They continued to turn and fire from
the rear of their party.
Having reduced the distance to about 150 yards, the crimson silk banners
afforded excellent marks for rifle practice. They fell to the right and
left, as the shots were directed a little low so as to hit the bearers.
In a few minutes not a flag was to be seen! The fatal sniders poured
bullets into the dense body of men, who, after waving two and fro as the
shots thinned their number, at length ran off without any further effort
to maintain a formation.
For upwards of four miles Lieutenant Baker and I chased these ruffians
with the "Forty Thieves". Many were killed in the pursuit; and upon our
return to the camp at Fatiko at 2 P.M., we had captured a herd of 306
cattle, 130 slaves, 15 donkeys, 43 prisoners, 7 flags, together with the
entire station.
The enemy had suffered the loss of more than half their party killed.
The actual fighting had been done by the "Forty Thieves"; and the men of
Abdullah's detachment had behaved disgracefully. Instead of following
the enemy in the retreat, they had fraternized with a crowd of natives
in pillaging the extensive station.
I now had to clear all these fellows out. The officers appeared to have
quite lost their heads; and the natives had carried off all the guns and
ammunition from the dead men, and had sacked and plundered the powder
magazine.
My wife had placed sentries on the high rocks which commanded a view of
the entire country; she also had the cattle driven within the fence; and
had secured the prisoners, including Wat-el-Mek, in two large huts, over
which she had placed a guard. The officers bad been so completely
bewildered by the suddenness of the affair, that their wits had been
exercised in an extraordinary direction. They had commenced firing
Hale's rockets while we were in advance pursuing the enemy, and a couple
of these screeching projectiles had actually passed over my head.
We had neither eaten nor drunk since the preceding evening, with the
exception of some water that we had procured from a stream at the
extreme limit of the pursuit; where we had lost the enemy, who had
scattered in the forest.
With her usual forethought, my wife had ordered the cook to have
breakfast ready; and having washed hands and faces, we sat down to a
good curry of mutton, and excellent cafe-au-lait, the milk having been
obtained from the captured cows.
We had worked fairly that morning, having marched ten miles from Sharga,
then fought the rebels and run four miles in pursuit, and four miles on
our return, through an exceedingly rough country.
