The Horses Of The
Maxim Guns And The Mules Of The Battery Were Reduced To The Lowest
Possible Number.
Every person, animal, or thing not vitally necessary
was remorselessly excluded.
In order to lighten the loads and make room
for more water, even the ammunition was limited to 100 rounds per rifle.
The daily consumption of water was restricted to one pint for men,
six gallons for horses, and five for mules. To lessen the thirst caused
by the heat Colonel Kitchener decided to march by night. An advanced depot
was formed at Gedid and food for two days accumulated there. Besides this,
each unit carried ten, and the column transport seven, days' rations.
Thus the force were supplied with food up till the 9th of February,
and their radius of action, except as restricted by water,
was nineteen days. This was further extended five days by the arrangement
of a convoy which was to set out on the 30th of January to meet them
as they returned.
The column - numbering 1,604 officers and men and 1,624 camels and other
beasts of burden - started from Kohi at 3 P.M. on the 23rd of January,
having sent on a small advanced party to the wells of Gedid twelve hours
before. The country through which their route lay was of barren and
miserable aspect. They had embarked on a sandy ocean with waves of
thorny scrub and withered grass. From the occasional rocky ridges,
which allowed a more extended view, this sterile jungle could be seen
stretching indefinitely on all sides. Ten miles from the river all
vestiges of animal life disappeared. The land was a desert; not the open
desert of the Northern Soudan, but one vast unprofitable thicket,
whose interlacing thorn bushes, unable to yield the slightest nourishment
to living creatures, could yet obstruct their path.
Through this the straggling column, headed in the daylight by the red
Egyptian flag and at night by a lantern on a pole, wound its weary way,
the advanced guard cutting a path with axes and marking the track with
strips of calico, the rearguard driving on the laggard camels and
picking up the numerous loads which were cast. Three long marches brought
them on the 25th to Gedid. The first detachment had already arrived and had
opened up the wells. None gave much water; all emitted a foul stench,
and one was occupied by a poisonous serpent eight feet long - the sole
inhabitant. The camels were sent to drink at the pool seven miles away,
and it was hoped that some of the water-skins could be refilled;
but, after all, the green slime was thought unfit for human consumption,
and they had to come back empty.
The march was resumed on the 26th. The trees were now larger;
the scrub became a forest; the sandy soil changed to a dark red colour;
but otherwise the character of the country was unaltered. The column rested
at Abu Rokba. A few starving inhabitants who occupied the huts pointed out
the grave of the Khalifa's father and the little straw house in which
Abdullah was wont to pray during his visits. Lately, they said, he had
retired from Aigaila to Shirkela, but even from this latter place
he had made frequent pilgrimages.
At the end of the next march, which was made by day, the guides,
whose memories had been refreshed by flogging, discovered a large pool of
good water, and all drank deeply in thankful joy. A small but strong zeriba
was built near this precious pool, and the reserve food and a few sick men
were left with a small garrison under an Egyptian officer. The column
resumed their journey. On the 29th they reached Aigaila, and here, with
feelings of astonishment scarcely less than Robinson Crusoe experienced
at seeing the footprint in the sand, they came upon the Khalifa's abandoned
camp. A wide space had been cleared of bush, and the trees, stripped of
their smaller branches, presented an uncanny appearance. Beyond stood the
encampment - a great multitude of yellow spear-grass dwellings, perfectly
clean, neatly arranged in streets and squares, and stretching for miles.
The aspect of this strange deserted town, rising, silent as a cemetery,
out of the awful scrub, chilled everyone who saw it. Its size might indeed
concern their leader. At the very lowest computation it had contained
20,000 people. How many of these were fighting men? Certainly not fewer
than 8,000 or 9,000. Yet the expedition had been sent on the assumption
that there were scarcely 1,000 warriors with the Khalifa!
Observing every precaution of war, the column crawled forward,
and the cavalry and Camel Corps, who covered the advance, soon came
in contact with the enemy's scouts. Shots were exchanged and the Arabs
retreated. The column halted three miles to the east of this position,
and, forming a strong zeriba, passed the night in expectation of an attack.
Nothing, however, happened, and at dawn Mitford was sent out with some
mounted 'friendlies' to reconnoitre. At ten o'clock he returned, and his
report confirmed the conclusions which had been drawn from the size of the
Aigaila camp. Creeping forward to a good point of view, the officer had
seen the Dervish flags lining the crest of the hill. From their number,
the breadth of front covered, and the numerous figures of men moving
about them, he estimated not fewer than 2,000 Arab riflemen in the
front line. How many more were in reserve it was impossible to say.
The position was, moreover, of great strength, being surrounded
by deep ravines and pools of water.
The news was startling. The small force were 125 miles from their base;
behind them lay an almost waterless country, and in front was a powerful
enemy. An informal council of war was held. The Sirdar had distinctly
ordered that, whatever happened, there was to be no waiting; the troops
were either to attack or retire.
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