh with a banner, accompan- 
 ied by personal attendants, and then came 
 the fighting men. They advanced at a quick 
 even pace as if on parade, and our skir- 
 mishers had only j ust time to get into the 
 square before they were upon us : one poor 
 fellow who lagged behind was caught and 
 
28 ABU KLEA. 
 
 speared at once. When the enemy com- 
 menced their advance, I remember experi- 
 encing a feeling of pity mixed with admira- 
 tion for them, as I thought they would all 
 be shot down in a few minutes. I could 
 not have believed beforehand that men in 
 close formation would have been able to 
 advance for 200 to 400 yards over bare 
 ground in the face of Martini-Henrys. As 
 they advanced the feeling was changed to 
 wonder that the tremendous fire we were 
 keeping up had so little effect. When they 
 got within 80 yards, the fire of the Guards 
 and Mounted Infantry began to take good 
 effect, and a huge pile of dead rose in front 
 of them. Then to my astonishment the ene- 
 my took ground to their right as if on par- 
 ade, so as to envelop the rear of the square. 
 I remember thinking, " By Jove, they will be 
 into the square!" and almost the next mo- 
 ment I saw a fine old sheikh on horseback 
 plant his banner in the centre of the square, 
 
THE BATTLE. 29 
 
 behind the camels. He was at once shot 
 down, falling on his banner. He turned out 
 to be Musa, Emir of the Duguaim Arabs, 
 from Kordofan. I had noticed him in the 
 advance, with his banner in one hand and 
 a book of prayers in the other, and never 
 saw anything finer. The old man never 
 swerved to the right or left, and never 
 ceased chanting his prayers until he had 
 planted his banner in our square. If 
 any man deserved a place in the Moslem 
 Paradise, he did. When I saw the old 
 sheikh in the square, and heard the wild 
 uproar behind the camels, I drew my re- 
 volver; for directly the sheikh fell, the 
 Arabs began running in under the camels 
 to the front part of the square. Some of 
 the rear rank now faced about and began 
 firing. By this fire Herbert Stewart's horse 
 was shot, and as he fell three Arabs ran at 
 him. I was close to his horse's tail, and 
 disposed of the one nearest to me, about 
 
30 ABU KLEA. 
 
 three paces off; and the others were, I 
 think, killed by the Mounted Infantry offi- 
 cers close by. Almost immediately after- 
 wards the enemy retired, and loud and long 
 cheering broke out from the square. Our 
 men had by this time got somewhat out of 
 hand, wild with excitement. It was for 
 a few moments difficult to get them into 
 their places ; and if the enemy had charged 
 again, few of us would have escaped. At 
 one time this seemed likely, as they retired 
 slowly, and for a short time hesitated in 
 the valley before they made their final 
 bolt. During this period of excitement, 
 groups of three to five Arabs who had 
 feigned death would start up from the 
 slain and rush wildly at the square. They 
 were met by a heavy fire, but so badly 
 directed that several of them got right up 
 to the bayonets. The men did not quiet 
 down until the square was re-formed on the 
 gravel-slope, about fifty yards in advance of 
 
THE BATTLE. 31 
 
 the spot where it had stood to meet the 
 attack. Many of the oflBcers and men now 
 went out to bring in water-skins and am- 
 munition-boxes from the camels which had 
 been killed. Curious how one's feelings get 
 blunted by the sight of blood and horrors. 
 There was one strange incident. An un- 
 wounded Arab, armed with a spear, jumped 
 up and charged an officer. The officer 
 grasped the spear with his left hand, and 
 with his right ran his sword through the 
 Arab's body ; and there for a few seconds 
 they stood, the officer being unable to 
 withdraw his sword, until a man ran up 
 and shot the Arab. It was a living em- 
 bodiment of one of the old gladiatorial 
 frescoes at Pompeii. It did not, strange to 
 say, seem horrible ; rather, after what had 
 passed, an everyday occurrence. I used to 
 wonder before how the Eomans could look 
 on at the gladiatorial fights ; I do so no 
 longer. 
 
32 ABU KLEA. 
 
 I went out to help about the water, &c., 
 and found the spot where the square had 
 been broken a horrible sight — too horrible 
 for description. Carmichael was accident- 
 ally shot through the head by one of our 
 own men, so that death must have been 
 instantaneous. Gough of the Eoyals, and, 
 I fear, others, lost their lives in the same 
 way. How I escaped when the rear rank 
 turned round to fire I know not, except that 
 many of the men were so excited that they 
 fired up in the air. After I had been out 
 some time walking about, I had to come 
 back quite done up and lie flat on my 
 back, with my head in such shade as a 
 kneeling camel could give. I had marched 
 on foot from the zeribah, and the hot sun, 
 combined with the excitement of the fight, 
 and the work after, had, I suppose, knocked 
 me up. "VVe all felt when it was over that 
 we had had a narrow escape. The camels 
 in the centre saved us, for they stopped the 
 
THE BATTLE. 33 
 
 rush of the Arabs, and thus gave the mo- 
 mentary check necessary for the rifles to do 
 their work. 
 
 How was the square broken ? you will 
 say. Well, there are various opinions; 
 one is, that it was a mistake to turn 
 cavalry into infantry, and make them 
 fight in square with an arm they were 
 not accustomed to. Add to this, the 
 cavalry were detachments from different 
 regiments, only brought together a few 
 days before we left Korti. A cavalry 
 man is taught never to be still, and that 
 a square can be broken. How can you 
 expect him in a moment to forget all his 
 training, stand like a rock, and believe no 
 one can get inside a square ? Then a 
 cavalry man has a short handy carbine ; 
 he is given a long rifle and bayonet, and 
 uses them for the first time in his life 
 when a determined enemy is charging him. 
 The Heavy Camel Corps had marched 
 
34 ABU KLEA. 
 
 straight up from Assuan in detachments, 
 and its organisation was changed from 
 troops to companies only just before leav- 
 ing Korti; it had also had little drill as 
 infantry. Those who were near the Heavies 
 told me that as the men fired they moved 
 back involuntarily — not being taught, as 
 infantry men are, to stand in a rigid line ; 
 they thus got clubbed together, and Bur- 
 naby tried to open them out so as to 
 get a greater development of fire and let 
 the Gardner play.^ He saw at once, how- 
 ever, that it was too late, and riding out 
 met his death like a gallant English gen- 
 tleman. The Gardner got jammed at the 
 tenth round, and the Arabs ran in at the 
 opening, as they did at Tamai. The corner 
 of the square had now got crushed in 
 at A, and the men were so crowded they 
 
 ^ I was in the front part of the square, and could not 
 see what occurred behind the camels. There was no 
 want of steadiness on the part of the men, and their 
 failure to deliver an effective fire appears to have been 
 due to several causes. 
 
THE BATTLE. 35 
 
 could not deliver an effective fire. They 
 appear to have been pressed 
 back to higher ground at B, 
 where they rallied and poured 
 
 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 M I I I I I 
 
 in a heavy fire on the Arabs, who had been 
 checked by the camels. It was all over in 
 five minutes, and the execution done by the 
 Arabs in that time with their spears was 
 extraordinary. Another cause of the dis- 
 aster was the jamming of the cartridges, 
 which are made on economical principles, 
 and do not stand knocking about. I saw 
 myself several men throw their rifles down 
 with bitter curses when they found them 
 jammed and useless ; and if infantry did 
 this, the cavalry using the long rifle for the 
 first time must have been worse. Can you 
 imagine a more dreadful position than that 
 of being face to face with an Arab, and your 
 only arm a rifle that will not go off ? The 
 sailors were pressed back with the cavalry 
 and lost heavily : they get very excited. 
 and would storm a work or do anything of 
 
36 ABU KLEA. 
 
 that kind well; but they are trained to fight 
 in ships, and you cannot expect them to 
 stand shoulder to shoulder in a square like 
 grenadiers. Their officers died, disdaining to 
 move from their gun, as they did at Tamai. 
 Many had narrow escapes. Verner was 
 knocked over by the rush, and saved by a 
 camel falling across him. Beresford was 
 also knocked over, as were several others. 
 I was much struck by the demeanour of the 
 Guards officers. There was no noise or fuss ; 
 all the orders were given as if on parade, 
 and they spoke to their men in a quiet 
 manner, as if nothing unusual was going on. 
 
 , when he found the Arabs had swept 
 
 past him, handed his company over to his 
 subaltern and rushed into the thick of the 
 fight round Burnaby. How he got out of 
 it without a scratch was a marvel to all. 
 The Mounted Infantry also did well, and 
 it was curious to contrast the huge pile of 
 dead in front of them with the small num- 
 ber in front of the cavalry. In the melee 
 
THE BATTLE. 37 
 
 that ensued,. when the square was broken, 
 the Heavies fought with the most deter- 
 mined bravery, and I was told that not a 
 single Arab succeeded in passing through 
 the ranks of the Life Guards and Blues. 
 
 Soon after the retreat of the Arabs, Bar- 
 row came up with his Hussars. He had seen 
 the Arabs charge and retire, and had no 
 idea that they had got into the square. 
 Barrow had kept in check a large body 
 of the enemy which had been trying to 
 work round us ; but his horses, after the 
 march across the desert, were not in a fit 
 state to act efficiently as cavalry. Stewart 
 sent him on at once to occupy the Abu 
 Klea wells. It was only by degrees that we 
 realised how heavy our losses had been, not 
 only in men but in camels.^ After we had 
 drawn off from the scene of the fight, we 
 
 1 Sir Herbert Stewart's first impulse, when he realised 
 the heavy losses which the force had sustained, was to 
 halt at the Abu Klea wells for reinforcements. On further 
 consideration, however, he decided to push on to the Nile 
 next day. 
 
38 ABU KLEA. 
 
 found several boxes of ammunition for 
 which there were no camels, and all the 
 rifles of the killed and wounded men. A 
 lot of the ammunition was burned, and 
 many of the rifles broken, but several 
 rifles and boxes of ammunition were left 
 on the ground. The fire from the burning 
 cartridges caught the pack-saddles of the 
 dead and wounded camels and added to 
 the horrors. A great collection of Mahdi's 
 banners, swords, and spears was made, but, 
 curiously enough, there were no shields, 
 which the Kordofan Arabs do not seem 
 to use. 
 
 At- last the square began to move on to 
 the wells. St Leger Herbert very kindly 
 lent me his pony, so that I got on well 
 enough ; and after the square had gone a 
 short distance, I rode down to the valley to 
 see what traces the Arabs had left behind. 
 I soon found that they had made a clean 
 bolt, leaving nearly everytljing behind, 
 
THE WELLS. 39 
 
 though that was not much. Stuart- Wortley 
 got a good prayer - carpet There were 
 many donkeys, and several filled skins of 
 water which we sent up to the wounded in 
 the square. Here and there was a poor Arab 
 who had fallen dead in his flight. At last 
 a hussar came back from Barrow to say 
 that he had occupied the wells without 
 opposition. When I got to the first one I 
 had a good drink, and with the rest the 
 ride had given me, felt quite fresh again. 
 
 The wells are a series of pits in the sand 
 of the valley-bed, with little basins at the 
 bottom into which the water trickles. There 
 are great numbers of them, but some are 
 much better than others. In one of the pits 
 I found a couple of kids, which I at once 
 annexed for our own mess and Stewart's. I 
 found Barrow busy watering his horses, who 
 were wild with thirst ; and then, when the 
 square came up, we set to work telling 
 off wells to the different regiments. The 
 
40 ABU KLEA. 
 
 men were very thirsty after the fight and 
 march in the sun, but behaved capitally, 
 and I had no difficulty in keeping the best 
 well clear for the hospital. Most of the 
 wounded had stood the journey well, but 
 poor St Vincent was terribly shaken. He 
 was in a cacolet on one side of a camel, a 
 soldier being in one on the other side, when 
 the square was broken. The camel was 
 killed and fell on St Vincent, who was thus 
 saved, whilst the other wounded man was at 
 once speared. I had seen something of him 
 on the march, and admired his cheeriness 
 and readiness to do anything; and even 
 now, though so badly shaken and wounded, 
 he was quite cheery about himself. The 
 Hussars brought in a couple of wounded 
 men, who had to be examined, and a lot 
 of letters and papers found on the Arabs 
 were handed over to me, so that I had 
 plenty to do till dark. Soon after suuset a 
 strong detachment was sent back to the 
 
THE WELLS. 41 
 
 zeribah, with orders to bring up the camels 
 and the commissariat stores as soon as they 
 could. We had little to eat except the bis- 
 cuit we had put in our pockets, so that the 
 kid was very acceptable — and the water, 
 though muddy, was cool and sweet. 
 
 Jan. l^th. — I think few of us had any 
 sleep last night. We had no blankets or 
 greatcoats, and lay down as we were on the 
 sand. It was very cold all night, and bitterly 
 so in the early morning. . Yerner, Wortley, 
 and I tried to sleep under the prayer-carpet 
 Wortley had looted ; and I think we spent 
 most of the time in trying to pull it off each 
 other, for none of us did more than doze for 
 a few moments at a time. About an hour 
 and a half after sunrise, the convoy came in 
 from the zeribah. They had been up all night 
 getting the stores together from the places 
 where they had been used as parapets, and 
 loading up the camels, so that they had 
 had less sleep than we had. I was glad to 
 
42 ABU KLEA. 
 
 find Dickson's wound not so bad as expected, 
 no artery or bone touched, — a narrow escape, 
 as the ball went through close to the knee. 
 Gough also doing well, though he had been 
 insensible for a long time. 
 
 The convoy brought in four men who had 
 surrendered, — all blacks, who had been in 
 Hicks's army, and been forced to fight us by 
 the Arabs. One of them, a sergeant, aston- 
 ished us by talking very fair Italian. He 
 was an intelligent man, and gave us a good 
 lot of news. He was in the Mahdi's dress of 
 patch-work, and altogether a most comical 
 fellow to look at. He confessed to having 
 been one of the men who had fired at us all 
 night on the 16th and I7th, and said they 
 had lost many men early on the 17th, when 
 the Guards and Mounted Infantry went out 
 to skirmish with them. The gist of the in- 
 formation was, that we had fought Arabs 
 and regulars from Berber, Arabs from Kor- 
 dofan, some of the Madhi's troops from Om- 
 
STRENGTH OF ENEMY. 43 
 
 durman, and local levies from Matammeh, 
 with Jalin and AwadiyeL. Arabs from the 
 country round — in all, from 9000 to 11,000 
 men. The enemy's sharpshooters were 
 black soldiers of Hicks's army, and of the 
 garrisons of Obeid and Bara, which had 
 surrendered to the Mahdi, and a few 
 Kordofan hunters. The great charge was 
 delivered by Duguaim, Kenana, and Hamr 
 Arabs from Kordofan, whose contingents 
 with their sheikhs and emirs were almost 
 annihilated. The Jalin and Matammeh men 
 were in reserve, and the Awadiyeh did the 
 cavalry scouting. We were also told that 
 Omdurman had fallen about a fortnight 
 previously,^ thus setting free many of the 
 Mahdi's troops ; and that the force we had 
 defeated was only the advanced-guard of 
 
 1 We afterwards ascertained that Omdurman fell only a 
 short time before the Arabs who fought us at Abu Klea 
 left the Mahdi's camp ; probably between the 6th and 13th 
 January. 
 
44 ABU KLEA. 
 
 a large army which was expected to reach 
 Matammeh to-day. 
 
 Amongst the papers secured were : a copy 
 of prayers composed by the Mahdi, which 
 Sheikh Musa was reading when he broke 
 the square ; a letter from the Mahdi to the 
 governor of Shendy and others, encourag- 
 ing them to fight the enemies of God, &;c. ; 
 and an interesting letter from the Emir of 
 Berber.^ From the Emir of Berber's letter it 
 is evident that the concentration of Arabs 
 to fight us at Abu Klea took place after, 
 and was consequent upon, Stewart's occu- 
 pation of Jakdul ; so that if he had gone 
 straight across, as at one time intended, he 
 would have met with no opposition in the 
 desert, and probably not much at Matam- 
 meh. The original plan had to be given up 
 for want of transport. Another thousand 
 camels, which might have been easily got 
 in November, would have done the business. 
 
 1 Appendix IV. 
 
PAPERS FOUND ON BATTLE-FIELD. 45 
 
 Gordon's message by his last messenger was 
 emphatic : *' Come by way of Matammeh 
 or Berber; only by these two roads. Do 
 this without letting rumours of your ap- 
 proach spread abroad." And here we had 
 told every one, by our occupation of Jakdu], 
 that we were moving by the Matammeh 
 road. Stewart's first march was a complete 
 surprise. - The Arabs did not know of it till 
 the morning he started ; and Omdurman not 
 having then fallen, the Mahdi could not 
 have sent down so many troops, even if he 
 had had time to do so. 
 
 The injunction to fight only with spears 
 and swords is very curious, and confirms 
 what we had heard of the Mahdi's instruc- 
 tions. Many of the poor fellows who had 
 obeyed this injunction were mere lads of 
 sixteen or seventeen. There were also 
 several letters from Muhammed el Kheir, 
 Emir of Berber — one about dissensions 
 amongst the Mahdi's followers — and a lot 
 
46 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 of accounts of money expenditure, some of 
 which were six years old. I could not help 
 admiring the spirit shown by the two 
 Arab prisoners we had secured, both badly 
 wounded. They were quite ready to admit 
 that they had been badly beaten, but their 
 faith in the Mahdi, and our eventual de- 
 struction by him, was as strong as ever. 
 
 We were all busy enough during the day 
 preparing for a move, filling up water- 
 bottles, and commencing a small fort to 
 protect the wounded we were obliged to 
 leave behind, with a detachment of the 
 Sussex Eegiment. At 3.30 p.m. we com- 
 menced our march. Just before starting 
 I went to say good-bye to Dickson and 
 St Vincent, — the former very low at being 
 left behind, though otherwise well; the 
 latter in a troubled sleep, but apparently 
 in no great pain. Then I went on to catch 
 up the head of the column. 
 
 Stewart's intention was to proceed along 
 
PREPARATIONS. 47 
 
 the Matammeh road ; and after passing 
 the wells of Shebacat, and getting within 
 a few miles of Matammeh, to turn to the 
 right and strike the Nile about three miles 
 above the town. This he hoped to do 
 before daybreak, and then after breakfast 
 to attack the town. The ordinary guides 
 we had did not know the country; but 
 Ali Loda — the robber caught in the desert 
 — said he knew the country well, and could 
 take us to the river without going to 
 Matammeh. He said there were many trees 
 on the way, and expressed doubts as to our 
 being able to pass on a dark moonless night. 
 He was, however, told he must go, and was 
 promised a good reward if he brought us 
 down to the Nile all right. 
 
 Bearings of the direct route, and of the 
 road we should have to follow after diverg- 
 ing from the main track, were taken from 
 the map, so as to check Ali Loda. Verner 
 was then given instructions to guide the 
 
48 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 column in the required direction, and to 
 use his compass frequently after dark. He 
 did his work well, but from no fault of his 
 the march was not a success. I had always 
 been dubious about the advisability of these 
 night-marches, and before starting spoke to 
 Stewart about this one, and pointed out that 
 the men had had no sleep for two nights. 
 He was, however, very sanguine ; said that 
 the men were in capital spirits, and that as 
 it was only a matter of 25 miles, we should 
 be at the Nile long before daybreak, and in 
 time for the men to have a good rest before 
 fighting. 
 
 We moved off from the wells with the 
 Hussars in front, then the Guards, and after 
 them the convoy. Heavies, and Mounted 
 Infantry. At first our way lay down the 
 valley, but suddenly turned to the right 
 over a low spur, whence we had a fine 
 view of the great plain which reaches to 
 the Nile. We got on very well and with 
 
THE NIGHT-MARCH. 49 
 
 few halts until sunset — the road being level 
 and well defined, with but little vegetation. 
 At sunset we had a longer halt for every 
 one to close up ; and about this time we 
 picked up a poor Arab lad, who, though 
 badly wounded, had tried to struggle to 
 the Nile. 
 
 As long as it was daylight I rode with 
 Stewart, but after sunset I went on to 
 the head of the column, where Verner 
 and Stuart- Wortley were with the guides ; 
 and during the remainder of the night I 
 was either with them, or between them and 
 the leading company of the Guards (Gor- 
 don Cumming's). For the first two hours 
 we got on very well ; for though the night 
 was dark, the road was good and the path- 
 way quite plain in the starlight, showing 
 up white in the darkness. Gradually, how- 
 ever, the tall savas grass got thicker, and 
 the ground broken and rough ; the soil was 
 lighter, and the numerous tracks worn by 
 D 
 
50 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 the camels were really ruts over which the 
 grass hung. Here the camels, marching on 
 a broad front but in close order, began to 
 tumble about; and many were so hungry, 
 that their riders could hardly prevent their 
 feeding, and so getting out of their places. 
 The halts became frequent, to allow the 
 camels with baggage to close up. After 
 about two hours of this work, the guides 
 reported that we were getting near the 
 wells, and Stewart dismounted the Guards 
 in case any of the enemy, lurking about, 
 should attempt an attack. 
 
 The trees now began to increase in num- 
 ber, and at last we got into the thicket 
 of acacia which Ali Loda had described. 
 The tracks, which had been numerous, began 
 to diminish in number, until there was only 
 room for a half-section of cavalry to pass 
 between the scrub on either side. I was 
 riding close to the guides at the time, so 
 had a clear view ahead and few people near 
 
THE NIGHT-MARCH. , 51 
 
 me ; yet even then I had some little trouble 
 in avoiding the long sharp thorns of the 
 bushes. 
 
 The column got into terrible disorder 
 here. The mounted portion got through 
 fairly enough, but the baggage-camels got 
 jammed and entangled in the bush : many 
 were left behind, others were extricated with 
 difficulty. The confusion was endless, and 
 the noise of swearing men and *^ grousing '* 
 camels could have been heard miles away. 
 The passage through the bush would have 
 been troublesome enough in daylight for 
 a convoy as large as ours ; at night, with 
 no moon, it was exceedingly difficult. Halts 
 were frequent, and for a long time we made 
 little progress; but at last we got out on 
 to open ground with gravel, and Ali Loda 
 said we had thence a straight run in to 
 Matammeh. 
 
 Here we had a long halt, during which I 
 had a talk with Stewart over the situation. 
 
52 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 I was in favour of going along the road to 
 within two or three miles of Matammeh, and 
 then halting to let the men have a good rest 
 before daylight, after which we could attack 
 the town ; and I pointed out that men and 
 animals were very tired, and that a long 
 halt on the right road would enable the 
 transport animals to close up and stragglers 
 to come in. Stewart was, however, deter- 
 mined to go on and get to the river without 
 fighting. He was quite opposed to the idea 
 of fighting before reaching the Nile, and 
 thought we should be in a much better 
 position if we fought with our backs to the 
 river, and made sure of water. 
 
 About 1 A.M. Verner calculated we had 
 come over fifteen miles, the distance at which 
 we were to turn off; and here the difficulty 
 of marching on a dark night over a coun- 
 try we did not know, and without a track, 
 had to be considered. Ali Loda was called 
 up and questioned. He was very positive 
 
THE NIGHT-MAECH. 53 
 
 about being able to find his way, and 
 said we had passed the worst of the grass 
 and trees. We afterwards found that Ali 
 had led us well, but was making for a 
 point higher up the Nile than Stewart 
 wished. 
 
 Stewart decided to go on, and the guide 
 was told to take us well clear of and out of 
 sight of Matammeh. A bearing was taken 
 from the map for Verner to use, and I 
 picked it up on the stars to keep a check 
 on both. At 1.15 a.m. we moved on over 
 a fair country, with scattered trees and no 
 path. The column, which had become disor- 
 ganised during its passage through the bush, 
 seemed now to have got into hopeless con- 
 fusion ; men and animals were quite worn 
 out, progress was slow, and there were fre- 
 quent and long halts. I rode with or close 
 to the guides, and during the halts gener- 
 ally went back to Stewart, who rode near 
 the leading company of the Guards. 
 
54 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 It was a strange experience. During 
 the halts loaded camels, whose drivers had 
 fallen asleep or allowed them to get loose 
 in the dark, kept moving on until they 
 reached the head of the column, and ap- 
 peared before us gaunt, spectre-like, in the 
 dim starlight. Then, as we moved on they 
 moved, so that at last the head of the 
 column was a mob of guides, hussars, and 
 driverless camels. We tried to get rid of 
 the brutes, but had to give it up as hope- 
 less, for we could get hold of no drivers, and 
 the animals would not be driven back. So 
 great was the confusion, that at one halt 
 part of the column, following some of these 
 loaded camels, came up from near the rear 
 to the front. All this was very wearying 
 for the men, and those marching were 
 rather done up with their struggle through 
 the savas grass and bushes. Directly 
 the halt sounded, every man lay down, to 
 snatch, if he could, a few minutes' sleep. 
 
THE NIGHT-MARCH. 55 
 
 But the most extraordinary feature was the 
 noise. From the transport animals and their 
 drivers a loud continuous roar rose up to 
 the sky, which must have been easily heard 
 at Matammeh, and probably gave the enemy 
 their first notice of our flank-march. 
 
 Progress was very slow — not a mile an 
 hour ; and when Venus rose about half an 
 hour before daylight, Stewart determined to 
 halt until we could see where we were, and 
 to allow the rear to close up. According 
 to our calculations we ought then to have 
 been close to the river ; but Ali Loda still 
 talked of it as being some distance off, 
 and we began to think he was taking us 
 much too far away from Matammeh, as 
 Stewart did not want to strike the river 
 more than three miles above the town. 
 At any rate, we could not now reach the 
 Nile before daylight, so Stewart sent for 
 Ali Loda, and ordered him to take the 
 shortest cut he could to the river, hoping 
 
56 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 that we should get there before we were 
 observed by the enemy. 
 
 Jan. 19 th, — When it was light enough 
 to see the country round, we rose from our 
 short rest and continued our march, Ali 
 Loda leading in a direction more to the 
 left than that which we had been fol- 
 lowing. This change of direction was 
 made by Stewart, who gave Ali his 
 orders through his own interpreter, and 
 placed him under a cavalry escort. We 
 were now about six miles from the Nile, 
 marching over an open country, with scat- 
 tered trees, but no sign of the river. Though 
 it was daylight, we moved slowly, the 
 camels were so tired; and after we had 
 gone about two miles a halt was called, and 
 Verner was sent out to reconnoitre. Here 
 we came across several herds of goats, which 
 were promptly annexed, and supplied those 
 who were in front with a good drink of 
 milk. We also secured one of the goat- 
 
THE ENEMY SIGHTED; . 57 
 
 herds, a black slave, but we were not able 
 to get much out of him. 
 
 Again we moved on, and met Verner re- 
 turning with the report that he had seen 
 Matammeh, with troops in regular forma- 
 tion moving over the gravel ridge on which 
 the town was built ; that he had heard tom- 
 toms going, and seen mounted men moving 
 rapidly along the ridge ; and beyond, to 
 the right, the vegetation bordering the Nile. 
 There was no chance now of getting to the 
 Nile without being seen, so we kept on 
 until we got in full sight of Matammeh and 
 the enemy, the Hussars being pushed out 
 as far as it was prudent for their tired 
 horses to go. 
 
 It was now about seven, and we could see 
 the enemy moving down to intercept our 
 march to the river. I asked Stewart what 
 he was going to do, and he told me he was 
 going to close up the transport, and then 
 march for the river, with his fighting men 
 
58 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 on the left between the transport and Ma- 
 tammeh. I then went out to the hussar 
 scouts to have a look at the enemy and 
 the ground in front. As the enemy 
 advanced and kept working round our 
 front, I retired, and found all the baggage- 
 camels packed closely together on an open 
 gravel place, with the riding-camels round 
 them, and the fighting men forming an 
 irregular oblong outside of all. I met 
 Stewart just outside, and he told me that 
 he did not think the enemy were coming 
 on, and that he intended to let the men 
 have their breakfasts, and then go out and 
 fight. The camels were so closely packed 
 that I had some trouble in finding a place 
 for mine. I got him down, however, at 
 last, and then began to hunt about for 
 my servant, and something to eat. 
 
 So ended the night - march, which I 
 cannot think was necessary, for the days 
 were not hot, and the men would have 
 
A ZERIBAH FORMED. 59 
 
 fought mucli better after a night's sleep 
 and a good breakfast. Had we halted 
 when the column came to grief in the 
 bush, every one would have been fresh 
 in the morning; we should have had our 
 fight close outside Matammeh, and been 
 into it and on the Nile by mid-day. As it 
 was, we were in laager, with camels and 
 horses that could scarcely walk, and men 
 who had been marching all night, and who 
 had had no rest for three consecutive nights. 
 Men under such circumstances get into a 
 nervous "jumpy ^' state, which might lead 
 to a grave disaster. 
 
 So great was the disorder during the 
 night, and so dark was it, that a couple of 
 hundred men knowing the ground might 
 have given us serious trouble; and we owed 
 our safety as much as anything to the 
 
 inactivity of the enemy. told me he 
 
 had found it quite impossible to keep the 
 animals together during the night. Most 
 
60 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 of the drivers were Aden boys, not knowing 
 Englisli ; so yon may imagine the difficulty 
 of controlling them on a dark night in a 
 wooded country. No one will ever know 
 the number of camels lost during the march, 
 but it is supposed that over 100 disappeared 
 with their loads. 
 
 worked hard all night ; he was 
 
 never still for a moment, and when day 
 broke, he was so done up that each camel 
 looked like two. He had been in the 
 fight of the l7th near the bad corner where 
 the square broke ; had then marched back 
 from the wells to the zeribah, and been up 
 all night working hard at the stores, — so 
 that he had been on the go without sleep 
 for over forty-eight hours. A short rest 
 and some food soon set him right, and he 
 was well to the front afterwards. 
 
 I had scarcely settled down to eat some- 
 thing when bullets began to whistle over- 
 head. The enemy ran round our front with 
 
THE ZERIBAH. 61 
 
 great rapidity, and soon began firing upon 
 us from the long grass on the right and 
 left. By 8 a.m. they had got well round 
 us, and bullets began to drop pretty freely 
 into the square. Stewart then ordered the 
 formation of a zeribah of camel-saddles and 
 commissariat-boxes to protect the men. No 
 one now thought of breakfast, and I fear 
 many of the men got nothing to eat, and 
 water was not at all plentiful. 
 
 By degrees the enemy worked all round 
 us, and their fire got unpleasant ; men were 
 hit here and there, and the hospital began 
 to fill up. 
 
 The rough sketch will show something 
 of the position. At 1 the Hussars came 
 in, and after picketing their horses, formed 
 up in front of them ; next came the E.E., 
 who were out cutting brushwood for the 
 zeribah ; then the sadly reduced Naval 
 Brigade, under Beresford; and after them 
 in succession the Artillery and Mounted 
 
62 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 Infantry, the Guards, the Heavies, and the 
 Sussex Eegiment. In the centre were the 
 camels; and at 8 — the highest point of 
 
 A 
 
 \OB \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^-1 
 
 ^> 
 
 G 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■^ 
 
 
 G / 
 
 1 
 
 r 
 / 
 
 V^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 - — * 
 
 _^ 
 
 ■^-'^ 
 
 
 
 
 1, Hussars ; 2, R.E. Det. ; 3, Navy and Gardner gun ; 4, 
 Mounted Infantry and Artillery ; 5, Guards ; 6, Heavies ; 7, 
 Sussex ; 8, Hospital. A, Place where square was formed up ; B, 
 Knoll and small redoubt ; C, Trench for dead ; D, Matammeh; 
 
 E, Gubat ; F, Where we struck river ; Route of square ; 
 
 6?, Slope from which the spearmen charged. 
 
 what might be called a gravel island in a 
 sea of savas grass — was the hospital. At B, 
 about 40 yards ojff, there was a small gravel 
 
THE ZERIBAH. 63 
 
 knoll, rather higher than that on which the 
 square was ; and then, all round, grass and 
 bushes in which the enemy were concealed. 
 We never saw them, and could only judge 
 of their position by the puffs of smoke. 
 A is the point where the square was form- 
 ed up to march to the Nile, and C the 
 trench where the dead were buried next 
 day; D, Matammeh, from 2 to 2 J miles 
 distant ; E, Gubat ; and F, the point where 
 we struck the river and bivouacked. G 
 is the gravel ridge from which the spear- 
 men charged down upon us. 
 
 As the fire became hotter the parapet in 
 front of the men grew in height, and here 
 and there traverses of boxes were built up 
 as a protection against the enfilading fire. 
 A few men were also sent out to the 
 knoll B, to prevent its occupation by the 
 enemy; but otherwise nothing was done. 
 About 10.15 A.M. Stewart was wounded, 
 and carried to the hospital. The command 
 
64 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 then devolved upon me as senior officer, 
 x^fter a short talk with Boscawen, who 
 was next senior officer, we went together 
 to Stewart, and found him very cool and 
 collected, and apparently not in great pain ; 
 but on my saying I hoped he would soon be 
 well, he at once replied that he was certain 
 the wound was fatal, and that his soldiering 
 days were over. I said what I could to 
 cheer him ; but time was passing, and as I 
 did not wish to disturb him more than was 
 necessary, I asked what he had intended 
 doing if he had not been hit. He said he 
 thought the best thing to be done was 
 to go straight at Matammeh or to repeat 
 the Abu Klea plan of going out to fight 
 for the water, and then returning to the 
 zeribah to carry the wounded, stores, &c., 
 down to the Nile. 
 
