Here He Remained
For Several Days, With But Little Hope Of Obstructing The Enemy's Passage
Of The River.
On the 20th of December, however, full - though, as was
afterwards found, not very accurate - information was received.
It was
reported that on the 18th Ahmed Fedil had reached the village of Dakhila,
about twenty miles south of the Rosaires post; that he himself had
immediately crossed with his advanced guard, and was busily passing the
women and children across the river on rafts.
On the 22nd, therefore, Colonel Lewis hurried the Sheikh Bakr up the west
bank to cut off their flocks and harass the Dervishes who had already
crossed the river. The irregulars accordingly departed; and the next day
news was brought that the Dervish force was almost equally divided by the
Blue Nile, half being on one bank and half on the other. At midday on
the 24th the gunboats Melik and Dal arrived from Omdurman with a detachment
of 200 more men of the Xth Soudanese under Major Fergusson, and thirty men
of the IXth Soudanese under Captain Sir Henry Hill. With this addition the
force at Colonel Lewis's disposal consisted of half the Xth Soudanese,
a small detachment of the IXth Soudanese, two Maxim guns, and a doctor.
Besides the regular troops, there were also the band of irregulars under
the Sheikh Bakr, numbering 380 men, 100 men under the Sheikh of Rosaires,
and a few other unclassified scallywags.
Colonel Lewis determined to attack what part of Ahmed Fedil's force still
remained on the east bank of the river, and on Christmas Day, at five
o'clock in the afternoon, he marched with every man he could muster in the
direction of Dakhila.
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