es, but these were
torn away by the men, with their bare hands, in their eagerness to
advance. Haig's regiment was one of the first to penetrate, but once
past the stockade they encountered many of the defenders who put up a
fierce fight. Several British officers lost their lives, and it was
due to Haig's agility and presence of mind that he was not at the least
severely wounded. Two dervishes attacked him at once from opposite
sides. One aimed a slashing blow at his head with a scimitar. Haig
quickly ducked and the scimitar went crashing against the weapon of the
other dervish. Haig's luck again!

Others were not so fortunate. "Never mind me, lads, go on," said Major
Urquhart with his dying breath. "Go on, my company, and give it to
them," gasped Captain Findlay as he fell. At the head of the attacking
party strode Piper Stewart, playing "The March of the Cameron Men,"
until five bullets laid him low. Truly the spirit of the fiery old
Covenanters was there!

The final battle of the Soudanese campaign, Khartoum, put the finishing
touches to the rebellion, and gave to Kitchener the title "K. of
K."--Kitchener of Khartoum. This battle was noteworthy in employing
the cavalry in an open charge across the plains against the dervish
infantry. It was just such a charge as a skilled horseman such as Haig
would keenly enjoy, despite the danger. Winston Churchill, the British
Minister, thus describes it:

"The heads of the squadrons wheeled slowly to the left, and the
Lancers, breaking into a trot, began to cross the dervish front in
column of troops. Thereupon and with one accord the blue-clad men
dropped on their knees, and there burst out a loud, crackling fire of
musketry. It was hardly possible to miss such a target at such a
range. Horses and men fell at once. The only course was plain and
welcome to all. The Colonel, nearer than his regiment, already saw
what lay behind the skirmishers. He ordered 'Right wheel into line' to
be sounded. The trumpet jerked out a shrill note, heard faintly above
the trampling of the horses and the noise of the rifles. On the
instant the troops swung round and locked up into a long, galloping
line.

"Two hundred and fifty yards away, the dark blue men were firing madly
in a thin film of light-blue smoke. Their bullets struck the hard
gravel into the air, and the troopers, to shield their faces from the
stinging dust, bowed their helmets forward, like the Cuirassiers