 At this time it was quite evident that 
 the enemy had received their expected 
 reinforcements from Omdurman, including 
 
Sm HERBERT STEWART WOUNDED. 65 
 
 regular soldiers, and that we had a large 
 force in front of us. We could see lines of 
 banners on our left, front, and right ; and 
 things were beginning to look rather un- 
 pleasant. I told Stewart that I should go 
 out and fight as soon as I could, and if 
 circumstances were favourable, try Matam- 
 meh. I then went off to arrange details 
 with Boscawen. Stewart was very tenderly 
 nursed by Khodes, his A.D.C., and St Leger 
 Herbert, until the latter was killed ; and his 
 w^ound was much regretted by every one, 
 for he was deservedly very popular with 
 officers and men, and no one could help 
 admiring his fearlessness in the midst of 
 danger. 
 
 The enemy's fire on the front and right 
 having become rather warm, two companies, 
 one from the Guards and one from the 
 Mounted Infantry, were sent out as skir- 
 mishers to keep it down. The organisation 
 of the square was next settled : it was 
 
 E 
 
66 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 formed, somewhat as at Abu Klea, with the 
 Guards and Mounted Infantry in front, and 
 the Heavies and Sussex in rear; but half 
 the Heavies, and the Eoyal Artillery and 
 Naval Brigade with their guns and Gard- 
 ner, were left in the zeribah, and only the 
 camels absolutely necessary for the cacolets, 
 reserve ammunition, and water, were taken. 
 At each angle there were small reserves, dis- 
 mounted hussars and sappers, to meet a 
 sudden rush. 
 
 Before marching for the Nile, it was 
 necessary to leave the zeribah in a condition 
 to resist any attack that might be made 
 upon it after the square had left ; and two 
 small redoubts, both constructed of com- 
 missariat stores and camel - saddles, were 
 commenced — one on the knoll B, the other 
 at No. 8, to protect the hospital. Shortly 
 after the skirmishers had gone out, a small 
 breastwork of boxes was erected to protect 
 the men lying down on the knoll B, It 
 
REDOUBTS CONSTRUCTED. 67 
 
 was a troublesome piece of work, as the 
 boxes had to be carried for about forty 
 yards under fire ; and the first were taken 
 across by volunteers, amongst whom was 
 Mr Burleigh, the * Daily Telegraph ' corre- 
 spondent. 
 
 When it was decided to turn the breast- 
 work into a redoubt, the officers and men 
 of the Heavies and Guards worked in a 
 splendid way, all joining in carrying the 
 boxes out. Lawson, with some of the sap- 
 pers, was hard at work, and so was , 
 
 in spite of his fatigue of the previous night ; 
 all the officers were equally active. The 
 construction of the redoubt to protect the 
 hospital, which was '* engineered" by Dor- 
 ward, was nearly as dangerous, for bullets 
 were now flying about in all directions. 
 It was hard work, for the boxes had to be 
 carried inwards from the parapet which had 
 been made in front of the zeribah ; and this 
 had to be done by passing between camels 
 
68 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 packed so closely together that there was 
 scarcely room to move about. It was this 
 difficulty of getting about amidst the crowd- 
 ed camels that caused so many delays, and 
 it was quite 2 p.m. before the units of the 
 square began to disentangle themselves after 
 leaving the two redoubts in a state in which 
 they could be completed by the garrisons to 
 be left in them. 
 
 During this time there were many cas- 
 ualties. Cameron of the ' Standard ' was 
 shot early. He had had a presentiment of 
 his coming end, and during the night-march 
 had been full of forebodings. He had seated 
 himself near his camels, and was shot as he 
 had half risen to get a box of sardines from 
 his servant. 
 
 St Leger Herbert was shot through the 
 head as he was going to get his water-bottle 
 before joining the square, and death must 
 have been instantaneous. I had only seen 
 him a few moments before writing from 
 
CASUALTIES IN THE ZERIBAH. 69 
 
 Stewart's dictation, when I went to say 
 "good-bye" before joining the square. 
 
 Crutchley, adjutant of the Guards, was 
 badly hit in the leg as he was talking to 
 Dorward, who, true to his E.E. training, 
 was bothering him for a receipt for some 
 intrenching tools. 
 
 Whilst the square was forming the enemy 
 kept up a heavy fire, which was well replied 
 to from the two redoubts ; and as each 
 corps came up, it lay down on the ground 
 in proper position. The place selected for 
 assembly was just outside the Hussars, as 
 the fire was less heavy on that side than the 
 others. During the time of preparation I 
 was constantly moving about to see all that 
 was going on, and could not help noticing, 
 and feeling for, the wretched camels tied 
 tightly down in the zeribah. The most curi- 
 ous thing was that they showed no alarm, 
 and did not seem to mind being hit. One 
 heard a heavy thud, and looking round, saw 
 
70 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 a stream of blood oozing out of the wound, 
 but the camel went on chewing his cud as 
 if nothing at all had happened, not even 
 giving a slight wince to show he was in 
 pain. 
 
 The garrison left in the zeribah consisted 
 of the 19th Hussars, whose horses were so 
 worn out they could not act as cavalry, and 
 could barely carry their riders; the K.A. 
 with their guns, under Norton and Du Bou- 
 lay ; half the E.E., under Dor ward ; the 
 Naval Brigade, under Beresford ; and half 
 the Heavy Camels, under Davison of the 
 16th Lancers. I left Barrow in command 
 of the force under Lord C. Beresford, who 
 was senior officer in rank, and the small 
 redoubt on the knoll was occupied by some 
 of the Heavies. The square was made up 
 of one -half the Heavies, under Talbot; 
 the Guards, under Willson ; the Mounted 
 Infantry, under the younger Barrow; the 
 Sussex, under Sunderland ; R.E. with Law- 
 
THE SQUARE FORMED. 71 
 
 son; and a few dismounted 19th Hussars, 
 under Craven. 
 
 All the correspondents remained in the 
 zeribah, except Villiers of the ' Graphic' 
 I think there were some doubts about our 
 getting through to the Nile, for by this 
 time the gravel terrace in front of us was 
 swarming with foot and horse, and in front 
 of them their banners fluttered gaily in the 
 breeze. We all realised that we had our 
 work cut out for us ; and many felt that if 
 we did not reach water that night, it would 
 go hard with the whole force. 
 
 I fully felt the gravity of the situation, 
 but from the moment I entered the square 
 I felt no anxiety as to the result. The 
 men's faces were set in a determined way 
 which meant business, and I knew they 
 intended to drink from the Nile that night. 
 I was never so much struck with the ap- 
 pearance of the men ; they moved in a cool, 
 collected way, without noise or any appear- 
 
72 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 ance of excitement. Many, as I afterwards 
 heard, never expected to get through, but 
 were determined to sell their lives dearly. 
 One officer's servant came with a large skin 
 of water, determined, as he afterwards said, 
 not to die thirsty. 
 
 When I got into the square I asked Bos- 
 cawen to take executive command, and move 
 off round the small redoubt B to the river, 
 and told Verner to give the square its direc- 
 tion. Directly the men rose from the 
 ground the enemy opened fire, and as we 
 were moving round the redoubt, we got well 
 into the line of fire. Several men dropped 
 at once, and we began to think we were 
 going to have a bad time of it. We here 
 quickened our pace, leaving the wounded on 
 the ground to be carried back to the zeribah, 
 which was only 25 or 30 yards distant. 
 They were all got in, and I hear the 
 Heavies in the redoubt were very active 
 in giving assistance. 
 
FIGHT FOR THE NILE. 73 
 
 When we got clear of the redoubt, we 
 made for a gravel ridge on which a large 
 force of the enemy was collected with their 
 banners, and behind which we knew lay the 
 Nile. We did not go straight, but zigzag, 
 to keep as much as possible on the bare 
 gravel patches, over which men and camels 
 could march more freely than through the 
 savas grass ; and we w^ent at a sauntering 
 pace in consequence of the camels in the 
 square. 
 
 The enemy's sharpshooters, who were well 
 concealed in the long grass, and behind and 
 beneath the trees and bushes, kept up a con- 
 tinuous fire on the square during its march. 
 We could not send out skirmishers to reply to 
 them, for fear of a sudden rush of spearmen as 
 at Abu Klea; and the ground was much more 
 dangerous, and likely to conceal large bodies 
 of men, than that of the Abu Klea valley. 
 All we could do was, when we got into a 
 warm spot, to lie down and fire volleys at 
 
74 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 the puffs of smoke in the long grass ; then, 
 when we had checked the fire a little, to 
 rise and move on. It was curious to notice 
 the degrees of intensity of fire we passed 
 through. For a few minutes we would go 
 on with nothing more than the weird 
 soughing of the bullets overhead ; then we 
 would get to a spot where the bullets 
 whistled sharp and clear, and occasional 
 thuds told they had found a home. 
 
 One of the first to be hit was my native 
 interpreter, Muhammed Effendi Ibrahim, 
 who had behaved in a most plucky way at 
 Abu Klea. Luckily it was only a flesh- 
 wound in the side, and he was soon hoisted 
 on a camel, where he solaced himself with 
 a cigarette, and surveyed the surrounding 
 scene. His was a curious history. He was 
 a friend of Arabi Pasha, and after Tel-el- 
 Kebir escaped to Sheikh Senusi, in the 
 desert south of Tripoli. After the amnesty, 
 he returned to Cairo, and entered the secret 
 
FIGHT FOR THE NILE. 75 
 
 police ; he left them for some fancied slight 
 from the English commandant, and became 
 Webber's interpreter ; then I heard of him, 
 and secured his services. He was most use- 
 ful at Dongola, as, being a Moslem, he could 
 mix with the people and find out what was 
 going on. 
 
 Later in the afternoon Lord Arthur 
 Somerset was struck over the heart by a 
 spent ball. He thought he was mortally 
 wounded, but luckily, though the shock 
 was great, the ball did not penetrate. 
 There was, however, a dreadful bruise ; and 
 his chest was made so tender that he caught 
 cold during the bivouac, and got congestion 
 of the lungs and all sorts of complications 
 afterwards. He also had a slight wound in 
 the left arm, which had to be put in a sling. 
 Count Gleichen was also hit ; but the bullet 
 turned, on some trinket I think, and he was 
 not wounded. 
 
 What with halts to fire, and a zigzag 
 
76 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 course, our progress was slow, and the sun 
 was getting low when we got within about 
 600 yards of the ridge. Here we got into 
 a very hot place : seven men were shot dead, 
 and men fell so quickly that the cacolets 
 and stretchers were filled. Things began to 
 look ugly, and some of the officers told me 
 afterwards that they thought we should 
 have been obliged to turn back without 
 reaching the Nile. That, however, we should 
 never have done, as failure meant anni- 
 hilation. I was walking just behind the 
 Marines, and one poor fellow fell dead 
 almost into my arms. The men were quite 
 steady, with a set, determined look about 
 their faces, and I knew they could be 
 trusted. 
 
 All at once, as suddenly as at Abu Klea, 
 the firing ceased, and the enemy's spearmen 
 came running down the hill at a great pace, 
 with several horsemen in front. It was a 
 relief to know the crisis had come. The 
 
FIGHT FOR THE NILE. 77 
 
 square was at once halted to receive the 
 charge, and the men gave vent to their 
 feelings in a wild spontaneous cheer. Then 
 they set to work, firing as they would have 
 done at an Aldershot field-day. At first 
 the fire had little efi'ect, and the bugle 
 sounded "cease firing" — the men, much 
 to my surprise, answering to the call. The 
 momentary rest steadied them, and when 
 the enemy got within about 300 yards, they 
 responded to the call " commence firing " 
 with deadly efiect. All the leaders with 
 their fluttering banners went down, and 
 no one got within 50 yards of the square. 
 It only lasted a few minutes : the whole of 
 the front ranks were swept away ; and then 
 we saw a backward movement, followed by 
 the rapid disappearance of the Arabs in 
 front of and all round us. 
 
 We had won, and gave three ringing 
 cheers ; but we had still to reach the Nile 
 with our heavy train of wounded, and men 
 
78 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 weary with constant excitement and want 
 of sleep. I received the congratulations of 
 Boscawen and several other officers, and 
 thanked and complimented Boscawen in 
 return for the way in which he had 
 handled the square. The number of the 
 enemy on the gravel hills and round us — - 
 that is to say, on the field of battle — was, 
 I should think, very nearly as great as 
 at Abu Klea ; but the number of spearmen 
 who charged was only about 800, as against 
 about 1500 at Abu Klea. They charged 
 in the same formation — a sort of triple 
 phalanx — and with the same determination ; 
 and running down-hill, came with greater 
 impetus ; but the superior steadiness of 
 the men, and their more accurate fire 
 on this occasion, never gave them a 
 chance. They left all their leaders and 
 from 250 to 300 dead in front of the 
 square ; but we found out afterwards that 
 many more had been killed in the long 
 
FIGHT FOR THE NILE. 79 
 
 grass and behind the ridge, and that a 
 large number of wounded had been taken 
 off to Matammeh. 
 
 During our march the garrison in the 
 zeribah had been engaged with the enemy's 
 riflemen at long ranges, but they never 
 came to close quarters ; and the guns had 
 been firing away cheerily at the dense 
 masses of the enemy on the gravel hills 
 in front of the square. As we marched 
 along we could see some of the shells 
 bursting and scattering the crowds ; and 
 I think it was chiefly owing to the ac- 
 curacy of the artillery-fire that a larger 
 number of spearmen did not charge us. 
 
 The square was halted for a few minutes 
 after the fight was over, to fill up pouches 
 with ammunition, and let the men have a 
 good drink of water ; then we moved on, 
 glad to think that we had not lost a single 
 man by this last charge, and that, a remark- 
 able exception to all previous fights in the 
 
80 ABU KLEA TO THE NILE. 
 
 Sudan, no one had been touched by sword 
 or spear. 
 
 By the time we had reached the top of 
 the gravel ridge the sun was just disap- 
 pearing, and we were terribly disappointed 
 not to see the Nile, which we had hoped 
 would have been close in front of us. We 
 could see, however, the line of green vege- 
 tation and the houses of the villages. We 
 knew the Nile must be there, but it seemed 
 a long w^ay off to weary men. At first we 
 moved towards a small village ; but as night 
 came on, thought it better to move a little 
 to the right, and strike ,the river where there 
 were no houses, and no chance of encounter- 
 ing an enemy. We went down a shallow 
 ravine, at the end of which there was a 
 belt of cultivation and vegetation, peas, 
 mimosa, and some dura. 
 
 Wortley, I, and a few others left the 
 square at the head of the ravine, and went 
 down to select a camping-place. Consider- 
 
ARRIVAL AT THE NILE. 81 
 
 ing we had to look for one after dark, we 
 were pretty successful ; and we had what 
 we had often longed for during the day — 
 an unstinted drink of water. The square 
 got in about half an hour after dark, and 
 the wounded were at once taken to the best 
 place we could find on the bank of the 
 river ; the men went down to drink by com- 
 panies ; and the camels were turned into the 
 pea-fields. Directly every one had had a 
 drink, I sent Lawson away with his sappers 
 to cut bush for a zeribah, and had pickets 
 posted on each side of the ravine we had 
 come down. 
 
 The men were so exhausted that when 
 they came up from their drink at the river 
 they fell down like logs, and we had some 
 trouble in rousing them and getting them 
 into their places for the night. We found 
 very few of them had brought rations or 
 anything to eat : with 150 rounds of rifle- 
 F 
 
82 BIVOUAC ON THE NILE. 
 
 ammunition, they preferred leaving their 
 food behind to carrying the extra weight. 
 Wortley's servant had brought a tin of Chi- 
 cago beef and some biscuit, upon which 
 we supped, and were able to share it with 
 Gumming, Eomilly, and Bonham, who had 
 brought little with them. 
 
 Before lying down, I went to see the 
 wounded, who were having their wounds 
 dressed. The doctors behaved splendidly ; 
 nothing could have been better. They had 
 been up three nights and through two 
 fights, and here they were again working 
 on the fourth night. One of them, I be- 
 lieve, fainted from exhaustion, but they 
 went on until every wounded man had 
 been attended. The bearer -company also 
 behaved admirably : not a wounded man 
 was left on the ground ; every one was at 
 once picked up and put into a cacolet on 
 a camel or on to a stretcher. The hospital 
 after a fight is a horrible sight, but the men 
 
BIVOUAC ON THE NILE. 83 
 
 bore their wounds nobly, and were much 
 quieter than I expected. 
 
 After the hospital, I went round the 
 zeribah, and then lay down to sleep. I 
 had sent my second interpreter for my 
 ulster, and only in the evening found he 
 had not got it — said he could not find my 
 camel ; I expect he was too frightened 
 to look for it. Wortley had managed to 
 bring the Abu Klea carpet and a coat ; so 
 Verner and I slept under the former, and 
 he in his own coat. I slept very soundly 
 at first, but as the night wore on it got 
 bitterly cold, and one could only sleep by 
 snatches. " * 
 
 We were all thankful to have reached 
 the Nile and secured water, though in a 
 somewhat crippled state, and we knew not 
 what the morrow would bring forth. Every 
 one behaved well ; and it would be impos- 
 sible to speak too highly of the steadiness 
 of the Guards and Mounted Infantry, who 
 
84 BIVOUAC ON THE NILE. 
 
 were in the face of the square against which 
 the enemy directed their charge. There 
 w^as no opening for special acts of bravery, 
 and it would be almost unfair to partic- 
 ularise any corps or regiment. Throughout 
 the fight there was a marked absence of 
 that super-excitement which struck me so 
 much when, for a few moments, some of 
 the men got " out of hand " at Abu Klea. 
 Jan. 20th. — We were up by daylight, 
 and at once began preparations for moving 
 the zeribah down. The first thing was to 
 fill up all the water-skins and tanks we 
 had, for we knew they had nothing but the 
 muddy water from Abu Klea. Then, as 
 soon as it was light enough, small scouting- 
 parties were sent up and down the river. 
 The first returned with a black slave, who 
 had given himself up, and who reported no 
 enemy in that direction. The second party 
 soon sent back to say there was no one 
 in an old building we had noticed down- 
 
ABU KRU OCCUPIED. 85 
 
 stream, and that the nearest village ap- 
 peared to be deserted. 
 
 The Heavies were then left under Colonel 
 Talbot as a guard for the wounded, and I 
 moved on with the Guards and Mounted 
 Infantry to occupy the village. It was 
 quite empty, and situated on a gravel ter- 
 race overlooking the Nile, and about three- 
 quarters of a mile from it. The place was 
 Abu Krii, but somehow or other it got to 
 be called Gubat. The wounded were now 
 brought up, and Lawson and his sappers 
 were set to work to place the houses in 
 a state of defence. After the wounded 
 were fairly settled, a small garrison of Sus- 
 sex and Heavies was left to protect them, 
 and we formed up outside to march back 
 to the zeribah. 
 
 I had been a little anxious about the 
 zeribah, not knowing what had happened 
 there. As far as we could judge from our 
 glasses, it was all right ; but crowds of the 
 
86 RETUKN TO THE ZERIBAH. 
 
 enemy were hanging about, and we could 
 see two of our riding - camels with their 
 bright red saddles being led into Matam- 
 meh. Whether they had been taken from 
 the zeribah or were lost on the night-march, 
 we did not know. As we were moving off, 
 the enemy assembled in large numbers on 
 the gravel hill close to Matammeh, and we 
 fully expected an attack. The men, though 
 they had had no food, were in good heart, 
 and freshened by their night's rest, so 
 we determined to offer battle. When they 
 saw we were ready for another fight, they 
 began to disperse ; and some volleys at long 
 range, which killed a few men, hastened 
 their movements. We then resumed our 
 march to the zeribah, leaving the battle-field 
 of yesterday to our left, and reached it 
 without further opposition. 
 
 The garrison received us with hearty 
 cheers, which I think were more grateful to 
 us than any after-rewards will be. We felt 
 
THE ZEUIBAH. 87 
 
 that under trying circumstances we had 
 done our duty like men, and that the lusty 
 cheers were the spontaneous vote of thanks 
 of our comrades for having pulled ourselves 
 and them out of an awkward position. I 
 was congratulated by Barrow, Beresford, 
 and others, and after giving orders for a 
 move down to the river, went to see Stew- 
 art. I found he had passed a fairly good 
 night, and was not quite so low about him- 
 self. The doctors, too, gave a favourable 
 account of his symptoms, and he had not 
 much pain except when moving. 
 
 The zeribah was in a state of much con- 
 fusion,^ and presented a strange sight. The 
 number of wounded was so large that 
 they had been obliged to increase the size 
 of the little fort, and use up ammunition, 
 
 1 This refers to tlie way in whicli the commissariat 
 stores, saddles, &c., were mixed up in the breastwork. 
 The two redoubts had been much strengthened during 
 the absence of the square ; and everything connected with 
 the defence and the garrison was in perfect order. 
 
«« THE ZERTBAH. 
 
 commissariat, and all kinds of boxes, not to 
 mention the camel - saddles, for its walls. 
 It seemed at first hopeless to get things into 
 shape again. It was wretched to see the 
 number of dead and wounded camels and 
 horses. The former, especially, had suffered 
 severely, having been packed so closely 
 together. 
 
 The enemy's riflemen had kept up their 
 fire on the zeribah, but not so hotly, until 
 the spearmen were defeated by the square ; 
 then they retired, and the men had a quiet 
 night, which I am sorry to say was given 
 up to looting the stores in the zeribah. 
 The native drivers, boys from Aden, were 
 
 the worst, and some of the , who 
 
 attacked the medical comforts, brandy, 
 champagne, &c., for the sick and wounded 
 — the worst kind of robbery. When vis- 
 iting the wounded, I found one of these 
 wretched men, who should have been nurs- 
 ing his bleeding comrades, hopelessly and 
 
THE ZERIBAH. 89 
 
 noisily drunk. I was very wroth, and 
 longed for a return of the days when a 
 man could be triced up and given four 
 dozen lashes. All I could do was to have 
 the brute tied up to a tree in the sun. I 
 was very unfortunate in having the most 
 stupid of servants. My ulster was taken, 
 and all my small supply of stores, cocoa 
 and milk, compressed tea, &c., was looted 
 — the box broken open, and nothing left 
 but a few sheets of foolscap. The men 
 who had been left in the zeribah began get- 
 ting the stores together at once, and as soon 
 as we had bad our breakfast we joined them. 
 Barrow went on directly he could get away, 
 as his horses were quite done up from want 
 of water ; and we sent with him some food 
 for the men who had been left at Abu Kru. 
 The work of pulling down the zeribah 
 walls of boxes and saddles, getting the 
 camels out of the crowded pen in which 
 they were, saddling and loading them up, 
 
90 BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 was very heavy and trying for the men ; 
 but they worked with a will, and things 
 began to get into shape. Stewart's little 
 shelter was left to the last, so as to expose 
 him to the sun as little as possible. We 
 found as we went on that the losses in 
 camels had been so large, and those that 
 remained were so weak, that we could not 
 carry all the stores down at one journey ; so 
 we had to leave the small redoubt B with 
 a larger garrison than before, and make it 
 as strong as possible — so strong that it 
 could not be rushed. 
 
 About mid-day we buried the dead. 
 Beresford asked if he might read the ser- 
 vice, to which I consented, and I attended 
 as chief mourner. Poor St Leger Herbert, 
 what a bright young life to be cut off so 
 soon ! He was a most amusing companion, 
 and a man of brilliant talents, who, if he had 
 been spared, would have made his mark in 
 the world. The work of dismantling the 
 
THE BATTLE-FIELD. 91 
 
 zeribah was at last finished, and all the 
 wounded carried out to their place in the 
 column; then we marched for Abu Kru. 
 Before leaving I took a last turn round, 
 saw the little redoubt was quite safe, and 
 told Davison, who was left in command, 
 to collect all the debris lying about, and 
 burn it before he left next day, so that 
 the enemy might not know how much we 
 had suffered. * 
 
 As we passed the battle-field, Poe of the 
 Marines was sent out to bury our dead, and 
 I went with him to see if they had been 
 mutilated, and whether any of them had 
 been alive when left behind. I was relieved 
 to find that all of them had bullet-wounds 
 which must have caused immediate death ; 
 and though the bodies had been stripped, 
 and three of them had been much cut about 
 with spears and swords, there was none of 
 that mutilation which is such a horrid 
 feature in fights with some savages. Dur- 
 
92 RETURN TO ABU KRU. 
 
 ing the night the Arabs had buried their 
 principal men, but I counted over 200 
 bodies still lying on the ground ; they all 
 had the Mahdi's uniform, and the string of 
 ninety-nine beads round their necks. Some 
 of them were fine men, Arabs from Kor- 
 dofan, like those who fought at Abu Klea ; 
 whilst others were black regulars, and a few 
 were Jalin from the neighbourhood. We 
 found two or three wounded, whom we car- 
 ried on with us. From these men we had 
 confirmation of the fall of Omdurman, and 
 heard that another force under Feki Mus- 
 tafa was on its way from Khartum to fight 
 us, and that one was also coming up the 
 river from Berber ; so we had every prospect 
 of more fighting. 
 
 The march of the column was very slow, 
 owing to the wounded, who must have 
 suffered greatly ; but they bore it well, 
 and before sunset all were under cover at 
 Abu Kru. Stewart stood the shaking 
 
BIVOUAC AT ABU KRU. 93 
 
 much better than we expected, and every- 
 one hoped his would not prove a bad case. 
 We found all right in the village, which 
 had been turned into a strong post; but 
 unfortunately many of the rush huts and 
 roofs had been burned, — some had been 
 fired without orders in the morning, and 
 others later on to clear the ground. Be- 
 fore dark the troops got into position for 
 bivouac, — Guards in front of 
 
 Guards. 
 
 the village, the Heavies « ^-^ ||. 
 on left. Mounted Infantry | v^ || 
 on right, and Hussars and camei?' 
 
 camels on the ground be ^ 
 
 tween the village and the 
 river. In the village were the Sussex Regi- 
 ment, the wounded, and the Commissariat. 
 We had now secured ourselves on the 
 Nile, and this is the place to consider the 
 state in which we got there. First as re- 
 gards the men. They had had no proper 
 sleep on the night of the 16th-l7th. On 
 
94 CONDITION OF THE FORCE. 
 
 the 17th they had been roughly handled 
 by the enemy, and fully realised they had 
 had a narrow escape. On the night of the 
 17th- 18th no sleep, and many of them 
 employed all night on fatigue-duty, mov- 
 ing and loading up stores at the zeribah. 
 On the 18th filling up tanks and water- 
 skins at the wells ; then the weary night- 
 march through the thick grass and mimosa- 
 bush from 3 P.M. to 7 a.m. After this the 
 trying time in the zeribah, and the march 
 to the Nile, with its fight,^ followed by a 
 bivouac without blankets, and with little 
 food. Lastly, the march back to the zeribah 
 on the 20th, with the heavy work of dis- 
 mantling the zeribah, loading up the camels, 
 and carrying the wounded down. It may 
 be said that the men arrived at the Nile after 
 four days of exceptional exertion under a 
 tropical sun, without having had one night's 
 
 1 On the 19th the men were under fire from about 
 8 A.M. till 5 P.M. — about nine hours. 
 
THE CAMELS. 95 
 
 rest, and after having lost, in killed and 
 wounded, more than one-tenth of their num- 
 ber. They were in capital spirits, and the 
 complete success of the previous day's jBght 
 had quite restored their confidence in them- 
 selves, which had been a little shaken at 
 Abu Klea. Still they needed rest; and 
 we knew no reinforcements were going to 
 be sent or would start until we could get 
 a message through to Lord Wolseley. 
 
 Next as regards the camels. They had 
 been watered on the 13th and 14th, and 
 did not get water again until the 19th and 
 20th. They had therefore been without 
 water for from six to seven days, having 
 previously been accustomed to water every 
 second or third day. The camels started 
 from Jakdul with about 12 lb. of dura each, 
 or 3 lb. a-day for four days, the usual al- 
 lowance being 9 lb. They were thus on 
 one-third rations, which they did not al- 
 ways get, for four days only out of six. 
 
96 THE CAMELS. 
 
 From 2 p.m. on the 16th to 3 a.m. on the 
 18th, some thirty-seven hours, they were 
 tied down so tightly in the zeribah, before 
 Abu Klea, that they could not move a limb, 
 and I doubt if they were fed at all during 
 that time. Then from 3 p.m. on 18th to 
 7 A.M. on 19th, or sixteen hours, they were 
 on the march, part of the time struggling 
 through savas grass and mimosa by night ; 
 and they probably had their loads on for 
 seventeen or eighteen hours. This was 
 followed by another tyiug down in a zeribah 
 for over twenty -four hours without any 
 food. Can it be wondered at that the poor 
 beasts were hardly able to crawl down to 
 the river with their loads, and that they 
 were practically useless without some rest 
 and food 1 The result almost justified the 
 mot, that we thought we had found in the 
 camel an animal that required neither food, 
 drink, nor rest : we certainly acted as if the 
 camel were a piece of machinery. The sore 
 
THE CAVALRY. 97. 
 
 backs from careless loading in the dark, and 
 from tumbling about during the night- 
 marches, were sickening to look at. 
 
 The cavalry horses were also quite done 
 up. The way in which Barrow managed 
 to bring the 19th Hussars across the desert 
 is one of the best things in the expedition ; 
 but the horses had only had a short drink at 
 Abu Klea, and then they had barely enough 
 to wash their mouths out until they got to 
 the Nile on the 20th. The scouting of the 
 Hussars during the march was admirably 
 done ; they were ubiquitous. But w^ant of 
 food and water no horses can fight against, 
 and they were but a sorry spectacle as they 
 moved out of the zeribah to go down to the 
 river. They reached the Nile almost useless 
 as cavalry, and could only be employed for 
 scouting purposes, at short distances from 
 the camp. 
 
 Under these circumstances it became a 
 question whether we should be content with 
 
98 FIRE AT ABU KRU. 
 
 our position or attack Matamineh. Some, I 
 believe, thought we were not strong enough 
 to attack, and that with 100 wounded we 
 should not run the risk of largely increasing 
 the number. I thought over the whole 
 question, and considered that the political 
 effect of not taking Matammeh would be so 
 bad that its capture ought to be attempted. 
 Besides, as we had seen no signs of the 
 approach of the expected reinforcements to 
 the enemy, I hoped we might be able to 
 take and establish ourselves in the town 
 before they arrived. I had heard that 
 on the north side of the town, and near 
 its centre, there was a large government 
 building ; and I determined if possible to 
 attack this, feeling sure that if it were 
 once secured the place would be ours. Ar- 
 rangements were made to attack as soon 
 after daybreak as possible, and we then 
 lay down to sleep. 
 
 Jan. 21st. — Last night we had a fire- 
 
ADVANCE ON MATAMMEH. 99 
 
 alarm. The dry thatched roof of one of the 
 houses caught fire, and flared up in grand 
 style ; but Poe, who commanded the fire- 
 picket, was equal to the occasion, and worked 
 hard with his men. I was a little anxious 
 at first, as there was so much ammunition 
 about; but the rafters were soon pulled 
 down, and as there was little wind, the fire 
 was confined to the four mud walls. Luck- 
 ily the fire was early in the evening, so we 
 got a good sleep afterwards. At the first 
 glimmer of dawn we were on parade, formed 
 up. Barrow with his Hussars started first, 
 taking with him one of the slaves we had 
 picked up, who was to be sent into the 
 village with a letter, calling upon the 
 people to surrender without fighting, and 
 promising them that they would not be 
 molested if they did. Then we advanced 
 in double column, with the guns, and the 
 camels with ammunition, cacolets, and 
 water between the two columns. In this 
 
100 IN FRONT OF MATAMMEH. 
 
 way we moved much quicker than we had 
 done in square. 
 
 • F North. 
 
 0^ 
 
 H South. 
 
 Nile River. 
 
 A, Abu Kru; B, Large village; C, House held by E.E. and 
 M.I ; D £!, Matammeh ; D, Battery ; F, Hussars ; G, Place where 
 Gordon's men landed ; H, Farthest point of square. 
 
 The force consisted of Guards, Heavies, 
 Mounted Infantry, Naval Brigade with 
 Gardner, RA. with guns, E.E., and the 
 bearer-company. 
 
 A little before eight, Barrow sent in to 
 say that the enemy's cavalry, about 50, had 
 at first advanced, and then retired before 
 his volleys to the north-east, over the hills 
 Our force was then at /, and we could see 
 a row of banners at D, and that the village 
 had no regular openings in its mud walls. 
 The force was now halted, and I went 
 
m FRONT OF*«:SlA't'AMMEH'.'^ " ' I'OCl 
 
 out to Barrow and his Hussars at F to re- 
 connoitre. When I got there I found him 
 in a capital position on some gravel swell- 
 ings of ground which quite commanded the 
 town, and from whence artillery-fire would 
 take the trench at D, with its defenders, in 
 reverse. 
 
