th wild fanaticism; anyone who saw
the enormous hordes of savages which were brought together, must have
trembled for the fate of Hicks. It was said that the Mahdi had been
promised the assistance of 40,000 angels from paradise, and everyone
quite believed in the truth of this assertion. Anyone beholding this
immense multitude of fanatics of every race and age, even though he had
formerly been a disbeliever in the Mahdi, must now have been convinced
of his divinity. The uneducated masses of the Sudan are entirely
governed by the influence of external appearances, they had never heard
or seen anything of this description before; now heralds were going from
end to end of the camp foretelling the death of everyone who refused to
follow the Mahdi.

On the 1st of November, Mohammed Ahmed quitted El Obeid, and
everyone--man, woman, and child--followed him. Every house was
evacuated, and woe to him who attempted to hide himself! Wad Gubara and
his flag alone remained behind as garrison of El Obeid. The throng,
noisy bustle and din of the camp suddenly gave way to almost absolute
silence--the silence of the grave. The days which followed were for us a
period of terrible anxiety. Although we felt almost certain that a
terrible catastrophe was about to take place, yet we still had a slight
hope that, with the help of European leaders, good rifles, and
machine-guns, the result might be different. Abu Anga, who had
separated from his Jehadieh (black troops) just the day before, now
joined the powerful division of Abdel Halim, and on the 3rd of November
the Mahdi's followers also joined this division, whilst the Mahdi
himself, accompanied by his Khalifas, set out for Birket.

It was on the 3rd of November that the action actually began, for, in
accordance with the Mahdi's orders, his followers had gradually
completely encircled the troops, who were now opposed by black soldiers
with Remington rifles, Wad en Nejumi's Gellabas, and the flags of Abdel
Halim, Sherif Mahmud, and many others. In the attack which occurred on
this date, the Dervishes were forced back with the loss of Fauzi, one of
the Mahdi's katibs, Elias Pasha's son, and the son of Hajji Khaled; but
General Hicks's losses were considerably greater; he had also run short
of water, and was doing his utmost to dig wells, though he did not know
that within fifteen minutes' walk of him there was a large reservoir of
rain-water. What days of terrible anxiety these must have be