lied with, and at the foot of the hills
near Kerreri were assembled enormous crowds, who waited--as the
malcontents said--on the pleasure of that "slave," Abu Anga. The guns
had all been drawn out in line the evening before, and the festival was
ushered in by prolonged salutes.

In the meantime Abu Anga had arrived at Om Sadik, where a careful
inspection was made to see that no one was in possession of unlawful
booty; numbers of female slaves were found, who were subsequently sent
to the beit el mal. He then moved on to his camp near Omdurman, and
prepared to make his formal entry the following morning.

By the time the sun had well risen, the Dervishes were assembled in
endless lines under their various flags. Khalifa Abdullah left his
residence accompanied by his bodyguard; he was mounted on a magnificent
camel, and advanced to the sound of the great onbeia trumpet. Abu Anga,
mounted on a pony and clad in a casque and coat-of-mail, now advanced to
meet him, and his magnificent figure created no small impression on the
assembled multitudes. His bodyguard, consisting of his very best
soldiers, accompanied him, as well as a number of mukuddums. On
approaching the Khalifa he adroitly dismounted and kissed his hands; he
was warmly greeted, and ordered to mount again.

Then the march past began. Upwards of 31,000 black troops, armed with
Remingtons and formed up in long lines, went by to the sound of drums
and trumpets; but the latter, on which the players attempted to produce
some specially Dervish music, raised the most discordant sounds, which
gave an intensely comic aspect to the whole proceeding. Each emir, with
his flag, rode at the head of his division; the chief emirs were Ibrahim
Wad Abdullah, Nur Angara, Zeki Tummal, and Ibrahim Wad Abu Tagalla. When
the Jehadieh had passed, the sword-and spearmen followed, some 20,000 in
number; then came the inhabitants of Omdurman in countless numbers.
There could not have been less than 60,000.

After the march past all were formed up again, and then the Khalifa,
dismounting from his camel, stood on his sheepskin and conducted
prayers. The shout of "Allahu Akbar" from over 100,000 throats was
impressive in the extreme, and, as the sound rolled down the immense
lines, it was echoed again and again through the hills, lasting for over
a minute after each shout.

On the conclusion of prayers the guns pealed forth salutes, and such
wild fanaticism and enthusiasm prevailed that