ched them were that the army was in a hopeless condition. All this
only made the Mahdi's prestige the greater, and it must be remembered
that the latter was an adept at inspiring fanaticism. One of General
Hicks's spies was captured, and he was at once impaled on lances. The
following extracts, which I give from memory, from Major Herlth's diary
will show how demoralised the expedition had become. The camp was
pitched at Rahad on a small eminence near the Khor Abu Habl, whilst the
enemy, who were concealed on the opposite side in the high grass and
under the trees, fired incessantly at the Egyptians and killed a number
of them. One bullet entered Hicks's tent and struck the seat on which
he was sitting; he then gave orders that the grass and woods should be
at once cleared of the enemy. There was still a little water in the
Khor, and as it seemed to be deep, a consultation was held as to how it
should best be crossed. The discussion lasted an hour. At length a few,
more courageous than the rest, decided to try and wade across, and to
their intense surprise found that it was quite shallow and easily
fordable; they then crossed over and drove back the enemy, killing seven
of them.

While at Rahad, it was discovered that the camp out of which they had
marched the previous day had been entered, and everything that they had
left behind had been taken. It was now evident that the enemy were in
greater force than they had thought, and in consequence General Hicks
made an entrenchment and put guns into position, which were fired with
some effect, as one shell killed no less than thirteen men. This news
was sent to the Mahdi.

At El Obeid the slow advance of the troops could not be understood, and
this had a still more convincing effect on the Dervishes that the
expedition must be in a bad way. It was a matter of no surprise that the
troops had not been victorious, as it was known that every element of
success was wanting; as for the poor Egyptians, the capture of a cow was
an event of great importance, and General Hicks ordered every officer to
be given a piece of it.

Colonel Farquhar, chief of the staff, did all he could to raise the
courage of the soldiers. On one occasion some horsemen were seen a short
distance away sitting fearlessly on their horses as if challenging
anyone to come out and fight them. When Farquhar saw them he mounted his
horse and advanced straight on them. When he approached they began to
retire, but