A little food was eaten, and then, battalion by
battalion, as the force arrived at the halting-place, they lay down
to rest. The tail of Maxwell's brigade reached the bivouac about midnight,
and the whole column was then concentrated.
Meanwhile the mounted force were also on their way.
Like the River Column, they were disordered by the broken ground,
and the XIIth Soudanese, who were unused to camel riding and mounted only
on transport saddles, were soon wearied. After one o'clock many men,
both in the Camel Corps and in the battalion, fell asleep on their camels,
and the officers had great difficulty in keeping them awake. However, the
force reached their point of concentration - about three miles to the
south-east of Firket - at a quarter to three. Here the XIIth Soudanese
dismounted from their camels and became again a fighting unit. Leaving the
extra camels under a guard, Major Burn-Murdoch then advanced towards his
appointed position on the hills overlooking Firket.
The Sirdar moved on again with the infantry at 2.30. The moon had risen
over the rocks to the left of the line of march, but it was only a thin
crescent and did not give much light. The very worst part of the whole
track was encountered immediately the bivouac was left, and the column of
nearly six thousand men had to trickle through one narrow place in single
file.
