With Kitchener in the Soudan Part 48

As they sat and chatted, Gregory asked how the force had crossed the Atbara.

"It was a big job," Colonel Parsons said. "The river was wider than the Thames, below London Bridge; and running something like seven miles an hour. We brought with us some barrels to construct a raft. When this was built, it supported the ten men who started on it; but they were, in spite of their efforts, carried ten miles down the stream, and it was not until five hours after they embarked that they managed to land.

The raft did not get back from its journey till the next afternoon, being towed along the opposite bank by the men.

"It was evident that this would not do. The Egyptian soldiers then took the matter in hand. They made frameworks with the wood of the mimosa scrub, and covered these with tarpaulins, which we had fortunately brought with us. They turned out one boat a day, capable of carrying two tons; and, six days after we reached the river, we all got across.

"The delay was a terrible nuisance at the time, but it has enabled you to come up here and warn us about Fadil. Fortunately no Dervishes came along while we were crossing, and indeed we learned, from the prisoners we took yesterday, that the fact that a force from Ka.s.sala had crossed the river was entirely unknown, so no harm was done."

The sheik of the little village took charge of Gregory's camels. Some stores were also left there, under a small guard, as it was advisable to reduce the transport to the smallest possible amount.

The next morning the start was made. The bush was so thick that it was necessary to march in single file. In the evening, the force halted in a comparatively open country. The camel men reconnoitred the ground, for some little distance round, and saw no signs of the enemy. They camped, however, in the form of a square; and lay with their arms beside them, in readiness to resist an attack.

The night pa.s.sed quietly, and at early dawn they moved forward again.

At six o'clock the camel men exchanged a few shots with the Dervish scouts, who fell back at once. At eight a village was sighted, and the force advanced upon it, in fighting order.

It was found, however, to have been deserted, except by a few old people. These, on being questioned, said that the Emir Saadalla, who commanded, had but two hundred rifles and six hundred spearmen, and had received orders from Fadil to surrender. Subsequent events showed that they had been carefully tutored as to the reply to be given.

The force halted here, as Gedareh was still twelve miles away; and it was thought better that, if there was fighting, they should be fresh.

At midnight, a deserter from the Dervishes came in, with the grave news that the Emir had three thousand five hundred men, and was awaiting them two miles outside the town. There was another informal council of war, but all agreed that a retreat, through this difficult country, would bring about the total annihilation of the force; and that there was nothing to do but to fight.

Early in the morning, they started again. For the first two hours, the road led through gra.s.s so high that even the men on camels could not see above it. They pushed on till eight o'clock, when they reached a small knoll. At the foot of this they halted, and Colonel Parsons and the officers ascended it, to reconnoitre.

They saw, at once, that the deserter's news was true. A mile away four lines of Dervishes, marching in excellent order, were making their way towards them. Colonel Parsons considered that their numbers could not be less than four thousand, and at once decided to occupy a saddle-back hill, half a mile away; and the troops were hurried across. The Dervishes also quickened their movements, but were too late to prevent the hill from being seized.

The Arab battalion had been leading, followed by the Egyptians; while the irregulars, divided into two bodies under Arab chiefs, guarded the hospital and baggage. The Dervishes at once advanced to the attack of the hill, and the column wheeled into line, to meet it. Even on the crest of the hill, the gra.s.s was breast high, but it did not impede the view of the advancing lines of the Dervishes. Into these a heavy and destructive fire was at once poured. The enemy, however, pushed on, firing in return; but being somewhat out of breath, from the rapidity with which they had marched; and seeing nothing of the defenders of the hill, save their heads, they inflicted far less loss than they were themselves suffering.

The fight was continuing, when Colonel Parsons saw that a force of about three hundred Dervishes had worked round the back of the hill, with the intention of falling upon the baggage. He at once sent one of the Arab sheiks to warn Captain Fleming; who, from his position, was unable to see the approaching foe. Colonel Parsons had asked Gregory to take up his position with the baggage, as he foresaw that, with their vastly greater numbers, it was likely that the Dervishes might sweep round and attack it.

