d that the position of the Dervish
force was unchanged, but that three new forts had been constructed to
the south of the town. The gunboats continued on their way and proceeded
as far as Wad Habeshi. The Arab cavalry kept pace with them along the
bank, ready to prevent any landing. Having seen all there was to be
seen, the flotilla returned and again passed the batteries at Metemma.
But this time they were not unscathed, and a shell struck the Fateh,
slightly wounding three men.

No other incident enlivened the monotony of November. The Khalifa
continued his defensive preparations. Mahmud remained motionless at
Metemma; and although he repeatedly begged to be allowed to advance
against the force near Berber he was steadily refused, and had to
content himself with sending raiding parties along the left bank of the
Nile, and collecting large stores of grain from all the villages within
his reach. Meanwhile the railway was stretching further and further to
the south, and the great strain which the sudden occupation of
Berber had thrown upon the transport was to some extent relieved. The
tranquillity which had followed the advance to Berber was as opportune
as it was unexpected. The Sirdar, delighted that no evil consequences
had followed his daring move, and finding that he was neither attacked
nor harassed in any way, journeyed to Kassala to arrange the details of
its retrocession.

The convenient situation of Kassala--almost equally distant from
Omdurman, Berber, Suakin, Massowa, and Rosaires--and the fertility of
the surrounding region raise it to the dignity of the most important
place in the Eastern Soudan. The soil is rich; the climate, except in
the rainy season, not unhealthy. A cool night breeze relieves the heat
of the day, and the presence of abundant water at the depth of a few
feet below the surface supplies the deficiency of a river. In the year
1883 the population is said to have numbered more than 60,000. The
Egyptians considered the town of sufficient value to require a garrison
of 3,900 soldiers. A cotton mill adequately fitted with machinery and a
factory chimney gave promise of the future development of manufacture.
A regular revenue attested the existence of trade. But disasters fell
in heavy succession on the Eastern Soudan and blighted the prosperity
of its mud metropolis. In 1885, after a long siege and a stubborn
resistance, Kassala was taken by the Dervishes. The garrison were
massacred, enslav