 I had made up my mind to move the 
 force to the north and attack from these 
 hills, and was on my way back to give the 
 orders, when, to my great surprise, I saw 
 the troops moving ofi" towards B, and one 
 of the companies open fire. On the way 
 
 back I met , who had been sent by 
 
 Boscawen with a message to say that he 
 had seen a body of dervishes moving be- 
 tween the force and the Nile in the direction 
 of our camp, and that he had moved to the 
 right to intercept them, as the camp could 
 not stand a rush. I caught up the force 
 at the village B, which was deserted ; 
 thence I could see no dervishes on the low 
 
'402' -'"' 'In' fron't o'e matammeh. 
 
 ground towards the river, but I was told 
 that they had been there, and that they 
 were probably still concealed in the dura, 
 cotton-bushes, &c., on the plain. 
 
 From the village we could see the plain 
 down to the river covered with cotton- 
 bushes and a few clumps of trees ; and as 
 there was a possibility of men passing un- 
 seen between us and the river to attack the 
 camp, the force was marched southwards. 
 We passed between the large village B, and 
 the smaller one (7, and marched in the 
 direction of H. The Sappers and a com- 
 pany of Mounted Infantry were sent to 
 occupy the house at C nearest to Matam- 
 meh, and told to put it in a state of defence. 
 
 The enemy had hitherto made no sign ; 
 but about this time Mr Burleigh, the ' Daily 
 Telegraph ' correspondent, riding towards 
 D, drew their fire. As we went on, now 
 in square in case of a sudden rush of 
 spearmen, the enemy opened a brisk fire 
 
ARRIVAL OF GORDON'S STEAMERS. 103- 
 
 from behind loopholed walls, whence we 
 could see puflfs of smoke issuing. Occasion- 
 ally the square halted, and the men lay 
 down whilst skirmishers were sent out to 
 reply to the fire of the enemy ; and we 
 tried our guns, but they produced no effect 
 on the mud walls. 
 
 Whilst this was going on, and at about 
 9.30, an orderly came down from Barrow 
 to say that he could see some large flags in 
 our rear, and that he was nearly certain 
 they were on steamers. Shortly afterwards 
 we could see them coming down. Mr Bur- 
 leigh rode off to meet them, and I sent 
 Stuart- Wortley to communicate with them, 
 and arrange with the commander to land 
 some of his men and take part in the 
 attack. 
 
 We had now been exchanging shots with 
 the enemy for some time without result, 
 and at last commenced to withdraw and 
 move up again to the village B, where 
 
104 Gordon's soldiers landed. 
 
 Gordon's men were to join us, as it was 
 plain the town could not be taken from 
 the south without very heavy loss. As we 
 commenced withdrawing, a gun opened upon 
 us from a battery near D, firing blind-shell ; 
 luckily only one shell came into the square. 
 I heard the rush of the shot through the air, 
 and then a heavy thud behind me. I 
 thought at first it had gone into the field- 
 hospital, but on looking round found it 
 had carried away the lower jaw of one of 
 the artillery camels, and then buried itself 
 in the ground. The poor brute walked on 
 as if nothing had happened, and carried its 
 load to the end of the day. 
 
 We had been much elated by the sight 
 of the steamers, with their large Egyptian 
 flags, coming down the river ; their sudden 
 appearance had quite a stage effect. We 
 effected a junction with the troops from the 
 steamers just below the village ; and here I 
 first made acquaintance with Khashm el 
 
Gordon's note of December 29. 105 
 
 Mus, Abd ul Hamid, and others of Gordon's 
 army. The men seemed in high spirits, and 
 were cordially welcomed by Tommy Atkins. 
 Only blacks came up, as the Egyptian 
 Pasha with his fellahin preferred to remain 
 on board. The blacks were most amusing 
 — just like children. I sent them on to the 
 front with the guns they had landed, to open 
 fire on the end D of the village, where I 
 now proposed to attack. They were soon 
 firing away merrily from behind the houses 
 at C and the ground to the left. Whilst 
 they were advancing I had a long talk with 
 Khashm el Mus and Abd ul Hamid, and 
 was shown Gordon's note of 29th December 
 — " Khartoum all right, and can hold out for 
 years,"— which they had given to Verner, 
 who had met the steamers at the camp and 
 come down with them. Khashm el Mus 
 also told me that on their way down they 
 had seen the force under Feki Mustafa 
 coming from Khartum, and that it would 
 
106 POSITION OF BRITISH FORCE. 
 
 reach Gubat in the evening or early next 
 morning. 
 
 Our position now was this : A detach- 
 ment in a small redoubt at the old zeribah 
 three miles away ; 100 wounded at Gubat, 
 with insufficient protection for them and 
 the stores ; the main body in action be- 
 fore Matammeh, and a force said to be 
 coming down upon us from the south. 
 I sent a warning back to camp, and told 
 them to send up at once for Davison and 
 the men and stores left at the old zeri- 
 bah. I then went on to the front to see 
 how things were getting on, and whether 
 the guns had been able to make a breach 
 in the wall. I found they had produced 
 little effect, the shot simply passing through 
 the mud walls, and that our own guns had 
 little ammunition, and no sufficient reserve 
 in camp to go on firing and leave enough 
 for the fight we might expect with Feki 
 Mustafa during the next twenty-four hours. 
 
WITHDRAWAL FROM MATAMMEH. 107 
 
 I now had a consultation with Boscawen, 
 and as a result, very reluctantly gave the 
 order to commence retiring on the camp. 
 It is a fair question for argument whether 
 we ought to have attacked. In favour was 
 the moral effect of the capture of the town 
 on our own men and the enemy, and that 
 is all. Against it were : We could not 
 have held the town when taken, as it 
 was too large for the force, weakened as 
 it would be by the departure of the con- 
 voy and escort, to hold. We could not 
 have destroyed the mud houses in any 
 reasonable time. If successful, the losses 
 would certainly have been heavy, and we 
 could ill afford them with the prospect of 
 a fight in the next twenty-four hours. A 
 repulse, or even a severe check, would have 
 been disastrous. We had lost one-tenth 
 of our effective strength, and had 100 
 wounded in hospital, so that any further 
 loss in wounded would have seriously ham- 
 
108 MAJOR POE WOUNDED. 
 
 pered and almost crippled us. Besides this, 
 the men were hardly recovered from the ex- 
 ertions of the four previous days ; and the 
 organisation of the Camel Corps was not 
 the best that could have been devised fof 
 the attack of a town with loopholed walls. 
 
 It was a short time before we commenced 
 retiring that Poe of the Marines was hit in 
 the thigh, a dreadful wound, necessitating 
 amputation very high up. Ever since leav- 
 ing Korti he had worn a red coat, almost 
 the only one in the force ; and I fear this 
 made him too conspicuous. He was shot 
 whilst standing up alone in the open, talk- 
 ing to his men, who were lying down. He 
 was only 400 or 500 yards from the town, 
 and I fear his red coat attracted the atten- 
 tion of the enemy, and brought down upon 
 him a shower of bullets. Boscawen man- 
 aged the withdrawal cleverly and well ; no 
 confusion or hurry, and always giving the 
 enemy a chance to attack us if they wished. 
 
RETURN TO ABU KRU. 109 
 
 They never, however, ventured out to annoy 
 us. We thus withdrew without pressing 
 the attack home, and did nothing more 
 than reconnoitre the town in force ; but 
 the moral effect was bad, as we went out 
 intending to attack, and our withdrawal 
 gave the enemy fresh heart. 
 
 I think if we had gone at the place at 
 once instead of marching round it to the 
 south, we should have succeeded with the 
 loss of 50 or 60 men. We had, however, 
 established ourselves on the Nile, and that 
 was the main point. On our way back to 
 camp we burned the houses and villages 
 which lay between us and Matammeh, to 
 prevent their being used by the enemy. 
 When I returned to camp between three 
 and four, I found they had made prepara- 
 tions for moving the wounded down to the 
 river, and were waiting orders to do so. 
 There was some excitement about the ex- 
 pected attack, and was much excited, 
 
110 LETTERS FROM GORDON. 
 
 declaring the position a bad one, too far 
 from the water for the thirsty British 
 soldier, &c. 
 
 I was at first averse to moving the 
 wounded to a place where they would have 
 no shade except such as tents could give ; 
 but after talking to Stewart, and finding that 
 he thought it the best plan, I gave the nec- 
 essary orders. Whilst the move was being 
 made, I opened and read the letters which 
 Gordon had sent down at various times, the 
 last lot having been forwarded on the 14 th 
 December by the ' Bordein,' the last steamer 
 to leave Khartum : this mail, with the last 
 volume of the ' Journal,' had been intrusted 
 to a Greek. The first two letters I opened 
 were addressed to the ofiicer commanding 
 her Majesty's troops : one was an order 
 to Nashi Pasha, the Egyptian command- 
 ing the four steamers, to deliver them 
 over to the English ; the other,^ a most 
 
 1 Appendix VII. 
 
LETTERS FROM GORDON. Ill 
 
 characteristic letter, telling us to remove all 
 Egyptians, whether pashas, beys, or privates 
 — " those hens," he called them — and not 
 to allow one of them to go up to Khartum 
 again. In other letters he wrote in strong 
 terms of the uselessness and cowardice of 
 these men, and begged that if the steamers 
 were not manned by British sailors, they 
 should return to him with none but Sudan- 
 ese soldiers and sailors. These letters were 
 dated in October, when he first sent the 
 steamers down to await our arrival, which 
 he then expected weekly. I next opened 
 two letters from Gordon to Lord Wolseley, 
 which did not give much news ; and at last 
 opened one to Watson, knowing Gordon 
 would write openly to him on the situation. 
 The letter was dated 14th December, and in 
 it Gordon said he expected a crisis within 
 the next ten days, or about Christmas-day. 
 He evidently had given up all hope of help 
 from outside, and asked Watson to say good- 
 
112 LETTERS FROM GORDON. 
 
 bye to his friends and relations. This 
 agreed with his letter of the 4th November, 
 which said he had provisions enough to 
 hold out until the middle of December, but 
 that after that it would be difficult to do so. 
 
 As soon as I had read the letters, I told 
 Boscawen that I intended to carry out the 
 original programme, and go up to Khar- 
 tum ; and I asked him to take over the 
 executive details of the command, as I 
 intended going down the river next morn- 
 ing to see if a force was coming up from 
 Berber, and to go on to Khartum as soon 
 after as I could. I also told Herbert Stewart 
 the same thing. 
 
 The position was this. The original pro- 
 gramme had failed. It was that Stewart 
 was to occupy Matammeh ; then that Ber- 
 esford was to man the steamers with his 
 Naval Brigade, and take me to Khartum, 
 and that I was to leave Burnaby in com- 
 mand. Burnaby was dead, Stewart danger- 
 
POSITION OF BRITISH FOECE. 113 
 
 ously wounded, all the officers of the Naval 
 Brigade killed or wounded except Beresford, 
 who was ill, and could not walk without as- 
 sistance. The force had lost more than one- 
 tenth of its numbers, and was encumbered 
 by over 100 wounded. It was absolutely 
 necessary to send a convoy off for provisions 
 as soon as the camels could travel, and the 
 horses of the 19th Hussars were too much 
 done up to reconnoitre any distance from 
 camp. I had every reason to believe 
 that forces of the enemy were advancing 
 against us from the north and south, and 
 I could not leave the small force in its 
 position on the Nile without ascertaining 
 whether it was likely to be attacked. I 
 knew that Omdurman had fallen, and that 
 Gordon had expected Khartum to fall 
 on Christmas-day ; but I also knew that 
 Khartum was still holding out, and I hoped 
 that the pressure upon the town would be 
 relieved by the large number of men sent 
 
 H 
 
114 POSITION OF BRITISH FORCE. 
 
 down by the Mahdi to meet us, and that 
 news of our victories would have got into 
 Khartum, and given Gordon and his gar- 
 rison fresh heart. At any rate there was 
 nothing to show — and I questioned the com- 
 manders of the steamers carefully — that the 
 crisis at Khartum which had been deferred 
 from the 25th December to the 1 9th of Jan- 
 uary would be hurried on, or that a delay of a 
 couple of days w^ould make much difference. 
 I also considered that my first duty was 
 to see that the small force which had been 
 so roughly handled on its march to the Nile 
 was safe from immediate attack. The result 
 of the fight at Abu Klea was known to 
 Khashm el Mus on the evening of the l7th, 
 and it was probably known in the Mahdi's 
 camp and in Khartum on the 19th or 
 20th ; I hoped this would still further delay 
 the expected crisis. A large body of the 
 enemy were said to be collected at Sayal, 
 below Matammeh. 
 
PROPOSED RECONNAISSANCE. 115 
 
 It was these considerations taken together 
 that made me undertake a reconnaissance 
 down the river before starting for Khar- 
 tum. My arrangements were that Barrow's 
 Hussars were to reconnoitre as far as they 
 could up the river early in the morning, and 
 that if they sent back word to say that they 
 could see nothing of Feki Mustafa's force, I 
 would start down the river with two steamers 
 and two companies of the Mounted Infantry. 
 I sent all Gordon's Journals, &c., back on 
 board the steamers, as I thought they would 
 be safer there than on shore in the camp. 
 When I got down to the new camp on the 
 river- bank it was quite dark, and I was 
 pretty tired. 
 
 It was now necessary to send an officer 
 with despatches to Lord Wolseley, and I 
 selected Pigott of the Mounted Infantry for 
 this work. But when it came to a question 
 of mounting him and his escort, we found 
 that none of the horses could go, they were 
 
116 GUBAT TO SHENDY. 
 
 SO weak, and that even the camels, those 
 long-suffering animals, required rest and 
 food ; so his departure had to be put off till 
 the next night. Before turning in I paid 
 a short visit to the hospital, and found all 
 the wounded doiug well, in spite of the 
 shaking they must have had whilst being 
 carried down to the river ; Crutchley, espe- 
 cially, was very cheery after his amputation. 
 Jan, 22(i. — Barrow's scouts having sent 
 in word to say they could see no trace of an 
 enemy, we started down the river — three 
 steamers having got up steam instead of 
 two. I went in the ' Talahawiyeh ' with 
 Beresford, who had to be helped on board, 
 and was, placed on a seat in the cabin, and 
 two companies of Mounted Infantry under 
 Major Phipps. The proper commandant 
 was Nashi Pasha ; but in consequence of 
 what Gordon had said, I turned him out 
 and put Khashm el Mus Bey in his place. 
 Verner went down with Abd ul Hamid Bey 
 
IN Gordon's steamers. 117 
 
 and native soldiers in the ' Bordein/ and 
 the * Es Safia ' followed with her own cap- 
 tain and crew. Before starting I arranged 
 to return at once in case we heard heavy- 
 firing, such as would lead us to believe that 
 the camp was being attacked in our absence. 
 As we steamed down past Matammeh, a 
 few shots were fired at us from the banks, to 
 which our men replied ; but I do not think 
 any one was hit. When we were approach- 
 ing the bank near Sayal, there was some 
 excitement, as the men on the steamers re- 
 ported that there was a battery in a sakieh 
 pit. We found it empty ; the gun had 
 probably been taken off to Matammeh. A 
 party was landed and went up to the bat- 
 tery, which they destroyed. It was neatly 
 made in the excavation of an old sakieh, 
 and in front of it was a broad sandbank. 
 From this point there was a good view of 
 the district round, and of the clump of palm- 
 trees at Sayal, but we could see no trace of 
 
118 GUBAT TO SHENDY. 
 
 the enemy said to be assembled at that 
 place. 
 
 We then went on, passing another battery, 
 this time on the right bank, very cunningly 
 made, at the water's edge ; and as we were 
 nearing Shendy, a man waved to us from 
 the bank. The * Talahawiyeh ' was at once 
 slowed, and ran in to the bank to take him 
 on board. He told us that the force from 
 Berber had halted when it met the fugitives 
 from Abu Klea ; that there was a large party 
 in Shendy favourable to the Government; 
 and that there were not more than 300 or 
 400 dervishes in the town. 
 
 Meantime Verner had gone on in the 
 ' Bordein,' and seeing us halted, had pulled 
 up close to the end of the town. He had 
 then allowed some of the Sudanese to land 
 and go up to a ruined house near the 
 town, from which they began to fire at men 
 in the opposite houses. I was urged to 
 land our men and try to take Shendy, a 
 
OFF SHENDY. 119 
 
 large place twice as big as Matammeh. Of 
 course I refused, as it would have been 
 madness to attempt it ; and success would 
 have been practically useless, for Shendy 
 was on the opposite side of the river to 
 our camp, and could not have been held. 
 It was lucky we did not attack, as shortly 
 after hauling off from the bank, we saw 
 the Emir Wad Hamza riding in with a lot 
 of men. He had been up the river watch- 
 ing the steamers, and when they started 
 down to meet us, he had followed them 
 and was just arriving. If we had attacked 
 we should have been caught in a trap. 
 
 When we reached the ' Bordein ' we 
 found Verner and his men already retiring, 
 as the fire had begun to get rather hot. 
 We went down a little farther, to a large 
 Government store which was in ruins ; and 
 here we managed to communicate with 
 another man of Khashm el Mus' tribe, the 
 Shagiyeh. His evidence was to the same 
 
120 OFF SHENDY. 
 
 effect as that of the first man ; it was now 
 therefore certain that we had nothing to fear 
 from any force advancing from the north, at 
 any rate for several days. Before returning, 
 the steamers hauled off into mid-stream and 
 fired from each gun ten rounds of shell, or 
 sixty shell in all, into the town. After 
 this was finished we returned up-stream, 
 making slow progress against the current. 
 Beresford was, I fear, in much pain, 
 and could not stand up for any length 
 of time, but he w^as very cheery over it. 
 On the way back he asked me to appoint 
 Mr Ingram, of the 'Duke of Cambridge's 
 Hussars,' to the Naval Brigade, as he 
 had no officers and could not go about 
 himself. To this I was glad to give my 
 consent, and made him an acting -lieu- 
 tenant Royal Navy on the spot. Ingram 
 had come up the river as the correspondent 
 of some small newspaper, making this an 
 excuse for getting to the front. He had 
 
MR INGRAM. 121 
 
 brought out a small steam-launcli, but had 
 been obliged to leave the engine in the 
 cataracts, and then by sheer energy got his 
 boat up to Korti. He was a keen soldier, 
 and fought in the front rank as a volunteer 
 in the squares at Abu Klea and Matammeh. 
 At one time he was outside the square at 
 Abu Klea ; but always cool and collected, 
 using his rifle with good effect. Many of 
 us had noticed his gallantry, and his quiet 
 determined manner, so that it was a real 
 pleasure to be able to give him some 
 definite position with the force. I hope 
 it may be the means of getting him a 
 commission : men of his stamp are invalu- 
 able at critical moments, such as that when 
 the square was broken. 
 
 As we neared the lower end of the long 
 island which lay opposite the camp, we saw 
 men crossing in boats to the right bank ; 
 and as it was dangerous to allow men, who 
 might creep up and fire into the camp, to 
 
122 RETURN TO GUBAT. 
 
 remain on the island, we landed a lot of the 
 Sudanese to clear the place. They at once 
 commenced firing away in the wildest man- 
 ner ; and if they did not hit anybody, they 
 at least frightened every one off the island. 
 We got back to camp just at dark. The 
 reconnaissance took much longer than I 
 expected, but we had clearly ascertained 
 that nothing was to be feared from the 
 Berber direction. 
 
 Whilst we had been away, the garrison 
 left in camp had at one time expected an 
 attack, for they had seen large numbers of 
 the enemy near Matammeh, whom they be- 
 lieved to be reinforcements arriving from 
 Khartum. I think they were the same 
 men we had noticed watching the steam- 
 ers, with a view to resist a landing if at- 
 tempted below the town. Before leaving 
 the steamer I gave orders for preparations 
 to be made for a start next day to Khar- 
 tum. A good deal had been done towards 
 
POSITION AT GUBAT. 123 
 
 putting the camp in a state of defence whilst 
 we had been away ; and the village above, 
 which was held by the Guards' Camel Regi- 
 ment, had been made strong enough to 
 resist any sudden attack. Unfortunately 
 Pigott could not get away with the 
 despatches : the guides were afraid to go 
 with him, and neither horses nor camels 
 were in a fit state to make a rapid journey 
 to Abu Klea. It was therefore arranged 
 that he should go out with the convoy 
 next evening, ride with it to Abu Klea, 
 and then push on to Korti by himself with 
 the letters and despatches. Unluckily, as we 
 afterwards heard, he lost his way, and got 
 to Jakdul after the convoy; but thence 
 onward he made a very rapid journey. 
 
 The position at Gubat was not a very 
 good one, but no better could be found near 
 at hand. At a distance of half a mile to 
 a mile from the Nile there is a gravel 
 terrace, and the intervening space is occu- 
 
124 POSITION AT GUBAT. 
 
 pied by a well-cultivated plain watered by 
 irrigation. At the end of the plain the 
 ground falls rapidly to the river, and it was 
 on this steeper slope that the camp was 
 pitched. It was thus quite concealed from 
 the land side, but exposed to an enemy on 
 the island opposite. This latter side was 
 guarded at first by one of the steamers, 
 and afterwards by the Egyptians, who were 
 placed in a small work thrown up on the 
 island. I found Stewart had been moved 
 into the little ' Tewfikiyeh ' steamer, where 
 he is more comfortable. He seemed more 
 hopeful about himself. 
 
 Jan. 23c?. — Commenced preparations for 
 a start at daybreak. The first point was 
 to take out the Turco-Egypto-Circassian 
 '' hens," whose removal had been so strongly 
 insisted upon by Gordon. This was no light 
 matter, as the men were mixed up in the 
 steamers in the most curious way, aud it was 
 difficult to rout them out. The four steamers 
 
CREWS OF STEAMERS CHANGED. 125 
 
 which had come down were the *Tala- 
 hawiyeh/ Nashi Pasha ; ' Bordein/ Abd ul 
 Hamid Bey ; ' Es Safia/ Mahmud Bey ; and 
 the *Tewfikiyeh,' Khashm el Mus Bey. After 
 consultation with Beresford, I determined 
 to take the two first, as they were the larg- 
 est boats, and the best protected against the 
 heavy fire which we now knew we should 
 have to encounter ; but I was much disap- 
 pointed to find from the captains that in 
 another twelve days they would not be able 
 to pass the cataracts. My arrangement was 
 to place Khashm el Mus in command of the 
 ' Bordein,' and Abd ul Hamid in command 
 of the * Talahawiyeh,' and to select crews 
 and soldiers for them from the Sudanese on 
 the four ships. We had also to find out the 
 best pilots for the cataracts, and transfer 
 them to the two ships. It was very trouble- 
 some work, and took Wortley and Gas- 
 coigne best part of the day. 
 
 By this time I knew that Omdurman 
 
126 GUBAT TO OMDUEMAN. 
 
 was in the Mahdi's hands, and that we 
 should have to fight our way into Khar- 
 turn ; and Khashm el Mus told me there 
 were several batteries on the river similar 
 to those we had seen yesterday, which we 
 should have to fight our way past : very 
 unpleasant works to engage going up-stream. 
 It was therefore necessary to have the en- 
 gines overhauled, and as far as possible to 
 prepare the ships for the heavy fire they 
 would have to encounter. The engines 
 were old and worn, but in fairly good order ; 
 the naval artificers remedied some trifling 
 defects, and we got a pump from the Royal 
 Engineers to replace one that had been 
 broken. Then we had to get in a supply 
 of wood for fuel, draw rations, &c., all tak- 
 ing time — so that when the arrangements 
 were completed it was near sunset, and too 
 late to start. We had at first made up our 
 minds that we should get away by mid-day 
 or soon after ; but no one who has not at- 
 
PREPARATIONS. 127 
 
 tempted it can have any idea of the diffi- 
 culty of getting natives to work quickly, 
 especially when orders have to be given 
 through interpreters. So the hours slipped 
 by, and we failed to make a start. 
 
 The original plan was for Beresford to 
 man two of the steamers with the Naval 
 Brigade, mount his Gardner gun on one 
 of them, and after overhauling them, take 
 me to Khartum with about fifty men of 
 the Sussex Kegiment. This was now im- 
 possible : all the naval officers were killed 
 or wounded except Beresford, who was him- 
 self unable to walk, and many of the best 
 petty officers and seamen were also gone. 
 Beresford offered to accompany me ; but he 
 had done himself no good by going down the 
 river the day before, and there was every 
 prospect of his getting worse before he was 
 better. Besides, I felt I could not deprive 
 the force of its only naval officer, when it 
 was quite possible the steamers left behind 
 
128 GUBAT TO OMDUEMAN. 
 
 might have to take part in a fight. Beres- 
 ford gave me all the assistance and advice 
 he could whilst lying in hospital, and let me 
 have two of his artificers. In consequence 
 of the number of wounded I was unable to 
 take a surgeon, or even a '' dresser," and I 
 did not feel justified in taking more than 
 an officer and twenty men as escort. 
 
 Lord Wolseley had particularly wished 
 the escort to enter Khartum in red coats, 
 and red coats had been especially sent out 
 for them by the convoy which Burnaby 
 brought to Jakdul ; but they had disap- 
 peared, either lost during the night-march 
 from Abu Klea, or looted during the night 
 of the 19th-20th whilst we were away from 
 the zeribah bivouacking on the bank of the 
 river. A call was made for red coats, and a 
 sufficient number were raised from the Guards 
 and Heavies to clothe all, though some of the 
 tunics of the Life Guardsmen were rather 
 too much for the Sussex. By evening all 
 
START FROM GUBAT. 129 
 
 was ready; the Sussex detachment lay down 
 just outside the steamers, and I had noth- 
 ing on shore but my blanket. Orders were 
 given for steam to be up at daylight. In 
 the evening the convoy and escort started 
 for Jakdul to bring up moj-e provisions. 
 Colonel Talbot went in command, and Pig- 
 ott of the Mounted Infantry went with 
 him, carrying despatches. 
 
 Jan. 2ith. — After all, the steamers were 
 not ready to start until 8 a.m., but we did 
 get off then. It was a relief at first to be 
 quietly seated in a steamer, and to be able 
 to think over our future proceedings. Now 
 what was it we were going to do 1 We 
 were going to fight our way up the river 
 and into Khartum in two steamers of the 
 size of ''penny" steamers on the Thames, 
 which a single well-directed shell would 
 send to the bottom ; with crews and sol- 
 diers absolutely without discipline ; with 
 twenty English soldiers; with no surgeon, 
 I 
 
130 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 and with only one interpreter, the faithful 
 Muhammed Ibrahim, still suffering from a 
 flesh-wound in the side. 
 
 As far as I could make out from the 
 captains, we should get on very well to 
 Nasri Island,, where the steamers had been 
 lying ; then we should have to pass a bat- 
 tery at Wad Habashi, some very hot places 
 in the cataracts, a large battery above them, 
 and after that nothing but musketry until we 
 got to Halfiyeh, whence we should have to 
 fight our way into Khartum. The captains 
 knew that Omdurman had been taken; and 
 as the steamers had to pass not far from the 
 fort when running from the White into the 
 Blue Nile, they were doubtful about our 
 being able to run into Khartum, now it was 
 in the enemy^s hands. They told me, how- 
 ever, that Gordon could see the steamers, or 
 their smoke, fifteen or twenty miles ofi*, and 
 I knew that when he saw us he would create 
 a diversion of some kind. I hoped to be 
 
Gordon's steamers. 131 
 
 able to run in during this diversion ; or, if 
 I could not do that, to land on Tuti Island, 
 and thence communicate with Gordon. 
 The appearance of the vessels, and the fact 
 that the ' Bordein ' had been hulled by shot 
 on her way down, showed the enemy had 
 some good shots with them. 
 
 I was puzzled how to get out of Khar- 
 tum when I once got in, as the captains 
 said it would be difficult to get such large 
 steamers down the cataracts at this time 
 of year ; the only chance would be to run 
 the gauntlet in one of Gordon's small steam- 
 ers. The steamers had been prepared by 
 Stewart,^ who had, in one of his latest pri- 
 vate letters, described himself as Admiral and 
 Chief Constructor of the Navy. How little 
 I thought, when reading that letter, that in 
 
 ^ This was of course done under General Gordon's direc- 
 tions ; but many of the native officers spoke of the close 
 personal supervision given by Colonel Stewart, who, they 
 said, was constantly in the dockyard whilst the steamers 
 were being fitted out. 
 
132 GTJBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 a few short months he would be gone, and 
 that I should be going up to Khartum in 
 one of his steamers ! They were admirably 
 adapted for the work they had to do, — 
 rough-and-ready devices, with a thorough- 
 ness about everything very characteristic of 
 Stewart. 
 
 The two boats were fitted in much the 
 same way : at the bow a small space was 
 left for the cable, and then came a rude 
 turret of baulks of wood fastened together 
 with iron pins, and built up from the deck 
 so as to give a gun-platform to fire over 
 the bulwarks. The turret was not round, 
 
 ^ but splay-shaped, to fit the bows ; 
 / \ it was bullet-proof, but not shot or 
 Turret, gj^^ll pFoof, aud it was opcu at top. 
 In this turret there was one gun firing right 
 ahead through a port-hole. At the foot of 
 the turret was the cooking-place, where all 
 day long the slave-girls were baking dura- 
 cakes for the soldiers and sailors. How 
 
GORDONS STEAMERS. 133 
 
 they never set the ship on fire was always a 
 mystery to me. Behind this was the hatch- 
 way of the fore-hold, and a gangway on 
 each side for landing ; then the foremast, 
 to which a bird-cage was slung for a look- 
 out man — a sort of iron bucket ; next fol- 
 lowed on each side small dirty cabins at 
 either end of the paddle-boxes ; and be- 
 tween the paddle-boxes the midships turret 
 — a square box, built, like the other, of 
 baulks of wood pinned together. 
 
 The floor of the turret was just high 
 enough to enable the one gun in it to fire 
 well over the top of the paddle-boxes; it 
 had a port on each side, and was reached 
 from the after-part of the ship by a ladder 
 which led to a small square hole, through 
 which it took a moment or two to squeeze 
 one's self. From the ports one could get out 
 on to the top of the paddle-boxes. Thus, 
 any one going to the turret in action was 
 unpleasantly exposed. Within the turret, 
 
134 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 shot, shell, and cartridges were lying about 
 in a way that would soon have put an end 
 to a boat not manned by orientals. After 
 the turret came the funnel, with many a 
 bullet-hole through it, and the boiler, partly 
 above deck, but protected by logs of wood 
 placed over it. Then came the hatchway 
 of the main - hold, and just behind it a 
 saloon or deck-house, a slight wooden struc- 
 ture divided into two rooms, and having a 
 narrow passage running round it. 
 
 On the top of the saloon a place had 
 been prepared for infantry, by making 
 walls of boiler-plate iron, except at the 
 entrance. The wheel was on the top of 
 this deck-house, and particular care had 
 been taken to protect the helmsmen as much 
 as possible. Behind the deck-house was a 
 little open space in the stern, with a hatch- 
 way leading to a small hold. 
 
 Kound the sides of the ship the bulwarks 
 and deck-house were protected by sheets of 
 
GORDONS STEAMERS. 
 
 135 
 
 II II II II mill II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II III 
 
 II III 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 ! 
 
 liji , 
 
 ir j 
 
 boiler-plate iron fixed to wooden stanchions, 
 except where the cabins and paddle-boxes 
 came. The plates were just high enough 
 to allow a man to fire over them, and along 
 the top of the stanchions ran a wooden 
 beam sufficiently rais- 
 ed above the plates to 
 leave a long loophole. 
 This gave excellent 
 cover, and was bullet-proof, except at ranges 
 under 150 yards. To shot and shell it 
 off'ered no protection, and unfortunately it 
 was broken in several places, especially at 
 the stern, where some sheets had disap- 
 peared ; it also left about a foot of the upper 
 portion of the deck-house quite exposed. 
 
 In the fore-hold were the gun and some 
 of the rifle ammunition, with an enormous 
 quantity of dura and loot, besides wood for 
 the steamer. In the main-hold were rifle am- 
 munition, firewood, sacks of dura, bedding, 
 loot of all kinds, women, a baby or two, and 
 
136 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 a herd of goats for milk. In the after-hold 
 were the loot and property of the com- 
 mandant. 
 
 In fact every hole and corner below deck 
 was filled with dura, Indian corn, fuel, and 
 loot, and on the deck we had as much dura 
 as we could carry piled up in sacks for the 
 Khartum garrison. What with these sacks 
 and the large number of men on board, it 
 was no easy matter getting about. The 
 filth was something indescribable — the 
 stench which rose up from the holds over- 
 powering ; and the rats legion and ubiqui- 
 tous — no place or person was too sacred for 
 them. 
 
 It is difficult to describe the state into 
 which the Sudanese had brought the steam- 
 ers during the five months they had lived 
 as river pirates on the Nile. The only 
 part of the boats that had been well 
 looked after were the engines, which, though 
 old and wanting a thorough overhauling, 
 
NATIVE SOLDIERS. 137 
 
 were clean and bright, and worked smoothly. 
 Then the crews and soldiers were a most 
 extraordinary lot. There was first of all 
 the commandant, who was supposed to be 
 in command of the soldiers and of the ship, 
 and who really controlled the movements of 
 the ship, and took command of the soldiers 
 when they landed ; the officer commanding 
 the regulars — all blacks, once slaves ; the 
 ofiicer commanding the Artillery ; the officer 
 commanding the Shagiyeh Bashi-Bazuks ; 
 Turkish Bashi - Bazuk officers, w^ho had 
 brought and commanded their own slaves ; 
 the captain who commanded the crew, which 
 was split up into sections under their respec- 
 tive heads ; the chief of the sailors ; the chief 
 of the caulkers, of the carpenters, the wood- 
 cutters, &c. ; the reis or pilot with his as- 
 sistants, who navigated the ship ; the helms- 
 men ; the chief engineer with his assistants, 
 and the stokers and firemen ; and last, not 
 least, the ladies who ground the dura into 
 
138 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 meal, and made the great wafer-like dura- 
 cakes in which the Sudanese delight. The 
 soldiers were all slaves, and the officers 
 black, except those of the Artillery, who were 
 Egyptians. The Bashis were partly Shag- 
 iyeh, partly black slaves, and partly half- 
 caste ; the officers of Bashis were Turks, 
 Kurds, and Circassians ; the captains and 
 reises Dongolese ; the sailors blacks, and 
 the engineers Egyptians. 
 