Scarcely had the messenger arrived with the news, when the Dervishes came rus.h.i.+ng on through the high gra.s.s. In spite of the shouts of Doctor Fleming and Gregory, the escort of one hundred and twenty irregular Arabs, stationed at this point, at once broke and fled.

Happily, a portion of the camel corps, with its commander, Captain Ruthven, a militia officer, was close at hand. Though he had but thirty-four of these old soldiers with him, he rushed forward to meet the enemy. Doctor Fleming and Gregory joined him and, all cheering to encourage the Soudanese, made a determined stand.

Gregory and Zaki kept up a steady fire with their Remingtons, and picked off several of the most determined of their a.s.sailants. The fight, however, was too unequal; the Dervishes got in behind them, and cut off the rear portion of the transport; and the little band, fighting obstinately, fell back, with their faces to the foe, towards the main body.

One of the native officers of the Soudanese fell. Captain Ruthven, a very powerful man, ran back and lifted the wounded soldier, and made his way towards his friends. So closely pressed was he, by the Dervishes, that three times he had to lay his burden down and defend himself with his revolver; while Gregory and Zaki aided his retreat, by turning their fire upon his a.s.sailants. For this splendid act of bravery, Captain Ruthven afterwards received the Victoria Cross.

Flushed by their success, the Dervishes pushed on. Fortunately, at this time the main force of the Dervishes was beginning to waver, unable to withstand the steady fire of the defenders of the hill; and as they drew back a little, the Egyptian and Arab battalions rushed forward.

Shaken as they were, the Dervishes were unable to resist the attack; and broke and fled, pursued by the Arab battalion. The Egyptians, however, obeyed the orders of Captain MacKerrel and, halting, faced about to encounter the attack from the rear. Their volleys caused the Dervishes to hesitate, and Captain Ruthven and his party reached the summit of the hill in safety.

The enemy, however, maintained a heavy fire for a few minutes; but the volleys of the Egyptians, at a distance of only a hundred yards, were so deadly that they soon took to flight.

The first shot had been fired at half-past eight. At ten, the whole Dervish force was scattered in headlong rout. Had Colonel Parsons possessed a cavalry force, the enemy would have been completely cut up.

As it was, pursuit was out of the question.

The force therefore advanced, in good order, to Gedareh. Here a Dervish Emir, who had been left in charge when the rest of the garrison moved out, surrendered at once, with the two hundred black riflemen under him. He had long been suspected of disloyalty by the Khalifa, and at once declared his hatred of Mahdism; declaring that, though he had not dared to declare himself openly, he had always been friendly to Egyptian rule.

The men with him at once fraternized with the Arabs of Colonel Parsons'

force, and were formally received into their ranks. The Emir showed his sincerity by giving them all the information in his power, as to Fadil's position and movements, and by pointing out the most defensible positions.

None of the British officers had been wounded, but fifty-one of the men had been killed, and eighty wounded. Five hundred of the Dervishes were left dead upon the field, including four Emirs.

Not a moment was lost in preparing for defence, for it was certain that Fadil, on hearing the news, would at once march to retake the town. The position was naturally a strong one. Standing on rising ground was Fadil's house, surrounded by a brick wall, twelve feet high. Here the Egyptian battalion and camel corps were placed, with the hospital, and two bra.s.s guns which had been found there.

A hundred yards away was another enclosure, with a five-foot wall, and two hundred yards away a smaller one. The Arab battalion was stationed to the rear of this, in a square enclosure with a brick wall, twelve feet high, in which was situated a well. These four buildings were so placed, that the fire from each covered the approaches to the other.

Two hundred yards from the well enclosure was a fortified house, surrounded by a high wall. As the latter would need too many men for its defence, the wall was pulled down, and a detachment placed in the house.

No time was lost. The whole force was at once employed in pulling down huts, clearing the ground of the high gra.s.s, and forming a zareba round the town. The greatest cause for anxiety was ammunition. A large proportion of that carried in the pouches had been expended during the battle, and the next morning Colonel Parsons, with a small force, hurried back to Mugatta to fetch up the reserve ammunition, which had been left there under a guard. He returned with it, three days later.

