and the fierce black soldiers, roused to fury by their
losses, in front.

The Sheikh Bakr, with his men and the rest of the irregulars, joined the
victorious Soudanese, and from the cover of the sandhills, now in the
hands of the troops, a terrible fire was opened upon the Dervishes
crowded together on the bare and narrow promontory and on the foreshore.
Some tried to swim across the rushing river to their friends on the west
bank. Many were drowned--among them Saadalla, who sank horse and man
beneath the flood. Others took refuge from the fire by standing up
to their necks in the stream. The greater part, however, escaped to a
smaller island a little further up the river. But the cover was bad,
the deep water prevented further flight, and, after being exposed for
an hour and a half to the musketry of two companies, the survivors--300
strong--surrendered.

By 11.30 the whole island was in the possession of the troops. It was,
however, still swept and commanded by the fire from the west bank. The
company which had been detached to subdue the Dervish riflemen were
themselves pinned behind their scanty cover. Major Fergusson was
severely wounded and a third of his men were hit. To withdraw this
company and the wounded was a matter of great difficulty; and it was
necessary to carry the Maxims across the river and bring them into
action at 400 yards. Firing ceased at last at three o'clock, and the
victors were left to measure their losses and their achievement.

There was neither time nor opportunity to count the enemy's dead, but
it is certain that at least 500 Arabs were killed on the island. Two
thousand one hundred and twenty-seven fighting men and several hundred
women and children surrendered. Five hundred and seventy-six rifles,
large quantities of ammunition, and a huge pile of spears and swords
were captured. Ahmed Fedil, indeed, escaped with a numerous following
across the Ghezira, but so disheartened were the Dervishes by this
crushing defeat that the whole force surrendered to the gunboat Metemma
at Reng, on the White Nile, on the 22nd of January, and their leader was
content to fly with scarcely a dozen followers to join the Khalifa.

The casualties among the troops in the action amounted to 41 killed and
145 wounded, including Major Fergusson; and the Xth Soudanese, on whom
the brunt of the fighting fell, suffered a loss of 25 non-commissioned
officers and men killed, 1 British officer, 6 native officers, an