 Such a motley crew, and such a business 
 getting them to work together, or, in fact, 
 to work at all ; and as to the noise, it was 
 sometimes deafening. They were, however, 
 a cheery, good-humoured lot, much like 
 spoiled children, and quite amenable to 
 King Kurbash. Of course, when we got 
 fairly under way, we found lots of men 
 who ought not to have come — stowaways 
 anxious to get up to their families, and 
 wounded men who had concealed them- 
 selves amongst the bags of dura. 
 
Gordon's decoration. 139. 
 
 To conclude the description, our guns 
 were what the French call canons rayes, 
 small handy brass pieces, throwing a 9-lb. 
 shell, and the soldiers were armed with 
 Remingtons ; but instead of a bayonet, each 
 man had a spear, and many of them swords 
 as well. Most of the men wore Gordon's 
 decoration for the siege of Khartum, of 
 which they were very proud. There was 
 an abundance of gun and small-arm ammu- 
 nition, and Gordon had evidently spared no 
 trouble in making the steamers as good 
 fighting - boats as possible. If there had 
 only been officers and men of the Naval 
 Brigade to man them, it would have been 
 perfect. 
 
 I went in the * Bordein,' which I was 
 told was the best and quickest boat, and 
 had with me Gascoigne and his black ser- 
 vant Suleiman, one sergeant, one lance- 
 corporal and eight men of the Sussex, one 
 naval artificer, Muhammed Ibrahim the 
 
140 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 interpreter, and my servant Sutton, a driver 
 R.E. The commander was Khashm el Mus 
 Bey, the ' Melik ' or King of the Shagiyeh 
 in these parts, a man of about fifty-two 
 or fifty-three, with greyish beard, rather 
 short, not very beautiful, but with a cer- 
 tain amount of dignity. He has great in- 
 fluence amongst the Shagiyeh, who have 
 been settled on the right bank since the days 
 when Muhammed Ali made a clean sweep 
 of the people for murdering his son. The 
 old gentleman was much trusted by Gordon, 
 to whom he remained loyal under great 
 temptation. He can neither read nor write; 
 that is done for him by a sharp little fellow 
 called Muhammed Bey Abud, grandson of 
 the commander of the Shagiyeh army which 
 conquered Dongola the end of last century; 
 and a certain Sheikh Mahmud, a trusted 
 messenger of Gordon's, who got shut out 
 of Khartum when on a mission to Sidi 
 Osman, the great religious sheikh at Kas- 
 
THE 'BORDEIN.' 141 
 
 sala. Of course old Khashm el Mus never 
 does anything except sit on a sofa, whence 
 he gives his orders, whilst smoking, and 
 drinking coffee. 
 
 In the saloon were old Khashm, myself, 
 Gascoigne, and Muhammed Ibrahim ; in the 
 little room behind, the two servants and the 
 naval artificer ; and on the top of the deck- 
 house the ten men of the Sussex, with their 
 arms, ammunition, kits, and food — they 
 were thus in a little citadel, and commanded 
 the whole ship in case of a mutiny or of 
 anything going wrong. No one was allowed 
 to go there except the two helmsmen. 
 
 In the * Talahawiyeh ' were Captain Traf- 
 ford, commanding the Sussex detachment, 
 one corporal and nine men, Stuart Wortley 
 with his servant (a Eifleman), one artifii- 
 cer Eoyal Navy, and a signaller. There 
 was no interpreter, and all orders had to 
 be given by Wortley in forcible Arabic, 
 helped out by strong English and much 
 
142 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 viorour of action. The commander was 
 Abd ul Hamid Bey, a tall slight man of 
 prepossessing manner and appearance, who 
 had brought down a very strong letter 
 of recommendation from Gordon to Lord 
 Wolseley, which wound up with words to 
 the effect that he was the best native he 
 had met. He was very young, too young 
 for the position he was holding, and he had 
 the petulant manners of a spoiled child, 
 amusing to watch, but annoying when 
 work has to be done. He constantly re- 
 minded me of Gordon's description of the 
 "cub," Zebehr's son, in his Sudan letters. 
 He was fond of dress, and always turning 
 up in some flowing garment of gorgeous 
 hue. He also was a Shagiyeh, and a rela- 
 tion of Khashm's. 
 
 The ' Talahawiyeh ' had the same curious 
 medley of crew and soldiers on board, and 
 also the Greek who brought down Gordon's 
 last diary, and who was anxious to rejoin 
 
THE ' TALAHAWIYEH.' 143 
 
 his family. The Sussex men were posted in 
 the same position, and all the arrangements 
 were similar to those on the ' Bordein.' The 
 ^Bordein' had on board 110 black troops 
 besides the crew ; the * Talahawiyeh ' 80 
 black soldiers on board, but she towed a 
 large dismasted nuggar, or native boat, 
 filled with dura for Khartum, and carry- 
 ing between 40 and 50 additional soldiers. 
 
 Each of the steamers flew two Egyptian 
 flags, one at the foremast and one at the 
 stern. I at first thought of pulling them 
 down, as I disliked the idea of fighting 
 under the Egyptian flag ; but I had no 
 others to put in their place, and they were 
 still the Khedive's steamers. My orders 
 to the steamers were to make all speed to 
 Khartum, and to the Sussex not to waste . 
 their ammunition in single shots or on 
 small groups of men, but directly they got 
 within range of a battery to fire volleys at 
 the embrasures : in this way I hoped to 
 
144 GUBAT TO OMDUEMAN. 
 
 check the enemy's gun-fire, which was the 
 only thing we really had to fear. The native 
 troops were quite undisciplined ; and as any 
 attempt to check them was hopeless, I told 
 them to fire away when any one fired at 
 them. The ' Talahawiyeh ' was to conform 
 to the movements of the ' Bordein.' 
 
 We steamed steadily on past the end of 
 the island and the scene of our bivouac on 
 the night of the 19th, and then got into 
 fresh ground. About 10.30 a native hailed 
 us from the right bank, and we stopped to 
 take him on board. He turned out to be 
 a friendly Shagiyeh of Gandattu, who told 
 us that a short distance ahead there was 
 a battery with a gun in it. We went on, 
 keeping close to the bank until we got to a 
 corner, on rounding which we should see the 
 battery ; then I stopped, and landed Gas- 
 coigne with some of the black troops, and 
 TrafFord and Wortley with blacks from the 
 other boat. It was almost impossible to 
 
FRIENDLY SHAGIYEH. 145 
 
 keep the blacks in hand, but they went up 
 to the battery and found it empty. The 
 marks of the gun- wheels were quite fresh ; 
 and some men who came on board told us 
 that Wad Hamza, the Emir of Shendy, had 
 put the gun there to prevent the steamers 
 from going up, but hearing that they had 
 gone down to Shendy, had taken it out and 
 off to Shendy. Lucky for us, as the battery 
 was well concealed in the bank just above 
 the water-line, and well placed for catching 
 us as we got round the corner. Like all the 
 other batteries it had three embrasures — to 
 give fire up, down, and across the river. 
 
 The men who came on board were 
 Shagiyeh, known to Khashm el Mus ; and 
 they brought friendly messages from their 
 chiefs, to say that they would join us when 
 the army came up. Our victories had evi- 
 dently produced a great effect. The enemy 
 estimated their own loss at 3000, and did 
 not seem to realise how severely we had 
 K 
 
146 GUBAT TO OMDUKMAN. 
 
 suffered. I gave them all sorts of assur- 
 ances of good treatment by the army, and 
 did not forget to send my salams to Sidi 
 Osman's sisters — those ^'plucky ladies," as 
 Gordon calls them. They certainly have 
 been very plucky, living on in the midst 
 of the rebellion — avowedly hostile to the 
 Mahdi, and yet respected by every one. 
 They owe their safety to their descent from 
 Muhammed and their close relationship to 
 Sidi Osman. From this place I sent off a 
 letter to Gordon to say that we were on 
 our way. 
 
 After we had got our brave "pirates" 
 on board, we steamed on again, and a little 
 higher up saw in the distance a large body 
 of horse and camel-men on the left bank. 
 These were a portion of Feki Mustafa's force 
 which, we had heard, was advancing upon 
 us, and was to have been at Matammeh on 
 the 21st or 22d. He had halted about 
 twelve miles from camp — not liking the 
 
FEKI MUSTAFA. 147 
 
 stories he had heard of us from men 
 wounded on the 19 th in our fight for the 
 Nile. 
 
 Feki Mustafa is a Jalin of Zebehr's tribe, 
 married to a Shagiyeh woman related to 
 Khashm el Mus. He was a man of much 
 repute for sanctity, and had commanded 
 the Arabs on the Omdurman side from the 
 very commencement of the siege of Khar- 
 tum; but his fighting capacity was not 
 equal to his religious fervour. He had left 
 Omdurman two days after Nur Angar, whom 
 we fought on the 19th, but had no heart to 
 come on. As this was the third force which 
 the Mahdi had sent against us, we were in 
 great hope that there would be such a sen- 
 sible diminution of the besieging force as 
 would enable Gordon to make some vigor- 
 ous sorties to obtain food for his garrison. 
 We were honoured by a few shots, but they 
 fell too short or passed harmlessly over- 
 head; indeed every now and then during 
 
148 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 the day stray shots were fired at us from 
 the left bank, none from the right. 
 
 About 12.30 we halted at a deserted 
 village to take in a store of wood, and 
 here we had our first experience of the habits 
 of our Sudani friends. Trafi'ord, Gaseoigne, 
 and Wortley landed with them ; but the 
 blacks were too quick for them, and half 
 were at once away looting and letting oflf 
 their rifles. However, a certain number 
 were kept to wood-carrying with the sailors : 
 the wood was obtained by pulling down 
 the houses. As I was sitting watching 
 them, a Bashi came and told me they had 
 found a camel. Did I want it '? and should 
 they bring it on board '? I said no ; and 
 ofi* they went. A few minutes after, I went 
 on shore to hurry them on with the wood, 
 and the first thing I saw was the camel 
 — or rather his bones — lying on the 
 ground ; he had been killed, stripped of 
 his flesh, and fires lighted to roast him. 
 
STOP FOR WOOD. 149 
 
 It was a horrible sight : the blacks wild 
 with excitement, covered with blood, and 
 running about with huge pieces of flesh, 
 which they tore like wild beasts. I was 
 very angry, and had up some of old 
 Khashm's myrmidons to administer kur- 
 hash all round. They grinned as only 
 niggers can, rushed off to the steamers 
 with their joints, and then came back to 
 carry wood. Meantime the three officers 
 had been up with the men working at the 
 village, and by " precept and example '' 
 got them to wood-up quicker than, I fancy, 
 they had ever done before. We then 
 started again, and kept on till dark, when 
 we made fast to the right bank near Gos 
 el Bessabir. 
 
 Our progress had been slow, owing to 
 the heavy loads the steamers were carrying 
 and to the low state of the water, which 
 made navigation difficult amongst the sand- 
 banks. The banks of the river were low, 
 
150 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 and on either side there was much cul- 
 tivated ground — Indian corn and dura — 
 irrigated by saJciehs, and not bearing out 
 the stories we had heard of the desolation 
 worked by Khashm el Mus and his " braves." 
 As soon as the steamers had fastened to the 
 bank, the blacks landed, lighted their fires, 
 and began to cook their dinners. Trafibrd 
 and Wortley came to dine with us ; and" 
 Abd ul Hamid, Khashm, and Muhammed 
 Ibrahim fed d VArahe out of a huge dish 
 on the floor. Old Khashm has developed 
 a great weakness for tea sweetened to a 
 syrupy consistence. 
 
 Jan. 25th. — I lay awake for a long time 
 last night thinking over the situation, and 
 how Gordon would receive the news, and 
 what effect it would have on affairs at 
 Khartum. BuUer's calculation was that 
 Earle would be at Shendy on 5th March, 
 and Lord Wolseley at Matammeh on the 
 2d March : more than -another month to 
 
OUR PROSPECTS. 151- 
 
 wait, and Gordon had given up hope in 
 December. In November we knew that he 
 could only hold out with difficulty after the 
 middle of December, and I had to inform 
 him that we could not relieve him till the 
 middle of March. Then I had to tell him 
 of the. rough handling of the little force 
 which had reached the Nile ; the losses in 
 officers, and the state of the transport, all 
 of which must delay the relief; and last, 
 my orders to take back the few soldiers 
 I had. 
 
 The outlook was not bright; my only 
 hope was that, with the steamers and the 
 few Englishmen, we might make a sortie 
 before I left which would shake the enemy 
 and bring in provisions. I try not to show 
 anxiety. I do not know whether I succeed. 
 Every one else is in high spirits ; they 
 think all is finished or nearly so, and 
 that the safety of Gordon and Khartum 
 is assured. I wish I could feel the same. 
 
152 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 but I do not see how he is to hold on till 
 the middle of March. When I did get to 
 sleep it was only for a short time, for the 
 rats held high carnival, races round the 
 cabin, and my slightly thatched skull was 
 evidently the landing-place after a jump. 
 In self-defence I had to muffle myself up, 
 leaving only a small blow-hole to escape 
 suffocation. 
 
 We made a good start, steam up and off 
 at daylight, a delightfully fresh morning; 
 river-banks much the same as yesterday. 
 In the morning we had to stop for wood, 
 again taken from a village. Of course 
 the Bashis were off after loot or anything 
 to save themselves the trouble of carrying 
 wood, but this time we were ready for them. 
 Ibrahim used his kurbash to good purpose, 
 and Trafford, Gascoigne, and Wortley went 
 up to the village. Such a business this 
 wooding is : first the houses or sakiehs have 
 to be pulled down and carried to the bank, 
 
WAD HABASHI. 153 
 
 and then the logs have to be cut up, so as 
 to go into the furnace, with the roughest of 
 axes and a couple of cross-cut saws which 
 have not been " set " for no one knows how 
 long. 
 
 Again en route, and passed a strong posi- 
 tion at Jebel Tanjur, a small isolated hill 
 near the bank, close to which the steamers 
 had to pass. Luckily no one was there to fire 
 at us. About five miles higher up we came 
 to the position of Wad Habashi, where the 
 steamers had had a fight on a previous occa- 
 sion. At this point the enemy were known 
 to have two guns, and the steamers were 
 got ready for action. When we reached the 
 place we found it deserted — for Feki Mustafa 
 had taken the guns with him — and passed 
 without a shot. The position is a strong 
 one, as the channel runs close to the bank, 
 and a steamer has to go slowly in conse- 
 quence of some dangerous rocks. The enemy 
 had made a small work in the sand with 
 
154 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 three embrasures, and a long rifle-trench 
 on each side : a nasty-looking place, which 
 we were glad to find unoccupied. 
 
 We now had a stretch of three or four 
 miles of open water in front of us, and on 
 nearing the head of it the captains wanted 
 to run in to the bank, as the cataract com- 
 menced there, and they said they could not 
 reach a good place to tie up at before dark. 
 There was still an hour and a half of day- 
 light, and I pressed them to go on. They 
 objected ; but after much expenditure of 
 strong language and gesticulation, the cap- 
 tain of the ' Talahawiyeh ' said he would go 
 on, and she started off, the 'Bordein' fol- 
 lowing. We now entered the long Shabloka 
 cataract, which consists of open stretches 
 of water with dangerous rapids in which 
 there are many rocks. It was exciting, 
 work, and I could not help thinking of 
 Gordon's " praying up " the nuggars on the 
 Upper Nile. 
 
THE 'BORDEIN' AGEOUND. 155 
 
 All went well until near sunset, when the 
 ' Bordein ' struck heavily on a rock at the 
 head of the last rapid we had to surmount 
 before getting to a reach of open water. 
 The ' Talahawiyeh ' was 500 or 600 yards 
 ahead, and got safely to Hassan Island, 
 where she lay to for the night. We worked 
 hard under the bright moonlight until past 
 ten, but could not move the ' Bordein.' 
 We had anchors out, and hauled, tried 
 poling, sent out a hawser to a small island 
 with men to pull upon it — all to no pur- 
 pose. We did our best to help, and the 
 blacks worked fairly well; but it was diflficult 
 to convey orders and get work done with 
 only one interpreter — all we could do was 
 to give instructions and let them work in 
 their own way. About 9 p.m. Gibril, the 
 captain of the ' Talahawiyeh,' came down 
 with men to help. He was said to be the 
 most experienced of the captains, but even 
 he could do nothing. The men had been 
 
156 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 working for six hours to no purpose, so we 
 laid out anchors, and waited for morning. 
 It was a novel sensation going to sleep in 
 a steamer hanging on a sunken rock, with 
 water running like a mill-race all round 
 her. If she slips during the night, will 
 the hawser stand the jerk 1 That was the 
 question. 
 
 All through the day occasional shots were 
 fired at us from the left bank. Every man 
 working a sakieh seemed to have a rifle and 
 to take a pot-shot at the steamers. Of course 
 the blacks replied with a fusilade, but I do 
 not think they hurt any one, and no one was 
 touched on the steamers. It kept up the ex- 
 citement, and showed that the tribes to the 
 west were hostile. I was a good deal in the 
 fore part of the ship whilst the men were 
 trying to get her ofi", and was much amused 
 at the nonchalant way in which the slave- 
 girls went on cooking their dura -cakes. 
 They are at it all day long — no rest. First 
 
THE 'BORDEIN' aground. 157 
 
 the dura is ground between two stones — not 
 circular ones as in Palestine, but straight 
 pieces of stone — one rubbed against the 
 other ; then the meal is mixed with water 
 to the consistency of thick porridge ; and 
 lastly a great lump of it is thrown on a 
 large circular iron dish heated by a wood- 
 fire. With a little stick the girl dexterously 
 manipulates the dough so that it covers the 
 whole plate like a thin wafer ; there is a 
 noise of frizzling and frying, and in a mo- 
 ment the finished cake is torn ofi* ready for 
 eating. They are not as good as wheaten 
 cakes, but we found them a pleasant change 
 from the hard ration-biscuit. 
 
 Jan. 26th. — Eats had another race-meet- 
 ing last night. We were all astir at the 
 first streak of dawn, to make a last effort 
 to get the ship ofi*, little thinking of the 
 awful tragedy which was then being enacted 
 at Khartum. After talking the matter 
 over with the captains, we determined to 
 
158 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 shift all the stores and ammunition aft, 
 then to land the soldiers on a small sand- 
 bank, and pass a hawser to them to haul 
 upon from the starboard quarter ; and 
 finally, to put out an anchor on the star- 
 board quarter also, upon which the Sussex 
 men and those left in the ship might pull. 
 This took a long time; the live shell, the 
 gun cartridges and ammunition had to be 
 carefully handled, and when they were 
 moved the soldiers had to be landed in two 
 small boats over a nasty rapid piece of 
 water. It was near nine before all was 
 ready and the signal was given to pull, 
 but she did not respond. Then we tried 
 '' Turn astern full speed and pull together." 
 I was watching a mark on the shore ; 
 there was a moment of suspense, then I 
 saw a slight move, followed by a shout of 
 "Stop her," and then ''Turn ahead full 
 speed " — all the orders are in English — and 
 we were free again, quivering in the rapid 
 
THE 'BORDEIN' aground AGAIN. 159 
 
 water. Great excitement, the niggers caper- 
 ing about like Robinson Crusoe's man Friday, 
 and earnest thankfulness on our part. 
 
 It was no easy matter getting the men 
 on board again and picking up our anchor, 
 but at last we steamed slowly on and were 
 soon beside the ^Talahawiyeh.' Here we had 
 a consultation, for the most diflficult part of 
 the cataract was in front of us. The result 
 was that the two captains were to take the 
 'Bordein' first through the Shabloka passage, 
 and then return to bring 
 up the other boat. We 
 started from A, and fol- 
 lowed the eastern branch 
 through some nasty bro- 
 ken water with many 
 pointed rocks peeping 
 out of it. We got on very well until we 
 reached the point B and could see open 
 water beyond, when bump went the old 
 steamer on a sandbank with a crash which 
 
160 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 set everything on the dance, and we were 
 hard and fast again. 
 
 We made the soldiers jump out into the 
 shallow water, and try to heave her off, and 
 used our poles as well, but still she stuck. 
 Then the captain went out in the small 
 boat to sound the passage, and we could 
 see by his sounding-pole that there was no 
 chance of our getting through. It was too 
 clear that the capricious river had thrown 
 up a sandbank across the usual channel, 
 which our heavily laden steamers could not 
 pass. The captain went down the western 
 channel to the ' Talahawiyeh,' and after long 
 hours of waiting and watching, we saw her 
 slowly steaming up, her soldiers having 
 been previously landed on the island to 
 march up. She came to an anchor the 
 other side of the sandbank, and the captains 
 then came on to us in a small boat. 
 
 After some trouble we got the * Bordein ' 
 off the bank. We then landed the black 
 
AN AWKWARD PLACE. 161 
 
 soldiers to lighten the ship, and ran down 
 throuofh the cataract to the mouth of the 
 other channel. After about fifty yards we 
 got to a very awkward place — swift water 
 between two rocks, and only just room 
 for the steamer to pass; then we had 
 some ugly turns between rocks in rapid 
 water. Altogether it was very exciting, and 
 one could not help admiring the way in 
 which the captains and reises worked the 
 boat. It was slow work, and we only 
 reached the * Talahawiyeh ' a little before 
 sunset, too late to get the soldiers on board 
 and pass the gorge through the mountains, 
 which we now saw close in front of us. 
 
 It was a most unlucky day. We had 
 worked hard, and yet at nightfall we were 
 only three miles above the place where the 
 'Talahawiyeh' had passed the previous night. 
 We all abused the Nile pretty freely when 
 we met for dinner in the evening. We had 
 expected opposition in this part of the cat- 
 L 
 
162 GUBAT TO OMDUEMAN. 
 
 aract, but luckily no shots were fired, except 
 a few harmless ones in the morning. Can- 
 not make this out, as there is such splendid 
 cover on the banks for an enemy ; they 
 might fire all day and not be touched by 
 the men on the steamers. 
 
 The island we were anchored off was 
 called Hassan Island, one of the ninety-nine 
 islands and islets of the same name said to 
 stud the cataract north of Shabloka. They 
 are prettily wooded : sometimes the vegeta- 
 tion is very thick and dense ; and what 
 with bright sun, green vegetation, rushing 
 water, rocks, and yellow sand, there is more 
 picturesqueness than we have seen elsewhere 
 on the Nile. During the course of the even- 
 ing two Shagiyeh came on board, friends 
 and relations — they appear to be all related 
 here — of Khashm el Mus. They reported 
 that for the last fifteen days there had been 
 hard fighting round Khartum — Gordon 
 always victorious ; that the advance of the 
 
SHABLOKA. 163 
 
 English was much dreaded ; and that the 
 Shagiyeh were only waiting for the turn 
 of the tide to join the English. We have 
 a shrewd suspicion they will swim with 
 the tide whichever way it turns. Evi- 
 dently, as we thought, the Mahdi was 
 fighting hard to get into Khartum before 
 we got there, and Gordon gallantly holding 
 his own. We little dreamt all was then 
 over. 
 
 Jan. 27^A. — Started at daylight. We 
 soon passed Shabloka — a narrow passage 
 between rocks, which gives its name to the 
 cataract — and almost immediately entered 
 a mountain-gorge, where the river is not 
 more than 300 yards wide, and runs swiftly 
 for three or four miles between steeply ris- 
 ing and in some places abrupt hills. Now 
 we shall get " slated," I thought, if there is 
 any one there : a few good shots might 
 have picked off every one on deck. I told 
 them to drive the engines as hard as they 
 
164 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 could, and the Sussex men to reply to any 
 shots by volleys. Again there was no one. 
 We were astonished at our good luck, and 
 began to have a little contempt for an 
 enemy who neglected to occupy such 
 splendid positions. 
 
 Above the gorge, which was not unlike 
 some parts of the Danubian " Iron Gates," 
 and nearly opposite Jebel Eoyan, we stopped 
 on the left bank to take in wood at a place 
 called Gos Neflsa. Jebel Eoyan is an iso- 
 lated hill, from the top of which we were 
 told Khartum could be seen. As we were 
 now well within the enemy's country, we 
 had to take more precaution, and occupy 
 the heights round the deserted village 
 where the men were pulling down the 
 houses for firewood. No one was in sight 
 at first; but before we had finished there 
 were a few dropping shots, which did no 
 harm. The people apparently had only 
 just left ; and a lot of the blacks, includ- 
 
JEBEL ROYAN. 165 
 
 ing officers, began coming down to the 
 steamers laden with loot of the most mis- 
 cellaneous kind, from goats to native bed- 
 steads. This was too much ; so I went on 
 shore with old Khashm, and as every one 
 came up with his load of loot he was made 
 to throw it away and bend his back to the 
 kurhashy — officers and men, we made no 
 exception, — and a good many of them got 
 a second dose from the ever-active Ibrahim. 
 The village was some distance off, and it 
 was hot work ; but at last all the wood we 
 could lay hold of was got on board, and we 
 steamed away. 
 
 After passing Jebel Royan the banks 
 again became flat, with the same kind of 
 cultivation, and we then got into another 
 bit of cataract ; but by 2 p.m. we were 
 clear of it, and steaming up open water 
 against a moderate current. During the 
 morning, after passing the gorge, there 
 had been a little desultory firing ; but it 
 
166 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 now became more frequent, and continued 
 until half an hour before sunset. The 
 blacks replied with a will, ever ready for a 
 chance of letting off their rifles. One shot 
 came in through the deck-house close to my 
 cheek, but it was nearly spent, and the lit- 
 tle splinters of wood which struck me did 
 not cut. We kept on until dark, and then 
 moored to the left bank, in front of a deserted 
 village, about one -third of a mile from the 
 river, and opposite Tamaniat. We at once 
 commenced taking in all the wood we could 
 stow away on the steamers,^ and the men 
 were kept working at this until 1 a.m. 
 They were very lazy, and a good deal of 
 driving had to be done. Gascoigne, Traf- 
 ford, and Wortley were out pretty nearly the 
 whole time ; and the first was, as usual, 
 
 ^ The quantity of wood burned by the river steamers 
 was out of all proportion to the work got out of them. It 
 used to be said of the ' Nassif Kheir,' employed on the 
 river between Dongola and Korti, that she burned as 
 much fuel as a line-of-battle ship. 
 
REPOKT OF Gordon's death. 167 
 
 indefatigable in his efforts to get work 
 out of the blacks. Some of the Sussex 
 men were also out on picket, and we took 
 every precaution to avoid surprise. 
 
 During the afternoon a man on the left 
 bank shouted out to us that a camel-man 
 had just passed down with the news that 
 Khartum was taken and Gordon killed. 
 We did not believe it, nor did Khashm el 
 Mus, who said that such reports had been 
 flying about for the last two months. We 
 dined together in high spirits at the pros- 
 pects of running the blockade next day, and 
 at last meeting General Gordon after his 
 famous siege. We were curious to see 
 the way in which he kept his people to- 
 gether under the stress of actual siege, for 
 we had not found it easy to control our 
 modest force on the two steamers. 
 
 Jan. 28th. — Started at 6 a.m. My orders 
 were, the 'Bordein' to lead, the 'Talaha- 
 wiyeh ' to conform to her movements ; the 
 
168 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 Sussex men to fire volleys at the embrasures 
 of the batteries, which were also to be 
 engaged by the guns of the steamers ; the 
 blacks to fire away as hard as they could ; 
 the ' Bordein ' to go ahead full speed into 
 Khartum, followed by her consort. Wort- 
 ley and his signaller, who had a heliostat, 
 were to try and attract Gordon's attention. 
 At 7.30 we passed Jebel Seg et Taib, a 
 steep hill close to the bank of the river, 
 where there had been at one time a battery 
 with guns, to prevent the passage of the 
 steamers up and down the river. It was a 
 good position, and, luckily for us, unoccupied. 
 We went on past Abu Alim, where one of 
 the Mahdi's chief emirs lives, and soon 
 after could see Khartum in the far distance 
 above the trees of Tuti Island. About this 
 time a Shagiyeh on the right bank shouted 
 out to the * Talahawiyeh ' to stop, and told 
 them that Khartum had been taken and 
 Gordon killed two days before. 
 
ACTION OFF HALFIYEH. 169 
 
 Occasional firing had been going on all 
 the morning, but as we approached Fighiaiha 
 the enemy opened a regular fusilade. The 
 fight had now commenced, and I went with 
 Khashm and Ibrahim to the midship turret, 
 where I remained throughout the action. 
 Gascoigne joined us shortly afterwards, and 
 was there or with the Sussex on the deck- 
 house. In the turret I was close to the 
 captain and reis, and also to the engineer, 
 so that I could give orders at once. It 
 made a capital conning tower, for by stand- 
 ing on a stool and looking over, one could 
 see all round. The tower was also bullet- 
 proof, an advantage which old Khashm 
 seemed to appreciate, for he doubled him- 
 self up in a corner, and only moved to get 
 out of the way of the gun. 
 
 When we came full in sight of Halfiyeh 
 I noticed that the palm -grove had been 
 burned and the houses wrecked — a picture 
 of the desolation of war — and also that 
 
170 GUBAT TO OMDURMAN. 
 
 there were several large boats lying by the 
 bank. I called Khashm's attention to this, 
 and he at once replied, '' Gordon's troops 
 must be there, as the Mahdi has no boats." 
 Directly after, a heavy fire was opened upon 
 us from four guns and many rifles at from 
 600 to 700 yards. The guns were well placed, 
 one in a sakieh pit, two in a little battery 
 above, and one in the village. The bul- 
 lets began to fly pretty thickly, tapping like 
 hail against the ship's sides, whilst the 
 shells went screeching overhead or threw up 
 jets of water in the stream round us. Our 
 men replied cheerily, and the gun in the 
 turret was capitally served by the black 
 gunners under their captain Abdullah Ef- 
 fendi, who laid the gun each time and fired it 
 himself. The gunners, who had nothing on 
 but a cloth round their waists, looked more 
 like demons than men in the thick smoke ; 
 and one huge giant was the very incarnation 
 of savagery drunk with war. The shooting 
 
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 171 
 
 was fairly good, and we heard afterwards 
 that we had dismounted one of the guns in 
 the battery ; but at the time we could not 
 see the effect. After we had run the gaunt- 
 let and the fire was turned on our consort, 
 the Sudanese sent up a wild cry of delight, 
 raising their rifles in their hands and shak- 
 ing them in the air. It was a strange weird 
 sight, these black savages with their blood 
 up, quivering with excitement. 
 
 I now had leisure to watch the ' Talahawi- 
 yeh ' coming through the thick of it, scath- 
 less as we had done, the red flag streaming 
 bravely above the smoke, which hung in a 
 dense cloud round her. The firing now 
 ceased for a few minutes, and we could see 
 the large Government House at Khartum 
 plainly above the trees. Khashm was very 
 anxious to know whether we could see the 
 Egyptian flag, which he said Gordon always 
 kept flying; but neither Gascoigne nor I 
 could see a trace of one anywhere. Khashm 
 
172 OFF TUTI ISLAND. 
 
 now began to get anxious, and said he felt 
 certain something must have happened at 
 Khartum, and that the place must be in 
 the Mahdi's hands, otherwise there would 
 have been no boats at Halfiyeh, and the flag 
 would be flying. I could not believe this ; 
 at any rate, we could not stop now until we 
 were certain all was over. 
 
 We had only a short respite, for, directly 
 after passing Shamba, two guns on the right 
 bank opened upon us, with a heavy rifle- 
 fire from both banks, and this was kept up 
 until we came within range of the guns 
 at Omdurman. When about half-way up 
 Tuti I thought for a moment that the island 
 was still in Gordon's hands. A sort of dike 
 ran along the edge of the island, and behind 
 this there was a long line of men firing away 
 as hard as they could. I heard the bullets 
 singing overhead, and saw them strike the 
 sand amongst the enemy's sharpshooters on 
 the opposite bank, and thought they were 
 
To face p. 172. 
 
ACTION OFF OMDURMAN. 173 
 
 helping us. I then ordered the steamer to 
 run in close to the bank, stop, cease firing, 
 and ask for news. This we did, getting 
 within 60 or 70 yards. I felt so persuaded 
 at first that they were Gordon's men that I 
 got outside the turret, but the only reply to 
 our shouts was a sharper and better directed 
 fire, which soon drove me inside again. 
 
