o 1000 yards. Guns, Maxims, and rifles
were blazing in fullest fury at the enemy, as, in their heroic effort,
they sought to charge home upon us. From wing to wing Gatacre's
division was firing sharply, a blaze of flame, section volleys and
independently. The Grenadier Guardsmen's shooting was noted as
conspicuously steady and deadly effective. Except the two companies of
the Rifles on the left, who, owing to the nature of the ground on
their front, could do little, the British infantry were hotly
occupied. Rifles became too warm to be held, and were in some cases
changed for those of rear-rank men's. In one or two instances the
reserves closed up, to give every soldier an opportunity of being
actually engaged. They took the place of sections in the firing lines,
whilst their comrades fell back and refilled their cartridge pouches.
The Lancers sent forward a dismounted squadron or two which filled the
gap between the zereba and the Nile, whilst the gunboats "Melik" and
"Sultan" moved in and took part in that stage of the battle. And still
the dervishes got nearer, swinging up their left, for their right was
now fairly held by the British fire. Colonels Maxwell's and Lewis's
brigades had to address themselves to the task of checking the
Khalifa's attack. Colonel Long had so disposed the cannon and Maxims
that the guns rendered invaluable help. At that period the main body
of the dervishes moved forward more carefully, taking cover and
evidently watching the issue of Yacoub's and Wad Melik's assaulting
columns.

The army of white flags, led by Yacoub and Wad Melik, exhibited dash,
courage, and persistence. Never was a column of men so hammered and
mutilated and probably so surprised. They were torn and thrown about
as puppets before the hurricane of shell fire, and laid in windrows
like cut grain before the hail of the Lee-Metfords. Twelve hundred
short yards away, Surgham's bare slopes were being literally covered
with corpses and writhing wounded. In sheer blundering brutishness,
the ferocious dervishes tried to stem the storm. Wave followed wave of
men, they surged together, inviting greater disaster, but always
striving to get nearer us. Their front had covered the whole slopes of
Jebel Surgham and their left overlapped part of the Khalifa's right.
Death was reaping a gigantic harvest. Hecatombs of slain were being
spread everywhere in front. The fight was terrible, the slaughter
dreadful. So far we had scarcely suff