te,
when I crossed over from Omdurman to the roughly built fort which has
long since been destroyed, I was sea-sick. But as the river fell it left
the ditch full of mud, and this proved a source of great danger. When
the river was high, Gordon made several successful counter-attacks.
Mohammed Ali Pasha went up the Blue Nile to a place near Gereif, and on
the 30th of August fell upon the Arabs, utterly defeating them. This
brave leader also attacked the old Sheikh El Obeid at Halfaya, and
captured a quantity of dhurra and cattle. Khartum breathed once more,
and it seemed as if all would be well; the bands played in the evening,
and the town was full of joy, which, alas, was soon to be turned to
sadness.

Mohammed Ali Pasha, emboldened by his late successes, advanced again on
the Sheikh El Obeid, whom he defeated near El Eilafun; but, advancing
into the desert to renew the attack on the 4th of September, he and
upwards of 800 of his troops fell into an ambush and were slaughtered.
This proved a very severe blow to Gordon, and Khartum being now closely
invested, he decided to send a steamer north to communicate with the
Government, and give them full information of the state of affairs.

As the Nile was now high, it was thought the small steamer _Abbas_ would
be able to make her way safely to Dongola. The _Abbas_ left Khartum on
the 10th of September, and was accompanied by two other steamers towing
boats, in one of which were a number of Greek, and in the other Syrian
merchants. These steamers ran the gauntlet of shot and shell till past
Berber. When a short way beyond that town, the steamers _Mansureh_ and
_Safia_ turned back, and reached Khartum only with the greatest
difficulty, being fired upon throughout almost the entire distance. The
_Abbas_ continued her journey north, and drew up for the night at a
small island. The two boats which had been cast off when the other
steamers left, now passed the _Abbas_, but were driven on to some rocks
by the wind, and here they had to stop for the night to repair. The next
morning the _Abbas_ passed them, and Colonel Stewart urged them to push
forward. The Greek boat started, but it was some time before the Syrians
could set sail; and again they were driven on to the rocks, where they
remained firmly fixed.

In the meantime the Dervishes at Berber, who had gained possession of
the steamer _El Fasher_ when the town fell into their hands, at once
sent her off in pursuit, togethe