 It was clear that the enemy's riflemen 
 were on Tuti ; but Khartum might still be 
 holding out — so after a delay of about a 
 quarter of an hour we went on, old Khashm 
 protesting it was all up, and predicting ter- 
 rible disaster to ourselves. No sooner did 
 we start upwards than we got into such a 
 fire as I hope never to pass through again 
 in a ^^ penny steamer." Two or more guns 
 opened upon us from Omdurman fort, and 
 three or four from Khartum or the upper 
 end of Tuti ; the roll of musketry from each 
 side was continuous ; and high above that 
 could be heard the grunting of a Norden- 
 
174 KHARTUM TAKEN BY MAHDI. 
 
 feldt or a mitrailleuse, and the loud rushing 
 noise of the Krupp shells, fired either from 
 Khartum itself or from the upper end of 
 Tuti Island. 
 
 We kept on to the junction of the two 
 Niles, when it became plain to every one that 
 Khartum had fallen into the Mahdi's hands ; 
 for not only were there hundreds of der- 
 vishes ranged under their banners, standing 
 on the sandspit close to the town ready to 
 resist our landing, but no flag was flying 
 in Khartum and not a shot was fired in 
 our assistance ; here, too, if not before, we 
 should have met the two steamers I knew 
 Gordon still had at Khartum. I at once 
 gave the order to turn and run full speed 
 down the river. It was hopeless to attempt 
 a landing or to communicate with the shore 
 under such a fire. 
 
 The sight at this moment was very 
 grand : the masses of the enemy with their 
 fluttering banners near Khartum ; the long 
 
THE STEAMERS TURNED. 175 
 
 rows of riflemen in the shelter-trenches at 
 Omdurman ; the numerous groups of men 
 on Tuti ; the bursting shells, and the water 
 torn up by hundreds of bullets and occa- 
 sional heavier shot, — made an impression 
 never to be forgotten. Looking out over 
 the stormy scene, it seemed almost impos- 
 sible that we should escape. 
 
 Directly we turned round, the Sudanese, 
 who had been wild with excitement, and 
 firing away cheerily, completely collapsed. 
 Poor fellows ! they had lost wives, families, 
 and all they possessed. Khashm el Mus 
 sank into a corner of the turret with his 
 mantle wrapped round his head, and even 
 the brave gunner-captain forsook his gun. 
 '' What is the use of firing ? " he said ; '' I 
 have lost all." For a few moments we could 
 get nothing out of him ; but by dint of per- 
 suasion, and I am afraid some swearing — is 
 it not Kinglake who notices the forcible 
 character of Englishmen's language in action? 
 
176 A BRAVE SUDANI. 
 
 — we got him at last to fire ; and then, the 
 devil once roused, he served his gun steadily 
 until we had run the gauntlet again and 
 were out of range of the guns of Halfiyeh. 
 
 As we passed the * Talahawiyeh,' which 
 had been aground off Tuti for a few minutes, 
 we shouted to her to turn and follow ; and 
 just at this moment we saw a man on a 
 white camel come down to the edge of the 
 river below Omdurman with a flag of truce. 
 He waved and beckoned to us, but as the 
 firing kept on as briskly as ever, we took 
 no notice of him. Whilst we were off Om- 
 durman the small boat we were towing was 
 sunk by a shell, and a fragment of a shell 
 went through the funnel, cutting the stay 
 and letting a rush of flame out, which soon 
 set fire to the large wooden block left swing- 
 ing in the air. I was rather anxious, as the 
 sparks began to fly about, and the deck 
 was littered with open ammunition-boxes; 
 but on calling for help, a plucky Sudan 
 
THE 'TALAHAWIYEH STRUCK. 177 
 
 soldier jumped up, and after a few minutes 
 managed to get down the flaming bit of 
 wood and throw it overboard. If an Eng- 
 lishman, he would have had the Victoria 
 Cross. He was afterwards shot, just as we 
 were getting out of danger. 
 
 We all had narrow escapes. I was struck 
 just above the knee by a spent shot which 
 had got through a weak point in the turret ; 
 and my field-glass, an old friend of twenty- 
 five years, sent out to me in America, was 
 broken in my hand as I was resting it on 
 the top of the turret. Gascoigne was as im- 
 perturbable as ever; he is about the coolest 
 man under fire I have ever seen. Muhammed 
 Ibrahim, the interpreter, was invaluable, 
 always keeping the Sudanese up to the 
 mark, and fully exposing himself — a good 
 proof that every Egyptian is not a coward ; 
 and best of all, he did not lose heart when 
 we turned to run down. 
 
 The ' Talahawiyeh ' was struck by a solid 
 M 
 
178 OUT OF RANGE. 
 
 shot, and a shell bursting just in front 
 of the deck-house, sent in a shower of 
 fragments which played much havoc with 
 the fittings, but hurt no one. Another 
 shell burst overhead, and the burning fuse 
 which fell on board was at once picked up 
 and thrown overboard by the drummer of 
 the Sussex. The Sussex men were very 
 steady, and must have done much execu- 
 tion amongst the crowded ranks of the 
 enemy ; TrafFord told me he saw many of 
 them fall. 
 
 When we got clear of the last guns it 
 was past four o'clock, so that for four hours 
 we had been continuously engaged with 
 the enemy's batteries : lucky for us their 
 gunners were such bad shots. I could not 
 help feeling much for poor old Khashm, 
 who, when he got to the cabin, entirely 
 collapsed, rolled himself in a rug, and then 
 coiled himself in a corner, oblivious to all 
 that was going on. The others were af- 
 
THE SUDANESE DESPONDENT. 179 
 
 fected in much the same way; quite up- 
 set, and good for nothing. They knew too 
 well the fate of their wives and families, 
 the spoil of the conquerors, sold into 
 slavery or mated to some wild Arab from 
 Kordofan. 
 
 To me the blow was crushing. '' Khar- 
 tum fallen and Gordon dead'' — for I never 
 for a moment believed he would allow him- 
 self to fall into the Mahdi's hands alive — 
 such was the ending of all our labours and 
 of his perilous enterprise. I could not 
 realise it, and yet there was a heavy feeling 
 at the heart telling of some awful disaster. 
 For months I had been looking forward to 
 the time when I should meet Gordon again, 
 and tell him what every one thought of his 
 splendid defence of Khartum — and now all 
 was over ; it seemed too cruel to be true. 
 I think I should have collapsed like Khashm 
 el Mus if I had not had to think of getting 
 the steamers down the cataracts, which I 
 
180 CONFIRMATION OF GORDON'S DEATH. 
 
 knew, from what the captains said coming 
 up, would be a difficult if not dangerous 
 business. 
 
 At dark we made fast to an island 
 about twelve miles south of Jebel Eoyan, 
 and I sent out two messengers dressed 
 in the Mahdi's uniform, — one to go to 
 Khartum to ascertain the fate of Gordon, 
 the other to collect information. The lat- 
 ter on his return said he had met a Jali, 
 who told him that on the night of the 26th 
 {i.e., the night of our 25th-26th) Khartum 
 had fallen through the treachery of Faraj 
 Pasha, who commanded the regular troops, 
 and Ahmad Bey Jalabi, the mudir of the 
 town, and that Gordon was dead. He also 
 said that on the 27th the Mahdi entered 
 Khartum, prayed in the principal mosque, 
 and returned to Omdurman, giving the 
 town up to three days' pillage. 
 
 This confirmation of the news quite fin- 
 ished the natives; the dull, heavy weight 
 
EFFECT ON NATIVE OFFICERS. 181 
 
 of despair seemed to settle down upon 
 them, and they looked as men who have 
 no longer an interest in life. Neither 
 Khashm nor any of the native officers 
 would touch food, and our own meal was 
 not a lively one; we felt the reaction 
 from the excitement of the fight, when 
 hope was strong, to the bitter sense of 
 failure, though it was from no fault of our 
 own. Perhaps I felt it more keenly than 
 the others, as I was able more fully to 
 realise what the death of Gordon and the 
 fall of Khartum meant, and I had lost a 
 personal friend for whose character I had 
 always felt the warmest admiration. The 
 great point now, however, was to get down 
 to Gubat as quickly as possible. The con- 
 dition of the men gave great cause for 
 anxiety, but I hoped that a night's rest 
 would give them more heart. As a pre- 
 cautionary measure, we had a Sussex sen- 
 try on the paddle - box, with orders to 
 
182 EVIDENCE OF FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 shoot any one who attempted to leave 
 the ship. 
 
 The reasons which led me to the conclu- 
 sion that Khartum had fallen were, that no 
 Egyptian flag was flying from any place in 
 or near Khartum, though we all searched 
 carefully, and were quite near enough to have 
 distinguished a flag with the naked eye ; the 
 large number of the enemy on the Khartum 
 side of the Blue Nile close to the town ; the 
 heavy fire brought to bear upon us from 
 Tuti Island, a place the occupation of which 
 by the enemy implied the fall of Khartum ; 
 the absence of any counter-attack on the 
 part of the town, such as I knew Gordon 
 would have made had he held the place, and 
 the non-appearance of his steamers in the 
 reach of the Blue Nile in front of Khartum 
 where we expected to find them ; the large 
 boats we had seen at Halfiyeh ; and the 
 presence under the guns of Omdurman of a 
 number of the troop-boats or barges speci- 
 
ATTENDING THE WOUNDED. 183 
 
 ally constructed by Gordon for the protec- 
 tion of his troops when he sent them up the 
 river to forage or fight. They were curious 
 affairs, — a sort of boathouses, protected with 
 boiler-plate iron. They looked something 
 like Chinese boathouses as seen in pictures, 
 and it struck me at the time that the idea 
 was perhaps taken from them. None of 
 us had the least doubt about the fall of 
 Khartum. There was some speculation as 
 to Gordon's fate ; but I never had any hope 
 myself. 
 
 Jan. 29th. — We had much to do last 
 evening. First, the wounded had to be at- 
 tended to — Gascoigne and Wortley doing 
 their best to supply the place of surgeons. 
 Luckily there were no very severe cases, 
 and a nigger is really like a bit of india- 
 rubber ; it is perfectly extraordinary to see 
 the way in which they bear their wounds, 
 and the rapidity with which they heal up. 
 The captain of the ' Talahawiyeh ' was shot 
 
184 LOW STATE OF NILE. 
 
 in the arm ; another through the chin, — and 
 so on. They all seemed thankful to have 
 their wounds dressed, and were quite cheery 
 and uncomplaining. Then we had a long 
 conference with the captains and reises, who 
 raised great difficulties about passing the 
 cataracts at this time of year in our large 
 heavily weighted steamers. It must be 
 said for them that the Nile was lower than 
 usual this year; that, as we found on our 
 return to Gubat, there was a fall of three 
 feet in a single night whilst we were up the 
 river; that it was not the custom to send 
 the larger steamers such as we were on 
 down the cataracts at this season ; and that 
 the boats, laden as they were with dura 
 and the iron plates of the armour, besides 
 guns and ammunition, were drawing much 
 more water than usual. I promised each 
 of the captains £100, and each of the reises 
 £50, if they managed to get the boats down 
 safely ; and also told them that they might 
 
REPAIRING DAMAGES. 185 
 
 throw as mucli of the dura we had brought 
 up for the Khartum garrison overboard as 
 they liked. 
 
 We did not get off this morning until 
 7 A.M., as the float of one of the paddles 
 had got loose, and the iron rod that held it 
 was bent and took some time to straighten. 
 We also had to stop up a lot of holes where 
 bullets had gone through the hull close to 
 the water-line ; they seemed to be bullets 
 from the Nordenfeldt. The way the sides 
 of the boat had been peppered was some- 
 thing to see. At 8.30 the VBordein' struck 
 a sandbank ; but we got her off in half an 
 hour. At 11 the steamers stopped for the 
 reises and captains of the two steamers to 
 hold a consultation about the cataract, and 
 we then threw overboard a large quantity 
 of the dura, much to the grief of the owners. 
 
 At 12.30 we stopped again at the head 
 of the first dangerous piece of cataract, the 
 captains and reises declaring that each 
 
186 DESCENT OF CATARACT. 
 
 steamer must be taken down singly by all 
 the captains and reises. They were clearly 
 much alarmed, completely upset by the 
 events of yesterday, and quite off their 
 heads. We could do nothing but drive 
 them to go on. The ' Talahawiyeh ' was 
 just shoving off, when Abd ul Hamid Bey 
 jumped overboard and came walking up the 
 bank to us in a state of excitement. It 
 appears that Wortley had been trying to 
 rouse him to a sense of the necessity of 
 doing something. This the spoiled child 
 resented, and in a fit of petulance jumped 
 overboard. I pitched into him ; but he was 
 hopeless, and soon rolled himself up by old 
 Khashm, who has not eaten, and hardly 
 looked up, since he collapsed yesterday. 
 
 The ' Talahawiyeh ' was taken down the 
 rapid in safety, and then the captains 
 and reises came for the ' Bordein.' We 
 were soon beside our consort, and sent her 
 own captain and reis on board her, whilst 
 
/ 
 
 WRECK OF ' TALAHAWIYEH.' 187 
 
 Abd ul Hamid remained with us. We were 
 now in open water, going along well, and 
 I had great hope of getting through the 
 gorge before dark ; but about 4.30 the ' Tala- 
 hawiyeh/ then leading, struck heavily on a 
 sunken rock, and immediately began to sink. 
 We did not notice anything was very wrong 
 until we passed her, when Wortley shouted 
 out the dismal news. I at once brought the 
 ' Bordein ' up at a little island below, and 
 Gascoigne went in our small boat to as- 
 sist. The accident occurred just opposite 
 Jebel Koyan. It appears that the rock lay 
 in mid-stream in front of a sandbank, and 
 the accident was caused by a dispute be- 
 tween the captain and reis as to which side 
 of the sandbank they should take the 
 steamer. The captain held up his hand one 
 way, the reis the other, and the helmsman, 
 puzzled what to do, kept on straight and 
 hit the rock. I asked Trafford and Wortley 
 whether they thought there had been any foul 
 
188 WRECK OP * TALAHAWIYEH/ 
 
 play; and they both said that, as far as they 
 could judge, it was pure accident. After- 
 events, however, gave it a different appear- 
 ance. The water rushed in quickly, and 
 the steamer settled down between two rocks. 
 There was no panic ; but the Sudanese and 
 crew seemed stupefied by late events, and 
 the native officers were so upset that they 
 appeared to care little what happened to 
 them or to the ship. 
 
 By great exertion Trafford and Wortley 
 managed to get the men, the two guns, 
 the men's arms, kits, rations, and some 
 boxes of small -arm ammunition, into the 
 large nuggar they were towing, and before 
 sunset they had dropped down to us. The 
 natives bivouacked on the island, whilst 
 Trafford, Wortley, and the Sussex men joined 
 us on the * Bordein.' All the gun ammuni- 
 tion and much of the small-arm ammuni- 
 tion was lost ; but we were fortunate not to 
 lose any lives and to save as much as we 
 
MESSENGER FROM THE MAHDI. 189 
 
 did. Trafford and Wortley acted with great 
 promptitude when the steamer struck, and 
 it is entirely due to their exertions that so 
 much was saved. A few shots were fired 
 at us during the day from both banks, but 
 no one was hit. 
 
 In the evening I was told that a messen- 
 ger from the Mahdi wished to come on board 
 with a letter. As I wanted to find out what 
 had happened at Khartum, I determined 
 to receive him. He turned out to be the 
 same man who had come down to the river 
 at Omdurman, and he had followed us 
 all the way on his white camel. He was, 
 like the Mahdi, a Dongolawi, a certain Feki 
 Abd er Rahman, dressed in the Mahdi's uni- 
 form. We were much struck by his quiet 
 manner, the business-like way in which he 
 performed his mission, and his belief in the 
 righteousness of the Mahdi's cause. 
 
 The letter ^ was addressed to the British 
 
 1 Appendix VIII, 
 
190 THE MAHDI'S LETTER. 
 
 and Shagiyeh officers : it summoned us to 
 surrender ; told us that Khartum was taken 
 and Gordon killed ; promised a safe-conduct 
 to any one who wished to verify the fact ; 
 invited the English to become Moslems if 
 they wished for peace, and promised protec- 
 tion to Khashm el Mus and his men if they 
 submitted. I declined to give an answer 
 to the letter, but Khashm el Mus seemed 
 to think one was necessary. He urged 
 very strongly that we should be entirely 
 at the mercy of the enemy whilst passing 
 through the gorge and the cataract, and 
 proposed to throw them off by a ruse, and 
 to answer that he would not give himself 
 up unless the Mahdi sent him a special 
 safe-conduct and promise of safety. If this 
 were sent he would give us and the steamer 
 up to Feki Mustafa at Wad Habashi, where, 
 we now heard, guns had been mounted and 
 a force assembled to stop our progress. 
 I could not help seeing -that the slightest 
 
THE MAHDl's LETTER. 191 
 
 opposition in the cataracts would be fatal 
 to us, and felt deeply the responsibility I 
 was under for the safety of all those on 
 board ; but for a long time I could not 
 consent to such an answer being sent. At 
 last, however, feeling sure of Khashm, who 
 was too deeply compromised with the Mahdi 
 to give himself up, and believing that by 
 holding pistols to the captains' heads we 
 could force them to run full speed past the 
 battery, as Khashm el Mus promised to do, 
 I allowed him to send any answer he wished, 
 on condition that we English were not 
 implicated in the ruse. 
 
 The letter was seen by Ibrahim, who 
 told me that Khashm said he would give 
 himself and us up to Feki Mustafa at Wad 
 Habashi, if the Mahdi sent him a special 
 safe-conduct under his seal. The messenger 
 said that Gordon was alive at Omdurman, 
 wearing the Mahdi's uniform. This I 
 knew must be untrue, as I was quite cer- 
 
192 THE MAHDI'S MESSENGER. 
 
 tain Gordon would never submit to that 
 indignity. He also told us that Khartum 
 had been taken without fighting, but that 
 the garrison on Tuti having refused to sub- 
 mit, had been put to the sword. We had 
 some talk with the messenger, who had the 
 Mahdi's programme by heart. They were 
 going to Cairo, then to Stambul, Rome, and 
 eventually to overrun all countries. Wort- 
 ley remarked that that would take a long 
 time ; to which he neatly replied, time was 
 no object — they could wait any number 
 of years. He also exhorted us to become 
 Moslems, and no longer attempt to resist 
 the irresistible power of the Mahdi. 
 
 Suggestions were made to seize the 
 Mahdi's messenger, but he had performed 
 his mission in such a fearless way, and 
 shown such complete trust in us, that I 
 would not allow it. 
 
 Two or three Shagiyeh came on board, 
 and had long talks with Khashm el Mus 
 
SHAGIYEH REPORTS. 193 
 
 and Abd ul Hamid. They said they were 
 going to throw in their lot with the 
 Mahdi, and advised Khashm to do the 
 same. Ibrahim was now invaluable, going 
 about amongst the men, and never allowing 
 any secret conversations. I sent out two 
 men to gain information, and late at night 
 one of them came back and had a long talk 
 with Khashm el Mus over the situation. 
 It was the same story : Khartum taken and 
 Gordon killed ; many of the Shagiyeh with 
 their families killed in Khartum ; promises 
 held out to Khashm that his family would 
 be spared if he surrendered. He evidently 
 believed they had already been killed. I 
 placed sentries over the captains and reises, 
 with orders to shoot them if they attempted 
 to escape ; but as they are all as much at 
 home in the water as fish, it is difficult to 
 prevent desertion. One man managed to 
 get away from the shipwrecked crew on the 
 island — our first desertion. I only wonder 
 
 N 
 
194 IN THE CATARACT. 
 
 more did not go; but these blacks are 
 curious fellows — one can never say what 
 they will or will not do. 
 
 Jan. SOth. — Daybreak was very wel- 
 come when it came, and we at once com- 
 menced preparations for descending another 
 bad piece of cataract. Large sweeps were 
 rigged out on the nuggar, and she was 
 sent on ahead, and we followed in safety. 
 At the foot of the cataract we picked up 
 the nuggar, and then went through the 
 gorge, where, to our great surprise, we 
 found no one to oppose us. We had now 
 arrived at the place where we had passed 
 the night of the 26th-27th, at the top of 
 the most dangerous portion of the cataract, 
 and stopped to land all the men and get 
 rid of as much of the remaining dura and 
 loot as we could. 
 
 The nuggar was again sent on, and told 
 to wait for us at the end of the island, 
 where the ' Talahawiyeh ' had made fast on 
 
THE 'BOEDEIN' aground. 195 
 
 the night of the 25th. There was a very 
 strong wind blowing at the time, and it 
 unfortunately drove us so firmly aground 
 that we were over an hour getting off. The 
 men worked famously ; the black sailors 
 and soldiers, who had regained their spirits, 
 jumped into the water and began heaving 
 her off with their backs. Some of the 
 Sussex men shoved with the poles, whilst 
 others pulled on a hawser made fast to 
 an anchor. I began almost to despair of 
 getting her off; when a vigorous pull, as a 
 momentary lull came in the wind, moved 
 her, and we were clear. Then came the 
 narrow rocky cataract, as to the safe passage 
 of which I was very anxious and a little 
 dubious. 
 
 The captains and reises worked admirably, 
 and we got safely through by going down 
 stern first, and using hawsers, sometimes 
 from one and sometimes from both quarters, 
 made fast to anchors or rocks in the stream, 
 
196 BAD PLACE IN THE CATAEACT. 
 
 SO as to steady her in her descent. In 
 places our engines had to keep turning 
 ahead, so as to let the steamer go down 
 by inches. I was on the paddle-boxes with 
 the captains, watching them closely, and 
 had some anxious moments ; but at last 
 we got safely through. This had taken a 
 long time, so that after we had got our 
 men on board again and picked up the 
 nuggar, we were only able to go a short 
 distance farther, and anchored for the night 
 a little above the place where we had run 
 aground on the 25th; We stopped in mid- 
 stream, to be safe against any attack. 
 
 We were thankful to have got down 
 thus far in safety, as half-a-dozen good shots 
 would have stopped us whilst we were 
 lowering the ship down the cataract. We 
 attributed the absence of opposition to 
 Khashm el Mus's ruse and the enemy's 
 belief that they would catch us at Wad 
 Habashi. We were much pleased with the 
 
ABD UL HAMID BEY. 197 
 
 evident care and skill which the captains 
 and reises had shown in the bad parts of 
 the cataract. I called them into the cabin, 
 complimented them on their skill, and 
 renewed my promise of a large present on 
 our safe arrival at Gubat. I felt, too, much 
 more confidence in their loyalty ; for I 
 thought that if they had intended to play 
 us false they would have carried out any 
 design they had before bringing us down 
 through the cataract. 
 
 I had noticed during the day that Abd ul 
 Hamid's demeanour towards us had quite 
 changed. He was no longer friendly, but 
 kept to himself, and rarely came into the 
 cabin. I thought it was sulkiness — the 
 petulance of a spoiled child — partly due to 
 the loss of his ship, and partly to what had 
 occurred yesterday. I told Ibrahim to keep 
 an eye on him during the day. Just be- 
 fore we anchored, however, Suleiman, Gas- 
 coigne's black servant, told us that Abd ul 
 
198 SHAGIYEH VISITORS. 
 
 Hamid wanted to wreck the * Bordein/ but 
 that Khashm el Mus had stopped the con- 
 spiracy. We tried to get out of Suleiman 
 where and how he had heard this. But, 
 either through fear or stupidity, he would 
 not say ; and I must confess that I hardly 
 credited the story, after the very strong 
 terms in which Gordon had written about 
 him. After-events, I fear, showed Suleiman 
 must have been right. After that I kept a 
 good watch on Abd ul Hamid. 
 
 In the evening two Shagiyeh came on 
 board with a story that Gordon was alive 
 and shut up in the stone Catholic church 
 with some Greeks and faithful Shagiyeh. I 
 did not believe the story ; but there was 
 sufficient foundation for it, in the known 
 fact that Gordon would try to do this, as 
 he had placed all his ammunition in the 
 church, and prepared it for defence. Against 
 the story was, that we were near enough to 
 the church on the 26th to have seen any 
 
SHAGIYEH VISITOES. 199 
 
 firing from it had it been held, and that the 
 building could not long have withstood the 
 guns the Mahdi could have brought against 
 it after he had taken Khartum. Another 
 piece of news they told us was, that the 
 English had taken Matammeh, after three 
 days' fighting and in spite of the reinforce- 
 ments which had been sent to the garrison 
 from Berber ; also, that the English were 
 swarming across the desert like ants. 
 
 This news, though untrue, was very sea- 
 sonable ; and I have no doubt it partly 
 saved us, by confirming Khashm el Mus 
 and his officers in their decision to remain 
 loyal : the effect was at once visible in the 
 brightening of all faces. They also informed 
 us that the fights at Abu Klea and Matam- 
 meh had produced a great eff*ect on the 
 Arabs, and that the Mahdi's emirs had 
 declared they would not lead their men 
 against the English again unless he accom- 
 panied them. One of these men was com- 
 
200 THE LAST OF THE CATARACT. 
 
 missioned to go up to Khartum and find 
 out what had become of Khashm el Mus's 
 family. 
 
 Jan. 31 5^. — We commenced the descent 
 of the last narrow '' gate " or passage of the 
 cataract, sending the nuggar on in front as 
 before. We had to go down stern fore- 
 most, and had much difficulty in passing 
 the rocks on which we had grounded on 
 the 25th, for the current ran strong, and 
 the channel made a bend — very dangerous 
 for a steamer the length of the ' Bordein,' 
 at this stage of the water. However, with 
 hawsers out and steaming ahead, we eventu- 
 ally got through, and then dropped down 
 the remainder of the cataract. 
 
 At 10 A. M., when we were out of the bad 
 water, we stopped for wood, of which we 
 were running very short, having used up 
 our reserve supply, and burnt all the am- 
 munition-cases we could find empty. I 
 intended taking in only enough to carry us 
 
TAKING IN WOOD. 201 
 
 an hour beyond Wad Habashi, which we 
 hoped to pass at full speed without being 
 badly hulled; and I wanted to finish this 
 second wooding before sunset, so as to get 
 a little farther down and anchor in mid- 
 stream. There was, however, no wood, ex- 
 cept that of a couple of sakiehs; and it took 
 us two hours to dismantle these, cut the 
 poles to the required length, and carry the 
 wood on board. Whilst this was going on, 
 a few shots were fired at us without doing 
 any harm. Before we started I had logs of 
 wood, boxes of stores, &c., put over the 
 boiler to protect it. Went round to see 
 everything was ready for running past the 
 batteries, and spoke again to the captains 
 and reises, urging them to do their best 
 when taking the ship past the enemy. 
 
 Just after we had started I was told 
 that Abd ul Hamid had managed to send 
 off a letter to some one by a native he 
 had found on shore. I taxed him with 
 
202 ABD UL HAMID. 
 
 it, and of course he lied, swearing it was 
 to a friend in Khartum to inquire about 
 his family. I now had serious doubts of 
 his good faith, but did not see how he could 
 harm us, and thought that the large sums 
 I had promised the captains would induce 
 them to act loyally, as we were so nearly 
 out of danger. 
 
 Curiously enough, this was the only day 
 on which I had felt at all nervous as to the 
 result. 1 had been anxious enough on pre- 
 vious days, but always had a feeling we 
 should pull through. This day I seemed to 
 have a presentiment of coming evil. I had 
 been on deck nearly the whole morning, 
 and did not leave it until the captains 
 pointed out to me the low spit of Wad 
 Habashi, and said that the cataract was 
 finished, and there was open water until 
 we got to the passage in front of the bat- 
 tery. Then I went into the cabin to sit 
 down for a little before the fight. I had 
 
WRECK OF 'BORDEIN.' 203 
 
 not been there a quarter of an hour, and 
 we were congratulating ourselves on having 
 got down the cataract safely, and speculat- 
 ing on our chances of running past the bat- 
 tery without serious injury, when the 'Bor- 
 dein' ran on a sunken rock with a crash 
 that shook us all ; but she came off at 
 once, and we hoped that no great harm had 
 been done. I rushed out of the cabin to 
 the fore part of the ship, and on looking 
 down into the fore-hold, saw that the water 
 had already covered the bottom, and was 
 coming in with great force. I shouted to 
 Ibrahim to tell the captains to lay her along- 
 side a sandspit close at hand, and then went 
 back to the cabin, where the others had re- 
 mained, thinking we were all right. They 
 would hardly believe me when I said, " It 
 is all up ; we are wrecked, and the ship is 
 sinking fast." But they speedily realised 
 the fact, and then began to work with a 
 will. 
 
204 WEECK OF ' BORDEIN/ 
 
 We were soon alongside the sand spit, 
 which turned out to be the end of a small 
 wooded islet about fifty yards from the 
 larger island of Mernat. We at once ex- 
 amined the hole in the ship's side, but 
 found it impossible to stop it or to lower 
 the water, though for more than an hour we 
 worked hard with the pump, and lines of 
 men with buckets. The hole was, unfortu- 
 nately, below the water-line, in a difficult 
 place to get at, and the water was soon 
 several feet above it. Whilst Gascoigne 
 and I were looking after this, TrafFord and 
 Wortley were landing the guns, ammunition, 
 stores, and men. Of course there was much 
 disorder, but on the whole the blacks behaved 
 well, except on board the nuggar. When 
 the ship struck and was turned round sud- 
 denly, the nuggar got loose ; but the men 
 worked her up to the spit under the stern 
 of the steamer, and then began rushing in 
 to loot what they could, especially from 
 
WRECK OF 'BORDEIN.' 205 
 
 the cabin. Our servants, who were clear- 
 ing out our things, rather lost their heads ; 
 for, instead of knocking the first nigger 
 down, they allowed themselves to be hus- 
 tled. Directly I heard the row I ran down 
 to the spit, drew my pistol, and threatened 
 to shoot the next man who tried to enter. 
 This and a good deal of strong language 
 stopped the rush, and I got the nuggar to 
 sheer off a little from the ship. 
 
 At last we had landed men, guns, ammu- 
 nition, and such stores as we could save, 
 and were glad to find we had not lost 
 much of our own kits, only provisions and 
 some small things that had been lying 
 about in the cabin. A curious incident hap- 
 pened just after the ship had struck. One 
 of the black soldiers, a Shilluk nigger, seized 
 a child of four or fiive and flung it into the 
 river : whether it was some wild idea of 
 propitiating the river-god, or an act of tem- 
 porary insanity in the midst of danger, I 
 
206 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 could never make out. The act was seen by 
 some of the Sussex men, and the savage was 
 at once made prisoner and tightly bound. 
 
 As soon as the stores were out, I sent 
 Gascoigne over to Mernat island to see if 
 he could find a suitable place for a zeribah, 
 as the island we were on was small, and com- 
 pletely commanded by Mernat. I went over 
 myself soon after, having previously sent 
 Trafford to occupy the larger island with a 
 picket of the Sussex. I found Mernat cov- 
 ered with long grass and scattered trees, and 
 Gascoigne reported the island to be about 
 three-quarters of a mile wide and several 
 miles long. He had found a small hamlet in 
 the centre occupied by a few women, who 
 fled at his approach, and ran to the side near- 
 est the right bank of the river, where there 
 was evidently a boat for crossing the narrow 
 passage of 300 yards between the island and 
 the mainland. It was a miserable place for 
 defence^ and I decided to make a forced 
 
PEOPOSED NIGHT MARCH. 207 
 
 march down the right bank by moonlight 
 with the Sussex and Sudanese soldiers, and 
 to send the nuggar down with the sailors 
 and a small guard. 
 
 It was now nearly sunset, and Wortley 
 came over for last orders. I had previ- 
 ously told him, before landing on Mernat, 
 to pick out the best boat and boat's crew 
 he could, and have everything ready to 
 start down the river for Gubat as soon as 
 it was dark. I had no time to write, for 
 the wreck had only occurred at 3.30, and 
 I had been hard at work during the two 
 hours which had since passed. I told 
 Wortley to explain the situation, the fall 
 of Khartum, the two wrecks, &c.; also to 
 say that I was going to march down, and to 
 ask that a steamer might be sent up to meet 
 and support us. Khashm el Mus and a num- 
 ber of his men had in the meantime been 
 crossed over to Mernat with the nuggar, as 
 I wished to remove them from the tempta- 
 
208 SUDANESE WILL NOT MOVE. 
 
 tion to loot the stores piled in a confused 
 mass on the sandspit. TrafFord and Gas- 
 coigne returned to the small island to get 
 the Sudanese together, whilst I and Ibrahim 
 remained on Mernat to get the Sudanese 
 there to move. 
 
 When the order was given to prepare to 
 start, we could get no one to move. The 
 officers were worse than useless, and in 
 spite of a little kurbashing, would or per- 
 haps could not help us. The blacks had 
 lighted fires, and were cooking savoury- 
 messes, from which nothing could tear 
 them. I saw at once that it would be near 
 midnight before we could reach the main- 
 land and make a fair start ; and that we 
 should the next morning be in a hostile 
 country, over twenty miles from Gubat. 
 Besides, the men appeared to have become 
 much demoralised by the events of the last 
 few days. They and their officers were in 
 a state of collapse, and I did not know how 
 
wortley's boat journey. 209 
 
 far I could depend upon their loyalty. I 
 decided, therefore, to remain where we 
 were, and had just time to let Wortley 
 know the change of plan before he started. 
 He left at 6.45 p.m., with a crew of four 
 English soldiers and eight natives, and 
 rowed down until near Wad Habashi, 
 when the men stopped rowing, and the 
 boat floated past the l)attery. They were 
 so near, that Wortley could hear the men 
 discussing whether they saw a boat or not. 
 Just then the moon rose. The enemy saw 
 them, and fired three volleys ; but they 
 were already below the battery, and in a 
 few moments were out of danger. Gas- 
 coigne and TraiFord saw the flashes in 
 the darkness, but we did not know 
 Wortley had passed safely till next after- 
 noon. The men in the boat must have 
 worked well ; for Wortley reached Gubat 
 at 3 A.M. next day, or a little more than 
 eight hours for near forty miles. 
 
