By The 3rd Of October He Had Established Garrisons Of The
Xth Soudanese In Rosaires, At Karkoj, At Sennar (The Old Seat Of The
Government Of The Province), And At Wad Medina.
Having also arranged for
gunboat patrolling, he returned to Omdurman.
But there was one Dervisb force which had no intention of surrendering
to the invaders, and whose dispersal was not accomplished until three
fierce and critical actions had been fought. Ahmed Fedil, a zealous and
devoted adherent of the Khalifa, had been sent, after the defeat on the
Atbara, to collect all the Dervishes who could be spared from the Gedaref
and Gallabat provinces, and bring them to join the growing army at Omdurman.
The Emir had faithfully discharged his duty, and he was hurrying to his
master's assistance with a strong and well disciplined force of no fewer
than 8,000 men when, while yet sixty miles from the city, he received the
news of 'the stricken field.' He immediately halted, and sought to hide the
disaster from his soldiers by announcing that the Khalifa had been
victorious and no longer needed their assistance. He even explained the
appearance of gunboats upon the river by saying that these had run past the
batteries at Omdurman and that the others were destroyed. The truth was not,
however, long concealed; for a few days later two emissaries despatched by
Slatin arrived at the Dervish camp and announced the destruction of the
Omdurman army, the flight of the Khalifa, and the fall of the city.
The messengers were authorised to offer Ahmed terms; but that implacable
Dervish flew into a rage, and, having shot one, sent the other,
covered with insults and stripes, to tell the 'Turks' that he would fight
to the bitter end.
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