These Survivors Were Added To The Army Of Ahmed Fedil, And Thus
Prevented From Spreading Their Evil Tidings Among The Populace At Omdurman.
Osman Digna, Wad Bishara, And Other Important Emirs Whose Devotion And
Discretion Were Undoubted, Alone Returned To The Capital.
As soon as the troops were re-formed, the zeriba was evacuated and
the army drew up in line along the neighbouring ridge.
It was then only
nine o'clock, and the air was still cool and fresh. The soldiers lit fires,
made some tea, and ate their rations of biscuits and meat. Then they lay
down and waited for evening. Gradually, as the hours passed, the sun became
powerful. There was no shade, and only a few thin, leafless bushes rose
from the sand. The hours of a day, peculiarly hot, even for the country
and season, dragged wearily away. The sandy ridge beat back the rays till
the air above was like the breath of a furnace and the pebbly ground
burned. The water in the fantasses and bottles was hot and scarce. The pool
of the Atbara was foul and tainted. In spite of the devoted efforts of the
few medical officers who had been allowed to accompany the force,
the wounded officers and soldiers endured the greatest miseries, and it is
certain that several died of their wounds who might in happier
circumstances have been saved.
Several hundred prisoners were taken. They were mostly negroes - for the
Arabs refused to surrender, and fought to the last or tried to escape.
The captive blacks, who fight with equal willingness on either side,
were content to be enlisted in the Soudanese regiments; so that many of
those who served the Khalifa on the Atbara helped to destroy him
at Omdurman. The most notable prisoner was the Emir Mahmud - a tall,
strong Arab, about thirty years old. Immediately after his capture he was
dragged before the Sirdar. 'Why,' inquired the General, 'have you come into
my country to burn and kill?' 'I have to obey my orders, and so have you,'
retorted the captive sullenly, yet not without a certain dignity. To other
questions he returned curt or evasive answers, and volunteered the opinion
that all this slaughter would be avenged at Omdurman. He was removed in
custody - a fine specimen of proud brutality, worthy perhaps of some better
fate than to linger indefinitely in the gaol at Rosetta.
With the cool of the evening the army left its bed of torment on the ridge
and returned to Umdabia. The homeward march was a severe trial; the troops
were exhausted; the ground was broken; the guides, less careful or less
fortunate than on the previous night, lost their way. The columns were
encumbered with wounded, most of whom were already in a high state
of fever, and whose sufferings were painful to witness. It was not until
after midnight that the camp was reached. The infantry had been
continuously under arms - marching, fighting, or sweltering in the sun -
for thirty hours, and most of them had hardly closed their eyes for two
days.
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