 
 
210 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 The arrangements for the night were as 
 follows. I slept on Mernat with Khashm 
 el Mus and the crew of the ' Talahawiyeh/ 
 acting 01^ a timely hint of Ibrahim's never 
 to leave the old man alone for a moment, 
 or give him a chance of bolting. I had 
 with me Ibrahim, my servant, and a guard 
 of one corporal and three men of the 
 Sussex, so as to give one sentry to pace 
 up and down in front of the place where I 
 slept, and wake me up in case of any move- 
 ment. Trafford and Gascoigne, with the 
 remainder of the Sussex and the crew and 
 men of the 'Bordein,' slept on the smaller 
 island, and guarded the stores, guns, and 
 ammunition. As the ' Bordein ' showed 
 some signs of slipping off the bank into 
 deep water, they put a hawser round her 
 mast, and made it fast to a stout stake on 
 the island. 
 
 I lay awake for a long time thinking 
 over the situation, which was now suffi- 
 
THE FIRST NIGHT. 211 
 
 ciently critical to cause anxiety. I knew 
 that the Shagiyeh were the most fickle of 
 all the Sudanese, and that there was a 
 party in favour of surrender to the Mahdi. 
 It was also clear, from what we had seen, 
 that the crews and soldiers, with their 
 officers, were little better than river pirates; 
 and that having been living the free-and- 
 easy life of such men, they were little amen- 
 able to discipline. I had noticed, however, 
 certain jealousies between the officers, and 
 on these I intended to trade. I also knew 
 that the Turks, Circassians, and Egyj)- 
 tians would remain loyal to save their own 
 necks, and that the slaves would follow 
 their masters. 
 
 The problem was Khashm el Mus. 
 Would he stand by us or not ? If he did, 
 I felt certain of being able to hold out until 
 relief came ; for I knew that every effort 
 would be made to succour us. I went over 
 the pros and cons, and at last came to the 
 
212 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 conclusion that the Mahdi would never 
 forgive him for having handed over the 
 steamers to the English, and for his fidelity 
 to Gordon under great temptation, as shown 
 by the letters^ the Mahdi and others had 
 sent to him. I determined to pin my faith 
 on Khashm, and then fell asleep. 
 
 Feb. 1st. — The first thing we did was to 
 move every one across to the larger island, 
 except a guard of twenty natives, which 
 was left on the smaller island to prevent 
 any of the enemy's riflemen landing and 
 annoying us. I then got hold of Khashm 
 el Mus, and pointed out to him that if he 
 deserted us and went over to the Mahdi he 
 would certainly lose his head ; but that if 
 he remained with us he would get promo- 
 tion, be well treated, and have a chance of 
 avenging the slaughter of his family at 
 
 1 These letters were found on the steamer. A selection, 
 which includes a letter announcing the defeat, of the 
 British at Abu Klea, is given in Appendix IX. 
 
KHASHM EL MUS. 213 
 
 Khartum when we advanced to take the 
 place, as we certainly should. I also told 
 him relief would be sure to come as quickly 
 as possible. The old man swore by many 
 oaths that he would remain faithful, and 
 that he would be as loyal to me as he had 
 been to Gordon. We then laid out the 
 zeribah, had the men placed in the positions 
 they were to occupy, and told each detach- 
 ment to make the portion of fence to its 
 front. 
 
 The Nile had fallen very low, leaving a 
 steep, almost inaccessible bank, from 25 to 
 30 feet high, along the top of which ran a 
 thicket of low bush two or three yards wide, 
 except at one spot, which was clear of bush, 
 and where there was a steep but fairly easy 
 descent to the river. Here we had landed, 
 and a rude path was soon made by the men 
 carrying up the guns and stores. The line 
 of bush acted as a good screen from the 
 enemy's riflemen on the left bank of the 
 
214 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 river, and here I determined to zeribah, 
 striking a. rough semicircle from the opening 
 as centre. 
 
 The distribution of the men had been the 
 subject of anxious thought the night before. 
 How to arrange so that the diflferent detach- 
 ments should counteract each other was the 
 question, and here I found Ibrahim's know- 
 ledge of the Sudanese invaluable. He had 
 proved his pluck at Abu Klea and Matam- 
 meh, and had shown himself so attached to 
 me that I felt sure he would be loyal under 
 all circumstances. 
 
 It was a curious position to be in, — to 
 have to control a lot of wild Sudanese, 
 some of whose loyalty was doubtful, through 
 an Egyptian who had fought against us at 
 Tel-el-Kebir and been the friend of Arabi. 
 He was a small man of curious appearance, 
 with large projecting eyes, a cool man- 
 ner unusual in an oriental, and a per- 
 suasive tongue, coupled with a way of mak- 
 
THE ZERIBAH. 215 
 
 ing himself ubiquitous which was really 
 
 trees <xboict\ 13 
 300 yjccrOs fro. 
 the- ZeriliaJo 
 
 IfiffTcffrass 
 ivU^ scaiferecL biis^ 
 arvd/ trees 
 
 MERNAT ISLAND 
 
 ope/V' f/roic7uL wU/iy /tu/^ ^ass T^eiween^ th& 
 Zeri2?aJo 
 
 A. Rock on which the 'Bordein' stnick, 31st January 1885. 
 B. Sandspit to which 'Bordein' was made fast. C. Small 
 wooded island. D. Landing and w^atering place. E. Station of 
 small boat, F. Station of large nuggar. G. Entrance to zeribah. 
 1. Headquarters : Sir C. Wilson and Khashm el Mus. 2. Captain 
 Trafford and detachment Royal Sussex Regiment. 3. Ammunition. 
 4. Shagiyeh of Khashm el Mus. 5. Gunners of 'Talahawiyeh.' 
 6. Mahdi Agha and Bashi Bazuks. 7. Sailors of ' Bordein.' 8. All 
 Agha and Bashi Bazuks. 9. Gunners of ' Talahawiyeh.' 10. 
 Shagiyeh of Abd ul Hamid. 11. Sailors of 'Talahawiyeh.' 12. 
 Captain Gascoigne, Bakhit Agha, and Sudan regulars. 13. Abd 
 ul Hamid and slaves. 14. Gunners of 'Bordein.' 15. Captains 
 and reises. 16. Abdullah Effendi and gunners of 'Bordein.' 
 
 remarkable. You will see the position by 
 
216 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 the above sketch. I and Khashm, with 
 his personal following, were close to the 
 path going down to the water, and at the 
 foot of a large bush, in which the men 
 afterwards cut a small bower to shelter us 
 from the sun. From this point I could see 
 all round the zeribah and right across the 
 island. Next to us were TrafFord and his 
 men, and here we arranged should be our 
 rallying-point in case of treachery — a place 
 where we might sell our lives dearly, or 
 whence, if we had time, we could reach the 
 boats. Next to the Sussex came a few 
 Shagiyeh of Khashm el Mus, and here we 
 made the entrance to the zeribah. A sentry 
 of the Sussex always paced from the gate to 
 the point where I was, so as to see every 
 one entering from the land side or coming 
 up from the water. 
 
 Next followed a gun with its gunners, 
 and then Mahdi Agha, a Mogrebin or Mor- 
 occo Arab, who I knew I could trust, with 
 
THE GARRISON. 217 
 
 his Bashi Bazuks. He had special orders 
 to watch the entrance and see that it was 
 closed at night. Next a lot of sailors, and 
 then Ali Agha, a fine soldierly Kurd, with 
 his Bashi Bazuks, who were really his own 
 slaves. Brave as a lion, he had unfortu- 
 nately no head ; but he was specially hated 
 by the Mahdists for some cruelties he had 
 inflicted during the war. I therefore knew 
 he would fight to the last. Then came 
 a gun, the sailors of the ' Talahawiyeh,' the 
 Shagiyeh of Abd ul Hamid, and the black 
 Sudan regulars of Bakhit Agha. 
 
 Bakhit had in earlier days been one of Sir 
 Samuel Baker's " forty thieves," and he had 
 gradually worked his way up to the position 
 of captain of Sudan regulars. He was of 
 slave origin, and very proud of the position 
 he had won whilst eating the Khedive's 
 bread. It was almost certain that if taken 
 he would revert to his former position of 
 simple slave, and be sold to some Arab 
 
218 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 taskmaster. He had everything to gain 
 and nothing to lose by sticking to us, and 
 I settled the matter by promising him pro- 
 motion when we got down. I knew his 
 men would follow him ; but I was anxious 
 about his lieutenant, a tall young black 
 of excitable manner, who was related to 
 Faraj Pasha, the man who betrayed Gordon 
 and Khartum. Luckily he was very young, 
 and had not much influence ; but I had to 
 watch him carefully, and was always anxious 
 lest he should explode and bring on a crisis. 
 Next to Bakhit came Abd ul Hamid and 
 his slaves ; and Gascoigne slept close to the 
 former, so as to keep a watch on Abd ul 
 Hamid and that portion of the zeribah. 
 Abd ul Hamid had thus to walk right in 
 front of us to get out of the zeribah ; but I 
 trusted more to his attachment to a favour- 
 ite slave girl, whom I thought, wrongly as 
 it proved, he would not desert. With Abd 
 ul Hamid was the Greek who had brought 
 
THE GARRISON. 219 
 
 down Gordon's last Journals with a favour- 
 able recommendation, but who, like that 
 spoiled child, was quite unworthy of Gor- 
 don's care. I had hoped he would be a 
 check on Abd ul Hamid, but I had reason 
 afterwards to suspect that he connived at 
 his escape, and was running double. He 
 wanted to escape with us, but he wished 
 to do something which, if we were lost, 
 would give him a claim to the Mahdi's 
 favour. 
 
 Next to Abd ul Hamid's slaves came a 
 gun, with its detachment ; then the captains 
 and reises, with the remainder of the sailors ; 
 and last, in a gun-pit facing the opening 
 towards the river, the fourth gun, under 
 Abdullah Effendi. Abdullah was a Saidi, 
 or fellah of Upper Egypt, who had been 
 some years in the Sudan. I had been 
 much taken by the way in which he had 
 worked his gun in the turret during the 
 action off Omdurman, and by his love of his 
 
220 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 guns and devotion to his profession. He, 
 too, would lose his head if the Mahdi caught 
 him, so I felt certain of him and his black 
 slave gunners ; for it is curious how the 
 slaves follow their officers, and the rude 
 idea of loyalty they have in not turning 
 against the Khedive, whose bread they eat. 
 Individuals may be treacherous, but not a 
 number of them. 
 
 I was very suspicious of the captains 
 and reises, who were nearly all Dongolese, 
 and therefore tribesmen of the Mahdi ; and 
 not only certain to be well treated, but 
 rewarded and given employment if they 
 went over. To control them I trusted to 
 Captain Hamid Effendi, a one-eyed man, 
 a Saidi from Upper Egypt. He was really 
 captain of the * Mansurah/ one of Gordon's 
 steamers which had been sunk off Shendy, 
 and should not have been with us, but he 
 had managed to stow himself away when 
 we started from Gubat. He had come to 
 
THE GARRISON. 221 
 
 the front very much on the voyage, espe- 
 cially when the ' Bordein' first ran aground 
 on the 25th ; and in all our little accidents 
 afterwards he had been ever ready to volun- 
 teer for hard work, whether it was laying- 
 out an anchor in the swift stream or pulliug 
 on a hawser. When others had to be forced 
 to work, he was always ready to lend a hand 
 of his own free will. To him surrender to 
 the Mahdi w^as certain death. 
 
 I could thus depend upon more than 
 half the natives to stand by me, and 
 they, with the Sussex, were quite suffi- 
 cient to resist any attack made upon 
 ns whilst on the island; at any rate, Ave 
 were perfectly safe as long as Khashm el 
 Mus did not openly go over. The question 
 was whether, if we attempted to march 
 down by the right bank, these dififerent 
 elements would hold together. The nuggar 
 and the remaining small boat were tied up 
 at the foot of the landing-place, and at 
 
222 MEKNAT ISLAND. 
 
 night one of the Sussex men was placed on 
 the former to prevent any attempt to cast 
 the boats adrift. During the daytime we 
 kept up communication with the guard on 
 the islet with the small boat, always sending 
 a European with her. 
 
 The Sudanese worked capitally at the 
 zeribah, cutting and carrying in large 
 branches of the thorny mimosa, which 
 were interlaced in such a way as to pre- 
 sent an impenetrable obstacle to a sudden 
 rush of the enemy ; then they made a shal- 
 low ditch on the inside of the hedge, just 
 wide enough for a man to lie down in. 
 They were careful to explain to me that they 
 never put anything in the centre of the 
 zeribah, as that was the most dangerous 
 place ; for all shots missing the hedge of 
 mimosa went just over it into the centre 
 of the zeribah. Whilst the work was going 
 on, I called the superior officers to me one 
 by one, told them relief would be up in a 
 
CALL TO ARMS. 223 
 
 couple of days, praised their valour, &c., 
 and promised them promotion when we 
 got down. I also discussed with them the 
 feasibility of a march down the right bank. 
 They all agreed that it would be practicable 
 if Khashm el Mus went with us, as his great 
 influence amongst the Shagiyeh would keep 
 them quiet, and he was much feared by the 
 Jalin, who made up the rest of the popula- 
 tion on that side. 
 
 When the zeribah was finished I called 
 the men to arms, to see whether each man 
 knew his proper place. It was a strange, 
 wild sight, as the Sudanese carry spears 
 instead of bayonets, finding the latter use- 
 less in fight with spearmen. I went round 
 with Khasm el Mus, whom 1 had previously 
 told to make a speech to each group of men. 
 The old man did it very well, and at one or 
 two places got quite eloquent in his exhorta- 
 tions and vigorous abuse of the Mahdi. It 
 had a good effect on the men, who answered 
 
224 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 with the usual cries. Afterwards I called 
 the officers together, and made them a 
 speech. I was glad to see they took a less 
 gloomy view of the situation than they had 
 done on the previous evening : the excite- 
 ment making the zeribah had caused them 
 to forget their immediate troubles. 
 
 In my inspection of the zeribah, when I 
 came to the part opposite Abd ul Hamid 
 I found that he had bulged it out so as to 
 include a shady bush under which he could 
 lie down, and had made the hedge so loose 
 that any one could walk through it with 
 ease. I was very angry, the more so as 
 Abd ul Hamid had been sulking all morn- 
 ing with his female slaves, and had not 
 even been to say "good morning" to me. 
 I rated him well, turned him out of his 
 place, and got Bakhit Agha to draw the line 
 in, and see that it was complete. In the 
 evening, when I went round again, it was 
 as strong as any other portion. We then 
 
SHAGIYEH VISITORS. 225 
 
 set the men to work to clear the grass in- 
 side and outside as a safeguard against fire. 
 They soon had the inside cleared up, the 
 Sudanese cutting the grass very rapidly 
 with their sharp knives ; but outside did 
 not progress so quickly. The Sussex took 
 their turn at zeribah - making, but had 
 no proper tools for cutting, and were not 
 so handy as the Sudanese with their swords 
 and knives. They got their section into 
 very good order before nightfall. 
 
 Soon after the completion of the zeribah, 
 Khashm el Mus told me that some Shagiyeh, 
 one of whom was a relation of his, had 
 crossed to the island, and wished to speak 
 to him. I felt that I could not prevent com- 
 munication between the men in the zeribah 
 and those outside, for they could not, for 
 sanitary reasons, be constantly confined to 
 the place, and the British force was too 
 small to establish an efiective guard out- 
 side. I thought also that I should be more 
 p 
 
226 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 likely to know what was really going on 
 if the communications were made under 
 my own eye and in Ibrahim's presence. I 
 therefore ordered them to be admitted, and 
 they came (four) in Mahdi's, or rather der- 
 vish dresses. They brought two curious 
 letters ; ^ one promising Khashm el Mus 
 pardon if he surrendered, the other threat- 
 ening him with everlasting punishment if 
 he went down the river with us. 
 
 Khashm's relation, Sheikh Abulata, was* 
 a fine-looking intelligent man, and spoke 
 quite openly about current events. He 
 told us that Wortley had passed the bat- 
 teries in safety last night, so that we were 
 now certain he would reach Gubat, and it 
 was only a question of how long the steam- 
 ers would take to get up, and whether they 
 would safely pass the battery, where, the 
 sheikh told us, there were two guns. They 
 confirmed the account of the fall of Khar- 
 
 1 Appendix X, 
 
LOYALTY OF KHASHM EL MUS. 227 
 
 turn, the death of Gordon, and the slaughter 
 of many Shagiyeh after the capture of the 
 town. They openly proclaimed their in- 
 tention of throwing in their lot with the 
 Mahdi now Khartum had fallen, and ad- 
 vised Khashm el Mus to do the same ; but 
 the old Bey refused, and said he intended 
 to stick to the English. He told them to 
 look at the zeribah, and asked whether they 
 thought any force sent by the Mahdi could 
 take it ; then he added, the English will be 
 here to protect us in two days' time. I 
 asked the Shagiyeh what they would do 
 if English troops came up ; to which they 
 replied that they would remain neutral. 
 Khashm el Mus then repeated that he knew 
 he was so compromised with the Mahdi 
 that he would not be spared if caught, and 
 that he would never surrender unless the 
 Mahdi sent him a letter under his own 
 seal formally promising him security and 
 protection. 
 
228 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 I sent off two of Khashm el Mus's personal 
 attendants to Halfiyeh to obtain news of 
 Gordon and Khartum. After the Shagiyeh 
 had gone, I sent Ibrahim and a couple 
 of blacks to see how they had got across, 
 and w^as delighted to hear that they had 
 nothing but a sampan^ or little boat, 
 which only held four persons. Khashm 
 also said that there were no larger boats 
 below the cataract, as he had, by Gordon's 
 order, destroyed them all. We could there- 
 fore only be attacked by a force landing by 
 dribblets and collecting some distance off, 
 and, with the bright moonlight, I had no 
 fear of a surprise. When the men stood to 
 their arms at sunset, it was reported that 
 one of the black sailors had deserted — a 
 trifling loss when it is considered that for 
 a great part of the day the men had been 
 much scattered cutting thorns for the zeri- 
 bah hedge. 
 
 We had had a hard day's work in the 
 
THE SECOND NIGHT. 229 
 
 sun, but there was little real rest at night. 
 At sunset we surrounded the zeribah with 
 pickets of four men and a non-commissioned 
 officer, selected, as far as possible, to avoid 
 treachery ; but we could not get them to 
 go more than fifty yards in front of the zeri- 
 bah. Gascoigne had charge of these pickets, 
 and went round them every two or three 
 hours during the night. Within the zeribah 
 we had a line of sentries, which TrafFord 
 visited ; whilst I turned out twice to take a 
 look round in the bright moonlight. The 
 sentries were much more on the alert than 
 we expected, and the night passed quietly, 
 though we had fully anticipated an attack. 
 At dinner we had a long talk over the 
 situation, which now seemed less gloomy 
 than it did before. 
 
 Feb. 2cZ. — After I had made my morning 
 round of the zeribah, I went with Gascoigne 
 and one of the reises named Imam to ex- 
 amine the river at the end of the island, in 
 
230 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 case we should have to cross to the right 
 bank and march down. We made our way- 
 through long grass, and pretty, almost park- 
 like scenery, to the point, and found the 
 river narrow, but the entrance to the main 
 branch unfortunately so blocked by rocks 
 that it would be impossible to bring up the 
 nuggar to help in the crossing ; we should 
 therefore have to cross every one in the 
 small boat — a very long operation. There 
 was, however, a good landing-place of rock 
 on the opposite shore, then a palm-grove, 
 and behind that a small isolated rocky hill, 
 at the foot of which we were told the road 
 ran. It was clear that if we could once 
 seize this hill, we should be able to cross 
 the men without much loss. We could see 
 some villagers in the distance, but kept 
 behind bushes and were not observed. 
 
 On the way back we put up a large pack 
 of guinea-fowl, the first I had seen in 
 Africa, but Gascoigne told me they were 
 
BOAT-MENDING. 231 
 
 very plentiful farther south. When we got 
 back we set men to work to caulk our small 
 boat, which leaked badly, and also to make 
 oars, for we had given Wortley all the oars 
 except two broken ones, so as to let him 
 have every chance of getting through. We 
 got the wood from the ' Bordein,' and our 
 men, aided by the native carpenters, managed 
 to turn out four very fair oars. 
 
 The Shagiyeh came again to the zeribah 
 and begged Khashm el Mus to go to the 
 edge of the island to talk to his sister, who 
 had come down from Halfiyeh, and some 
 other Shagiyeh. I did not like this at first, 
 but was now pretty certain of Khashm, and 
 felt I could not throw away any chance 
 of obtaining news of Gordon's fate ; evi- 
 dently we could hear nothing if we had no 
 communication with the people. I con- 
 sidered our position in the zeribah with 
 the four guns a very strong one, and I 
 felt certain the steamers would arrive next 
 
232 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 day. I therefore consented, on condition 
 that Bakhit Agha and Ibrahim were pres- 
 ent at the interview. With Bakhit I sent 
 five regulars, who were to remain out o 
 earshot ; and between them and the zeribah 
 I had a picket of Shagiyeh as a connect- 
 ing link. About 2 p.m. they returned to 
 the zeribah, and told us that a Shagiyeh 
 had come up the opposite bank with news 
 that the two steamers had left Gubat about 
 noon the previous day. Khashm el Mus's 
 sister had brought down the news that 
 Gordon was killed whilst coming out of his 
 room, the same story of the betrayal of the 
 town by Faraj Pasha, and that there had 
 been a massacre of the Shagiyeh, Turks, 
 Egyptians, and Europeans, during which 
 the families of the men with us had been 
 killed. There might be some survivors, 
 and Khashm asked me to give him some 
 money to enable his sister to try and obtain 
 their ransom. To this I agreed, and gave 
 
FEKI MUSTAFA. 233 
 
 him £110 to ransom such of his and Abd 
 ul Hamid's family as remained alive. I 
 also told him to tell his sister to come 
 down to us at Gubat with such additional 
 information as she could collect. 
 
 Khashm, Bakhit, and Ibrahim again went 
 out with the same precautions as before, 
 and returned about 5 p.m. with rather start- 
 ling news. First, on their getting to the 
 bank they found Feki Mustafa, who com- 
 manded the Mahdi's force at Wad Habashi, 
 there with three of his men. He tried 
 all he could to induce Khashm to desert 
 us ; but the old man remained firm, and 
 said he would not go over to the Mahdi 
 until he received a safe-conduct from him. 
 Feki Mustafa had married the first cousin 
 of Khashm, so that the two men were con- 
 nected by marriage, and knew each other 
 well. Ibrahim, who is a keen observer, told 
 me that he was certain Feki Mustafa was a 
 great coward ; that he had seemed nervous 
 
234 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 during the interview ; and that he saw him 
 give a start when a random shot was fired 
 at the zeribah from the opposite bank. 
 One of the women had whispered to Ibra- 
 him that he was not to be afraid, as the 
 English were on their way up ; and he had 
 heard Khashm el Mus's sister tell him that 
 he was on no account to surrender, as the 
 Mahdi had determined to kill him. He 
 found out that Feki Mustafa intended to 
 come to the island next day, and make 
 another attempt on Khashm's loyalty. 
 Ibrahim also brought the news that whilst 
 they were talking Abd ul Hamid Bey and 
 Imam the reis, who had been out with 
 us in the morning, had deserted with the 
 whole of the Shagiyeh picket. This was 
 serious news, and created much excitement 
 amongst the natives in the zeribah. How 
 Abd ul Hamid and Imam managed to slip 
 out without our noticing them I never 
 quite knew ; but I found out afterwards 
 
ABD UL HAMID DESERTS. 235 
 
 that the Greek was aware beforehand of 
 his intention to desert, and I strongly sus- 
 pect he connived at his escape. 
 
 I was a good deal put out at this news ; 
 but it was necessary to put a bold face on 
 the matter, so I arrested the remaining cap- 
 tains and reises, and placed them under a 
 guard of the Sussex, with orders that they 
 were to be shot if they attempted to escape. 
 I then called the native officers together, 
 told them we were well rid of a man like 
 Abd ul Hamid, who was more dangerous to 
 us inside the zeribah than outside, where 
 he could do nothing ; that the steamers 
 were sure to arrive next day, and that 
 we should then all go down the river to- 
 gether. The men were next called to arms, 
 and I made old Khashm go round with me 
 and address the natives as he had done be- 
 fore. He spoke really well, having worked 
 himself up into a state of excitement, and 
 his speech produced a good effect. . 
 
236 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 Abd 111 Hamid's slave girl was in a great 
 state at being deserted by her master, and 
 evidently knew nothing of his intention to 
 desert. He was one of the many instances 
 in which Gordon's trust in natives was 
 misplaced. I never understood Gordon's 
 policy with natives. No one knew better 
 how false and treacherous they are, and yet 
 he used to trust them on occasions in the 
 most implicit way, and was constantly 
 being taken in. Muhammed el Kheir is 
 another instance. He had been loaded 
 with favours by Gordon, and at one time 
 received an annuity from him ; yet he went 
 over to the enemy at once, and is now Emir 
 of Berber for the Mahdi. 
 
 Abd ul Hamid appears to have been 
 treated by Gordon like a spoiled child, and 
 he had been well treated by us on all occa- 
 sions ; yet he could not bear the restraints 
 of the zeribah, and thought he could do 
 better for himself by going over to the 
 
ABD UL HAMID DESERTS. 237 
 
 Mahdi. I fancy that even Khashm el Mus 
 was more influenced by his personal fears, 
 and the ill treatment which his cousin Saleh 
 Wad el Mek had received at the hands of 
 the Mahdi, than by any love for the Eng- 
 lish or respect for Gordon; yet it must 
 always stand to his credit that he did re- 
 main loyal throughout under much temp- 
 tation. Ever since the wreck, Abd ul Hamid 
 had sulked amongst his slaves, and I was 
 always rather suspicious of him ; but after 
 we received the news that the steamers were 
 coming to our relief, I never thought he 
 would bolt as he did. The truth is, I fancy, 
 that the fall of Khartum and the subse- 
 quent massacres had completely thrown the 
 natives ofi* their balance; they seemed to 
 have quite lost their heads. 
 
 At night the natives refused to go out- 
 side the zeribah as they had done on the 
 previous night, so we had to be content 
 with a strong line of sentries inside, which 
 
238 MEENAT ISLAND. 
 
 was constantly visited by Trafford and Gas- 
 coigne during the night : they always found 
 the sentries well on the alert. It had been 
 an anxious day, as we never knew what 
 was going to happen, and we had to watch 
 our natives much as a cat does a mouse. 
 
 At dinner we discussed our chances of 
 escape. We felt certain the steamers would 
 come ; but then there was just a chance 
 they would not, and the possibility of 
 their being disabled by the batteries. We 
 also talked over our chances of getting 
 down by the right bank, and determmed 
 to attempt it if no relief came next day. 
 The difficult point was with regard to the 
 wounded ; and we came to the conclusion 
 that if any Englishman was too badly 
 wounded to march, he would have to be 
 shot to prevent his falling into the enemy's 
 hands. On one point we were all agreed, 
 that we would never surrender, but sell our 
 lives as dearly as we could. I must not 
 
THE LAST NIGHT. 239 
 
 forget one point about the zeribah : it was 
 the worst place for white ants I was ever 
 in ; they attacked blankets and everything. 
 Feb. 3d. — We had expected an attack last 
 night ; but the evening passed off quietly, 
 and the enemy lost their chance when the 
 moon rose about 10 p.m. Before going to 
 sleep last night, I made up my mind to seize 
 Feki Mustafa when he came to the island, 
 and to hold him a hostage for our safety 
 during the march down the right bank, 
 which I intended to commence at mid-day 
 if the steamers did not appear by that time. 
 Just as it was getting daylight, I ordered 
 the troops to be confined to the zeribah, and 
 then arranged for the seizure of Feki Mus- 
 tafa by Ibrahim, Bakhit Agha, and some of 
 his regulars, as soon as he set foot on the 
 island. As I was arranging this matter, 
 Gascoigne reported to me that Khashm el 
 Mus had gone outside the zeribah with three 
 or four men. I was much annoyed, and 
 
240 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 Gascoigne and I went out with some men to 
 watch him. He returned in a few minutes, 
 and was indignant at what he called our 
 doubts of his loyalty. I told him we had 
 no doubt of that, but that an order hav- 
 ing been given for no one to leave the 
 zeribah, he should have been the last man 
 to break it. The old man was in an 
 excitable state, and I returned with him 
 to our place in the zeribah, w^hilst Trafford 
 and Gascoigne went to the end of the 
 island to watch for the steamer. I noticed 
 in passing that the blacks were a good deal 
 excited : evidently they realised, as we did, 
 that a crisis was approaching ; so I did all I 
 could to quiet down Khashm, and sent Ali 
 and Mahdi Aghas to keep the men quiet. 
 
 As I was talking to Khashm, we sud- 
 denly heard the report of a gun down- 
 stream, and the effect was electrical. There 
 was a general shout of "Ingliz! InglizI" and 
 every one's spirits rose a hundred per cent. 
 
BERESFORDS STEAMER SIGHTED. 241 
 
 I sent a man up a high tree close to the 
 place where we slept, who reported that he 
 could see the steamer — he was not sure 
 whether there was one or two — keeping up 
 a fire on the fort. I was listening to the 
 cannonade, rather surprised at its long 
 continuance, when Gascoigne came running 
 back to report, and crossed over to the small 
 island to hoist the flags on the ' Bordein ' 
 so as to show our exact position ; and I had 
 the gun pointing towards the river loaded 
 to fire the three shots agreed upon with 
 Wortley to show we were all right. As 
 it turned out, the relieving party were so 
 busily engaged themselves they never saw 
 the fiags or heard our guns. 
 
 As soon as the enemy on the left bank 
 saw the flags run up, they opened fire upon 
 us ; and we replied with our Eemingtons, 
 and shell from the gun. The blacks soon 
 began to get cheery : there seems to be 
 something in the sound of firing that pleases 
 Q 
 
242 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 them. A few moments after, Trafford came 
 in and reported that he had seen the 
 steamer enveloped in smoke, and feared 
 she had met with a serious accident. Gas- 
 coigne now returned, and took his station 
 on the tree, and I went to have a look 
 myself from the bank, whence I could see 
 the steamer swinging at anchor and keeping 
 up her fire on the battery. 
 
 We could not make out what had hap- 
 pened, and thought that one steamer had 
 been crippled, and that the other had 
 anchored to engage the battery and draw 
 ofi" the fire from her consort. I determined 
 to break up the zeribah at once and march 
 down the right bank, so as to efiect a junc- 
 tion with the force on the steamers, feeling 
 sure that, whatever had occurred, our united 
 forces would be more than a match for any 
 enemy we might meet. 
 
 I told Khashm el Mus we must go down 
 to the steamers, and then ordered the 
 
BREAKING UP THE ZERIBAH. 243 
 
 zeribah to be broken up. As soon as the 
 order was given, a scene of wild confusion 
 arose. It became impossible to keep the 
 wild Sudanese under control. Every man 
 tried to save his little bit of private pro- 
 perty, and all made a rush for the nuggar. 
 I sent the Sussex men down to the nuggar 
 to prevent their overloading her ; and they 
 worked hard, but they were too few to 
 stand against the rush, and much useless 
 lumber was put on board. Whilst the Sus- 
 sex were doing this and stowing the am- 
 munition, dura, &c., at the bottom of the 
 nuggar, their kits, which had been left on 
 the bank, were looted by some of the blacks. 
 To add to the confusion, the enemy opened 
 a sharp fire on us, and several men were 
 hit as they were scrambling up and down 
 the banks. Some of our deserters were 
 evidently with them, for a heavy fire was 
 kept up the whole time on the place where 
 Khashm and I had slept. 
 
244 MERNAT ISLAND. 
 
 At last guns, ammunition, and stores 
 were on board, and the Sudanese became 
 quite quiet, and collected together for the 
 march. On the nuggar, besides the stores, 
 were the wounded, some sailors, a small 
 guard of the Sussex, and about fifty Bashi 
 Bazuks ; also our servants and baggage. 
 I placed Gascoigne in command of the 
 nuggar, and told him to float down and 
 stop on the right bank as near the end of 
 the island as possible, until we joined him. 
 The felucca or small boat was sent down at 
 the same time, with orders to meet us at 
 the end of the island. 
 
 The remainder of the Sussex under Traf- 
 ford then formed up on the island ; and as 
 they were doing this, one of them had a 
 lucky escape. I heard a " thud " close be- 
 side me, and a man shout " Oh ! " and 
 turned round just in time to see him fall. 
 I asked, ''Where is he hit?" and the 
 reply was, " In the foot, sir." But when 
 
CROSSING THE NILE. 245 
 
 we came to examine, we found the ball had 
 gone in and out of his boot, making two 
 holes, without breaking the skin. The 
 shock had knocked him off his legs; but 
 he was able to hobble along, and the effect 
 of the blow gradually wore off. 
 
