k which
was repulsed by the garrison with a loss to themselves of two Soudanese
wounded, realised that he had now no chance of recapturing the town.
Preparations were indeed made to attack him; but on the 23rd of October,
when a reconnaissance was made in the direction of his camp, the Dervish
force was seen moving off in a southerly direction, their retreat
covered by a strong rearguard, which was intended to perform the double
duty of protecting the retirement and preventing desertion.

The operations conducted by Colonel Parsons thus ended in complete
success. Great difficulties were overcome, great perils were
encountered, great results were obtained. But while we applaud the skill
of the commander and the devotion of his subordinates, it is impossible
not to criticise the rash and over-confident policy which sent such a
weak and ill-equipped force on so hazardous an enterprise. The action of
Gedaref, as has been shown, was, through no fault of the officers or
men of the expedition, within an ace of being a disaster. But there were
other critical occasions when only the extraordinary good fortune which
attended the force saved it from destruction. First, the column was not
discovered until it reached Mugatta; secondly, it was not attacked in
the thick bush; thirdly, the Dervishes gave battle in the open instead
of remaining within their walls, whence the troops could not have driven
them without artillery; and, fourthly, the reserve ammunition arrived
before the attack of Ahmed Fedil.

After his defeat before Gedaref, Ahmed Fedil reverted to his intention
of joining the Khalifa in Kordofan, and he withdrew southwards towards
the Dinder river with a following that still numbered more than 5,000.
To pass the Nile in the face of the gunboats appeared impossible. He did
not, however, believe that steamers could navigate the higher reaches
of the rivers, and in the hopes of finding a safe crossing-place he
directed his march so as to strike the Blue Nile south of Karkoj. Moving
leisurely, and with frequent delays to pillage the inhabitants, he
arrived on the Dinder, twenty-five miles to the east of Karkoj, on the
7th of November. Here he halted to reconnoitre. He had trusted in the
Karkoj-Rosaires reach being too shallow for the gunboats; but he found
two powerful vessels already patrolling it. Again frustrated, he turned
southwards, meaning to cross above the Rosaires Cataract, which was
without doubt impassable to ste