The Fugitives
Fled Up The Atbara River, Leaving Many Wounded To Die In The Scrub,
All Along Their Line Of Retreat.
Of the powerful force of 12,000 fighting
men which Mahmud had gathered at Metemma, scarcely 4,000 reached Gedaret
in safety.
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.
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