 We now marched down to the end of 
 the island, congratulating ourselves that we 
 had started without any enemy having 
 attempted to land and molest us whilst 
 breaking up the zeribah. On reaching the 
 
 end of the island we met the small boat, and 
 at once began to cross over. We first lined 
 the bank at a with the Sussex to cover the 
 landing, and then stretched a line of black 
 sentries across the island. When this was 
 done, I sent Ali Agha across with a dozen 
 
246 CROSSING THE NILE. 
 
 Bashi Bazuks to take possession of the little 
 hill c. No one opposed the landing ; but 
 directly the Bashi Bazuks got into the bush 
 they began firing — I heard afterwards they 
 saw one man and missed him — and I soon 
 saw them on the hill c. After the third 
 boat-load had crossed, Gascoigne came up 
 with the good news that he had occupied 
 a little hill, 6, about half a mile lower 
 down on the right bank, with his Bashi 
 Bazuks, and had seen no enemy. The 
 Sussex were now crossed over, and I fol- 
 lowed them with Khashm el Mus; then 
 came the remainder of the blacks ; the rear- 
 guard being Bakhit Agha and his regulars. 
 
 It took a long time to cross with the 
 one small boat, but we finally got over, 
 and the boat was sent down to join the 
 nuggar. There was only one accident, — a 
 man's rifle went off and shot another in the 
 back, but not badly. We met here the 
 messenger I had sent down by land with 
 
ESTABLISHED ON THE RIGHT BANK. 247 
 
 a note to Boscawen in case Wortley did 
 not get through. He told us that when 
 approaching Gandattu he had seen the 
 steamers coming up, and then returned. 
 He insisted that there were two steamers, 
 so we were now afraid one of them had 
 been sunk by the battery. It turned out 
 to be a curious instance of native exag- 
 geration.^ 
 
 When we had effected a junction with 
 Gascoigne and the nuggar, I told him to 
 float down to a point on the right bank 
 opposite the ' Es Safia,' as we now saw the 
 steamer to be, whilst we marched for the 
 same place. We could plainly see the 
 fight going on, and as we got nearer could 
 make out the white ensign flying bravely in 
 the breeze, a pleasant sight for hard-pressed 
 Britishers. We marched down through a 
 
 ^ It was only after Captain Gascoigne had been on 
 board the ' Es Safia,' and conimnnicated with Lord Charles 
 Beresford, that we knew that only one steamer had come 
 up, and that the native report was wrong. 
 
248 MARCH DOWN THE RIGHT BANK. 
 
 pretty and richly cultivated country, with 
 much Indian corn just ripe, and reached 
 the bank opposite the 'Es Safia,' at a 
 sahiehy where we established ourselves. 
 
 On our way we saw several horsemen, 
 but they all beat a speedy retreat before 
 the fire of the blacks, whom I had sent out 
 as skirmishers to cover our right flank. 
 The blacks set fire to everything en route 
 that would burn, but that was only a few 
 mat and straw huts. When we got oppo- 
 site the steamer, we could see that she was 
 anchored, and that her machinery or boiler 
 must be damaged. The steamer now began 
 to signal to us, and after some time we 
 made out the message to mean that she was 
 hit in the boiler, but that they could mend 
 it during the afternoon and night, and 
 would pick us up next morning if we went 
 lower down to a place where the water was 
 deep close to the bank, and "zeribahed" 
 ourselves there for the night. 
 
IN ACTION AT WAD HABASHI. 249 
 
 Whilst the signalling was going on, we 
 had something to eat, which we were glad 
 to get, after our long morning's work and 
 three-mile march down the bank, for our 
 breakfast had been put an end to by the 
 break-up of the zeribah. We got one of 
 the guns from the nuggar, and Abdullah 
 EfFendi and his blacks soon brought it 
 into action against the centre embrasure of 
 the enemy's battery. I also placed a lot 
 of blacks along the bank, and had four of 
 the best marksmen of the Sussex on the 
 sand near the water's edge : they lay down 
 and made excellent practice at 1100 yards. 
 We could see the bullets striking the para- 
 pet and the sides of the embrasures. 
 
 As we had no good signaller with us, 
 and communication with the steamer was 
 difficult, Gascoigne volunteered to go over 
 to her in our small boat. I sent the two 
 naval artificers with him and a native crew. 
 Gascoigne's boat was received with a hot but 
 
250 COMMUNICATE WITH * ES SAFIA.' 
 
 badly directed fire, and lie managed to go 
 and return without having a man hit. He 
 told us they were all well and cheery on 
 board, and had lost one officer wounded, 
 a seaman killed, and several men badly 
 scalded by the rush of steam out of the 
 boiler. The boiler would be mended by 
 sunset, and Beresford wished us to keep 
 up our fire till dark, so as to take off 
 the enemy's attention from his steamer. 
 Unfortunately we had only saved enough 
 ammunition for one gun, and even some 
 of that was damp, so that the shells did 
 not burst as well as they ought to have 
 done. Abdullah Effendi made, however, 
 on the whole very fair practice ; and two 
 or three of our shells burst in the battery. 
 The enemy replied to us with solid shot, 
 but not with much spirit, and their shot 
 went screaming over our heads. Their rifle- 
 fire was also somewhat wild, and the bullets 
 fell fifty or sixty yards behind us. 
 
THE NUGGAR AGROUND. 251 
 
 Between us and the battery there was a 
 long sandbank ; and the reis having said 
 there was a passage near the right bank 
 on which we were, Gascoigne tried to get 
 down it, but the nuggar grounded, and he 
 had to land every one except the badly 
 wounded. The enemy of course opened 
 fire on him; but all the shots were too 
 high or too low. As it was now getting 
 late in the afternoon, I sent TrafFord and 
 the Sussex on with Khashm el Mus and 
 most of his men to select a place where 
 Beresford could pick us up, and make a 
 zeribah for the night, whilst I remained 
 with the gun and about thirty men to 
 attract the fire of the enemy from the 
 nuggar. 
 
 It was nearly sunset when we saw the 
 nuggar afloat again ; and then, as we could 
 be of no further use, we commenced our 
 march through the tangled vegetation, 
 beans, Indian corn, dura, &c. As we got 
 
252 THE MARCH CONTINUED. 
 
 on, the men dragging the gun became quite 
 exhausted ; and even Abdullah, whose love 
 for his piece was quite touching, had to 
 acknowledge they could not get it any 
 farther. I then gave orders that it was to 
 be spiked and thrown into the river — the 
 gun in one place, and the different parts of 
 the carriage in others. After this was done 
 we went on to the zeribah, which we reached 
 after dark. It was not a very lively out- 
 look, as we had no blankets and no food, 
 all our things being in the nuggar. How- 
 ever, Khashm el Mus's men had collected 
 a lot of corn-cobs, and caught some goats, 
 which were soon killed and grilling before 
 the camp-fire. 
 
 Soon after we got in, we were surprised 
 at the arrival of the small boat with a 
 number of women, a few men, and Private 
 Paine of the Sussex, who told us that the 
 boat had left Gascoigne without permission, 
 and that he wanted her back again. I got 
 
THE NUGGAR AGROUND AGAIN. 253 
 
 a native crew into the boat, and sent Paine 
 up by land to tell Gascoigne she was com- 
 ing ; he took with him three natives, sailors, 
 to help. The boat came back after about 
 three-quarters of an hour — the boatmen 
 saying it was quite impossible to get up- 
 stream with the strong wind which had 
 sprung up since sunset. In about two 
 hours Paine returned, and said the nuggar 
 had changed her position, and he thought 
 she must be on a rock in the middle of the 
 river. I then manned the boat again with 
 two Sussex men and two native sailors. 
 They were out for two hours pulling 
 against the stream; but the wind was so 
 high they could make no progress, and so 
 came back. 
 
 About 1.30 or 2 a.m. one of Gascoigne's 
 sailors came down. He had swum from 
 the nuggar to the right bank, and then 
 made his way through the bush to our 
 camp. He told us that the nuggar was 
 
254 EXPOSED POSITION OF NUGGAR. 
 
 aground on a rock close under the bat- 
 tery, and in front of the centre em- 
 brasure, and that it was impossible to 
 get her off without the small boat to lay 
 out anchors. It appears that Gascoigne, 
 finding the boat did not return, started 
 oflf in the nuggar, hoping to be able to 
 float past the battery before the moon 
 rose; but just as they thought they were 
 safe, she grounded firmly on a couple 
 of rocks, and no exertions could get her 
 ofi". 
 
 We started the boat again, and luckily 
 this time successfully; for the wind fell 
 before morning, and she reached Gascoigne 
 as the first streak of dawn was appear- 
 ing. We were very thankful to have got 
 thus far in safety, and our only anxiety 
 now was lest a stray shot should hit the 
 steamer coming down ; or worse, if the 
 enemy had only the wit to withdraw one 
 of their guns, take it up the bank opposite 
 
BIVOUAC ON THE NILE. 255 
 
 the steamer, and open fire on her when the 
 moon rose. 
 
 The night passed in perfect quietness, 
 except for the tom-toming which we heard 
 occasionally in the distance. It was bit- 
 terly cold at our zeribah in spite of the 
 large fires we kept up. We scraped hollows 
 in the ground ; but there was no escape 
 from the bitter cold wind, which found us 
 out everywhere. I hardly slept the whole 
 night, and I do not think any of the natives 
 did. It was bad enough for us with our 
 thin khaki clothes ; so what it must have 
 been for natives, with nothing but a white 
 cotton dress on, may be imagined. With- 
 out proper night-covering these cold nights 
 are very trying, especially to Englishmen 
 with not very much inside them. 
 
 Feb. ith. — As daylight approached the 
 wind fell, but it was still bitterly cold, and 
 there was little to warm us in our frugal 
 breakfast of " corn-cobs " and Nile water. 
 
256 THE NUGGAR AFLOAT. 
 
 All eyes were turned towards Wad Habashi, 
 and tlie increasing light had just enabled us 
 to distinguish the steamer and nuggar when 
 we heard the first shot fired. For a few 
 minutes the firing was continuous, and we 
 could distinctly hear above all the sharp 
 grunt of the Gardner; then we saw the 
 little steamer run past the nuggar and 
 bring up in mid-stream, still keeping up 
 her fire on the battery. After a few mo- 
 ments' suspense we could see a +)oat leave 
 the steamer for the nuggar, and I at once 
 sent Bakhit Agha, with his regulars and 
 some of the Bashi Bazuks, up the river to 
 divert the attention of the enemy, and, if 
 possible, render assistance. At last the 
 nuggar got off the rocks and was taken in 
 tow by the steamer. When they came oppo- 
 site the zeribah we were asked to go about 
 a mile lower down, where there was a better 
 place for embarking ; so we marched for the 
 rendezvous, and reached it without opposi- 
 
JUNCTION WITH BERESFORD. 257 
 
 tion. I was glad to find Gascoigne and his 
 small party had escaped without a scratch. 
 They had been aground within about 400 
 yards of the fort, and the Arabs had done 
 their best to sink them. Luckily, though the 
 nuggar was repeatedly hit by rifle-bullets, 
 all the shot and shell either went over their 
 heads or struck the water in front of them ; 
 and the only man touched was Keppel, 
 R.N., commanding the blue -jackets sent to 
 Gascoigne's assistance, who was struck by 
 a spent ball, but not injured. The coolness 
 shown by Gascoigne and his men in their 
 trying position, and also by Keppel and his 
 sailors who assisted him in lightening the 
 nuggar and getting her off the rocks, is be- 
 yond all praise. Curiously enough, though 
 the nuggar was only about 500 yards from 
 the steamer, and there was bright moon- 
 light after midnight, no one saw her until 
 the steamer ran past her in the morning. 
 I suppose she must have been in line with 
 R 
 
258 LOSS OF KIT. 
 
 the bank, and so not noticed by tbe " look- 
 out " man on the ' Es Safia.' I was again 
 unlucky, for my servant, who had been 
 sent in the nuggar to look after the bag- 
 gage, allowed half my small kit to be 
 thrown overboard; and all my private cash, 
 and many things not to be replaced out 
 here, now lie at the bottom of the Nile. 
 Fortunately a box of silver dollars, which 
 I was taking to Khartum, was saved. It 
 liad been built into the zeribah walls at 
 Abu Klea and Gubat, been wrecked in the 
 'Bordein' and landed on Mernat island, 
 yet it came down to Gubat without the 
 loss of a dollar. On the steamer we met 
 Wortley, who had had the unique experi- 
 ence of having been wrecked three times 
 in one week. It appears that every one 
 on the steamer was so busily engaged that 
 they never heard our firing in the morning, 
 or saw the flags we had hoisted on the 
 ' Bordein.' We heard many details of Ber- 
 
beresford's action. 259 
 
 esford's plucky up-hill fight with the bat- 
 tery. The little steamer had almost passed 
 when her boiler was struck, and she went 
 on for about 200 yards before the engine 
 stopped ; then she anchored. The Gardner 
 and one of the small guns were at once 
 brought to bear on the battery, and kept up 
 throughout the day such a continuous well- 
 aimed fire that the Arabs could never use 
 their up-stream gun with any efiect, or show 
 their heads above the parapet. The boiler 
 was mended, under circumstances of great 
 diflSculty, by Mr Benbow, Chief Engineer, 
 who had fortunately reached Gubat with 
 the 2d Division of the Naval Brigade whilst 
 we were up the river. The two officers who 
 were with Beresford — Van Koughnet, who 
 was wounded, and Keppel — came across at 
 the same time, and so did Bower, who com- 
 manded the Mounted Infantry on board. 
 The enemy must have been rather demoral- 
 ised by the day's fighting, for they never 
 
260 REACH GUBAT. 
 
 made any attempt to remove one of the 
 guns from the battery and run it up to a 
 point on the bank opposite the steamer. 
 They might have done this easily and have 
 sunk the steamer ; but they possibly looked 
 upon her as a sure prize, and expected to 
 find her deserted in the morning. I was 
 told that when they saw the 'Es Safia' 
 getting up steam in the morning, they 
 uttered a most peculiar yell of mingled rage 
 and disappointment. On our way down 
 we were fired at from a few places on the 
 left bank, and once we struck heavily on a 
 sandbank in mid-stream, but we were soon 
 off again without damage. Wortley brought 
 up a budget of home letters, which were 
 very acceptable after the hard work of the 
 last fortnight. We stopped once to take in 
 wood, and reached Gubat about 5.30 p.m. 
 I found Boscawen and Verner laid up with 
 fever, and Willson, Scots Guards, in com- 
 mand ; and was surprised to learn that they 
 
POSITION AT GUBAT. 261 
 
 had received no communication of any kind 
 from headquarters, and that the only re- 
 inforcements which had arrived were the 
 2d Division of the Naval Brigade and the 
 second half- battery of artillery. All the 
 available camels had been sent to Jakdul 
 on the 1st, to wait for the reinforcements 
 which every one expected were now on 
 their way to Gubat. The position was un- 
 changed, except that forage for the camels 
 and horses was getting scarce in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the camp. I slept on the 
 * Es Safia,' where Beresford kindly gave me 
 a bed, and felt thankful that we had got so 
 well out of the difficulty caused by the loss 
 of both the steamers. Beresford had ap- 
 peared in the ' Es Safia ' off Wad Habashi 
 almost at the very hour the natives had led 
 us to expect him ; and though the accident 
 to the boiler prevented his coming to the 
 island some three miles higher up the river, 
 his presence and his gallant action with the 
 
262 COURT OF INQUIRY. 
 
 battery enabled us to cross from the island 
 to the mainland without opposition, and 
 retire in safety. It is creditable to the 
 natives that not one of them deserted on 
 the march down, though they knew the 
 steamer was in difficulties, and might not 
 be able to help us when we reached her. 
 Feb, 5 th. — A Court of Inquiry was as- 
 sembled, under Beresford's presidency, to 
 examine into the circumstances under which 
 the two steamers were lost, and into the 
 conduct of the captains and reises. When 
 the * Talahawiyeh ' was wrecked, Traffi)rd 
 and Wortley were of opinion that it was 
 an accident; and the great care shown by 
 the captains in bringing the * Bordein ' 
 down the cataract confirmed us in this 
 view, until the second wreck occurred. We 
 then had great reason to believe that both 
 boats had been lost by treachery; but we 
 could not understand why the captains had 
 wrecked the ^ Bordein ' below the cataract. 
 
PARADE OF NATIVE SOLDIERS. 263 
 
 when in less than an hour she would have 
 been below Wad Habashi. There was little 
 evidence of value ; but, under the peculiar 
 circumstances, it was decided to send them 
 before a court-martial next day/ During 
 the course of the day we paraded the 
 natives, and had them counted, and their 
 names written down with their rank. It 
 was a tedious, troublesome piece of work, 
 but not without some amusing incidents ; 
 and the appearance of the various groups 
 under their several leaders was very quaint. 
 
 1 I cannot now help thinking that both the wrecks were 
 accidental, due partly to carelessness and partly to the low 
 state of the river. From Wad Habashi to Jebel Royan 
 the river is dangerous from the number of sunken rocks, 
 and it was unusual to take boats of the size of the * Bor- 
 dein ' down the cataract at that time of year. It must be 
 remembered, too, that the turrets and armour made the 
 steamers draw much more water than usual, and the cap- 
 tains may not have made allowance for this. The steamer 
 upon which I came down the river from Assuan to Siut 
 ran aground seven or eight times, and in nearly every case 
 the accident was due to inattention on the part of the reis, 
 or to the helmsman's having mistaken the direction given 
 to him. 
 
264 THE NATIVE SOLDIERS. 
 
 Two or three of the officers had managed 
 to save their blue coats from the wrecks; 
 but most of the men were in very tattered 
 apparel, and some had nothing but a long 
 cotton shirt and the belt in which they 
 carried their cartridges. The sergeant, who 
 spoke Italian, and who had surrendered at 
 Abu Klea^ was still in his Mahdi uniform, 
 and looked as comical as ever. When 
 going up the river I had handed him over 
 to Bakhit Agha, and he turned out to be one 
 of our best shots. He had always a broad 
 grin o^ his black face, and fought against 
 the Mahdi's men as stoutly as he had done 
 against us at Abu Klea. Abdullah, the 
 gunner captain, was sent with his guns 
 into the fort; the others camped outside, 
 and were placed in Gascoigne's charge. I 
 was glad to get my ulster again, which 
 Verner had fortunately recovered whilst I 
 was up the river ; but my camels had gone 
 off with the convoy to Jakdul, and I had to 
 
SIR HERBERT STEWART. 265 
 
 get one for the journey across the desert, 
 which I wished to make quickly, so as to 
 relieve the anxiety which I knew must be 
 felt with regard to the safety of the ship- 
 wrecked party. Trafford and Gascoigne 
 remained at Gubat, whilst Wortley and I 
 went up at sunset to the Guards' redoubt 
 at Abu Kru, whence we were to start for 
 Korti. 
 
 To my great regret, I had to leave Gubat 
 without seeing Stewart. His wound ap- 
 peared to be going on favourably, but he 
 had a feverish attack, and it was feared 
 that the excitement of talking about Khar- 
 tum and Gordon with me would do him 
 harm : no one seemed then to expect a fatal 
 result. Stewart was not only a thorough 
 soldier, but a first-rate man of business, and 
 this enabled him to get through an amount 
 of work which would have tried most men, 
 with apparent ease. He was a charming 
 companion, kind and courteous to those 
 
266 DEPARTURE FROM GUBAT. 
 
 who served under him, and beloved by all 
 ranks. A more gallant officer never lived, 
 and his death was mourned for as that of a 
 personal friend by every one in the desert 
 column. What an ill-fated expedition this 
 has been ! The whole Sudan is not worth 
 the lives of men like Gordon and the two 
 Stewarts. 
 
 Feh. 6th. — After the moon had risen, an 
 escort from the Guards' Camel Eegiment, 
 under Vesey Dawson, formed up in a little 
 hollow beneath the redoubt, and at 1.30 
 A.M. we started. For two hours we tra- 
 velled a little west of north, then we 
 changed our direction to a little east of 
 north, and shortly after daybreak we struck 
 the road from Matammeh to Abu Klea. 
 We must have passed close to the wells of 
 Shebacat, as we crossed a large open space 
 which had been much used as a camping- 
 ground ; but we saw no one, and being a 
 small party, found no difficulty in passing 
 
WELLS OF ABU KLEA. 26*7 
 
 through the belt of wood which had thrown 
 the convoy into such disorder during the 
 night -march of the 18th -19th January. 
 We reached Abu Klea at 9 a.m., having 
 made the journey in only 7 J hours. The 
 Sussex detachment left to guard the wells 
 had greatly strengthened the small work 
 they were living in, and had much im- 
 proved the wells; but I was sorry to hear 
 the water was not running into some of 
 them as freely as it had done. St Vin- 
 cent and Lyall, R.A., had died of their 
 wounds ; the other wounded had been sent 
 back to Jakdul, and were reported to be 
 doing well. The small garrison had never 
 been molested by the Arabs ; but after 
 receipt of the news of the fall of Khar- 
 tum, it had been strengthened by a de- 
 tachment of the Heavies under Davison. 
 We left the wells at 11.45 a.m., and reached 
 the zeribah in which we had passed the 
 night of the 16th-17th at 1 p.m.; the dis- 
 
268 ABU KLEA BATTLE-FIELD. 
 
 tance is therefore about 3 J miles. The 
 battle-field was a horrible sight ; for though 
 many of the Arabs had been buried, num- 
 bers were still lying about, and the large 
 heaps of slain in front of the square had 
 not been touched. In a little hollow on the 
 farther side of the valley I noticed the body 
 of a poor child of five or six, who had been 
 struck by a random shot. Death must have 
 been instantaneous, for the body looked as 
 if the child had fallen asleep. Davison 
 and his men had erected a large cairn over 
 the grave of their comrades, and the Arabs 
 had marked the last resting-places of their 
 principal men. The Sussex officers told me 
 that several days after the battle they had 
 found wounded men in the long grass in the 
 valley, who had been kept alive by water 
 and food brought to them during the 
 night from Matammeh. As soon as we had 
 got well clear of the Abu Klea hills, we 
 halted for a short rest, and then kept on 
 
CAMP AT JEBEL SERGAIN. 269 
 
 till sunset, when we camped a short dis- 
 tance to the east of Jebel Sergain. We saw 
 no one but two men and a camel in the far 
 distance ; but Wortley was lucky enough to 
 secure a gazelle, which was a welcome addi- 
 tion to the "bully" beef. 
 
 Feb. 7th. — We left about an hour before 
 daybreak, and reached Jakdul about two 
 hours before sunset. We met no one on 
 the road until we had left the sandy dis- 
 trict and were ascending the long slope to 
 Jakdul ; there we overtook the cook of the 
 18 th Eoyal Irish Eegiment and some other 
 men returning to Jakdul. They told us 
 that the regiment had left Jakdul on foot 
 before daylight, and that they had accom- 
 panied it for some distance, when they had 
 been left behind to load up some firewood 
 which was found near the road. When they 
 started again the regiment was out of sight, 
 and they had travelled well on into the day 
 without seeing any trace of it. As we had 
 
270 JAKDUL. 
 
 seen no one on the road, we were rather 
 anxious about the regiment until we reached 
 Jakdul, and heard that Lord Cochrane, who 
 knows the country well, had gone with it 
 as guide. The 18th had marched on foot 
 from Korti, and made very good time to 
 Jakdul, where they arrived in splendid 
 condition, without, I believe, a single man 
 falling out. They completed the march to 
 Gubat without difficulty, and one cannot 
 help regretting that one or two of the regi- 
 ments which went up the river with Earle 
 were not sent across in the same way. As 
 we approached Jakdul we met a convoy on 
 its way to Gubat, and at Jakdul itself we 
 found Buller, who had been appointed to 
 the command of the desert column when 
 the news of Stewart's wound reached Korti. 
 Kitchener had come with him, and, I was 
 glad to find, was to go on to Gubat. Buller 
 hoped to be able to take Matammeh when 
 he got to Gubat ; but the future of the cam- 
 
JAKDUL. 271 
 
 paign was doubtful, as no indication had 
 come of the policy which would be adopted 
 when the news of the fall of Khartum 
 reached England. I think the general im- 
 pression was that Government would say 
 that Khartum having fallen, the object of 
 the expedition was at an end, and that they 
 would revert to the policy of having nothing 
 to do with the Sudan. The capture and 
 burning of Matammeh, and then a with- 
 drawal to Wady Haifa, seemed to many of 
 us the most likely programme. The Sussex 
 had greatly improved Jakdul by removing 
 the loose stones and making roads for some 
 distance outside of the crater, or inner basin; 
 but the camping-ground itself was becom- 
 ing rather unpleasant from the number of 
 men and camels that had stopped there on 
 various occasions. I was very glad to find 
 Dickson's wound going on well, and all the 
 wounded sent back from Abu Klea appear 
 to have stood the journey well. 
 
272 JAKDUL TO HOWEIYAT. 
 
 Feb, Sth. — We started early for Howei- 
 yat, leaving Vesey Dawson and the escort 
 to return to Gubat with Buller, who was 
 going to leave a little later. We were 
 accompanied at first by Mr Pearse of the 
 ' Daily News/ and Mr Villiers of the * Gra- 
 phic'; but Mr Villiers's camel going slowly, 
 we gradually got a long way ahead of the 
 two correspondents, who kept together. 
 Near Abu Haifa we met a large convoy 
 under Stanley Clarke, who was carrying a 
 mail to the front, which he very kindly 
 opened to give me my letters — a rare treat 
 in the desert. After passing the curious 
 hill of Zobrik el Kelb, Ibrahim, I, and 
 Wortley's servant inadvertently took the 
 road near the hills which Stewart had fol- 
 lowed when he first went to Jakdul; whilst 
 Wortley, who had been trotting on ahead, 
 took the lower road by which we had tra- 
 velled on the second advance to Jakdul. 
 We got to Howeiyat a little after sunset, 
 
WELLS OF HOWEIYAT. 273 
 
 and found Wortley had arrived a few min- 
 utes before us. Tlie upper road leads into 
 the broad valley in which the wells are 
 situated, two or three miles above them ; 
 and it is rather difficult to find, as there 
 are many tracks and a good deal of high 
 grass and bush. We were anxious about 
 Mr Pearse and Mr Villiers, as they did not 
 come in, though we had a large bonfire 
 lighted as a beacon on a hill above the 
 camp. The detachment of the Essex, under 
 Captain Carter, had deepened the wells and 
 got the station into capital order ; but the 
 water-supply was diminishing, and giving 
 unpleasant symptoms of failing altogether. 
 Feb, 9 th. — At dawn Carter sent out a 
 man to look for the two correspondents, 
 and we started on our long ride to Korti. 
 The man never met Messrs Pearse and 
 Villiers ; and we heard afterwards that they 
 had followed the upper road, and reached 
 s 
 
274 ARRIVAL AT KORTI. 
 
 the valley where the road passed through 
 the long grass, after dark. They had passed 
 the night there without seeing our bonfire ; 
 and next morning, not recognising any 
 features they knew, as they had come out 
 by the lower road, they retraced their steps 
 until they met a return convoy, with which 
 they came on to Howeiyat. Our ride to 
 Korti was uneventful ; we travelled at the 
 rate of a little over five miles an hour, and 
 rode into camp as the rich afterglow was 
 dying out from the sky. We had crossed 
 the desert, a distance of 175 miles, in four 
 days, and on the last day had ridden nearly 
 60 miles. I was very stiff when I got ofi" 
 my camel ; but it was some recompense for 
 the hard ride to know that the same even- 
 ing all at home would know the ship- 
 wrecked party had been rescued. 
 
 On the 11th, two days after my return 
 
TELEGRAM FROM WAR SECRETARY. 275 
 
 to Korti, the following telegram was placed 
 in my hands : — 
 
 "War Secretary to Lord Wolseley. 
 
 " Express warm recognition of Govern- 
 ment of brilliant services of Sir C. Wilson, 
 and satisfaction at gallant rescue of his 
 party." 
 
276 
 
 POSTSCEIPT. 
 
 With tlie exception of the brief message 
 of the 29th December 1884, " Kartoum all 
 right, and can hold out for years,'' the last 
 authentic news of the siege of Khartum is 
 contained in General Gordon's Journal, 
 which closes on the 14th December 1884/ 
 His last words are : " Now mark this, — if 
 
 1 An interesting paper, by Lieutenant-Colonel Kitch- 
 ener, R.E., which gives a full account of the last days 
 of the siege, from native sources, has been published in 
 the daily press under the title, "Notes on the Fall of 
 Khartoum." The only point upon which I differ from 
 Colonel Kitchener is the question of Faraj Pasha's treach- 
 ery. I believe that he did facilitate the entry of the 
 Mahdi's troops on the morning of the 26th January ; but I 
 believe also, that after the 25th December, or at any rate 
 after the 31st December, Khartum could not have resisted 
 a determined assault. 
 
PRIVATIONS OF THE GARRISON. 277 
 
 the expeditionary force, and I ask for no 
 more than two hundred men, does not come 
 in ten days, the town may fall ; and I have 
 done my best for the honour of our country. 
 Good-bye." In his private letters, dated the 
 same day, General Gordon stated that a 
 crisis might occur at any time after Christ- 
 mas-day. The crisis would naturally arrive 
 when the provisions were finished ; and we 
 know, from his letter of the 4th November, 
 that he did not expect them to last much 
 longer than the 14th December. 
 
 From Christmas-day 1884 to the 26th 
 January 1885, the garrison lived on coarse 
 bread made from the pith of the palm-tree, 
 on gum, and on a little tobacco. The fact 
 that General Gordon was able to induce, 
 not only the garrison, but the civilians in 
 the city, to hold out for a month under 
 such conditions, is one of the most remark- 
 able features of his defence of Khartum, and 
 afibrds the strongest proof of his wonderful 
 
278 THE FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 influence over natives of all classes. Dur- 
 ing this period we have, through natives, 
 occasional glimpses of General Gordon's un- 
 ceasing vigilance, of his constant visits to 
 the ramparts, of his firmness in resisting all 
 overtures to surrender to the Mahdi, and of 
 the way in which he kept up the spirits of 
 his starving soldiers by proclamations an- 
 nouncing the speedy arrival of the relief 
 expedition. 
 
 The Mahdi was fully aware of the straits 
 to which the garrison was reduced, and 
 waited quietly for the time when it would 
 have to surrender without fighting, from 
 want of food. When he heard of Sir 
 Herbert Stewart's occupation of Jakdul 
 he closed upon Omdurman, which had 
 been cut ofi" from all communication with 
 Khartum, except by telegraph, on the 
 3d November. The precise date of the 
 fall of Omdurman is not known ; but, com- 
 paring the statements that have been 
 
CAPTUEE OF OMDURMAN. 279 
 
 received from different sources, it must 
 have been some day between the 6th and 
 13th January. The commandant, Faraj 
 Bey Allah, surrendered when his food came 
 to an end. According to one account, he 
 tried to march nn square to the steamers 
 which had been sent to withdraw him, 
 but had to retire and lay down his arms. 
 Faraj Bey and his garrison were well 
 treated by the Mahdi ; and this policy was 
 not without its effect on the fate of 
 Khartum, for a promise of similar treat- 
 ment was held out to General Gordon's 
 soldiers as an inducement to surrender 
 without fighting. 
 
 The loss of Omdurman must have been 
 a severe blow to the beleaguered garrison, 
 as it appears to have been soon followed 
 by a closer investment of the city. On 
 Saturday, the 17th January, the day of 
 Abu Klea, General Gordon made his last 
 sortie; his troops were at first successful, 
 
280 THE FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 but, reinforcements coming up on the 
 Mahdi's side, they were driven back with 
 a loss of 200 men. On the 20th January 
 the Mahdi heard of the defeat of his troops 
 at Abu Klea ; and on the 22d, of the result 
 of the fight at Gubat. On receipt of this 
 news he appears to have written to General 
 Gordon, and also to have sent letters to 
 Faraj Pasha and his other partisans in the 
 city, announcing the defeat of the English, 
 and offering the garrison the same terms as 
 those granted to the defenders of Omdur- 
 man. On the 23d, General Gordon had 
 occasion to find serious fault with Faraj 
 Pasha, and during the altercation that 
 followed he is said to have struck him. 
 This possibly had some influence in deciding 
 Faraj Pasha to accept the Mahdi's terms, 
 and he appears never to have been recon- 
 ciled to General Gordon afterwards. On 
 the 24th a council was held at the Palace 
 to discuss the terms offered by the Mahdi. 
 
ACTION TAKEN BY THE MAHDI. 281 
 
 Some of the members were in favour 
 of accepting them, but General Gordon 
 declared that he would hold out to the 
 last and never surrender/ During the 
 evening of the same day it was known at 
 Omdurman that the steamers had left 
 Gubat, and this news probably determined 
 the Mahdi to attack next night. It is 
 evident, from the various accounts received, 
 that the Mahdi had made up his mind to 
 try and take Khartum before the arrival of 
 the English ; and there is little doubt that 
 if the steamers had left Gubat at an earlier 
 date he would have attacked as soon as 
 he heard they were on their way up, and 
 the result would have been the same. The 
 soldiers, weakened by famine, were in no 
 condition to resist an assault ; and it seems 
 
 1 Eumours of the British successes appear to have been 
 current in Khartum on the 23d and 24th ; and General 
 Gordon is said to have been aware of the arrival of troops 
 on the Nile near Matammeh. 
 
