In The Midst Of This Excitement And Confusion The Wounded From
The Cavalry Charge Began To Trickle In.
When the British division had moved out of the zeriba, a few skirmishers
among the crags of Surgham Hill
Alone suggested the presence of an enemy.
Each brigade, formed in four parallel columns of route, which closed in
until they were scarcely forty paces apart, and both at deploying interval
- the second brigade nearer the river, the first almost in line with it
and on its right - hurried on, eager to see what lay beyond the ridge.
All was quiet, except for a few 'sniping' shots from the top of Surgham.
But gradually as Maxwell's brigade - the third in the echelon - approached
the hill, these shots became more numerous, until the summit of the peak
was spotted with smoke-puffs. The British division moved on steadily, and,
leaving these bold skirmishers to the Soudanese, soon reached the crest of
the ridge. At once and for the first time the whole panorama of Omdurman -
the brown and battered dome of the Mahdi's Tomb, the multitude of mud
houses, the glittering fork of water which marked the confluence of the
rivers - burst on their vision. For a moment they stared entranced.
Then their attention was distracted; for trotting, galloping, or halting
and gazing stupidly about them, terrified and bewildered, a dozen riderless
troop-horses appeared over the further crest - for the ridge was flat-topped
- coming from the plain, as yet invisible, below. It was the first news of
the Lancers' charge.
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