An abundant supply of provisions had been found in Gedareh, for here were the magazines, not only of the four thousand men of the garrison and the women who had been left there, but sufficient for Fadil's army, on their return. There were three or four wells, and a good supply of water.

The ammunition arrived just in time; for, on the following morning, Captain Ruthven's camel men brought in news that Fadil was close at hand. At half-past eight the Dervishes began the attack, on three sides of the defences. Sheltered by the long gra.s.s, they were able to make their way to within three hundred yards of the dwellings occupied by the troops. But the intervening ground had all been cleared, and though time after time they made rushes forward, they were unable to withstand the withering fire to which they were exposed.

After an hour's vain efforts their musketry fire ceased; but, half an hour later, strong reinforcements came up, and the attack recommenced.

This was accompanied with no greater success than the first attack, and Fadil retired to a palm grove, two miles away. Of the defenders five men were killed, and Captain Dwyer and thirteen men wounded.

For two days, Fadil endeavoured to persuade his troops to make another attack; but although they surrounded the town, and maintained a scattered fire, they could not be brought to attempt another a.s.sault, having lost over five hundred men in the two attacks the first day. He then fell back, eight miles.

Three days later, Colonel Parsons said to Gregory:

"I think the time has come, Mr. Hilliard, when I must apply for reinforcements. I am convinced that we can repel all attacks, but we are virtually prisoners here. Were we to endeavour to retreat, Fadil would probably annihilate us. Our men have behaved admirably; but it is one thing to fight well, when you are advancing; and another to be firm in retreat.

"But our most serious enemy, at present, is fever. Already, the stink of the unburied bodies of the Dervishes is overpowering, and every day it will become worse. Doctor Fleming reports to me that he has a great many sick on his hands, and that he fears the conditions that surround us will bring about an epidemic. Therefore I have decided to send to General Rundle, for a reinforcement that will enable us to move out to attack Fadil."

"Very well, sir, I will start at once."

"I will write my despatch. It will be ready for you to carry in an hour's time. You had better pick out a couple of good donkeys, from those we captured here. As it is only nine o'clock, you will be able to get to Mugatta this evening. I don't think there is any fear of your being interfered with, by the Dervishes. We may be sure that Fadil is not allowing his men to roam over the country, for there can be little doubt that a good many of them would desert, as soon as they got fairly beyond his camp."

"I don't think there is any fear of that, sir; and as my camels will have had ten days' rest, I should have very little fear of being overtaken, even if they did sight us."

"We are off again, Zaki," Gregory said. "We will go down to the yard where the animals we captured are kept, and choose a couple of good donkeys. I am to carry a despatch to Omdurman, and as time is precious, we will make a straight line across the desert; it will save us fifty or sixty miles."

"I am glad to be gone, Master. The smells here are as bad as they were at Omdurman, when we went in there."

"Yes, I am very glad to be off, too."

An hour later they started, and arrived at Mugatta at eight o'clock in the evening. The native with whom the camels had been left had taken good care of them; and, after rewarding him and taking a meal, Gregory determined to start at once. The stars were bright, and there was quite light enough for the camels to travel.

The water was emptied from the skins, and filled again. They had brought with them sufficient food for four days' travel, and a sack of grain for the camels. An hour after arriving at the village they again started.

"We will follow the river bank, till we get past the country where the bushes are so thick, and then strike west by north. I saw, by Colonel Parsons' map, that that is about the line we should take."

They left the river before they reached El Fasher, and continued their journey all night, and onward till the sun was well up. Then they watered the camels (they had, this time, brought with them a large half gourd for the purpose), ate a good meal themselves; and, after placing two piles of grain before the camels, lay down and slept until five o'clock in the afternoon.

"We ought to be opposite Omdurman, tomorrow morning. I expect we shall strike the river, tonight. I have kept our course rather to the west of the direct line, on purpose. It would be very awkward if we were to miss it. I believe the compa.s.s is right, and I have struck a match every hour to look at it; but a very slight deviation would make a big difference, at the end of a hundred and fifty miles."

It was just midnight when they saw the river before them.

"We can't go wrong now, Zaki."