282 THE FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 clear, from what we now know, that the 
 Mahdi might have taken Khartum any time 
 after Christmas - day ; he hoped to starve 
 the place out, and put off the assault to 
 the last moment.^ 
 
 On the 25th, General Gordon does not 
 appear to have left the Palace, but he 
 transacted business with several people, and 
 one man, a Copt, states that he saw him 
 there six hours after sunset. Before day- 
 light on the 26th the Arabs attacked the 
 lines of Khartum at the Messalamia Gate, 
 and met with little or no resistance. Part 
 of the attacking force seems to have passed 
 between Fort Mogrim and the White Nile, 
 over ground left dry by the fall of the 
 river ; whilst part crossed the ditch, accord- 
 ing to one account, by filling it up with 
 
 1 Hussein Pasha Khalifa, who was in the Mahdi's camp 
 at Omdurman, states that the Mahdi was alarmed when 
 he heard of Abu Klea, and consequently expedited the 
 attack on Khartum. 
 
ENTHY OF THE ARABS. 283 
 
 straw, native beds, &c., which the men 
 carried with them as they advanced to the 
 assault ; or according to another account, 
 by filling it up during the night, with the 
 connivance of Faraj Pasha and Behnasawi 
 Bey, commanding the troops in that quarter. 
 The city was soon in the hands of the 
 Arabs, who for about three hours killed 
 every one they met ; a crier then went 
 round proclaiming the Aman or general 
 amnesty, but many Shagiyeh were killed 
 two days afterwards. Some black soldiers 
 held out at the Buri Gate until they saw 
 Khartum was in the hands of the Arabs, 
 and the garrison on Tuti Island did not sur- 
 render until mid-day. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Kitchener, in his "Notes on the Fall of 
 Khartoum," does not credit the accusation 
 of treachery brought against Faraj Pasha ; 
 but, amongst Arabs, the first account of 
 an event is frequently correct, and I think 
 the story I heard on the evening of the 
 
284 THE FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 28th January is probably true. The names 
 of Faraj Pasha and Behnasawi Bey have 
 been consistently connected with the act 
 of treachery ; and I believe that these men, 
 who commanded the troops at the Messa- 
 lamia Gate, knew that an assault was going 
 to be made during the night of the 25th- 
 26th, and that they purposely neglected to 
 take any precautions to resist it ; they pro- 
 bably encouraged the soldiers to leave the 
 lines, and go into the city to search for 
 food.-^ Faraj Pasha was killed after the cap- 
 ture of Khartum, but Behnasawi Bey was 
 afterwards in high favour with the Mahdi. 
 
 1 Before General Gordon's arrival at Khartum, a dep- 
 utation, headed by Muhammed Bey el Jazuli, had visited 
 the Mahdi at Rahad, and presented to him letters and 
 petitions, signed by persons of all classes at Khartum, 
 begging an assurance of safety, and expressing readiness 
 to submit. Throughout the siege there appears, from 
 General Gordon's Journal, to have been an influential 
 section of the people in favour of the Mahdi, and an act 
 of treachery such as that attributed to Faraj Pasha is not 
 surprising under the circumstances. 
 
GENERAL GORDONS DEATH. 285 
 
 Of General Gordon's death we have two 
 independent accounts, which in all essen- 
 tial particulars agree with each other, and 
 appear to be trustworthy. One of these, a 
 Cavass, who was in the service of Ibrahim 
 Bey Rushdi, came across the desert from 
 Omdurman ; the other was one of our own 
 messengers, who was in Khartum when it 
 fell, and came vid Matammeh. The Cavass, 
 who states that he was an eyewitness, says : 
 *' On hearing the noise, I got my master's 
 donkey, and went with him to the Palace. 
 We met Gordon Pasha at the outer door of 
 the Palace. Muhammed Bey Mustafa, with 
 my master, Ibrahim Bey Rushdi, and about 
 twenty Cavasses, then went with Gordon 
 towards the house of the Austrian Consul, 
 Hansal, near the church, when we met some 
 rebels in an open space near the outer gate of 
 the Palace. Gordon Pasha was walking in 
 front, leading the party. The rebels fired 
 a volley, and Gordon was killed at once ; 
 
286 THE FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 nine of the Cavasses, Ibrahim Bey Eushdi, 
 and Muhammed Bey Mustafa, were killed, 
 the rest ran away." The messenger was 
 not present, but went to the Palace soon 
 after sunrise ; his statement is : '^ Faraj 
 Pasha withdrew the soldiers from the gate 
 near the White Nile, and allowed the rebels 
 to enter. Wad en Nejumi and Khalifa Ali 
 led the way; every one was asleep, and 
 before the sun rose the town was full of 
 Arabs. Some went to the Palace and met 
 Gordon, attended by some of his guard, at 
 the gate. Gordon fired his revolver, and 
 the rebels firing a volley killed Gordon 
 immediately. I saw Gordon lying dead 
 near the Palace gate." It is not unlikely 
 that General Gordon, when he heard that 
 the Arabs had entered the city, tried to 
 reach the church where the ammunition 
 was stored, and that he intended either to 
 try and hold out there until the relief 
 
GENERAL GOEDON's DEATH. 287 
 
 expedition arrived, or to blow up the 
 magazine and prevent its falling into the 
 Mahdi's hands. General Gordon was killed 
 a few moments after he had quitted the 
 Palace gate, and, according to the barbarous 
 custom of the Sudan, his head appears to 
 have been cut off and exposed at Omdur- 
 man. One man declares that he saw 
 General Gordon's body, with the head on, 
 some days after the fall of Khartum ; but 
 it is to be feared that the general evidence 
 of the men who have escaped since the cap- 
 ture is correct. 
 
 The siege of Khartum lasted for 317 
 days — only nine days less than the great 
 siege of Sevastopol, in which General 
 Gordon first saw active service. For more 
 than ten long weary months the wild tribes 
 of the Sudan were kept in check by the 
 genius, the indomitable resolution, and 
 fertile resources of one man ; and, long 
 
288 THE FALL OF KHARTUM. 
 
 after the controversies of the present day 
 have been forgotten, the defence of Khar- 
 tum by General Gordon will be looked 
 upon as one of the most memorable mili- 
 tary achievements of modern times. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 Letter from General Gordon to Lord Wolseley. 
 
 " Kartottm, 4/11/84. 
 
 " Post came in yesterday from Debbah, Kitcb- 
 ener, dated 14tb October, cipher letter from Lord 
 Wolseley, 20th September last, which I cannot 
 decipher, for Colonel Stewart took the cipher 
 with him. 
 
 " No other communications have been received 
 here since 31st, letter which arrived 17th Septem- 
 ber, a week after Colonel Stewart's steamer left 
 this. On other side are names of Europeans who 
 went with Colonel Stewart in steamer. At Me- 
 tammah, waiting your orders, are five steamers 
 with nine guns. 
 
 T 
 
290 APPENDIX. 
 
 " We can hold out forty days with ease ; after 
 that it will be difficult. 
 
 " Terrible about loss of steamer. 
 
 "I sent Colonel Stewart, Power, and Herbin 
 down, telling them to give you all information. 
 
 " With Colonel Stewart was the journal of all 
 events from 1st March to the 10th September. 
 The steamer carried a gun, and had a good force 
 on board. 
 
 "The Mahdi is here, about eight miles away. 
 All north side along the White Nile is free of 
 Arabs ; they are on south and south-west and east 
 of town some way off ; they are quiet. 
 
 " Senaar is all right, and knows of your coming. 
 
 " With steamers are my journals from 10th Sep- 
 tember to date, with all details, and map of Berber. 
 
 " We have occasional fights with Arabs. 
 
 "Mahdi says he will not fight during this 
 month, Moharram. 
 
 "With him are all the Europeans, nuns, &c. ; 
 rumoured all are become Mussulman. Slatin is 
 there ; Lupton, Mahdi says, has surrendered. 
 
 "Since 10th March we have had up to date, 
 exclusive of Kitchener's, 14th October, only two 
 despatches : one, Dongola, with no date ; one from 
 Suakin, 5th May ; one of some [? same] import, 
 27th April. 
 
GENERAL GORDON TO LORD WOLSELEY. 291 
 
 " I have sent out a crowd of messengers in all 
 directions during eight months. 
 
 " Get the newspapers to say I received letters 
 through Kitchener from Sir S. Baker, my sister, 
 Stanley, from Congo. Do not send any more 
 letters private — it is too great a risk. Do not 
 write in cipher, for I have none, and it is of no 
 import, for Mahdi knows everything, and you 
 need not fear him. 
 
 "I should take the road from Ambukol to 
 Metammah, where my steamers wait for you. 
 Leontides, Greek Consul-General ; Hanswell, Aus- 
 trian Consul, all right. 
 
 " Stewart, Power, and Herbin went down in the 
 ' Abbas.' 
 
 " A letter came from Mitzakis, the 31st July, 
 from Adowa. 
 
 " The messenger had a letter from King for me, 
 but Mahdi captured it. Please explain that to 
 his Majesty. 
 
 " If journal is lost with Stewart we have 
 no record of events from the 1st March to 
 the 10th September, except a journal kept by 
 doctor. 
 
 " Your expedition is for relief of garrison, which 
 I failed to accomplish. I decline to agree that it 
 is for me personally. 
 
292 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Stewart's journal was a gem, illustrated with 
 all the Arabic letters of Mahdi to me, &c. 
 
 " You may not know what has passed here. 
 
 " The Arabs camped outside Khartoum on the 
 12th March. We attacked them on the 16th 
 March ; got defeated, and lost heavily, also a gun. 
 We then from that date had continual skirmishes 
 with Arabs. Stewart w^as wounded slightly in arm. 
 
 " On one occasion when river rose we drove off 
 Arabs in three or four engagements, and fired 
 their towns. Sent up to Senaar two expeditions ; 
 had another fight, and again was defeated with 
 heavy loss ; the square was always broken. This 
 last defeat was on the 4th September; since then 
 we have had comparative quiet. 
 
 " We fired 3,000,000 rounds. 
 
 " The Palace was the great place for the firing. 
 Arabs have the Krupps here, and often have 
 hulled our steamers. Arabs captured two small 
 steamers at Berber, and one on Blue Nile. We 
 have built two new ones, steamers. The steamers 
 had bulwarks, and were struck with bullets 1090 
 times each on an average, and three times with 
 shot each. We defended the lines with wire 
 entanglements, and live shells as mines, which did 
 great execution. We put lucifer-matches to ignite 
 them. 
 
GENERAL GORDON TO LORD WOLSELEY. 293 
 
 " The soldiers are only half a moDth in arrears. 
 We issue paper money, and also all the cloth in 
 magazines. All the captives with Mahdi are 
 well; the nuns, to avoid an Arab marriage, are 
 ostensibly married to Greeks. Slatin is with 
 Mahdi, and has all his property, and is well 
 treated; but I hear to-day he is in chains. A 
 mysterious Frenchman is with Mahdi, who came 
 from Dongola. 
 
 "We have got a decoration made and distrib- 
 uted, with a grenade in centre ; three classes — 
 gold, silver, pewter. 
 
 "Kitchener says he has sent letters, and got 
 none in reply. I have sent out during last month 
 at least ten. Steamer with this leaves to-morrow 
 for Metammah. 
 
 " Do not let any Egyptian soldiers come up 
 here; take command of steamers direct, and turn 
 out Egyptian fellaheen. 
 
 "If capture of steamer with Stewart is corro- 
 borated, tell French Consul-General that Mahdi 
 has the cipher he gave Herbin. 
 
 "Hassan Effendi, telegraph clerk, was with 
 Stewart. You should send a party to the place 
 to investigate affairs, and take the steamer." 
 
 N.B, — On the back of the letter there was a 
 
294 APPENDIX. 
 
 plan showing the distribution, round Khartum, 
 of the Mahdi's force of 20,000 men, and the 
 number and position of his guns. There was 
 also a list of the Greeks who left Khartum in 
 the 'Abbas' with Colonel Stewart. 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 Extracts from Sm Herbert Stewart's 
 Instructions. 
 
 " On the 8th (January) you will arrange to start 
 yourself with the following force. . . . 
 
 "After such rest (at Jakdul) as your animals 
 require, you will proceed to Matammeh with the 
 following force. . . . 
 
 " On reaching Abu Klea you will establish a 
 post there, garrisoned by from 50 to 100 men 
 Sussex Kegiment, as the nature of the ground 
 may require. . . . 
 
 "You will then advance on Matammeh, which 
 you will attack and occupy. For this it may be 
 advisable to laager your convoy at the wells of 
 Shebacat. 
 
SUDAN CAMEL CORPS. 295 
 
 "Having occupied Matammeh, you will leave 
 there the Guards Camel Regiment, the detachment 
 Sussex Eegiment, the Naval Brigade, detachment 
 Eoyal Engineers, and three guns Royal Artillery, 
 . . . and return with the convoy to Jakdul. . . . 
 
 " On your return to Jakdul you will continue 
 to forward stores by convoy to Matammeh. . . . 
 
 " Sir C. Wilson has been directed to show you 
 his instructions. He will be in command of 
 Matammeh when you leave." 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 Organisation of the Sudan Camel Corps. 
 
 Guards Camel Regiment. 
 
 In Command — Lieutenant -Colonel Hon. E. E. 
 T. Boscawen, Coldstream Guards. 
 
 Adjutant — Lieutenant C. Crutchley, Scots 
 Guards. 
 
 Two officers and 43 non-commissioned officers 
 and privates from the 1st, 2d, and 3d battalions 
 Grenadier Guards; the 1st and 2d battalions Cold- 
 
296 APPENDIX. 
 
 stream Guards; the 1st and 2d battalions Scots 
 Guards; and 4 officers and 86 men the Eoyal 
 Marines; 1 surgeon. 
 
 Total — 21 officers, 387 non-commissioned officers 
 and men. 
 
 Heavy Camel Begiment. 
 
 In Command — Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. E. A. 
 J. Talbot, 1st Life Guards. 
 
 Adjutant — Captain Lord St Vincent, 16th 
 Lancers. 
 
 Two officers and 43 non-commissioned officers 
 and men from the 1st and 2d Life Guards; the 
 Eoyal Horse Guards ; the 2d, 4th, and 5th Dragoon 
 Guards ; the 1st and 2d Dragoons ; and the 5th 
 and 16th Lancers; 1 surgeon. 
 
 Total — 23 officers, 430 non-commissioned officers 
 and men. 
 
 Light Camel Regiment. 
 
 In Command — Colonel Stanley Clarke, half- 
 
 pay. 
 
 Adjutant — Captain Paget, 7th Hussars. 
 
 Two officers and 43 non-commissioned officers 
 and men from the 3d, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 
 18th, 20th, and 21st Hussars ; 1 surgeon. 
 
 Total — 21 officers, 387 non-commissioned officers 
 and men. 
 
EMIR OF Berber's letter. 297 
 
 Mounted Infantry Camel Regiment. 
 
 In Command — Major Hon. G. H. Gough, 14th 
 Hussars. 
 
 Twenty -three officers and 430 non-commissioned 
 officers and men from various regiments ; 1 sur- 
 geon. 
 
 Grand total — 88 officers, 1634 non-commis- 
 sioned officers and men. 
 
 APPENDIX IV. 
 
 Letter ft-om Muhammed el Kheir, Emir of Ber- 
 ber, to MuHAMMED Zein. Picked up on the 
 field of Abu Klea, January 17, 1885. 
 
 " In the name of God, the Merciful, the Com- 
 passionate. Praise be to God, the Bountiful Euler, 
 and blessings be upon our Lord Muhammed and 
 on his people. From the servant of God, Muham- 
 med el Kheir Abdullah Khojali, the Emir of the 
 Imam, the Mahdi, on whom be peace, over all 
 Berber and its territories, to his beloved, the Emir 
 
298 APPENDIX. 
 
 Muhammed Zein Walad esh Sheikh, God prosper 
 him. Amen. 
 
 " My beloved, — After peace, we inform you that 
 your letter, and the letter of the Emir Sad Salim, 
 have been received, and that their contents are 
 known to us. God requite you with good, O my 
 friends. It behoves you to get ready with energy 
 and activity, and to carry on the holy war against 
 the enemies of the faith, and to fight against the 
 heathen, and the believers in more than one God. 
 You must be patient and steadfast, and make 
 raids. As our beloved, the Emir Sad Salim, has 
 asked you for reinforcements, and sought your aid 
 for victory, therefore give him reinforcements and 
 help him to victory. Go to him with all the men 
 of your Emirate. God Almighty has said, ' If they 
 (the believers) seek your aid to ensure the vic- 
 tory of the faith, it is your duty to aid them ;' and 
 the Prophet, on whom be peace and blessings, has 
 said, * The believers are like a building — one part 
 strengthens the other.' Therefore, on receipt of 
 this letter, proceed with all your followers to the 
 Emir Sad Salim, and do not wait for your ammu- 
 nition, for you are not to fight the enemies of God 
 with ammunition, but with spears and swords. 
 Take therefore the equipment you have with you, 
 and proceed to your brother, the Emir Sad Salim, 
 
EMIR OF Berber's letter. 299 
 
 at once and without delay. This day all the 
 Emirs, the allies, and agents have been instructed 
 by letter to move over to the western side (of the 
 Nile). Peace. 
 
 (Sealed) "Muhammed el Kheir 
 Walad Abdullah. 
 
 ** 18th Eabia el Awwdl, 
 ith January 1885. 
 
 '' P.S. — Warn all your followers to take their 
 water-skins, their leathern sacks, and food for the 
 road ; for if you meet the enemies of God, it will 
 be in the desert, and not in houses. Every one 
 must take his travelling equipment. This is the 
 time to sacrifice wealth and life in the cause 
 of God. You must obey the command of the 
 Almighty, and fight the good fight at the sacrifice 
 of your wealth and your lives. Be of good cheer ; 
 great victory and much plenty await you, for God 
 has promised it to you, ye congregations of 
 believing Moslems. 
 
 'O 
 
 (Sealed) "Muhammed el Kheir 
 Walad Abdullah. 
 
 " 18th Rdbia el Awwal, 
 ithJanicary 1885." 
 
300 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 Instructions to Colonel Sir C. Wilson, K.C.M.G., 
 C.B., Royal Engineers. 
 
 " Camp, Korti, 1th January 1885. 
 
 " 1. You will accompany the column under the 
 command of Brigadier - General Sir Herbert 
 Stewart, K.C.B., which will leave Korti to-morrow 
 for Matammeh. 
 
 "Your intimate knowledge of Soudan affairs 
 will enable you to be of great use to him during 
 his operations away from these headquarters. . 
 
 " 2. You will endeavour to enter into friendly 
 relations with the Hassaniyeh tribe, and to induce 
 them, if possible, to carry supplies for us across 
 the desert, and to sell us sheep, cattle, &c. 
 
 "3. As soon as Matammeh is in our occupa- 
 tion. Sir H. Stewart will despatch a messenger 
 to Korti with an account of his march, &c. ; and 
 you will be good enough to send me by same 
 opportunity all political information you may 
 have obtained, all news of General Gordon, the 
 so-called Mahdi, &c. 
 
 " 4. I am sending Captain Lord Charles Beres- 
 ford, RK, with a small party of seamen, to ac- 
 
INSTRUCTIONS TO SIR C. WILSON. 301 
 
 company Sir H. Stewart to Matammeli, where, 
 if there are any steamers, Lord Charles Beresford 
 will take possession of one or two of them, as he 
 may think best. Any Egyptian (fellaheen) sol- 
 diers on them can be converted into camel-drivers, 
 and come back here with unloaded camels. 
 
 " 5. As soon as Lord Charles Beresford reports 
 that he is ready to proceed with one or more 
 steamers to Khartoum, you will go to that place 
 with him, and deliver the enclosed letter to 
 General Gordon. I leave it open so that you 
 may read it. 
 
 " 6. Orders have been given to Sir H. Stewart 
 to send a small detachment of infantry with you 
 to Khartoum. If you like, you can, upon arriving 
 there, march these men through the city to show 
 the people that British troops are near at hand. 
 If there is any epidemic in town you will not 
 do this. I do not wish them to sleep in the 
 city. They must return with you to Matammeh. 
 You will only stay in Khartoum long enough to 
 confer fully with General Gordon. Having done 
 so, you will return with Lord Charles Beresford 
 in steamers to Matammeh. 
 
 " 7. My letter to General Gordon will explain 
 to you the object of your mission. You will 
 confer with him both upon the military and upon 
 
302 APPENDIX. 
 
 the political position. You are aware of the great 
 difficulty of feeding this army at such a great 
 distance from the sea. You know how we are 
 off in the matter of supplies, the condition and 
 distribution of the troops under my command, 
 the dates when Major-General Earle will be able 
 to move on Abu- Ahmed, &c. 
 
 "8. I am sending with you the three officers 
 named in the margin,^ who will accompany you 
 to Khartoum, and will remain there to assist 
 General Gordon until I am able to relieve that 
 place. 
 
 " 9. It is always possible that when Mohamed 
 Achmet fully realises that an English army is 
 approaching Khartoum he will retreat, and thus 
 raise the siege. Khartoum would under such cir- 
 cumstances continue to be the political centre of 
 our operations, but Berber would become our 
 military objective. No British troops would be 
 sent to Khartoum beyond a few red -coats in 
 steamers for the purpose of impressing on the 
 inhabitants the fact that it was to the presence 
 of our army they owed their safety. 
 
 " The siege of Khartoum being thus raised, all 
 
 ^ Major Dickson, Royal Dragoons ; Lieutenant Stuart- 
 Wortley, Royal Rifles ; the third to be named on arrival at 
 Matammeh. 
 
INSTRUCTIONS TO SIR C. WILSON. 303 
 
 our military arrangements would be made with 
 a view to the immediate occupation of Berber, 
 and to a march across the desert to Ariab, on the 
 Suakin road. 
 
 "10. Upon arrival at Matammeh, it is very- 
 possible you may find papers or letters from 
 General Gordon awaiting us. You will be good 
 enough to send them to me by the first messenger 
 coming here. 
 
 " Upon your return to Matammeh from Khar- 
 toum you will rejoin my headquarters at your 
 earliest possible convenience. 
 
 (Signed) " Wolseley, General" 
 
 The above instructions were accompanied by 
 the following paper, giving the dates referred to 
 in paragraph 7 : — 
 
 " Deputy Adjutant-General. 
 
 " The following is my estimate of approximate 
 times : — 
 
 " General Earle's force should, with luck, be in 
 a position to commence its forward movement on 
 the 20th January. 
 
 " The whole of that force should have moved 
 by the 25th January. 
 
304 APPENDIX. 
 
 " It will, I hope, reach Abu- Ahmed about the 
 10th February, Berber about the 22d February, 
 and Shendy about the 5th March. 
 
 " I have not calculated on its meeting with any 
 serious opposition before Berber. 
 
 " Lord Wolseley's force will commence to reach 
 Matammeh the 16th January, and should be 
 concentrated there with sixty days' supplies by 
 the 2d March. If we hire many camels this date 
 may be anticipated. 
 
 "Redvers Buller, 
 Major-General. 
 
 " %th January 1885.' 
 
 APPENDIX VI. 
 
 Approximate Distribution of Troops in the Desert 
 on the 8th January 1885. 
 
 Sir H. Stewart's column : — 
 
 Staff, .... 
 Naval Brigade, . 
 19th Hussars, 
 Heavy Camel Regiment, 
 
 'fflcers. 
 
 N.-C. Officers 
 and Meu. 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 53 
 
 9 
 
 121 
 
 24 
 
 376 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF TROOPS. 305 
 
 Mounted Infantry Camel Regi 
 
 ment, .... 
 Royal- Artillery, . 
 Royal Sussex Regiment, 
 Essex Regiment, 
 Commissariat and Transport, 
 Medical Staff, . . 
 
 r»ffl„«^o N.-C. Officers 
 Officers. ^^^ jig^^ 
 
 21 336 
 
 4 39 
 16 401 
 
 3 55 
 
 5 72 
 3 50 
 
 Total, . . 98 1509 
 
 In addition to the above there were 304 natives, 
 2228 camels, and 155 horses. 
 
 Colonel Stanley Clarke's convoy en route for 
 Jakdul: — 
 
 10 officers and 106 men of the Light Camel Regiment, and 1120 
 camels. 
 
 At the Wells of Howeiyat : — 
 
 Mounted Infantry Camel Regiment — 3 officers, 30 men, and 
 33 camels. 
 
 At Jakdul : — 
 
 Guards Camel Regiment, . 
 I Royal Engineers, 
 
 Medical Staff, .... 
 
 Officers. 
 
 Men. 
 
 19 
 
 365 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 22 400 
 
 And 20 camels. 
 
 The detachment of the Essex Eegiment was left 
 at Howeiyat, and the Mounted Infantry went on 
 with Sir H. Stewart's column. The Guards 
 
 U 
 
306 APPENDIX. 
 
 Camel Eegiment at Jakdul was relieved by a 
 strong detachment of the Eoyal Sussex, and went 
 on with the column to Abu Klea. 
 
 APPENDIX VII. 
 
 General Gordon to the Officer Commanding 
 H.M. Troops. 
 
 " Kartoum, 20 Oct. '84. 
 
 "Sir, — I have sent the steamers 'Saphia/ 
 * Mansourah,' ' Bordeen,' ' Talataween,' ' Tewfikia/ 
 down towards Berber, to aid you. On board these 
 steamers are officers and men of Egyptian army. 
 I request: — 
 
 " 1. You will take charge of the steamers (though 
 I would not recommend you to change the cap- 
 tains, the reis or steersmen, or the crews). 
 
 " 2. That you will take out of those steamers 
 all Egyptian officers and soldiers. I make you a 
 present of these hens^ and request you will not let 
 one come back here to me. I include in this list 
 of prescribed all ranks, Pachas, Beys, &c., &c. 
 
 "3. I request you will take charge of these 
 
LETTER FROM GENERAL GORDON. 307 
 
 steamers, and not allow any nominee of Tewfik 
 Pacha to interfere with you in this matter. 
 
 " The officers and soldiers of Egypt have been 
 paid, or their pay has been regulated, so you will 
 have no difficulty on that score. 
 
 " If you do not use the steamers, at least take 
 out the hens and send them back empty. 
 
 " You will find that the steamers are well sup- 
 plied with ammunition, &c. 
 
 " If you choose to put black troops on board, 
 they will be welcome, but not these heroes of 
 Tel-el-Kebir. — I have the honour to be, Sir, your 
 obedient servant, C. G. Gordon. 
 
 " Officer Commanding 
 H.M. Troops." 
 
 APPENDIX VIII. 
 
 Letter addressed by Muhammed Ahmed to the 
 British and Shagiyeh officers on board the 
 steamers returning from Khartum. Dated 
 11 Eabia the second, 1302 (January 28th 
 1885). 
 
 " In the name of God the Merciful, the Com- 
 passionate. Praise be to the Bountiful Sovereign, 
 
308 APPENDIX. 
 
 and blessings be upon our Lord Muhammed and 
 on his family. From the servant who stands in 
 need of God, and on whom he places dependence, 
 Muhammed the Mahdi, son of Abdullah, to the 
 British and Shagiyeh officers, and their followers : 
 — God direct them to the truth. Surrender and 
 you will be spared. Do not disobey, else you will 
 rue it. And I will briefly inform you, perchance 
 God Almighty may put you upon the path of the 
 righteous. Know then that the city of Khartum 
 and its surroundings are like the garrison of a 
 stronghold ; God has destroyed it and other places 
 by our hands ; nothing can withstand His power 
 and might; and by the bounty of God all has 
 come into our hands. As you have become a 
 small remnant, like a leaflet, within our grasp, 
 two alternatives are offered to you. If you sur- 
 render and prevent the shedding of your blood 
 and the blood of God's creatures who are under 
 your leadership, well and good : grace and security 
 from God and His Prophet, and security from us 
 will be upon you. But if you do not believe what 
 we have said, and desire to ascertain the truth of 
 the killing of Khartum,^ send a special envoy on 
 
 ^ The Mahdi's letter bears traces of. having been hurriedly 
 written, and "Khartum" has been erroneously written for "Gor- 
 don," as the word translated ' * killing " is only used for killing 
 a man or animal. 
 
LETTER FROM THE MAHDI. 309 
 
 your part to see the truth of what we say : and 
 to your envoy is given the security of God and 
 His Prophet, till he comes to us and sees and 
 returns under a guard from us, to see and be 
 warned of God, even as God says : ' If any one 
 of the polytheists seek help of thee, help him that 
 he may learn the word of God Almighty.' You 
 are offered the alternative of fighting or surren- 
 dering to the command of God, and returning 
 unto Him. Were it not for pity for you we 
 would not write to you in this manner ; and if 
 you pay heed, on receipt of this my letter to you, 
 fear nothing, for nothing will happen to you after 
 the (granting) of the security of God and His 
 Prophet to you ; but if you refuse you shall taste 
 evil, in that you turn away from the pathway 
 of God to the torment of the other world. For 
 it is known that victory is unto the believers, 
 even as God has promised them in His revealed 
 Book. Do not be deceived and put confidence 
 in your steamers and other things, and delay 
 deciding until you rue it; but rather hasten to 
 your benefit and profit before your wings are cut. 
 Much reasoning will not convert ; for it is God 
 who converts, and He who lets go astray, and 
 thou wilt find no ruler over Him. What has been 
 
310 APPENDIX. 
 
 said is enough for him who has been reached by- 
 Providence. 
 
 (Sealed) 
 
 There is no God but God ; 
 Muhammed is the Prophet of God. 
 MuHAMMED, the Mahdi, son of Abdullah, 
 1293.1 
 
 APPENDIX IX. 
 
 1. MuHAMMED Ahmed, the Mahdi, son of Abdul- 
 lah, to Khashm el Mus, and the Soldiers on 
 the steamers, dated 18th Moharrem 1302 
 (6th November 1884). 
 
 Extract 
 
 "Do not think I seek your property. If you 
 surrender you will be forgiven. I am the expected 
 Mahdi, the successor of your Prophet. He who 
 does not believe in me and follow me shall suffer 
 in this world and the next. I am promised the 
 kingdom of all the earth. You have seen my 
 victories whilst weak and poor. Now I have the 
 arms taken from Eashid Bey, Wad Shalalu, and 
 
 1 This is the date of the cutting of the seal ; it is probably- 
 antedated, as Muhamined Ahmed had not declared his mission 
 in 1293. 
 
LETTEES TO KHASHM EL MUS. 311 
 
 Hicks. I desire that my friends should obtain 
 grace. I write this because I think well of you." 
 
 2. Ahmed Mustafa, son of El Feki el Amin, and 
 
 others, to the Melik Khashm el Mus, dated 
 6th Safar 1302 (24th November 1884). 
 
 Extract. 
 
 " I take pity on you, and wish you to remain 
 with people of your own race, and to be counted 
 amongst those who are worthy of happiness and of 
 the followers of God, His Prophet, and His Mahdi. 
 Although you have fought against the allies of God, 
 yet the Mahdi will forgive you. Beware of dis- 
 regarding the advice of the Mahdi, on w^hom be 
 peace ; and beware of fighting against God, His 
 Prophet, and His Mahdi. If you do not return 
 from your evil ways, God will destroy you by the 
 hand of the Mahdi," &c. 
 
 3. Ahmed Mustafa, and others, to their beloved 
 
 friends Khashm el Mus and the Soldiers on 
 the steamers, dated 1st Eabia, II. 1302 (18th 
 January 1885). 
 
 Extract. 
 " May God repay you for what you have done. 
 
312 APPENDIX. 
 
 Choose a place of meeting, either opposite this 
 place or at Kubbet Wad Barrah, and fix an hour 
 for the interview. Trust in God, be firm in your 
 resolution, and fear nothing. The English were 
 destroyed yesterday; so come quickly and save 
 your lives, your property, and your children. 
 Send Abd ul Faraj to inform us of the place and 
 hour of the meeting." 
 
 APPENDIX X. 
 
 1. MUHAMMED EL MaBAESI and MUHAMMED MaN- 
 
 SUK to Khashm el Mus, Abd ul Hamid, 
 and MuHAMMED Abud, dated 15th Piabia the 
 second, 1302 (1st February 1885). 
 
 " You are aware that we have been trying to 
 save you, and yet you are trying to destroy your- 
 selves. After the wreck of the steamer yesterday 
 you sent a boat to Matammeh to call the English 
 to your assistance. Should the boat be destined 
 to get there safely, and should the English come 
 and take you with them to Europe, Eome, and 
 Constantinople, remember that we shall conquer 
 
LETTERS TO KHASHM EL MUS. 313 
 
 all the same, as it has been foretold by our 
 Prophet; peace be unto him. If you live long 
 enough you will see the troops of the Mahdi* 
 spreading over Europe, Eome, and Constantinople, 
 after which there will be nothing left for you but 
 hell and damnation." 
 
 2. Hassan Wad Khalid and Said Wad el Said 
 to Khashm el Mus and Abd ul Hamid, 
 dated 15th Kabia 1302 (1st February 1885). 
 
 Pricis, 
 
 Counsels and advises them to surrender, and 
 promises that no harm will be done to them for 
 having fought against the Mahdi. States that the 
 Mahdi is merciful, and will grant them a general 
 pardon. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 PRINTED DY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND S0N3. 
 
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