ed, Cuzzi, who
arrived at Rahad at the end of June, had been previously sent by the
Dervishes to Khartum to try and induce Gordon to surrender, and Gordon
had given strict orders that he should not be permitted within the
walls. When, therefore, he arrived at Rahad, the Mahdi received him very
well, loaded him with presents, and then sent him back with George
Clementino to Khartum as bearer of letters to Gordon. He arrived at the
Dervish camp at the same time as Nejumi. Clementino was permitted to
converse with the Greek consul, Leontides, but Cuzzi returned to Berber.

The Mahdi passed the month of Ramadan in Rahad, and it was not until the
8th of August that he set out for Khartum. The whole population, like a
swarm of bees, accompanied him on the same road which Hicks had taken.
The people joyfully undertook this long journey through pathless
districts, and at a time when the rainfall was heaviest. Camels, too,
were expensive and difficult to procure; but, in spite of all these
obstacles, fanaticism was more pronounced than ever. There were in all
upwards of 200,000 people, and at Shirkeleh the cavalry numbered 4,000.
To defeat such an enormous force as this, a European expedition was
necessary, not the weak force at Gordon's disposal.

Throughout the entire route fresh cavalry joined, whilst the herds of
cattle which the Arabs drove along served as food, and meat was then
cheap enough. Numbers of animals died during the march, and the road was
plainly marked by an unbroken line of dead camels, donkeys, horses, and
oxen. The route lay from Shirkeleh to Shatt, and thence to Duem. Here a
halt was called for a few days to collect stragglers. All notion of
working in the fields was abandoned, and agricultural pursuits were
entirely dispensed with. Thus it happened that on the Mahdi's arrival at
Omdurman the Dervishes were in great want of grain.

The Mahdi arrived at Omdurman on the 23rd of October, 1884, but the
whole of the stragglers did not reach it till early in November.
Everything had been prepared. Gordon was surrounded by numerous enemies,
still he did not despair.

In August both Niles had risen considerably; the Blue Nile had arrived
almost at its full height, while the White Nile had overflowed its low
bank, and now swept past Fort Mukran and the houses in Khartum. So high
was it, that a dam had to be constructed to keep the water within
bounds. At high Nile the White river is very broad; and at a later da